Greetings from Alabama!

[lmactans]

Hey, I'm Erin, and I've been looking into getting my first tattoo for about a year now. When I was about ten, I did some obviously ill fated experiments with body modification, so now I'm particularly committed to finding something I love and will look good for a long time. I'm from north Alabama, and there are several artists in the area that I really like, but I would like to hear any recommendations you guys have. It would be best if they were in the northern half of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, or in Tennessee, but I can go farther if I find something I really fall in love with.

As far as what styles I like, I'm still a newbie, but I have a preference for strong, bold colors and linework (lots of black lol), and somewhat simple designs. The subject matter I'm looking into getting is sharks, snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc.

So far, I really like this community. You guys seem to be some of the more accepting people that I've come across on the internet, and it's refreshing knowing that I won't get too much flak for my oddities.

Looking forward to my time here!

[Graeme]

Welcome! Sounds like you have some fantastic ideas, now hopefully somebody with some knowledge of your area can chime in with shop recommendations.

[Tornado6]

I really like Matt Stebly's work, and he does a lot of animals. Matt Stebly Tattoos :

Of course, by the time you get to Ocean Springs, you're almost to New Orleans. For all that, Nashville is half the drive and is full of excellent choices, and lots of guest artist rolling through town on top of it.

[lmactans]

I've got an appointment next Wednesday to get a zebra shark done on my upper arm! It's gonna be done in plain black, and in this style by this guy at a local shop. I really love the work that all the artists there do, and Greg's new school stuff is totally awesome, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the style myself.

I'm so excited! But there are a few concerns I have. I'm not worried about the pain, but I do have some blood sugar problems (the doctor says it's okay to get tattooed though), and I have some pretty serious chronic stomach problems that cause me to shudder and spasm on occasion. But, I do always have enough notice to warn the artist, and these problems are 24/7 for me, so I'm used to them. I can typically resist them too. I plan on bringing a sugary drink and possibly some snacks, and eating/drinking about an hour to an hour and a half before my appointment, and that usually prevents any blood sugar problems, but what do you guys think I should do about the movement thing? I feel pretty comfortable that the artist will work with me, and I know that I can at least minimize the amount of spasming that happens. I suppose I'm mostly concerned about it being annoying or freaking them out. Any way that you guys can think of to make this easier on the artist?

[el twe]

Congrats on setting the appointment. Make sure you are well fed, well rested, and not overly caffeinated for your session, and bring a snack and plenty of water with you. Tell your artists about the spasms before starting the tattoo. If you can sense them coming then ask him to stop before one hits - you'll both be better off. I think most tattoo artists understand that they are working on humans and that our bodies all operate a little differently. Ask for breaks if/when you need them to eat or drink (or to just take a deep breath), and enjoy your (soon to be) new tattoo!