First 'good' tattoo?

[blackdots]

I'm not sure how everybody else started, but I didn't do much research into getting my first tattoo, as I was a 19 year old kid and just wanted something. I got the black flag bars, but the black was poorly saturated and the lines were a little shaky. After that, I got some stick and pokes and some more mediocre tattoos.

One day, I walked into Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor because I thought that they would have a Friday the 13th special. They didn't have the special, but I decided I wanted to get something anyways. I ended up setting up an appointment with Cole Dunn, and I had never made an appointment for a tattoo before, so I was pretty confused right there! The idea of a consultation also confused me, haha. I guess from there I saw that traditional style tattoos could look pretty nice, as I always had the impression that they were formulaic and lame with no meaning.

I'll never cover my early tattoos though!

How did you all get educated about tattoos and different styles?

[Patrick Bateman]

I was the guy who waited till he was 30 to finally get a tattoo for a number of reasons.

Mainly because I wanted something good and knew it could be expensive.

Paying for college out of pocket in my 20s did me dirty so it wasn't until I hit a few goals in my life where i just said fuck it. Got a tattoo.

Always into looking at tattoos since i was younger and the prints/books/drawings artists made always intrigued me.

So I knew who I wanted to get tattoos from.

[purplelace]

I waited until I was in my 20's before I started getting tattooed. I just stopped a random bloke in the street in Belfast (he was cute as well) and asked him where he'd got his sleeve done. He directed me to InkCastle in Belfast. They were only walk-ins, dunno if they've changed or now. When I went in had no idea of what was going on, so I asked them questions, went back various times and asked more questions. Then took a friend with me for support and only when after filling in and signing the sheet, did it seem real. How I came across Tommygunn in Belfast City Skinworks, I came across him by accident. Some random bloke stopped me and asked if had any work done by Skull, I said no and he directed me to Skull. From him I met Tommygunn. This was many many years ago. And after long time not getting tattooed, started getting tattooed by Tommygunn again earlier this year. And, I fucking love it! :)

[Tornado6]

My first is just healed, but I think it is 'good'. I waited until my late 30s, and went to one of the better shops in town. It is 'just a walk in', but it isn't poorly chosen $75 flash. My favorite part, by far, was showing my artist the reference, and having him come back with a drawing of exactly what I'd had in my head for months. Now it is on my body. Awesome!

[Graeme]

@blackdots I feel that the bars should be poorly done. I've wanted some on me forever, well before I started getting tattooed, and I'm wondering if I should handpoke them on myself because it seems kind of wrong to have them done well.

[marley mission]

tornado your tattoo makes me wanna play gears of war again

[SlickSquid]

My first "good" tattoo was in Tarragona, Spain at a tattoo shop out by like ...damn it wasn't the beach, but it was a beach not too far from there....I think I still have the card from the shop...It was my last deployment in the Navy and was actually a good port visit too! Damn....that was back in 2008/2009...im getting old yo!

I drew it up and brought it in, it was also the first time I seen how some art needs to be redrawn to made "tattooable", the first thing he asked was 1. Did YOU draw this and the 2nd thing was Can he re-draw it, because it wouldn't make for a good design on my darker skin...I didn't care his work was good lol, so I said "Hey man do your thing! It's just and idea of what I want!!" ...it was a good lesson...especially with me being black, I didn't understand how uncluttering little detail and just repositioning things makes for a more readable and better looking tattoo...This was actually now that I think about it, an INVALUABLE little tid bit of info that I still use today!

He also swapped me a flash/poster for my drawing...a British kid (well he wasn't a kid but he was no more than 20) wanted my drawing ...or a version of it...pretty good port yo

[Cork]

Thanks to the internet and places like this, my first was pretty damn good and they've only gotten better. If it weren't for the internet, I would not have been so lucky. I started getting tattooed at 26, so I had a little more wisdom and focus on what I wanted. My first was my chest oni by Dave Fox that is in my gallery, and avatar.

[Fala]

I started getting tattooed when I was 32, and I went to all of the shops that I was interested in to check out the books of the artists and get a feel for the vibe of the shop. For whatever reason, I hadn't found LST yet, but I did enough homework that my first tattoo came out really nice.

[Tornado6]

tornado your tattoo makes me wanna play gears of war again

;) The omen is actually my son's first tattoo. I'm more into N64 Mario hehe.

[marley mission]

haha got ya

i hardly get to game anymore

my kids own all the entertainment devices in the house lol

but i do love to play FIFA

and since i can still kick all their butts they all want a shot at the champ!

[CultExciter]

I did a couple shitty stick and poke tattoos on myself when I was a dumb young punk rock teenager (all have since been covered). But I was 19 (the year 2001), walked into the shop in the town where I went to university, and gave a print out of the Rocket From The Crypt logo to this really nice fellow named Andrew Conner and he did it on the inside of my arm. I got a couple more tattoos from other folks, but then, four years later, I was reintroduced to this Andrew Conner fellow, and we became friends. He tattooed me a lot out of his private studio, and then he moved back to that same shop where I got my first tattoo. He opened my eyes to what good tattooing is, taught me how to paint using liquid acrylic/watercolor, taught me how to use an ink nib, and has become one of my biggest inspirations. My first good tattooer changed my life and is the reason I am even making tattoos now. He isn't my "teacher" but he has taught me so much and supports every step I take.

[bongsau]

I was very fortunate, my first tattoo was made very well and started me out on the right track.

It is a black/grey St.Christopher with a colourful background of clouds and water to cap the top of my shoulder, which is now tied in to adjoining pieces.

I had a couple of pals with a few nice tattoos who told me not to screw around. Just book an appointment with this dude named Steve (TheGangOfOne).

Appointment was scheduled months in advance for the week in between finishing university and my 23rd birthday. I remember nervously asking Steve to redraw a couple times which he obliged ("look kid, I'm not drawing the Last Supper. You want a tattoo today or not?"). It was a very positive experience, except for the car accident on the way home aftewards (ironic for a St.Christopher tattoo perhaps)!

When I asked how the tattoo would fade over time he told me tattoos look better as they age. I was puzzled. He said to come visit him in ten years and tell him otherwise. Eleven years later...he started my backpiece for me last week, the last puzzle piece! And i still get a lot of compliments on the blue ink, holding strong, really rich colour. I just smile and say the tattoo is a decade old.

[blackdots]

@blackdots I feel that the bars should be poorly done. I've wanted some on me forever, well before I started getting tattooed, and I'm wondering if I should handpoke them on myself because it seems kind of wrong to have them done well.

Yeah I feel you. I'm happy with how it looks on my arm, and I'm not gonna touch it up any time soon.

I'm actually thinking about getting more punk tattoos haha. I want to get the Void crosses somewhere, maybe my foot.

[Coco51693]

Hi.I am new here.excited to read up on some threads && have been wanting a tattoo for years. I hope you can help me out.

Click here to look at my inspirations of what I would like to get!

http://www.gofundme.com/iqt5p8

[taaarro]

@Graeme You should come to japan and I could do that for you. I put this on my friend and it's authentically really shitty! but you feel ok about getting the logo of Mike Vallely's band tattooed on you?

[SeeSea]

Hi.I am new here.excited to read up on some threads && have been wanting a tattoo for years. I hope you can help me out.

Click here to look at my inspirations of what I would like to get!

http://www.gofundme.com/iqt5p8

Seriously?!? You come into a community and in your first post ask complete strangers to contribute for you to get your first tattoo?

[Graeme]

@Graeme You should come to japan and I could do that for you. I put this on my friend and it's authentically really shitty![ATTACH]11804[/ATTACH] but you feel ok about getting the logo of Mike Vallely's band tattooed on you?

You're a short trip across the border at the moment, however, so a trip to Japan may not be necessary. Though I would love to go one day.

Good point about Mike Vallely though. I'd like to pretend that isn't a thing. Bands should stay broken up.

[Guero]

I have a few old ones that haven't been touched, one or two that have been reworked. I enjoy seeing some of the older "rougher" stuff next to newer work. I don't mind some of the blown out lines and washed out colors. To me it looks like a well-worn tough tattoo. Back from before they all came out looking like they were done by a robot.

[DeathB4Decaf]

Hi.I am new here.excited to read up on some threads && have been wanting a tattoo for years. I hope you can help me out.

Click here to look at my inspirations of what I would like to get!

http://www.gofundme.com/iqt5p8

What in the actual fuck? You are joking, right? Right...? Please tell me you are.

[Diana90]

I got my first tattoo aged 19. It was on my lower back and it was a tribal design. I liked the design I have but had I put more thought into it, I would have made it tad bigger and slightly more meaning full then just a simple design. I think all my three are good, but the most out of all I think was my latest one as this one has the most meaning to me.

[marley mission]

to me - i think all tattoos have meaning - even if it was just marking a time in your life in which you had no idea about what to get tattooed on your body - maybe you just felt compelled that you wanted a tattoo - you wanted to peek behind that door - thats why i think i often like tattoos that people share where there was a poor design or application of the concept - the tattoos are 'bad' but in a cool way - dont get me wrong - i would hope that folks that get into getting more and more ink seek out better artists or think their ideas through a little better so they end up with tattoos that enjoy wearing - but i just have such love for those "crappy" ones that so many of us start with

[Diana90]

I guess you are right. The one on my back, really has no meaning but it was my first and I will treasure it, as this was my first step at making a decision where I didn't have to put it past my parents. Saying it like that, I guess it does have meaning in a sense.

[Rikhall]

I'd picked up a few pieces of shit when I was 19 then when I was 21 I found a artist in Leeds called Fil Wood really nice guy and I went for a double headed eagle on my chest, which I still love,

[Colored Guy]

My first tattoo at age 22 was technically very good, great outline & color, etc. It was 2 hearts and a banner with mine & my future ex-wife's name. Now that is buried 2-coverups deep, never to be seen again.