Body Artist
What the work is
Decorates, adorns or modifies the human body permanently or temporarily using a range of techniques such as tattooing, piercing and skin modification.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Consults with clients to determine their desired body art design
- Prepares clients' skin for the chosen body art technique
- Applies permanent tattoos by inserting ink under layers of skin
- Paints or dyes skin to create temporary body art designs
- Pierces skin to implant jewellery and other biocompatible materials
- Modifies the shape of the skin through cutting, branding, manipulating, stretching and scarring techniques
- Uses scalpel, heat and restraining techniques to create patterns in the skin
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small studio that does make-up for weddings and film shoots, and body art by appointment. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A bride sees herself in the mirror and goes quiet in the best way
- A design that started as a sketch on a napkin turns into something someone loves
- A film set where your make-up holds up under hot lights for a whole day
Hard days
- A client who changes their mind about the design after it's been drawn
- Standing and leaning over a client for hours with a steady hand
- Early starts on a film set, with make-up to redo after every take
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 461231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.