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159 North 72nd Street, Omaha, NE, 68114·Mon 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Jesse Neese — photo from their Google Business Profile

Tattoo Artist - Omaha, NE

Nuclear Ink Custom Tattoo

Nuclear Ink Custom Tattoo — Omaha · NE Tattoo Studio

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Nuclear Ink Custom Tattoo portrait
Nuclear Ink Custom Tattoo
Since 1999

Tattooing since 1999, Jesse specializes in Cover-ups and multiple-session elaborate projects, often complex and covering large areas of the body. He has mastered both Color and Black and Grey, in a full range of styles from portraiture and realism to illustration, abstraction, surrealism and graffiti. He often emphasizes Faux textures, stone, metal, embroidery, three-dimensional illusion, realistic shadowing and dramatic lighting effects. Historical art styles like woodcuts and etchings as well as comic books, graffiti, and fantasy art are his inspiration. His tattoo work and artwork have been featured in several international publications, and regularly win awards. Jesse makes sure to give every client the best tattoo possible. He cares about their tattoo, and that it is done with the best possible equipment, pigments, and in the cleanest environment.

He does not charge extra to draw custom pieces, and often spends significant amounts of time researching, finding references, and drawing preliminary sketches to create unique all-custom tattoos for each client. Jesse gives the same attention to small tattoos as it’s just as important that folks have them done safely and excellently. From 1992 until 2000, Jesse studied all aspects of visual art, art history, theatrical design and faux painting at the University of Nebraska’s Omaha campus eventually graduating with degrees in both Studio Art and Dramatic Arts. He is a member of the Alliance of Professional Tattooists (APT), and strongly promotes their ethics of safe and responsible tattooing. Since 2010, he has been an instructor for the APT’s Preventing Disease Transmission in Tattooing seminar, and served on their BoD for 15 years. He now serves as an advisor to the BoD and is currently on the Body Art Committee for the National Environmental Health Association.

“I really enjoy working with each client to design the right tattoo, and am honored that people want my art on their skin. I truly love being part of such an amazing profession.” -Jesse Neese
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Tattoo Services

Walk In Tattoos

Walk In Tattoos are always welcome if we have time available, walk right in!

Appointment Tattoos

Many of our tattoos are done by appointment to allow time for the artist to draw the custom design. Appointments allow you to schedule a time that works best for you.

Scar Coverup Tattoos

We truly enjoy transforming unwanted scars into amazing works of art.

I was honored to be commissioned to do a painting to…
BEYOND THE TATTOO MACHINE.

Original Art Jesse Neese

Original paintings, prints, and flash sheets from the studio. New pieces drop regularly.

See the art

Pricing

Flat Rate Tattoos

From $100

If a tattoo is less than 4 hours, a flat rate may be set before the tattoo starts.

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Hourly

150 an hour.

Most tattoos are charged by the hour. $150 per hour and an estimate is always agreed upon before the tattoo.

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As Featured In

What our clients say

★★★★★
I've been a client of Jesse's for almost 20 years. As a medical professional, I appreciate his attention and performance of the "clean technique". My children have also been tattooed by him as a result. His work speaks for itself, he is an amazing artist.
Sidney Genowaysvia Google
★★★★★
Have been working on two different tattoos with Jesse. Both are absolutely gorgeous and are not even finished yet. Jesse is very knowledgeable about what works and doesn't work. Very focused on infection prevention, which as a nurse I highly appreciate. I am very prone to getting keloids and I was worried about getting tattooed. My tattoos have been healing beautifully with no sign of scar tissue. Jesse is the only one I would ever trust to tattoo me.
Alesha Underwoodvia Google
★★★★★
I have over 100 hours of tattoos from Jesse and I don’t even live in Nebraska. I come here for Nuclear Ink. Jesse is professional, masterful, and runs the cleanest shop I’ve ever seen, both in and out of Nebraska. He only posts healed photos of his work which I think is a step above the rest. He is a highly skilled artist outside of tattooing as well. Any tattoo I’ve gotten from a different artist, I’ve regretted not going to Jesse. He has fixed one of my tattoos from another artist and I plan to have him fix others. Bottom line, if you want a sick custom tattoo that’s done right the first time and will heal looking amazing, go here!
Cat Tvia Google
★★★★★
I got a tattoo here and it was an excellent experience. The shop is clean and professional, Jesse is a skilled, professional, and personable artist. This shop only does custom pieces so you cannot just walk in an get something done most days, but that also means that the tattoo you get is custom and perfect for you. My tattoo was beautiful the day I got it and has held up perfectly in the years since then. I travelled 6 hours one way to get a tattoo here and I hope to return for another tattoo soon.
Charles Aultvia Google
★★★★★
Jesse is the best, most artistic, most professional artist I know. He prides himself on keeping his entire shop clean and sanitary. He has a degree in fine arts, and his ink work shows it. He also does print work (he has a comic book on Amazon) and other art - he can make a 2D design look 3D even when you are standing next to it! His talent is amazing. The entire shop staff is always great to work with. The whole place is relaxed and hip. Jesse will take your own art or sketches and work with them, or use his own unique style to create a masterpiece. I drive from Kansas City to get his work, because there is no one else I trust with my body. In addition, Jesse is involved with his professional organizations to combat Human Trafficking and to enforce professional standards, licensing and sanitary standards in the tattoo industry. He has been at the forefront of the issues for years, as well as spearheading the state's efforts to safely reopen tattoo shops during the COVID era. He takes client health and safety very seriously, as well as the safety of his industry. Talk about integrity. Jesse Neese and Nuclear Ink bring it all together in one place. This is the ONLY tattoo place to patronize in the REGION, not just the state. +
Holly Cochranvia Google

Why people choose us

·4.5 / 5·88 reviews·via Google
Common questions

Before you reach out.

Will you tattoo a minor?

You need to be 18 in Nebraska unless a parent or guardian gives consent and is present with you during the tattoo. We will tattoo a 16 or 17 year old with parental consent, but not above the neckline of a shirt or on the hand. You will need a parent with you, and you both need a state issued photo ID, and a birth certificate. 


Do you tattoo groups?

We love to do tattoos for groups of family or friends, and have a lot of fun meeting our clients’ relatives and besties. We can design something that everyone gets the same, or different tattoos that fit together.


I’ve only had a tattoo in a single session, what do you mean by multiple sessions?

Many of the tattoos we do are too large or elaborate to do in a single session. Even smaller tattoos are often better done in more than one session. Giving the linework a chance to heal before shading or color gives the artist more options on how to color it and reduces the chances of scarring that can happen when an artist does too much all at once. Often, we’ll tattoo in multiple sessions, with at least 3 weeks between each one. 

What’s your consultation process?

We’d be glad to plan something out with you. 

Everything we do is custom, so once we have a plan, we can figure out the time needed and estimate a cost for the tattoo. Our current hourly rate is $150/hr.

We generally start by getting an idea of what you’re looking to have tattooed, then we can schedule a consultation to meet in person, measure the area it will be applied, discuss options, sketch out a rough draft and figure out the details.

For out-of-state clients, it is possible to do much of the planning through e-mail or online consultation.  


Do you do small tattoos?

Though we often do larger tattoos, we don’t mind doing smaller tattoos as long as they fit the body appropriately.  We love doing someone’s first tattoo and have patience with those who aren’t used to the process yet. 

What styles do your artists specialize in?

Jesse does both Color and Black and Grey, in a full range of styles from portraiture & realism to illustration, abstraction, surrealism and graffiti. He uses faux textures, stone, metal, embroidery, three-dimensional illusion, realistic shadowing and dramatic lighting effects.  He specializes in coverups including scars. Historical woodcuts and etchings as well as comic books, graffiti, and fantasy art are his inspiration.

Aoibhe is still in her apprenticeship and exploring many different styles and techniques, her flash art is cute and weird.

We make sure to give every client the best and safest tattoo possible.

Do you do cover-ups or finish another artist’s work?

Coverups are one of the main things Jesse specializes in. 

   We’d never want to finish someone else’s work if it’s of good quality and there’s any chance that the original artist would be able to work on it again. We’ll also turn it down if the client is just looking for a cheaper price or trying to cut corners from the original artist’s concept.

   We do not have any issue finishing another artist’s work if there isn’t a chance that the client can/would be tattooed by them again. Unfortunately, we’ve had to finish tattoos for clients that felt unsafe with the previous artist, because the work was poor quality, an artist had passed away, and various other reasons. 


Do you take walk-ins?

Generally we work off of appointment, but will always fit in a walk-in if it is possible.  Depending on your design idea, and our schedules, there is sometimes a chance to get you in that day. This depends on what you are looking to get done, and whether we have enough time available. Come in with your idea, talk to us about what you want, and from there we can figure out a plan. If we can’t fit you in when you stop in, we can definitely get you on the schedule.


Do you offer discounted tap-out sessions?

Unfortunately tap-out sessions are usually a bit of a scam. If an artist would usually tattoo 4 hours for $600, but charges $600 for a session that lasts until you want to quit, the client hopes for more than 4 hours of work to get a deal. The artist generally hopes to stop short of 4 hours and then they make more than usual and “win” if they are competitively minded.  

The problem is that the artist can easily make the tattoo work extremely uncomfortable by working back near previously worked areas, sensitive spots, or tattooing too hard or too deep.

  There have been a few artists in our area over the years that have offered tap-out sessions and I’ve had to do coverups on several people that sat through them. One sat longer than the artist obviously planned for and got a bunch of garbage tattooed on 1/3 of his sleeve that didn’t relate to the rest of the design.


Do you offer any discounts or special deals?

We don’t discount our tattoo work as we want to be able to give everyone our best. Gimmicky specials mean that a tattoo artist needs to cut corners on supplies, rush to fit in more clients, or has a bad attitude since the price is discounted, not usually the deal it seems. We regularly coverup and fix tattoos done by artists giving out special deals. 


Do you use numbing cream?

We have used some of the varieties of numbing cream, but generally prefer not to use any. Jesse has a very light hand and makes the tattoo process as easy as possible with multiple sessions instead of forcing too much ink into the skin in a single session.

   In addition to the possibilities of common adverse reactions to it, it makes the skin texture more difficult to tattoo and causes it to take longer to color areas or can even make the color heal less intense. The numbing agents often include vasoconstrictors which reduce blood flow. That reduced blood flow can affect healing since there are less white blood cells available.

   It generally won’t stay numb throughout the tattoo since wiping with soap and water neutralizes its effectiveness and artists have to keep adding additional products made to be used on already broken skin.

   Recently, most of the numbing agents have been recalled for violating the legal amounts of Lidocaine. Overuse of Lidocaine can be deadly. The products that previously could be purchased from safe reliable retailers aren’t available. Unfortunately, tattoo artists are instead buying sketchy products from disreputable businesses that fly under the radar or from overseas sources with no manufacturing oversight. 

  We don’t like it when a client comes in with a numbing product applied that they purchased themselves due to the number of unsafe knockoffs and bad profiteers selling expired or mislabeled products. 


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Studio amenities

  • Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking
  • Credit Card
  • Debit Card
  • Contactless