Our interview with the talented Sofia Lanbina, also known as betstattoo, a tattoo artist specializing in freehand floral tattoos.
1. Hi Sofia, would you like to tell us about the moment when you realized that tattooing would become your calling?
I started tattooing because I wanted to find a purpose for my drawings. In the beginning, I thought I would do it alongside my regular job as a hobby, but the more I learned and practiced, the more I realized that I didn't want to stop. I wanted to grow as a tattoo artist and see how far I could take it. Eventually, I understood that tattooing wasn't just something I enjoyed doing, it became my life. It was the first thing I had found where I truly felt like myself. I didn't get bored, I was always curious to learn more, and I always wanted to push myself further.
2. When you first started tattooing, did you already have a clear artistic direction in mind, or did your artistic language develop and evolve along the way?
I think it's both. I knew from the start that I wanted to tattoo fine line florals. I had to work a lot on developing a recognizable style though. Over time, I became very interested in the relationship between a drawing and the body. I realized that I didn't want to simply draw a design on an iPad and then place a stencil like a sticker on the body. I wanted the body itself to influence the composition. That became one of the foundations of my artistic language. Today, botanical fine line and freehand are very recognizable parts of my work, but they developed through years of drawing, tattooing, studying the body and questioning how I could make my work more personal.
3. What led you towards the botanical world, and what fascinates you so much about this subject?
I've been drawing flowers and plants since I was a child, so when I started tattooing, I didn't even have to think about what I wanted to tattoo. But the more I studied botanical forms, the more interesting they became to me. There is an incredible amount of structure in something that can look very delicate and simple. You have the architecture of the flower, the direction of the stems, the rhythm of the leaves, the negative space and all these tiny details that can completely change the character of a design. I also love that botanical forms work very naturally with the human body. A stem can follow a curve, a flower can open around a shoulder or hip, and the whole composition can move with the anatomy.
4. One of the most distinctive aspects of the way you work is freehand. When you start drawing directly onto the skin, how much of the tattoo is already in your mind, and how much is created in that moment, by looking at the person’s body?
There is always preparation, but the final composition is created in the moment.Before an appointment, I know more or less what the client wants, the main botanical elements, the approximate size and the placement. However, I don't create a finished drawing and then simply transfer it onto the body. When I see the person in front of me, I start looking at their specific anatomy. I consider the natural curves, the movement of the body, existing tattoos, scars and birthmarks. All of those things can influence the design. What also influences the design a lot is the client's personality. Often, after talking in person, I get a feeling for what kind of vibe I want to add to the tattoo, what kind of elements would suit this person and how dark or light I'm going to make the final tattoo. The result is a composition that is created specifically for that person, and it couldn't be reproduced in exactly the same way on somebody else. It simply wouldn't suit another person as perfectly.
5. You are currently working on a book dedicated to freehand tattooing. What would you like readers to understand about freehand that they cannot simply grasp by looking at one of your tattoos?
The book is mainly for tattoo artists and apprentices who want to learn freehand, and I wanted to share everything I've learned through my own experience. When I started working with freehand, I had to figure out a lot of things by myself through trial and error. There wasn't really a guide that explained how to approach it step by step, so I didn't know how to start and made mistakes along the way that would have been easy to avoid if I had the kind of book I'm currently working on. I cover everything from when it makes sense to use freehand and when it doesn't, to the tools and setup, how to start with simpler and lower-risk pieces, how I approach drawing the composition directly on the body, and then how I actually tattoo over the drawing. I basically want to put together all the information I wish I had when I was starting with freehand, so that other artists can approach it with more understanding and confidence instead of having to figure everything out on their own.
6. You have experienced tattoo conventions both as a tattoo artist and as a judge. What changes when you go from being focused on your own work to observing and evaluating the work of others?
The perspective changes completely. When I'm tattooing, I'm very focused on my own piece and style, and on giving my client the best tattoo I can. When I'm judging, I have to step away from my personal preferences and really analyze what another artist is doing. I look at the composition, technique, line and shading quality, how the tattoo interacts with the anatomy and how it reads as a whole rather than only when you look at it very closely.Being invited to judge international conventions has definitely been an important part of my development as an artist. It places you in a position where your experience and understanding of tattooing are being trusted by other professionals. That's something I value a lot.
7. Has being a judge also changed the way you look at your own work?
Definitely. When you judge, you spend a lot of time looking at tattoos analytically. You have to separate your personal taste from the actual quality of a piece. That has made me much more critical of my own work in a good way. I'm more aware now of the importance of stepping back from a tattoo and looking at it from a distance. With fine lines, it's very easy to become obsessed with tiny details because you're actually able to add so many of them. But the tattoo has to work as an entire composition. It has also proved for me something I already understood: technical precision is important, but it isn't enough. A tattoo can be technically perfect and still not have a strong composition or relationship with the body. So judging has made me look at my own tattoos more objectively. I think that's helped me develop my work further and become more intentional about every element I put into a composition.
8. You also bring your work into art exhibitions. What happens when a tattoo leaves the body and is presented within an exhibition setting?
I think presenting tattoos as artworks at exhibitions can encourage people who aren't part of the tattoo world to look at tattooing from a different perspective. Many people cannot imagine how beautiful a tattoo can be or what you can actually achieve with a tattoo machine. I've heard so many warm words and genuine admiration from people at exhibitions. It's really nice to see people who might never normally be interested in tattooing stop, look at the work and become genuinely curious about it. I'm happy to be able to show this side of the tattoo industry and help people see tattooing as an art form rather than just something you put on your skin.
9. You created After, a non-profit initiative dedicated to scar cover-ups. What motivated you to use tattooing for something that goes beyond aesthetic research?
I think tattooing has much more potential than being decorative. With After, I provide a free scar cover-up tattoo approximately once a month. The main goal is to give someone an opportunity to transform the way they see themselves and, ideally, help them gain confidence. The idea for After came to me because I had covered up scars quite a lot in the past. I saw how strongly scars can affect the way someone feels about their body. A scar can representan accident, surgery, illness or a difficult period in someone's life, and sometimes it's all people see when they look at that part of their body. That's what made me want to use my skills to do something that could have a more personal impact.
10. Is there anything you have learned through the people you have met through After that has changed the way you see tattooing?
It has made me even more aware of the responsibility that comes with tattooing someone. As artists, we can become very focused on the visual side, but with scar cover-ups, the personal meaning and emotional side behind a tattoo are very strong and impossible to ignore. A tattoo can mean so much more to a person than you can imagine, and it can literally affect someone's life for the better. After shows me this over and over again.
11. When you look at everything you do today, your style, freehand, the book, conventions, exhibitions, and After, is there something that connects all these experiences? What is the common thread that holds them together?
For me, the common thread is the idea of exploring what tattooing can be. All of these experiences come from me not wanting to stop at what's already been achieved. I don't see tattooing as something that has to stay within one definition. My botanical work is one way of exploring it. Freehand allows me to explore the relationship between drawing and anatomy. Judging allows me to study the work of other artists. Exhibitions allow me to bring tattooing into a broader art context. The book allows me to share a method that I've developed through years of practice. And After shows how tattooing can have a personal impact beyond aesthetics.
12. Is there anything you never want to lose, even if your style were to completely change in the future?
I don't want to lose my curiosity, my interest in growing and exploring. That's what made me start in the first place. I think being willing to keep learning is much more important than trying to protect a particular style forever. I want my work to keep changing and developing as I do.
13. Thank you for your time. Before we say goodbye, what advice would you give to someone who wants to approach the same style as you? And, above all, what would you tell them not to try to imitate?
I would recommend not rushing into the freehand technique. Spend enough time tattooing and drawing first, and become completely confident in those areas. Only then can you start trying to apply the freehand technique to your work.I think artists can take inspiration from each other, but they shouldn't try to copy each other. The most important thing is to understand why you like something, be able to analyze it and then use that knowledge to improve your own work. 
Website: https://betstattoo.com
Instagram: @betstattoo