opinion on this artist?

[spyro]

That tattoo is not very well done, It's kind of splitting hairs to criticize the anatomy of something that doesn't exist, but it's just not right, and the shading in the skull is not very smooth. It's looks like two different designs shoved together instead of a solid cohesive tattoo design.

I would shy away from using other tattoos as refernce to be honest, especially if you don't have a keen eye for detail yet, also most tattoo photos are taken from weird angles and if someone tried to trace it, your tattoo would be out of proportion. Not to mention there are way more bad tattoos than good out there. Find some illustrations of the dragons you want, hit the bookstore and or library, a nice clean illustration will be something your tattooer will appreciate.

the design is nothing like i want. I was just trying to point out the dragon style, and the fact that it wraps around the skull

by no means did i think it was an amazing tattoo.

I'm not sure where to find a magnificent illustration, i'm not much of a graphic art reader, and as we all can tell, i have a terrible eye. no wolf/dragon tattoos exist either, so it's kind of hard to find 2 illustrations that can go together in a single tattoo.

I thought that was what an artist was there for; to draw you your tattoo, so you didn't have to

[David Flores]

the design is nothing like i want. I was just trying to point out the dragon style, and the fact that it wraps around the skull

by no means did i think it was an amazing tattoo.

I'm not sure where to find a magnificent illustration, i'm not much of a graphic art reader, and as we all can tell, i have a terrible eye. no wolf/dragon tattoos exist either, so it's kind of hard to find 2 illustrations that can go together in a single tattoo.

I thought that was what an artist was there for; to draw you your tattoo, so you didn't have to

Yes and No. You don't have to bring in the exact thing that you want, but you should have examples of things that you like, it's your homework for a custom tattoo. The idea is that they draw what you want the first time. If you just went in and said hey i want a medevil dragon and a wolf and I am cool with whatever you want that would be one thing, but clearly you have very specific ideas about what you want and how you want it to look. Just do the best you can, ultimately they are going to draw a tattoo for you, so just give them a starting point.

[Lochlan]

All you have to do is find a good tattooer whose work you like then two separate references; one of a wolf you like and one of a dragon you like......then if you choose a good tattooer they'll work their magic and blammo you'll have a badass tattoo that they've used their skills to morph and create. Remember to take their advice as its their craft not ours and they know the magic.

Side note I used the word "magic" hella hecka times

[spyro]

Yes and No. You don't have to bring in the exact thing that you want, but you should have examples of things that you like, it's your homework for a custom tattoo. The idea is that they draw what you want the first time. If you just went in and said hey i want a medevil dragon and a wolf and I am cool with whatever you want that would be one thing, but clearly you have very specific ideas about what you want and how you want it to look. Just do the best you can, ultimately they are going to draw a tattoo for you, so just give them a starting point.

what do you think of that design for someone for a small arm? the problem with discussing that with an artist is that you will never hear "nah that'll suck" - they want to make money.

actually, i think I have my arm online..

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

there it is.

Yeah, might be slightly bigger now, but not by much

[David Flores]

what do you think of that design for someone for a small arm? the problem with discussing that with an artist is that you will never hear "nah that'll suck" - they want to make money.

actually, i think I have my arm online..

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

there it is.

Yeah, might be slightly bigger now, but not by much

Plenty of room trust me. You have to remember your arm curves around so essentially you have the distance equal to the circumference of you arm as tattoable space and obviously however long your arm is. So even if your pythons aren't the size of Hulk Hogan's you should still be able to get a nice sized tattoo about the size of a sheet of copy paper on your upper arm.

You might not hear that the idea sucks because they want to make your idea into a good tattoo. The guys at Pearl Harbor won't bull shit you, I am sure they would rather turn you away than put a bad tattoo on you. But they can turn a questionable design into a kick ass tattoo if you give them the leeway to do so

[spyro]

Plenty of room trust me. You have to remember your arm curves around so essentially you have the distance equal to the circumference of you arm as tattoable space and obviously however long your arm is. So even if your pythons aren't the size of Hulk Hogan's you should still be able to get a nice sized tattoo about the size of a sheet of copy paper on your upper arm.

Well, thank you very much for all your help. Guess I have a few good shops in mind now, and I'll need to figure out which one will be best for me.

i think pearl harbor Pearl Harbor Gift Shop | Artists is good, but they definitely look like thet specialize in japanese style tattoos.

I think Home | Imperial Tattoo or rice eyes look like they do more traditional and realistic pieces, but I do not trust my judgement AT ALL.

i'm in the process of reading blogs/and the threads on here about what a good tattoo is

Oh, and about your comment about lee-way, I don't want you to think that I'm set in my design. I'm not an artist; if an artist has ideas to better my ideas of my designs, i'm completely open to it. My only attachment is to the big picture of the wolf and dragon, to symbolize strength and wisdom

[David Flores]

I think you are on the right track, I saw one guy at Imperial that does realistic style but mostly saw japanese and American Traditional. I would say for the most part all these shops are professionals and aren't going to take on a tattoo they aren't comfortable doing and would refer you to someone who could.

[spyro]

Would you recommend pearl harbor for this kind of ink? And would you recommend Tim?

Tim or India look like my best bet if i choose to go there

[CultExciter]

My friend, just go talk to them. That's your best bet. Go look at portfolios, converse with the artist, tell them your idea. You'll know what to do next.

[spyro]

Thank everyone for the help and i know what i need to do now.. just one final thought..

do you think tim or india would do better with my tattoo at pearl harbor? (I'm not trying to trash anyone, just that even 2 amazing artists are better at different things)

[Johannes]

go there and ask them, let them know your idea and i'm pretty sure one/or more of them over there can help you out in one way or another!

[Dumpleton]

The end.

[Lochlan]

Almost the end....we need photo proof a good tattoo was had

[spyro]

Almost the end....we need photo proof a good tattoo was had

I shall post it when I got it. I booked a consult in about a month with Tim Pausinger, as per recommendations. Although I wanted india, but from the avoidance of the person I'm emailing, I'm assuming that she's booked or something for a long time.

I'll also check out some other shops and try to educate myself.

Oh, and i found the type of dragon I want.. http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/272/3/3/medieval_dragon_by_victoraa95-d2zqew3.jpg

[Erica]

If I was your friend, I would not recommend that guy :|

[spyro]

i found tim on facebook, and some of his work doesn't look THAT amazing. I am going to go check him out, because you can't judge everything based on year old facebook pictures, but I remain skeptical.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=215465485172647&set=a.103051969747333.1220.100001275911562&type=3&theater

for example

[David Flores]

i found tim on facebook, and some of his work doesn't look THAT amazing. I am going to go check him out, because you can't judge everything based on year old facebook pictures, but I remain skeptical.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=215465485172647&set=a.103051969747333.1220.100001275911562&type=3&theater

for example

The customer probably picked that piece of flash off the wall, but subject matter aside the line work is clean, and the shading is smooth, the tattoos he draws are constructed well. This guy knows how to put on a tattoo pretty well. I have never booked had to book a consult one month out, so other people must think he is pretty good as well.

[spyro]

one last question david.. about aftercare;

I only have one arm.. Well, I have 2, but my left arm is like this: http://cerebralpalsyparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/098.jpg

tattoo being on right upper arm, this makes lubing it up kind of.. yeah.. Could I put the lube on my door and brush my arm on the door? lol. this would probably be incredibly wasteful, but, better than a screwed up tattoo.

I live in an university dorm, so maybe i could find help, but i mean, "hey baby wanna lube me up every few hours?".. I can't see that working lol. Perhaps I could find several people to rotate, but again, kind of hard to set up, and yeah..

Would the door thing work?

[David Flores]

You don't really want to "lube up" a tattoo. Any ointment you put on should be very minimal, gooping it up could screw up your tattoo worse, plus the door jam is probably not the cleanest of surfaces, you wouldnt want what was hanging out there to get rubbed into your healing tattoo. I am sure you can find someone help you out, otherwise I would say keeping a tattoo clean has way more to do with how a tattoo heals than what or if you put ointment on it.

But ultimately listen to what you tattooer tells you to do, it's their work and they are the one who end up having to deal with it if it doesn't heal right.

[spyro]

well i'd clean and dry the door before doing it.

I could put ointment on my left hand and rub up and down on my left arm unprecisely, but the problem is my nails on my hand will scratch my arm, and I'm assuming that could be detrimental.

but I could tape up my fingers i guess. hahaha

i'll just try to find people to do it for me i suppose lol

[else]

@spyro - I'll ask my OT friends if they have any suggestions.

[spyro]

thanks else.

Maybe i could put some ointment on my thigh and rub my arm on my thigh?

[else]

what about Tegaderm? I know I've read about it being used for tattoos... but not a whole lot. That could totally solve spyro's "lubing" issue...

Anyone have any experience with it?

[David Flores]

I wouldn't worry about it. I would shy away from using any sort of bandage or tegaderm after you use the initial bandage. You have plenty of time to worry about stuff like this, I am sure your tattooer will can help you out with aftercare in the sense that he or she could modify your aftercare instructions to better suit your situation and still take care of your tattoo properly, after all they deal with this stuff everyday.

[Kurse]

well i'd clean and dry the door before doing it.

I could put ointment on my left hand and rub up and down on my left arm unprecisely, but the problem is my nails on my hand will scratch my arm, and I'm assuming that could be detrimental.

but I could tape up my fingers i guess. hahaha

i'll just try to find people to do it for me i suppose lol

Can you ask a close friend to help you? I can't imagine anyone would find it strange or would say no.