Fireside Tattoo Podcast

In this episode of The Fireside, Jake sits down with Peter Mohrbacher — celebrated digital painter, character designer, and creator of the stunning Angelarium series. Peter shares how a nerdy teenager obsessed with anime and video games became one of the most recognizable names in fantasy illustration, with work spanning Magic: The Gathering, indie art shows, and a thriving freelance career built on Kickstarter and Patreon. They dig into Peter's unconventional creative process — including his use of gradient maps to find color — the evolution of the convention scene, how he got himself fired into a successful solo career, and why the most important part of a critique has nothing to do with anatomy or tangents.
Peter will also be one of the headlining instructors at the Paradise Artist Retreat this October at Jiminy Peak, where he'll be leading a digital painting workshop.
Join Pete and Jake at this year's Paradise Artist's Retreat www.paradiseartistretreat.com
🖌️ Peter Mohrbacher's work: https://www.angelarium.net/
🎨 Free brushes & gradients on Gumroad: https://angelarium.gumroad.com/

Liz Cook is a tattoo artist, educator, color formulator, and all-around nerd — and this episode covers a lot of ground. We talk about how she got into education, her journey with Eternal Ink and Ever After, navigating corporate tattooing and government regulation, imposter syndrome, burnout, AI tools, and why posting only finished work might be hurting your brand. Liz also previews what she'll be covering in her upcoming Fireside Academy presentation. Join us live for Liz's presentation on May 21, 2026 at 7"00PM EST at the link below:
https://firesidetattoo.com/product-details/product/jake-meeks-fireside-academy-tix

David Shavitz is back — and a lot has changed since his first appearance on the show. What started as a quiet hint about a tattoo apprenticeship has turned into one of the most unconventional learning journeys in the tattoo world. Instead of sweeping floors at a shop, David is traveling the country spending weeks with world-class tattooers like Jacob Sheffield — hand-picked by his mentor Colt of Empire Inks — all while continuing to teach painting workshops and develop his own clientele.
In this episode, we dig into:
What it's actually like to transition from fine art painter to tattoo artist
The biggest technical challenges of tattooing coming from a painting background
David's abstract composition-first approach to painting (and how it applies to tattoo design)
His upcoming workshop at the Paradise Artist Retreat
What makes his apprenticeship completely unlike any other
David is also one of our featured presenters at the Paradise Artist Retreat this October at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Massachusetts. Early bird tickets are available now — grab them before the price goes up!

Join us on Jesse's Live Technique Talk with the Inside Fireside Tattoo Club on 1/16/2026
https://firesidetattoo.com/product-details/product/jesse-rix-technique-talk-tix
Keep up with Jesse at the links below
https://www.instagram.com/jesse_rix/
https://www.jesserix.com/
Are you a beginning tattooer or an apprentice ? Click below
https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-apprentices-toolkit
Are you a seasoned tattoo vet who is stuck in a rut? click below https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattooers-toolkit

My special guest today is Alex De Pase, a name synonymous with innovation in the tattoo industry. Alex, along with Gabe Ripley and others, has been involved in transformative ventures like the Venetian Tattoo Gathering and recently the International Tattoo Federation (ITF). The ITF —a real federation, not just another association or collective. aims to set global standards in tattooing, a much-needed initiative in a world where the lines between excellence and mediocrity are often blurred.
They are focused on the creation of actual standards in an industry drowning in confusion, where Instagram algorithms have convinced people that viral gimmicks equal mastery. This conversation covers everything from certification criteria and the Crystal Needle Award to Alex's new tattoo campus concept that's rewriting how we think about education in this craft.
Check out the Deep Dive on firesidetattoo.com:
https://firesidetattoo.com/post/building-tattooings-first-global-standard-alex-de-pase-international-tattoo-federation-ep-308 
Learn more about Alex and his projects below:
https://www.alexdepasetattoo.com/ 
https://internationaltattoofederation.com/ 
https://iconsandprodigies.com/
Are you a beginning tattooer or an apprentice ? Click below
https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattoo-apprentices-toolkit 
Are you a seasoned tattoo vet who is stuck in a rut? click below
https://explore.firesidetattoo.com/tattooers-toolkit 
Support us while buying the stuff you need at the links below!
Get 10% off the Neuma 4 with code "Fireside" at checkout
https://neumatattoo.com 
Get  10 % off all S8 Tattoo products with promo code "Fireside"
https://s8tattoo.com/ 
Get 10% off your order from Raw Pigments with code "fireside"
https://rawpigments.co/ 
Up your Tattoo Business Management skills with TattooNow
Exclusive! Sign up at the link below and get a personalized 1 on 1 business consultation with Gabe Ripley himself. Or Free access to the TattooNOW Business Roundtable if your not ready for a 1 on 1 but want to learn more
https://longevity.tattoonow.com/about-tattoonow-business-software?am_id=jakemeeks9626 
 
Links for this episode:
Keep up with us at:
https://firesidetattoo.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/Firesidetattoo/ 
https://www.instagram.com/firesidetattoo/ 
Jake's Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/pluguglyart/