I’m Jake — Innovative Ink’s first male tattoo artist, and yeah, I’m proud of that.

I’ve been drawing longer than I can remember. No matter the medium, I just love creating. From sketches and illustrations to storytelling and animation, I’ve always believed there are limited limitations to creativity. Art’s the one thing I’m naturally good at.

To me, tattooing is no different from any other creative form — except it’s got one major upgrade: you get to help people express who they are on the canvas of their skin. Making the invisible… visible. (Insert teary eyes.)

I get most hyped when I can play with balance — elegance and grit, masculine and feminine, beauty and the ghastly. I like to think that kind of duality shows in my work. Give me something cool, like plants growing out of a skull to represent life and death. If my logo didn’t give it away already, I freakin’ love skeletons and skulls. Let’s do more of that.

What makes me stand out? My love for stipple shading — using dots to build texture and detail in a way traditional techniques don’t. It adds a little grunge, a little divinity, and a whole lotta humanity.

Check out my portfolio — if my work speaks to you, hit me up and let’s make some art.