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...
Our interview with the talented Eva Banks. Eva turns black into a visual language, essential, decisive, absolute. Her tattoos strip everything down to the core: bold lines, minimal forms, fragmented words. No decoration, just direction. An aesthetic that doesn’t follow, it defines. 1. Was there a specific moment when you realized tattooing would become your life? Yes. The first time I pulled a line on a friend’s skin, I put the needle down and, from that moment on, I had no doubts. The emotion and adrenaline I felt in that split second made me realize that this was exactly what I wanted to do. I work a lot with my own flash designs and original concepts, and seeing one of...
Our interview with Julia Kravtsova alias Julia Kay, a talented conceptual and minimalist tattoo artist, exploring her distinctive approach to dissolving lettering. 1. Who or what inspired you to enter this world? I never imagined that I would become a tattoo artist. I originally studied architecture, although even during university it became clear to me that my path would eventually lead elsewhere. I remember a friend casually mentioning tattooing and suggesting that I might consider it. The idea stayed with me, and at some point I bought a cheap tattoo machine simply to experiment. I immediately fell in love with the process. After graduating from university, I was working at an architectural office in Los Angeles, while spending my evenings in...
Our interview with Evgenii Antsupov, a highly talented tattoo artist known for his black and grey style and distinctive use of whip shading. 1. Do you remember the first tattoo you ever did? How did it go? Yes, of course I remember that piece. It was something like a ship and a compass. I had planned to do it in two sessions: the first one for the outlines, and the second one for the shading. But after I did the outlines, all the ink spread under the skin and it basically filled itself in, so there was no need for a second session 🤣. It looked absolutely terrible, crooked lines, ink blowouts under the skin. That was the moment I started...
Our interview for the talented master in neotraditional anime tattoo - Green Vesper 1. Why the name Green Vesper? It’s honestly not that deep - it’s just the name of a cocktail I’ve never even tried. I liked it because it was short, catchy, and sounded clean. It originally came from my digital and concept art era and it just stayed with me. 2. Do you remember the exact moment when you decided you wanted to become a tattoo artist? It wasn’t one dramatic “movie scene” moment - it felt like a very logical step. Right after I graduated university (I studied art and design), tattooing just clicked as the natural next direction for me. I’d already been through art...
