We all know Rihanna like her tattoos.

But when we caught up with her in NYC yesterday, she wasn't getting her body inked, but she was getting some tips on how to create the perfect tattoo.

She called in at a Lower East Side tattoo parlor and and got some advice on what it takes to make it in the trade...just in case she ever decides to ditch her lucrative music career.

See more pictures of Rihanna in the gallery below...