TomTom
Expert Japanese Tattoo & Irezumi Artist in Auckland
With well over 20 years of experience working in respected tattoo studios around the world and throughout New Zealand, Tom McMillan, also known as TomTom, is a specialist Japanese tattoo and Irezumi artist based in Auckland. His style is the result of years of study and dedication to Japanese tattooing, with clients travelling from around New Zealand to Sunset Tattoo for his work. Tom is the founder and owner of Sunset Tattoo, established in 2014 and now recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading Japanese tattoo studios. He oversees the studio’s team of artists while focusing his own work on large-scale custom irezumi, and travels regularly to Japan to study the art form directly. He finds that the timelessness and dark beauty of the Japanese traditional approach to tattooing means he can ensure that his clients will have a truly elegant and strong tattoo that will hold up technically and stylistically for life. He loves doing both large scale work and smaller “one shot” pieces.
View TomTom's Japanese Tattoo Portfolio
An interview with Tom:
How did you get your start or become interested in tattooing and what drew you to the style that you specialise in?
When I was first asked by my teacher to do my tattoo apprenticeship back in 2004, I didn’t know a whole lot about tattoo art. There wasn’t much access to high-end tattooing in New Zealand at the time, and I honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to learn to tattoo. My teacher showed me a lot of old Japanese tattoo books, and I was instantly hooked. The way these dark worlds were created in the skin, in such a unique way, was so far ahead of anything else I could find in tattooing, the mystery and sophistication of it convinced me to start tattooing, because I could now see how good it could be. Throughout my early years I worked in street shops and would tattoo just about anything. Later I spent a lot of time concentrating on Western traditional tattooing, but my love for irezumi never went away. Eventually, when I was lucky enough to work with friends from Japan; both the guys at Sunset Tattoo, and while travelling around the world , I learned enough from them that I felt I could specialise in this style.
What's on your "one day I'll tattoo this" wish list?
For me, it’s just about completing bodysuits. My “one day” is having clients who trust me; and love tattoos, enough to start from the back piece and create full horimono bodysuits from scratch.
Do you have a favourite subject matter to tattoo?
I don’t have a favourite subject matter, I love hearing new ideas and working with people to create something we’re both excited about. I love large-scale work with consistent, well-thought-out themes, and I really love when clients have taken the time to research imagery and myths and bring something new to the table. But sometimes the simplest ideas are the most enjoyable, and it’s more about getting the flow and technical execution right.
What do you get up to when you're not tattooing?
When I’m not tattooing, I’m probably drawing tattoos or working on the studio. I love to travel, I’m currently learning Japanese, and I spend any other spare time with my young family.
