Jojo Ackermann: Fear of a Flash Planet- "Advice on my first tattoo" READ THIS

[Graeme]

@Guen Douglas has a blog on the TAM blog that covers a lot of this as well and it's well worth reading:

Guen Douglas: Flash or Not to Flash? « TAM Blog

What I found especially interesting is this bit:

"What both Angelique and I were shocked to see is that a great number of tattooers thought it bad practice to copy flash as is! Another tattooer wrote to me to tell of an experience seeing an older tattooer tattoo a piece of flash as is, that left them with less respect for this tattooer. I wonder whether the rise of the custom shop, the idea of unique tattoos for all, and that many new tattooers are being taught in custom shops has warped the idea of flash?"

I've mentioned this on the board before but one of the things that drives me nuts is seeing badly-drawn traditional. My pet peeve is ships without masts because that shit makes no sense because sails do not hang in the air as if by magic and it makes me mad because there is no reason why a tattooer has to draw a half-assed couldn't-exist-in-the-real-world ship when guys like Sailor Jerry already did perfect ships. I think the point there that some of these young bucks think it's bad practice to copy flash as is goes a long way in explaining why we're seeing some really weak drawings and tattoos.

I think the customers bear some responsibility here too because I've seen a lot of shit on the internet about how you should never get flash because you're a unique special snowflake and you don't want a design that somebody else has blah blah blah and I hope this helps educate people about how flash is not bad.

[Hogrider]

[MENTION=4696]

I think the customers bear some responsibility here too because I've seen a lot of shit on the internet about how you should never get flash because you're a unique special snowflake and you don't want a design that somebody else has blah blah blah and I hope this helps educate people about how flash is not bad.

We're all special and we should all get trophies just for showing up!

[hogg]

I can't find it now, but someone recently posted the Willy Wonka meme that said something to the effect of, "Oh, you want to get something you googled as a tattoo? Tell me more about how getting flash is unoriginal."

Edited January 30, 2013 by hogg
triple post

[Colored Guy]

Flash always takes me back to my 1st tattoo experience. Every shop had those token shitty-artwork traditonal panels on the wall along with way better stuff.

I'm seeing it make some sort of a comeback now in shops and the artwork is much better. They just don't call it FLASH. Some shops have it arranged in wall-mounted flip books. I think it helps people make a choice.. give me something like this one except with... and it winds up being an original after all.

Rob

[Dan S]

Flash always takes me back to my 1st tattoo experience. Every shop had those token shitty-artwork traditonal panels on the wall along with way better stuff.

I'm seeing it make some sort of a comeback now in shops and the artwork is much better. They just don't call it FLASH. Some shops have it arranged in wall-mounted flip books. I think it helps people make a choice.. give me something like this one except with... and it winds up being an original after all.

Rob

I've got a large cover-up on my upper-arm that was put together using pieces of three different flash pieces. Worked out well. CTC has always had a huge amount of flash, first on the wall, then on flip-panels, and it ranges from old, old familiar pieces, through the decades. You can really trace the history of tattoing, say from the forties through today. There is old traditional designs gotten from tattooers long ago and far away, to iconic sixties and seventies flash, to modern stuff. If you are in a decent shop, you should be able to find something, or pieces of something, that can be made into whatever it is you are looking for.

[Colored Guy]

I've got a large cover-up on my upper-arm that was put together using pieces of three different flash pieces. Worked out well. CTC has always had a huge amount of flash, first on the wall, then on flip-panels, and it ranges from old, old familiar pieces, through the decades. You can really trace the history of tattoing, say from the forties through today. There is old traditional designs gotten from tattooers long ago and far away, to iconic sixties and seventies flash, to modern stuff. If you are in a decent shop, you should be able to find something, or pieces of something, that can be made into whatever it is you are looking for.

One shop I was going to from 1977 to 1980 had the greatest flash on the walls. I still have 2 pieces on me but freshened up. My buddy got this christ head, reaper and a griffin. I never saw better pieces of each since.

My artist has things in files, categorized somewhat and we pick through it when we want to add something to something I'm having done, to fluff it out. I should volunteer to go sort it out and catalog it for her.

Rob