To nipple or not to nipple that is the question?

[Shaggy]

My 2nd session on my newly started front torso piece is in 3 weeks and I have to decide if we tattoo the nipple or not.

At this stage the design can go either way and my thoughts are I am going to do it. Being a Japanese themed piece mine will end up being just another background cloud.

Not really a serious thread but I am curious in what everyone else would do/has done with the nipples.

Please post pics. :)

[MoistTowelette]

I'm getting one nipple, bellybutton and an armpit done this weekend. Shige didn't do my other nipple, but i will ask him to do it next time i see him

[Cork]

@Shaggy saw those pics on Kian's Instagram, so good.

[mtlsam]

My front is composed of several large tattoos that all have happily avoided the nipples (but it sure felt close). If I was doing my front over and going for a huge piece I would blast over them because I think having two spots withough colour is a bit odd. Get ready for some serious ouch!

[sarahmohawk]

I am pro nipple obliteration. I have a blank front at the moment but am trying to brainstorm up the best way to do a full front piece that works for women.

This is my favourite. Full front in progress by Rafel Delalande.

RIP nipples.

[bongsau]

i think it is unnecessary, but in the spirit of tattooing it is up to the individual/tattooer team.

my chestpiece goes right up and completly around the nips, very close and uses pink peach and red tones to blend them in. you can maybe see what i'm talking about in my galleria. i guess it really depends on the look you're going for.

[Shaggy]

@Cork thanks for that, I love Kian's style much to my bank balances disgust. A few days ago I committed to continuing to both ankles, so bodysuit here we come. :)

As for everyone else thanks for the input, I like when the nipples are incorporated into a design and not necessarily tattooed, however at least for my RHS nipple it happens to be right in the middle of background clouds so my guess is we will be tattooing it. :( And if I do RHS then LHS will be done. On the bright side though my front will include the Munewari so at least we don't have to have another conversation about including something else sensitive. :) :)

[TattooedMumma]

Just checked out the photos! Sensational!!

Props to anyone who can get their nipples done! Seriously some days if I look at mine the wrong way they ache.

I did see a tattoo in a magazine recently, full front torso piece on a man and he had his nips done. It looked great and made sense really. Like previously mentioned, if they haopen to fall smack dab in the tattoo it can look odd if they arent done. Then again I have seen other chest or full torso pieces where they leave the nipples, but because the tattoo itself is so bloody brilliant it doesnt even matter.

I guess I'm a fence sitter?

[Scott R]

I think my nips are pretty damn sexy so I am going to leave them be.

[Jackrabbitt666]

That Delalande piece is so sweet!! I'm quite happy leaving my nipples as is

[sophistre]

This thread makes me want to cry. Haha.

Better you than me, sir.

[Noobink]

Ive never liked my nipples so they will go one day ;)

[exume]

My nipples were untouched when we filled out my chest/torso, got really close to the left one, can't imagine blasting over them.

[Maebus]

I have a front torso piece and some rope that goes over one nipple. Whilst we tattooed right around it (including the areola) we left the actual nipple as is given that it blended reasonably well anyway and the other nipple isn't covered by the design. Thought it would look weird just having one. At work at the moment, but I'll try and post a picture soon.

As a general rule, I think it's all down to the specific piece. Mine has lots of colour in so seems to be a bit more lenient on having nipples not shaded, if it was black and grey I'd probably have had them done as it seems it would be a bit more jarring.

[Neiko]

My nipples are decorations so I am leaving em'!

[Shaggy]

This is where we are at present.

Even getting close to the nipple sucked so I can't imagine what it feels like on it.

My thoughts are it isn't as stark not being done as I expected as it flows with the clouds etc.

Comments?

[omeletta]

This is where we are at present.

Even getting close to the nipple sucked so I can't imagine what it feels like on it.

My thoughts are it isn't as stark not being done as I expected as it flows with the clouds etc.

Comments?

I think it looks fine and nobody is going to notice. Just leave it.

[SStu]

looks fantastic so far, and there's been centuries of similar bodysuits with nipples exposed. No need to fret about it imho.

[soraya]

In my dreams, I would have a full Japanese body suit, neck to wrists to ankles, front and back. But it is just out of the question for so, so many reasons.

 

But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming and looking at pictures of people who do, and sometimes I play “what if…” and have thought about the nipple question. For women with total boob coverage, the nipple is an issue, maybe more than for men, due to nipple size.  I used to think that designs that just left a hole where the nipple is located looked odd. Why not just tattoo over it, or color it black?  I’ve seen a few pictures and read things that suggest that nipples don’t hold color well, and have to be re-tattooed repeatedly. YIKES!

 

But I saw pictures of some ladies with Japanese body suits where the nipple is incorporated into the center of a flower, and I think it looks cool. They leave the nipple natural, but it doesn’t look like an unnatural hole in the design. I really like that. It sort of “celebrates” the nipple, but makes it part of the design.

 

Here a couple of pics of the same lady, in different stages of her body suit development, so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. Wish this could be me...sigh.  

 

Sorry if this is too much boobage.

 .

[sighthound]

It depends, sometimes it looks better to blast over the nipple and sometimes it doesn't. 

I think the design dictates whether to nipple over or not, because I've seen it look really good in both cases. 

So, up to you.

[sprouler]

I think it largely depends on the tattoo's composition.  For that Delalande I definitely think that was the right choice.  If the nipple fits organically into the art, then leave the nipple out of it.  If the nipple is just leaving a weird gap in the tattoo, I'm of the opinion that it should be cast into oblivion beneath the tattoo. But, that's my personal preference.

[MoistTowelette]

My nipple and bellybutton:

 

Full body shot:

 

[Mark Bee]

I really didn't enjoy having the nipple hit. It full on sucked. Props to those who go for it though.

[binnacledon]

I have already had my nipples pierced.

[Intomyskin]

I stumbled onto this thread and want to bump it because suddenly it is relevant to my  plans. 

I am planning a Japanese style back piece and partial sleeves, with chest panels (I’m a guy, by the way). I recently found some images online of some Japanese chest pieces that incorporate the nipples into the design. I’m now really intrigued with the idea of nipples incorporated into the center of flowers and I would would like to do something like that as part of my piece. I’ve never cared for designs where the nipple is sort of a random hole in the design. In my opinion, incorporating them into the flowers sort of subtly acknowledges their “nipple-ness” while still disguising them and blending it into the design in a way that doesn’t detract. 

My areolae are light in color and not very big, so I’m thinking that the flower coloring could extend over the areolae and go right up to the base of the nipple so that just the protruding part would be not be colored. 

I like to play with Photoshop, so i superimposed some images onto a  picture of my chest, and adjusted them so the they would fit my body (see below).

One pic has a large flowers with the nips in the center, the other has cherry blossoms. They both have pros and cons. I’m leaning toward the cherry blossom version because it is a little more subtle. 

Has anybody here tried anything like this, or have have any thoughts, opinions, thoughts on aesthetics, or other guidance on this? Am I crazy? I have found posts on LST that suggest that getting tattooed around the nipples is quite an interesting experience. All opinions welcomed!