True Blue Tattoo

I picked this place after doing a ton if research. It reminded me a lot of a tattoo shop back in the PNW. When I scheduled with CRTNZ, he was super cool and attentive, very relaxed and fun guy. He may be busy, but if you want quality work done, he is worth the wait.

After my first tattoo experience was not great at Southside Tattoos, I tried True Blue for my second. Oh my goodness-​what an improvement! Batty was awesome and made us feel very comfortable and like she really cared about my tattoo looking perfect. She included us in the whole process and talked to us to distract me from the pain:) I LOVE my tattoo-​she did such a beautiful job!-and my only regret is that I didn’t go to Batty for my first. Will definitely be back!

I got my first tattoo from Mike at True Blue. It was a fantastic experience. I didn’t have an appointment, so I just walked in and Mike helped me as soon as he arrived (I got there about 20 minutes before his shift started). I went in having an idea of what I wanted, and Mike quickly helped me create the design, happily tinkering with anything I asked him to change.
The shop is very clean, and Mike made me feel very comfortable before, during, and after. When I was in pain, he talked me through it and always kept me updated with things like «okay, almost done, just breathe» and the like. His bedside manner is phenomenal, and he’s a hilarious, interesting, and smart guy. It was an excellent couple of hours in his chair.
Once the tattoo was finished, I was able to look at it and take pictures before he cleaned and covered it. The line work was incredibly precise and wonderfully crisp (which is saying something, because my tattoo has a fair amount of small, thin lines). It healed up beautifully as I followed the instructions Mike gave me, and rarely even caused much pain or itching. Now, three or four months later, the image is still very crisp and gorgeous. I couldn’t recommend Mike more as an artist and a person.

Casey Sass put fresh ink on us, and holy crap this guy does good work. Friendly, efficient, great artist, and really will work with you on any design you bring him. You can’t go wrong with this rando, out-​of-​the-​way shop. Definitely skip the downtown hubbub and snottery and join the Sass Army!

THANK YOU CASEY! walked in, walked out with this beautiful magenta and teal crysanthemum on my thigh. Everyone in the shop was friendly and inviting. Casey was flexible, quick, detail oriented and does really nice bold line work. I will definitely be back.

Best place to go in Austin. Curtnz rocks. He’s done work on my friends and came highly recommended, and I loved working with him. I got a beautiful cover-​up thanks to his artistry and skill. We collaborated every step of the way (which is always good when getting permanent ink on your skin!). Easy to communicate with and fun to sit 3+ hrs with. This is my shop from now on. Great folks, reasonably priced, cool atmosphere, and beautiful work.

I went to True Blue (almost a year ago and I’m JUST now getting to this, sorry) because I was happy with the work another artist had done at the downtown location, and then when I found out Marco was tattooing there, I got super excited. I took a really crappy rough sketch of what I wanted to him– I can’t draw worth a damn. He took it and made it into something more beautiful than I could ever have imagined, and when it actually tattooed it on me, I couldn’t have been happier. His line work is some of the best I have ever seen and some of the best I have on my body. The shading he did made it look EVEN better, and he’s also a really cool person to hang out with while he’s tattooing you. He doesn’t charge a ridiculous amount for his amazing work, either :) I definitely recommend him.

I went to True Blue with my best friend for us both to get a tattoo at the same time – my artist was Cody, hers was Curtnz. (Yes, Curtnz. He was amazing.)
Because I’m a planner and this was my first tattoo, I wanted everything to be perfect. I emailed with Cody a couple times, sending him the image I was playing with; he was not very responsive email-​wise but once we had our appointments on the books, I didn’t stress too much over it. I’d checked out all the portfolios and knew once I got there and we discussed the image, we’d be good to go.
Sure enough, it all went as easy as could be. My friend went over several sessions, because hers was a larger image and on her ribcage – a painful spot so she didn’t want to deal with all that in one sitting. This being her last session, her tattoo only took a little bit and looked great. Cody did my drawing and it looked perfect, so we got started. He wasn’t very chatty, but frankly who cares? I’d rather a beautiful tattoo from a quieter artist than a wobbly one from someone who gets distracted.
Sure, it hurt, but about what I expected. The tattoo (pictured) is a key with a Sanskrit symbol with a butterfly resting on it, and came out just as I hoped it would. Cody’s rate ($ 100/​hour) was very reasonable, and he answered all my questions on tattoo after-​care.
Check out these guys! Some beautiful work done here.

Before showing up at True Blue I emailed Tank Girl back and forth for months. I sent her the image file of what I wanted done and she played with it until I had what I really wanted.
She offered her opinion on a couple of ideas, and that’s what we ultimately went with.
She was very reasonably priced, and only charged me for time when the needle was actually touching my skin.
I’m definitely going back there to finish up my sleeve.

Had my first tattoo done by Bill. He was very personable and worked patiently with me on a couple small design finalizations. Very clean environment which is what drew me there in the first place.

Love it! Got my favorite tattoo yet with Sara (Tank Girl). It is so creative and such a quality piece. Everyone in the shop is so nice!

Fabulous! Got a recent tattoo from a different Austin business. Hated it from day one. Rachel at True Blue saved the day! Dropped in 1 week prior to meet & make appt. Went in today and got to it! Rachel is very professional & artistic which put me at ease. She came up with the solution & I walked out with a smile. Check out website & make an appt! You won’t be disappointed.