Artist in view: Mister dots aka joao dias
How did you get involved with tattooing and how did you find your personal style of tattooing?
I got in contact with the tattoo industry by my father, he was a tattoo artist but retired some years ago. He was not the best with professional tattoo techniques but he gave me the most important thing - support and motivation. He is the one that supports me the most to follow this tattooing road!
Finding my own personal style came naturally, when I started tattooing in 2016 I wanted to follow the realistic way. Then I found that I could never feel fully confident giving something unique to my customers in that style. After some hard work and a lot of dedication, the things started to come together and I started to feel confident mixing styles and following “no rules” in tattooing. I love challenges and to be challenged by my customers.
I started taking all the opportunities my customers gave me - freedom to create, and to present something original and unique to them. and then it was just a matter of time and patience when I started to feel totally comfortable mixing geometry with many styles including realistic which was one of my 1st choices from the beginning.
What is the thing you enjoy most in the tattoo industry?
Tackling challenges, growing everyday and changing ideas with many talented friends I have around the world when we have the opportunity to meet at tattoo conventions. There is a lot of jealousy around the industry, which in my opinion is sad, because for me, there’s nothing better to learn something everyday. So I am happy to see all the art that so many talented artists show us everyday.
What’s something you haven’t done yet but would love to tackle? (Tattoo related)
Bodysuit absolutely, for me it’s one of the most challenging projects to do - understanding all the body anatomy to match perfectly, the best placement of the entire project all around the body.
What’s missing in the tattoo industry? What would you like to see change?
In my opinion, sometimes it’s missing the humbleness that many artists have when they once started. Helping the next one is not a bad thing in my opinion, be happy to change ideas - the person for whom we close a door today, can close it for us in the future.
Tattooing is not for lazy people, only the ones that dedicate themselves to this beautiful art deserve to be called tattoo artists and good professionals, and it's better to collect these ones instead of closing a door to the future of this art.
Who are your biggest inspirations, or artists you admire and why?
Many many artists and friends that I admire, even some of them aren't even from the “tattoo world” . I'm a fan of people who got success by themselves and are still dedicated like when they started.
But to say some names in the tattoo world, Theo Pedrada is a really close friend, and one of my biggest inspirations he’s a dedicated man, and professional, with 46 yrs and a career of more than 20 yrs, many prizes all around the world, even when he doesn’t need to prove nothing to anyone anymore, he’s still motivated like he started just 3-4 yrs ago. I respect this and hope to have the same dedication as him if I get the opportunity to get there.
Ivan Panayotov is also a great friend of mine and he is the result of the quote “hard work pays off”. Like I said, I'm inspired by people like this - his amazing talent in tattooing is just a bonus compared to his motivated soul.
Then I can also say Christian Kasas as one of my biggest inspirations ever, in every level, amazing person, good friend, professional, and one of the most talented artists out there in my opinion. I'm inspired by his amazing placement on every tattoo, and the vision when he draws his projects.
What’s the funniest tattoo related experience you have witnessed or heard of?
So-so many of them, I cannot select the funniest, but many of those stories are about the typical couple tatt’s. For example some years ago, a couple came to tattoo each other’s names, and then they came to cover it up after.... 2 hours 😂
(still on my record list)!
What is most important for avoiding bad tattoo healing?
Skin damage.
Many times it’s about creams, or plastic, or allergies or this or that, but in the end we as professionals should understand that our work is on the skin and it’s up to us to choose the tools that we work with many hours during and after tattooing.
Overworking many times in one spot of the skin, you can use the best healing process in the world - it will not save it.
What’s your favourite tattoo convention(s) and why?
Venezia Tattoo Convention until now. I choose this one, not because of the place, or the shows, or the thousands of people that you can see in one convention, but because at that convention you feel like you’re home, such a familiar atmosphere over there, not so many artists in numbers, but so many talented ones fit into “one saloon”.
What’s the one topic or theme of tattoo you get asked the most?
Realistic animals or faces mixing with geometry.
Is there a specific body part you enjoy tattooing and one you really don’t enjoy tattooing, and why?
Underarm is one of my favorite body parts to tattoo, the skin is flat and I can play with symmetry very well. One of the parts that I don't enjoy is every part that the skin is more “elastic” for example ribs, neck etc.