Meet Sunny Bhanushali

A Tattoo Artist Who Changed The Industry

Indian Tattoo artist Sunny Bhanushali is globally best known for his outstanding work on conceptual and hyper-realism tattoos. Sunny Bhanushali has pioneered photo-realistic tattoos in India. The renowned tattoo artist has advanced from simple sketching to skilled charcoal painting to mastering digital art. He is famed for his photo-realistic tattoos.

It’s the quality of art and service, the custom designing, and realistic tattoos that makes him outstanding. Sunny Bhanushali and his team have lived up to their promises of jaw-dropping tattoos & designs and have provided an immersive tattoo experience to clients across the globe.

He mastered the art of custom designs which has garnered a lot of attention from people. In 2011, he founded Aliens Tattoo and introduced India to the concept of custom realism & portrait tattoos. He has won numerous awards at national & international tattoo conventions.

As the demand for tattoos was increasing & he realized the industry lacked a proper structure, he came up with the idea of Aliens Tattoo School in 2018. This completely revolutionized the tattoo industry in India. The school’s inception paved the way for many aspiring artists who wanted to enter the tattoo industry. They have successfully trained 550+ artists to date. Aliens Tattoo School has been built with a vision to create the most trusted tattoo education platform for all the art enthusiasts who wish to make a career in tattoo art.

Students from marginalized backgrounds are supported to become a part of ATS by providing scholarships to them. ATS has empowered students who had zero background in art and have transformed them into pro tattoo artists. Sunny Bhanushali is also the founder of LILA – Learn It Like Aliens, an online tattoo learning platform.

A Sneak Peak Into The Journey Of The Master

Sunny’s family had big financial constraints. So much that his family could not support his college education. At a young age, Sunny was compelled to bear the responsibility of his house. He took the job of a sweeper at a cyber cafe. But he carved out time out of his tedious routine to learn computer and technology. Eventually, he learned the work at cyber cafe while working as a sweeper. Hence, he got promoted in that cyber cafe as a Store Executive. Alongside, he did HSC and BCA from distance learning and supported his education himself. Later, he got a job in a BPO and progressed further.

One fine day, Sunny went to a tattoo studio with his friend to get him tattooed. The process of tattooing seemed fascinating to him and so he himself entered into this field. Sunny started all by himself as an independent artist in 2009 because he loved art and wanted to pursue art as a career. Soon he bought tattooing equipment out of his hard-earned saved money and made his first tattoo on his own leg. He got a hang of it after tattooing his friends. His first tattoo was bought by his mother. This was a source of immense motivation. It triggered a sense of achievement.

He quit his BPO job as soon as he started making some money out of his profession. He started tattooing full time from his home itself. Until 2011, he struggled to make his presence as a tattoo artist in the market. He learned tattoo art by watching videos on the internet, as the industry wasn’t very welcoming to new artists. He spent years learning advanced tattoo techniques. Due to his flair in drawing, he used to custom design his tattoos to stand out from the crowd. Gradually, he started using social media platforms for his business promotion. After overcoming numerous obstacles, he finally opened his own professional studio in 2015. From that point on, he just kept going and never turned around.

Gradually his creative brilliance spread across and art enthusiasts came to him to learn tattoo art. Sunny later started teaching in his own studio. He made sure to pass on his expertise to his students so that they could perform well when they graduated from his studio. Over the years he started tattooing people who came from across the country just to get inked from him. He started getting celebrity clients too. Eventually, he expanded his studio, next his company, and later the Tattoo Art School.

Sunny shares that when he started in 2009,, the tattoo industry was quite a closed community and senior & experienced artists were insecure about their competitors, hence, didn’t share any knowledge with new artists or aspiring artists. He asserts that because he is self-taught and struggled to find the correct mentors, he never wants another aspirant to the arts to experience the same difficulties.

“I wanted to share all the knowledge that I had and open the doors into this industry for budding talent. I knew I could revolutionize this and that became my vision & mission. I wanted to elevate lives through art and creativity. I wanted to bring a change in human life through my art. I did so when I tattooed my clients, they actually thought it was a life-changing experience for them to get inked.”

Today, Sunny Bhanushali has a school that’s one of its kind. It’s a 6000 sq ft. state-of-the-art facility that accommodates around 120-140 students in a batch. Sunny shares that the Indian market has so many people who show interest in getting inked, however, to fulfill this demand, there are hardly any good tattoo artists in the country. He believes that there is tremendous scope for tattoo artists to grow in this industry in India.

Here’s an anecdotal evidence to what he claims. Sunny Bhanushali has 15 studios across the country, all of them in major cities in India and he will soon be opening his studios in the U.K. Aliens Tattoo Studio is now a team of 150 people including some world-class artists and professionals, all of them working towards the same goal, to elevate lives through art and creativity! This is the fortune that any aspiring tattoo artist can build

The Inside Story with Mr. Sunny Bhanushali – CEO/Founder of Aliens Tattoo

The culture of getting one’s own body modified with tattoos is increasingly being used as a way to express oneself artistically and has long existed in India. The team of Business Connect got in touch with Sunny Bhanushali, founder of Aliens Tattoo. Speaking about how his team earned the trust and the goodwill of millions across the globe he shares that they make sure the design is unique & is in accordance with the client’s idea.

He adds that every tattoo has a unique narrative to tell that is incredibly personal to the individual who has it. After a pause and a deep thought he stresses that “a tattoo isn’t just something that is inked to your body. It is an idea that was born inside your head. And to get that idea inked onto your body permanently, you must be satisfied with the outcome.” and that’s what is the secret to the underlying success.

“We encourage our clients to share their stories with us and we try to portray those emotions in the design we create for them, that’s how we maintain a quality benchmark by creating something unique every time. It is upheld even when the clients request us to do the exact same thing as someone else, even then, we request them & encourage them to let us customize it just for them. We ask our clients about their passion, profession, their beliefs, their life story, their milestones, memories and try to connect their design to these things.”

Further elucidating the challenges that are faced in this industry Sunny states that there is a lack of awareness and preconceived notion about tattooing. He further states that the tattooing industry has a huge scope but people are not clear about the immense opportunity and success this can bring to an aspirant.

“ As an industry, the challenge we face is the lack of awareness, the stereotypical perception that people have about the industry and tattoo art, the fear that people have about tattoos and this industry. In the case of people who are looking to get inked, they lack the knowledge of what’s good & bad, they might end up getting bad quality tattoos.

In the case of people interested in learning tattoo art, not many realize the scope in career as a tattoo artist in India nor do they know how important it is to learn from the right place.” Sharing the insights on the Aliens Tattoos school he adds, that the school has a pool of best talents, and most students graduating from the school are hired as professionals at Aliens Tattoo.

“We have some of the best talents from India, at our studio. And most of the artists working at Aliens Tattoo are hired from our school after the completion of their course. So for most of them, Aliens is a part of their journey from the very beginning. And the learning doesn’t stop there. We conduct various workshops for our artists to help them learn new styles & skills, polish the skills they have, and expand their expertise in more than just tattoo art.

He proudly shares the name of two of his students who are very popular across India among celebrities as well.“ Take Allan & Deva, for example, both of them were students at Aliens Tattoo School and today, they are award-winning artists who are very well-known in India for their work and are celebrity favorites. The vibe & atmosphere at Aliens is very inspiring & it is a place where artists’ creativity flourishes.”

When asked about the outbreak of pandemic and how it affected Alien Tattoo he shares that pandemic was a challenging time and it affected everyone, even the well-established ones but the determination to bounce back always stayed. He believes that this determination and resilience made them stronger.

“ Covid-19 pandemic surely affected all the tattoo artists, even the most established ones. A lot of tattoo artists shut their studios or moved to economical spaces. We also took the hit, we surely survived and rose out of it because of our determination and commitment. Our audience sees us as a brand that they can trust and that’s what has helped us stay afloat.”

We asked the founder how he would define his milestones, to which he shared that his biggest milestones are when his students win awards for being the best tattoo artists. Answering about his achievements, Sunny claims that organizing a convention for tattoo artists and receiving recognition for it are both major accomplishments for him.

He eventually received invitations to serve on contest judging panels, which is a success for him as he previously accepted awards before beginning to present them. Numerous tattoo equipment businesses have backed him in various ways as a result of his growth, which is yet another accomplishment for him. In terms of his own life, he says that getting to this position after coming from a low-income family is a major accomplishment for him.

In his spare time, Sunny enjoys reading, planning, and strategizing his business meetings. Also, he likes to work out every day. Sunny advises the aspiring artists that the tattooing industry has enormous potential and is very lucrative. In addition, tattooing clients and putting a smile on their face is a life-changing experience, which is a terrific feeling in this line of work. His big advice is that if you are interested in tattooing, you can learn it quickly, hone your talents, and make good money doing it.

Tattoos are not only a form of expression, but also a representation of the liberty and freedom that people feel in their lives. This article is a tale of a man with an incredible mental focus, who devoted himself wholeheartedly to his craft. If you were to take his advice, he states that starting a career as a tattoo artist can be rewarding if you have an eye for intricate patterns and an unwavering passion for the arts.

Whether you are thinking about having a tattoo for the first time or considering getting another, we are convinced that you will have the best experiences and opportunities ever. We also know that you will rapidly find a family in the tattoo industry that you will wish you had known earlier.

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Meet Sunny Bhanushali