When will you be available?

Availability depends on what you want, where you want it, and our artist’s openings. We occasionally take same day appointments if there is a spot open.

Our artists can be booked anywhere from 5+ months out to a few weeks out. The best way to get an appointment is to fill out our form on our homepage.

Will you tattoo minors?

In our studio, you must be 18 years of age.

We will not tattoo anyone under the age of 18, even with parental consent and proper I.D.

Can I just walk in?

Yes, we accept same day appointments when we can, However, due to high demand availability varies from day to day.

It is always best to fill out our tattoo inquiry form.

What's the purpose of a consult?

A consultation is a brief, scheduled appointment to talk to your artist and discuss the placement, fit, size, and details of your future tattoo.

These meetings are offered free of charge.

What do I have to do to set it up?

Fill out our tattoo inquiry form. After we receive your submission, we will contact you to schedule a consultation with one of our artists.

What's the process?

Our shop coordinator will schedule your appointment after your consultation.

If you are wanting a simple tattoo that doesn’t require a consultation, fill out our tattoo request form and you will be contacted about scheduling an appointment with the artist that best suits your idea.

All appointments will require a deposit. No dates will be saved without a deposit.

How much notice do you need?

We ask that you give us at least a 48-hour notice to reschedule.

You will need to call or email the shop to make any changes to your appointment. Keep in mind that store hours are from 12pm-8pm. Any messages left after 8pm will not be checked until the following business day. If we do not hear from you within that time, you will lose your deposit.

If there is an emergency, please call us as soon as you can.

How long can it take to get a response?

Our artists do not handle their scheduling. The administration staff is the rock of Atomic Robot and handles all of our artists’ schedules. That means every single inquiry for every single one of our artists goes through them.

Once we open the books, we leave them open until all available appointments for the quarter are filled. We prioritize in-progress projects with deposits on file to ensure that designs are done in a timely manner. Our artists want everyone to have a fair chance.

When inquiries come in, we first respond to all in-progress clients, then move on to new inquiries for consultation. Every email we receive will get a response at some point soon after.

We book new appointments based on how many slots are available. Our staff doesn’t send ‘books closed’ emails until absolutely every slot is filled. This process can take a few weeks to complete, but we work on emails almost every day. Our counter staff is going as fast and as efficiently as they can, we appreciate your patience.

Will my design be chosen?

The easiest way to explain how we approach things is through this Halloween Candy example.

Imagine you head out on Halloween night for a Trick or Treat adventure. You come home and have an entire, giant, bag of candy and you think to yourself, “Oh man, I can totally eat all of these!” Then your hopes are shattered when your parent says, “You can only have a few pieces of the candy.” Now, are you going to just reach into the bag and eat the first few pieces you grab? Probably not. You’re going to dump the bag onto the bed and grab all of your favorites!

Now, that being said, we understand that not everyone wants an entire arm or leg-sleeve tattoo. From time to time our artists will have small gaps available for smaller designs. When artists are drawn to smaller designs we do try to fill those little gaps as well!

This is how we approach the booking process. We only have a certain amount of appointment times during each of the scheduling windows. So, it’s not always that we do not want to do your tattoo; it’s simply that we fill the books quickly with the pieces we are most drawn to at that time.

What are the details of your deposit policy?

We require a $100 deposit for tattoos that take less than 1 hour, and a $200 deposit for tattoos that take more than 1 hour.

The amount of the deposit will be taken off the final price of the tattoo. If you are scheduled for multiple sessions, your deposit will be taken off the final price on the final session.

If you reschedule or cancel your appointment within 48 hours of the scheduled appointment time, you will lose your deposit. On the off chance that you no show, you will also lose your deposit. Additionally, if you change your mind and decide you don’t want a tattoo anymore, you will lose your deposit.

Deposits are non-refundable. If you are unable to make it to your scheduled appointment, we require a 48 hour notice to reschedule.

What can I expect?

Our shop minimum is $100.

However, the cost of your tattoo varies depending on the size, the complexity, where you decide to place it, and the time it takes to do the tattoo. This applies to all tattoos, no matter how small or simple. Each artist in our shop has different rates based on experience and efficiency. If you are sticking to a budget, let your artist know so they can book and draw your piece accordingly.

We prefer cash as a payment method.

What forms of payment are accepted?

We prefer cash payment. However, we do accept credit or debit cards if necessary.

Who charges what, and why?

All of our artists charge different hourly rates due to a myriad of different factors. The main factors that go into those decisions are speed and experience.

Usually, within our shop, a tattoo will come out to the same price no matter who does it. The only difference being speed and style. A newer artist, or apprentice, may very well not be as fast as an artist who has been tattooing for a decade. This doesn’t mean that their art is of a lower quality. An apprentice is not permitted to tattoo human-beings until the quality is there; so, this should not be a concern. It may just take a little more time for them to do the piece.

Essentially, a higher hourly rate means that that artist just tattoos faster. This should by no means be a deciding factor on who does the tattoo. You should always look at an artist’s portfolio and decide whose look fits your aesthetic. Getting the tattoo you want, and having it look the way you want, should always be forefront in your mind when deciding which artist to go with. Not their hourly rate.

Will you draw this up for me?

No, artists require deposits before drawing your tattoo design. All drawings will be guaranteed to be finished the day of your appointment.

Please specify the elements of the design that are most important to you. Be sure to thoroughly communicate those specific elements to your artist during your consult. If you’d like to make any changes to your design after your consult, please be sure to send an update to our email, “ATTN: YOUR ARTISTS NAME” with a minimum of one week notice.

In some cases, mostly for larger pieces or cover-ups, your artist will freehand the tattoo directly onto your skin with marker.

When will I get to view my tattoo design?

Great question!

This is a semi-complicated answer, but in short, it all depends on your artist’s process! BUT I wouldn’t expect to get eyes on your design until the day of your appointment.

During the consultation we try and gather as much reference information from you as possible, such as body placement, your idea, designs you like, and a little bit about you. If you’re lucky, you may even get to see a super rough mock-up of your design, which is awesome!

However; your artist needs time to ideate, sketch, and clean up a design to present to you on the day of your appointment!

There are many factors at play, as to why your design may not be available until the day of your appointment, such as needing to design for other clients and researching elements for your tattoo. Seeing a design on a 2D / flat surface will read differently than it does when applied to the body. Changing the tattoo placement on the body can also call for changes to your design.

As humans, we often change our minds about things when we have too much time to think about them. Reviewing your tattoo on the day of your appointment can save both yourself and your artist time, by avoiding constant revisions before your appointment. This way, you can talk with your artist about the design and make any changes that are necessary before getting started. It also makes communication easier in case any changes need to be made during the process.

Do I need to bring anything?

Most importantly, you will need to bring in a GOVERNMENT ISSUED OR STATE I.D. We need this to fill out necessary consent documentation before your artist can work on your tattoo. A valid drivers license, passport, or state I.D will also work.

If you do not bring your I.D. with you, you will not be getting tattooed, and you will forfeit your deposit.

You will also need to bring some form of payment for your service. Our shop prefers cash, we do not accept checks.

We ask that you come in clean, wearing comfortable clothing. Don’t wear fancy clothing, as tattooing can be a messy process. Think about the placement of your tattoo and dress accordingly. You can bring along a sweater or sweatshirt in case you get cold while you get tattooed.

For a full day session, we suggest that you eat a good meal prior to your appointment. Please bring some snacks and beverages to keep your blood sugar up.

Additionally it doesn’t hurt to bring headphones and/or a light gaming device. One that note, we ask that you remain aware of your usage while being tattooed. Using your cellphone or playing a game is fine, but please remember that your artist is present. Texting, gaming, and talking can cause unnecessary movement and distraction when you are being asked to remain as still as possible.

Do you allow guests?

No, we do not allow guests. Due to the considerations we make for the privacy of our clients, we feel that it is best to limit the number of people in the tattoo space. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Group or friend tattoos may be booked one after another if booking with the same artist, or they may book with multiple artists simultaneously.

What's appropriate?

Yes, if you are happy with your experience, tipping is customary in the service industry.

This is not stating that you have to tip your artist, however, it is greatly appreciated.

Pain is beauty.

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is that pain is relative. What might be painful to some may not be painful to others. Everyone has a different way of dealing with pain. It will be a more painful experience if your system is under any stress (hungover, extremely tired, hungry, etc…). Make sure to get plenty of rest the night before your tattoo, and eat a good meal before you come to your appointment. In most cases, the pain is tolerable and you will be just fine.

What are the risks?

At Atomic Robot Tattoo we take your health and safety very seriously.

If you come to us, it will be a very safe procedure. We are very diligent about sanitation and cleanliness. You will notice that our artists only use professionally pre-sterilized, single-use materials in their setups. Everything the artist touches will be covered by a barrier to protect both you and themselves from cross-contamination.

We work very closely with the City of Sioux Falls Health Department to make sure that we are using every precaution, and procedure necessary to keep our environment safe and sanitary for all of our clients and staff.

Is there a touch up policy?

We will happily provide you with one free touch-up appointment within the first year of getting your tattoo.

Keep in mind that some restrictions may apply.

Excessive sun damage, abrasions received after getting your tattoo, scarring due to water damage during aftercare, or poor aftercare in general, will invalidate the touch up policy.

For hands and feet, keep in mind that all hand and foot tattoos are not guaranteed a free touch up. Hand and foot tattoos are hard to hold ink, especially fingers. The most skilled artists still have people coming back with faded tattoos on their hands and feet. For this reason, nobody can guarantee that things will hold indefinitely in those areas. When you do want another tattoo though, the shop does have a minimum. But if it’s another piece and/or more extensive work, it would make more sense to just jump over to your hand/foot to touch those up real quick.

The reason for a shop minimum is the cost of setting up a station with the properly sanitized equipment and materials, and the time that it takes to do the tattoo. This just gives us a baseline that covers those costs.