Decision Process

[Hogrider]

Just curious how other people decide what to get and where to get it. I finally finished my sleeve and chest panel. This was easy; I just told my artist I wanted Japanese and let him do whatever he wanted. I've been going round and round about what to do next. We had mapped out a second sleeve (verbally) then I thought about a Koi from about 1/4 of my back around to the ribs, which turned into a Tibetan skull, which turned into a Tibetan skull back piece, which turned into a Tibetan skull and Koi back piece. I was kind of on the fence about all of these ideas and it finally clicked into place; a full back piece Tibetan skull with Koi on my ribs. I know many consider the Koi really overdone, but I like them.

I was just interested in hearing how other people decide what and where.

[slayer9019]

Just curious how other people decide what to get and where to get it. I finally finished my sleeve and chest panel. This was easy; I just told my artist I wanted Japanese and let him do whatever he wanted. I've been going round and round about what to do next. We had mapped out a second sleeve (verbally) then I thought about a Koi from about 1/4 of my back around to the ribs, which turned into a Tibetan skull, which turned into a Tibetan skull back piece, which turned into a Tibetan skull and Koi back piece. I was kind of on the fence about all of these ideas and it finally clicked into place; a full back piece Tibetan skull with Koi on my ribs. I know many consider the Koi really overdone, but I like them.

I was just interested in hearing how other people decide what and where.

I've had most of my ideas planned out for some time now. I usually start the the area, then figure out which idea could fit there.

[Shaun1105]

I carry a little notebook around with me to help me remember things I think of. A couple pages are dedicated to tattoos I want and where. I just was looking back through it for the first time in a few months and I realized that I've changed my mind about almost every single one of the prospective tattoos. I blame LST for this.

[CaptCanada]

I pretty much have my body planned except for my arms and chest..... those spots are going to be the last that I get tattooed, and once I get there I'm just going to tell my tattoo to do what ever he wants.... most likely it will be 3 more years in the future when I get there so he will know me and have a very good idea what will fit.... plus my arms will be what most people see so I figure giving him freedom to tattoo what he wants will get some pretty interesting results.

[Lance]

Half my tattoos were my idea, the rest were suggestions by my artist of what pairs well with them. For instance I have a Phoenix on my left arm. When asking for suggestions of what paired off well with it, my artist suggested a dragon. Made sense as the 2 are often paired together in imagery, so I had that done. Same with my backpiece. I selected the subject but wanted no background. When I decided to add background I looked to my artist again and namakubi worked well so with that suggestion, I rolled with it and it's coming together quite nicely. I have a koi and peonies on one leg. It'll be interesting to see what I pair off with it on my other. Probably koi swimming in the opposite direction, but we'll see if there's another suggestion.

[writerAZ]

I don't have the process figured out, either. I completely changed my back piece concept six weeks before my first session. This, after Jay Cavna and I had planned on something else for over a year. After Jay finished my back, I asked him if he was happy with the change. Turns out we both were.

[else]

So far, all of mine have been sort of a surprise until I show up to get it done.

I like it like that.

[bongsau]

i take psychedelic drugs which tend to influence my upcoming tattoo designs

[oldfartart]

I've only got the one tattoo so far, but I must have changed my mind 300 times. I was looking at a ton of pics and artwork for inspiration and every time I'd decide on something, I'd see something else I like better. Also, because I was new, for a while I fell into the trap of coming up with something that has real meaning. After reading the boards here more I realized that it's more important to get something that you really want and would like instead of needing a deep seeded meaning. For the next tattoo though, I'm already looking at Kuniyoshi for inspiration as I've bought the book "101 Great Samurai Prints"

Wait, is that a cat over there? That would make a cool tattoo.

[Avery Taylor]

I do a bunch of research on the internet, and through various books that I own. I email myself photos of the different ideas that I have so that I can show them to whoever it is that I am getting tattooed by, and then I get to the shop don't show them any of the photos and then I get something completely different than I had planned on getting. This happens every time.

[bugxjuice]

I keep a running list of ideas, some of them are specific to a particular spot (e.g. a rose on my kneecap), some are just "zone specific", as in I want it on my leg somewhere, and will decide based on the drawing and where the artist thinks it works best. I am always doing research and looking for references.

Lately I've been trying to figure out what to do for larger scale work, like my ribs or back - I have some basic ideas, but it's harder to come up with things to fill it out, like background composition, how to handle the boundaries, things like that. Obviously I will need to sit down with a tattooer to figure that stuff out.

On the other hand, I also enjoy doing last-minute/walk-in type stuff. Recently I went and got something off a sheet of halloween flash, which was super fun. A few years back, I went in for a quick touch-up, was just hanging out at the shop for a while, and ended up getting something else quick too.

[Ducky15568]

The way i usually decide what im getting a little advanced before i set up an appointment then i figure out a spot and details i would like to go into it, its like crunch time to get it how i want it.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense my contacts keep bugging out and making my vision milky

[ailsa]

Personally for me I have a long list of what I want and where I want it, it's only been lack of money that's stopped me from getting them, which is fine as my mind changes a couple times, not with what but with the placement of them.

Perfect example, I've booked in for my thighs in April a set of lyrics, almost a motto for my life and I've wanted it for years but it has dawned on me the more I learn about the art of tattooing and composition that it's not the best place for those lyrics so I'm changing it to something more suitable for that area.

Once I've got all the tattoos I've got planned done, I'm looking forward to getting some flash done after reading a few articles I've found through LST on the subject.

[xmowglix]

I have a list of tattoo ideas that I keep in the notes on my phone and computer. I continue to add to this list as I think of new things or subject matter. Then I go through the list of people I want to get tattooed by and write down names of tattooers I think would be best to do the work next to each idea. Ideas on my list can be as vague as "Jungle Cat" (Wilson, Stell, Koeplinger). Once I figure out what area I want to get tattooed I go through my list and see what I think would look best in that given space and choose something.

Just my own way of keeping my thoughts organized and not forgetting ideas or who is doing a good job tattooing the things that I might want to get.

[David Flores]

I got to a tattoo shop with all hand painted flash and look around till I find something i want or I a ask them if they have any sheets in progress with new stuff I might be interested in. When I travel or go to convention I usually make a couple line drawings of little fun things I know will fit, If they change the design a little, I don't mind, I just like to be prepared.

I know for a lot of people it can't be that simple, but it's worked for me so far.

[OutOfIdeas]

I pretty much keep a list on my phone of any ideas that come into my head, and where I think they'd fit well. Then I usually give it a month or two, thinking about each every now and then, and decide which ones stay on the list.

When I have enough spare cash to afford a new tattoo, I take one of the general ideas to my artist and have him do what he thinks is best to make it a nice tattoo, that goes well with my other work.

After getting some pretty poor work early on, I like to plan more now an give myself the one or two month period of considering, that way I know I really get the tattoos I want and will continue to be happy with for the rest of my life.

[Ashley Gant]

I'm an artist, currently attending art school

And while its not to say other people don't have glorious designs and creativity, it wouldn't sit right with me to have someone else's design on my body.

So I start a few weeks/months before hand free sketching ideas, then refining the sketches, and getting lots of opinions from my friends. then final tweaks to suit me, and then if I love it, I'll have someone draw my design on me to get a feel for the look. And then go from there ;)

[Brock Varty]

I'm an artist, currently attending art school

And while its not to say other people don't have glorious designs and creativity, it wouldn't sit right with me to have someone else's design on my body.

So I start a few weeks/months before hand free sketching ideas, then refining the sketches, and getting lots of opinions from my friends. then final tweaks to suit me, and then if I love it, I'll have someone draw my design on me to get a feel for the look. And then go from there ;)

When you are drawing your tattoo, how do you know what is tattooable and what isn't? Just because you are an artist, doesn't mean you know what makes a good tattoo; in fact, if you make a tattooer tattoo something exactly as drawn, you could be hurting your chances of getting a rad tattoo.

[SnowyPlover]

I do research on the internet and books and keep "collages" of my ideas in a document, it kind of evolves, then I edit, edit, edit. I like having large scale work done and try to give my artist 3 ideas that I think go together....I'm completely open to my artists input (my idea is just a little nugget of a starting point) and she does all the art. Right now I'm "collecting" ideas for my thigh, although it might be arm pit to knee....

[Brock Varty]

I do research on the internet and books and keep "collages" of my ideas in a document, it kind of evolves, then I edit, edit, edit. I like having large scale work done and try to give my artist 3 ideas that I think go together....I'm completely open to my artists input (my idea is just a little nugget of a starting point) and she does all the art. Right now I'm "collecting" ideas for my thigh, although it might be arm pit to knee....

go big or go home...

[Michael Lounsbury]

For me its just a practicality thing. I want a tattoo that I can show off easily, but cover up when I need to. I'm in the military and with the draw down there has been talk of tightening up the tattoo standards, so any place I can cover with shorts and a t-shirt is fair game.

[joakim urma]

I carry a notebook with me at all times and among of the things I keep in it are ideas for tattoos. Sometimes it's just a subject that I want to do something with, sometimes I get a spark of genius or see something I really like and that turns into a concept. I also write down where I want it, and often who I want to tattoo it. It can be tattooers from across seas so I'm not sure when the tattoo actually will be made.

This list keeps getting rewritten, added to and crossed out from time to time as things and my taste evolves. Last time I changed notebook I had a pretty heavy editing process and about 5 ideas got trashed.

[Mark Bee]

I'm all over the place with this. I've brought in designs and my tattooer has suggested modifications and I've been very happy with the results. I've also picked a couple of classic American pieces and dropped them on my skin. As I move into the more visible areas, like my forearms, I've become more concerned about creating a cohesive design that links things together more carefully. But to do this I had to draw on the skill and talent of the folks at The Pearl. I've sent long emails with pics and designs and ideas, and had in person consultations. I want to get this right. I'm discovering that I'm happiest with the work when I step back and let the artists do the work unimpeded. This was a hard place for me to get to. I always felt I had to come in with fully formed ideas. Then I had the problem of trying to communicate these ideas. Because I cannot draw even decent stick-figures, this was a huge obstacle. The more familiar I became with the tattooer's work, personality, and shop, the more comfortable I became with letting them design the work with only broad guidelines from me. In short, I got to the point where I fully trusted the people who do this work on me. Like any relationship, this took some time. But the results have been brilliant.

[Delicious]

I've been drawing what I've been thinking about getting tattooed. It gives me a visual of what I possibly like

[Colored Guy]

I save pictures of things that I like, not necessarily tattoo flash, but pieces of art I like. I stock up elements that I like to have in a tattoo, something even to fill out background.

So simple things like flowers, clouds are among the things I can work into having old tattoos freshened up or new work as well.

My artist likes when I walk in with things to show her.

Rob