To be a true Tattoo Artist an individual must really love art in general. As for myself I enjoy landscape painting, classical music, and clay. Other artist might be into working with metals to form a shape or image while others like drawing and collecting. The point being is yes we are really the only profession were we get paid good money to do the stuff we love. We get to come to work everyday and create a piece of art that is going to be with someone the rest of their life.
A question I have for most artist and things I really don't see is "Why don't you make money with your drawings? Why don't you make money with your sculpture?" I grew up with an artist who now practices in Texas. Not only is he a fantastic tattoo artist- he's a real good painter and loves to draw. In marketing he not only promotes his tattoos, he also sells his drawings and paintings online through his personal website.
To be a truly great tattoo artist an individual must really love art and creating it. It isn't real hard to copy something off a wall and tattoo someone. It is dedication on the part of the artist to dive into custom work for his/her clients. Draw something using your imagination and then put it on flesh and sell your original along with the tattoo. By doing that the client truly has an original piece. If an artist has a whole drawing pad full of art they can sell those as flash sheets to all the shops or through distributors. I've seen it over my whole career where the artist just gets in the routine of just tattooing and not exploring multiple avenues of the industry. When an individual does this they lose the edge. They accept life as a one path to the end kind of mentality. By accepting this path the individuals art starts to suffer and so do the clients.
If an individual just getting started in the business I suggest real strongly that they dive deep into the profession and explore what is right for them. Don't be just another tattoo artist that accepts his/her current situation and performs at sub par levels. Go out to the woods and sit and enjoy the scenery, draw what you feel at that moment. Go out and dive into photography and capture the images that can be put to use in ideas for tattoos. Let yourself experience emotions which can add a new dimension to your art. To be a true artist an individual must go with the flow, they don't have to be the best in the world at painting or tattooing. The individual just has to let their creative side come out and stop being hidden on the surface. Most of us are taught at an early age that being creative will not do us any good in life. I beg to differ on that point because it's that creativity that lets us enjoy life more fully.