What to put in it
References, three to five, and say what you liked in each. Bring someone else’s tattoo as a reference and it stays a reference. We will not copy it. What your artist is reading for is the common thread across them, which is frequently not the thing you would have named.
Placement, as specifically as you can manage. “Arm” is four different answers with four different pain levels, scales and ageing profiles. Inner forearm, outer bicep, back of the shoulder.
Size, in inches or against your own hand. Hold your palm over the spot and describe how much of it the piece covers. This is the field people get most wrong, in both directions.
The story, briefly. Not because anybody needs it to be meaningful, but because knowing why you want a heron changes which heron gets drawn.
Any deadline. Now, in the first message. Four to six months is the baseline and there is nothing anybody can do about a wedding you mention in week nine.
Who to send it to
Whoever’s work you like. If you genuinely cannot tell, send it to any of them and say so; redirecting an inquiry to the right person takes one email and happens a couple of times a month without anybody minding.
What will not happen is being moved to a shorter waitlist for convenience. If Auden is right for the piece, the answer is six months.