Our Courses  /  10-Day Beginner Course

10-Day Complete Beginner Course

Start from zero. Leave with a tattoo kit, CPD and IPC Level 2 certificates, a portfolio of real tattooed work, and the skills to take your first paid bookings.

PriceFrom £1,599
Duration10 Days
Class SizeSmall
ExperienceNone Needed
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About This Course

Starting with zero experience is exactly where this course begins. Over ten days, you will go from never having held a tattoo machine to tattooing real clients, with a tattoo kit in your hands, two certificates on your wall, and the practical knowledge to start building a client base immediately after completing.

What You'll Cover
  • Infection Prevention & Control Level 2, full certification included in the course
  • Machine anatomy, setup, and maintenance: understanding your equipment from day one
  • Needle types, cartridge selection, and skin theory: what happens beneath the surface
  • Progressive line work practice, building hand control, consistency, and speed on practice skins
  • Fine line shading, texture, and the principles of minimalist tattoo design
  • Stencil design using Procreate, creating and preparing designs for application
  • Live model tattooing, tattooing real clients under full expert supervision
  • Client consultation, aftercare, pricing, and setting up your business and Instagram
Everything That's Included
Tattoo kit
All needles & cartridges
Inks & consumables
Practice skins
CPD certificate
IPC Level 2 certificate
Live model session
Stencil materials
Procreate introduction
Free refresher training
Locations & Dates

Courses run monthly across all six UK locations. View all dates and book your place.

Manchester London Essex Birmingham Glasgow Dublin
Recommended
From£1,599
10 Days · CPD Accredited · Small Class Sizes
+ Tattoo Kit Included
  • Zero experience required
  • Tattoo kit included & yours to keep
  • CPD + IPC Level 2 certificates
  • Live model tattooing session
  • Lifetime support
Book Your Place
Book with a Deposit. Secure your place and pay the balance before your course date. Contact us to arrange.
10-Day Complete Beginner Course, student at work
Is This Course Right for You?

Who Should Book On

This course is for you if…

You have never picked up a tattoo machine before and want to learn fine line tattooing from absolute scratch. You want a comprehensive, structured route into the industry, with health & safety certification, progressive skills development, and live model experience all included in a single course.

Wondering what the first six months look like after completing? Read our guide: From Zero to Fully Booked →

Want a shorter format?

If you can only take a short block of time off, our 4-Day Fine Line Masterclass covers fine line technique in a faster, more intensive format. It is open to complete beginners too, with less practice time between each step.

The Curriculum

What Happens Each Day

Ten days. Zero to tattooing live clients. This is a practical course, not a lecture: once the certification days are done you are on the machine daily, and the items marked Practice below are where most of each day actually goes.

1–2
IPC Level 2 Module

Days 1–2Infection Prevention & Control Level 2 Certification

  • Chain of infection and how to break it
  • Standard precautions and PPE protocol
  • Bloodborne pathogens and exposure incident procedure
  • Waste management and sharps disposal
  • IPC Level 2 assessment and certification
3

Day 3Machine Anatomy, Setup & First Lines

  • Rotary machine anatomy, and how setup changes by style
  • Cartridge and needle selection, and what each grouping is for
  • Hands on the machine from your first practical day: first line exercises on practice skins
4

Day 4Line Progression, Pressure & Consistency

  • Curved lines, tight curves, and directional changes
  • Needle depth and its effect on healing
  • A full day of line practice on synthetic skin, with your technique corrected as you go
5

Day 5Shading, Texture & Depth

  • Whip shading technique, how to produce clean gradients
  • Shading practised on synthetic skin until the gradients come out clean
  • Designing for skin healing, what fades, what lasts
6

Day 6Procreate Design & Stencil Preparation

  • Procreate for tattoo design, tools and workflow
  • Scaling designs for accurate skin placement
  • Stencils prepared and applied by hand, then tattooed on synthetic skin
7

Day 7Composition and Style Range

  • Botanical and floral technique and design principles
  • Geometric line work and symmetry
  • Each style practised on synthetic skin, not just demonstrated
8

Day 8Colour Packing & Techniques Beyond Fine Line

  • Colour packing, saturation and blending
  • Solid black fill and bold line work
  • Every technique practised on synthetic skin, not just demonstrated
  • How machine setup, needle choice and depth change by style
9

Day 9Advanced Practice, Portfolio Work & Business Module

  • Extended practice on complex compositions across every style covered
  • Pricing strategy, how to charge correctly from day one
  • Building and growing your Instagram portfolio
  • Local authority registration and licensing process
10

Day 10Live Model Session & Certification

  • Client consultation, consent documentation and skin prep
  • Your supervised live model tattoo on real skin
  • Session management and aftercare
  • CPD and IPC Level 2 certificate presentation
  • Lifetime support, and what to do in the first four weeks
Included in This Course

What Is IPC Level 2, and Why Does It Matter?

IPC Level 2 stands for Infection Prevention and Control Level 2. It is a nationally recognised qualification that certifies you have been formally trained in the hygiene and infection control standards required for regulated skin procedures, including tattooing.

In most UK jurisdictions, you are legally required to demonstrate infection control competence before you can register with your local authority to tattoo commercially. An IPC Level 2 certificate is the most widely accepted form of that evidence. Without it, you will struggle to get licensed, regardless of how good your tattooing skills are.

The 10-Day Complete Beginner Course is the only fine line tattoo course in the UK that includes IPC Level 2 as a built-in part of the programme. Other providers offer it as an add-on (at additional cost), or don't offer it at all. We include it because we believe it is foundational, not optional.

Your IPC Level 2 certificate is issued after assessment on day two and will be available to present to licensing authorities alongside your CPD certificate from day ten onwards.

What it covers The chain of infection, standard precautions, PPE protocol, bloodborne pathogen risk, sharps handling, waste disposal, and client contraindication screening.
Why it matters legally Local authorities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland require evidence of infection control training before issuing a tattooing licence. IPC Level 2 is the most widely accepted standard.
Where it's accepted Accepted by local authority licensing teams across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Also accepted by Environmental Health Officers in the Republic of Ireland.
Included at no extra cost The IPC Level 2 programme is fully integrated into the 10-Day Course at no additional charge. The course fee covers everything, no hidden extras.
Changing Careers

From Any Background to Fine Line Tattoo Artist

The majority of students who complete the 10-Day Complete Beginner Course are not coming from a tattooing background. They are career changers, people from healthcare, beauty, finance, hospitality, retail, and the arts, who have decided that tattooing is what they actually want to do, and are taking the most direct route to making that a reality.

Fine line tattooing is a particularly good fit for career changers because the skills it demands (precision, patience, aesthetic judgement, and client communication) are skills that many professionals already have in other forms. Healthcare workers understand sterile field discipline. Beauty therapists understand skin and client relationship management. Artists understand composition and negative space.

What the 10-Day Course gives you is the specific technical foundation you don't have yet: machine control, needle knowledge, and the hands-on practice hours that turn technique into instinct. By day eight you are tattooing real clients. By the end of day ten you have two professional certificates and a portfolio of real work.

The question most career changers have is not whether they can do it, it's how long it will take to replace their income. The honest answer: it varies. Artists who commit to building their portfolio and social presence in the weeks after completing typically take their first paid bookings within four to eight weeks. Reaching a sustainable income takes longer, most artists hit that point at three to six months of consistent work.

4–8 weeks Typical time to first paid booking after completing
£100–£180/hr Established fine line artist rate in UK cities
500+ Students trained at Fine Line Tattoo Academy
The Path Forward

Your First Three Months After Completing

Month 1

Build Your Foundation

  • Practice daily on practice skins, at least 2 hours per day
  • Set up your Instagram with a clear fine line focus
  • Post your portfolio pieces from the course
  • Set up your at-home workspace or identify a studio
Month 2

Take Your First Bookings

  • Open bookings at introductory rates (£60–£80 for simple pieces)
  • Tattoo friends and family to build your real-skin portfolio
  • Document every piece, before, healed, and detail shots
  • Use your lifetime support for feedback on your work
  • Start an enquiry management system
Month 3

Establish Your Practice

  • Raise your rates as your portfolio grows
  • Refine your aesthetic, identify your signature style
  • Build a waitlist for popular design types
  • Reinvest in professional photography of healed work
Not Sure Which Course?

10-Day Beginner Course vs 4-Day Masterclass

Both are CPD accredited and include a live model session and a tattoo kit, and both are open to complete beginners. The 10-Day Course gives you more time to practise between each step; the 4-Day Masterclass covers fine line technique in a shorter, more intensive block.

The 10-Day Course covers more than fine line. You also learn colour packing, saturation and solid fill. Fine line is what most clients ask for at the moment, and that won't stay true forever. When someone comes to you wanting solid colour, you want to be able to say yes rather than pass the booking on. Picking it up later means paying for another course.

Feature 10-Day Beginner Course 4-Day Masterclass
PriceFrom £1,599From £850
Duration10 days4 days
Prior experience neededNone neededNone needed
Suitable forBeginners who want more time to practiseBeginners who want a fast, intensive start
Techniques coveredFine line, shading, colour packing and solid fillFine line technique and shading
CPD Certificate✓ Included✓ Included
IPC Level 2 Certification✓ Included✓ Included
Tattoo kit✓ Included✓ Included
Live Model TattooingDay 10Day 4
Lifetime Support✓ Included✓ Included
Business & Instagram Module✓ Included✓ Included

Prefer a shorter, more intensive format? See the 4-Day Fine Line Masterclass → or call us on 0161 806 0501 if you're unsure.

Upcoming Dates

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Common Questions

10-Day Course FAQ

Yes. Zero prior experience required. The course starts from absolute basics and builds progressively to live model tattooing by day ten.
From £1,599 depending on the location, which includes your tattoo kit (yours to keep), CPD certificate, IPC Level 2 certificate, all consumables, expert instruction across ten full days, your live model session on day ten, and lifetime support.
Two certificates: a CPD accredited completion certificate, and an IPC Level 2 (Infection Prevention and Control) certificate. Both are widely accepted by local authorities when registering to tattoo commercially in the UK.
Yes. Your live model session takes place on day ten, tattooing a real client under direct expert supervision. By the end of the course you will have a portfolio of real tattooed work completed under expert supervision.
Most students take their first paid bookings within four to eight weeks of completing. Speed depends on how quickly you build your portfolio and social media presence. We cover both as part of the business module on the course.
Monthly at six UK locations: Manchester, London, Essex, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. Courses run weekdays, 10am to 5pm. Full venue details sent upon booking confirmation.

Taught by CPD-certified instructors with 5+ years of fine line specialisation, led by Dennis Lamey, founder of Fine Line Tattoo Academy and 40+ year industry veteran.

Meet the team →

Ready to Start From Scratch?

Ten days. Six UK locations. Everything you need to go from zero to taking paid bookings, included in one course price.

Book Now, from £1,599 Read the FAQ
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