New here, looking for some advice

[jtk123]

Hi there!

My name is Josh I'm 22 and I'm from Toronto, Canada. I currently have no tattoos but I would like to get one very soon.

To be honest, the main reason I'm joining this forum is because I'm working on a coloring book project that will feature tattoo designs and I was looking to get some feedback from the people who know them best. I'm thinking of having several different styles of tattoos and was looking to find out some of the more popular styles in tattoo art and maybe even connect with some artists who would like to work with me on it.

Would that sound like something of interest around here? If so, I would love to hear some suggested styles, currently I'm working on featuring: traditional, new school, Japanese, surreal and geometric.

The second reason I joined is because I would like to get a tattoo soon (i'm thinking forearm) but I have no idea at all of what it should be and I wanted to explore some styles and artists, in the Toronto area if possible.

Thanks for reading!

[JBluewind]

Welcome! A pleasure to make you acquaintance. :)

I think the book sounds very interesting. I hope you attract a few artists on here who are willing to help out :)

Plain skins joining the forum is very common. I was plan skinned myself when I joined and now I'm healing my first piece. There are a lot of great threads with tons of information (I'm healing using Tegaderm for 5 days, then I'll switch to Hustle Butter).

Artist wise, I decided on a distance I was willing to travel and checked out pieces online first to look for too many bad reviews or review patterns, bad line work, blowouts, ugly art, and so on. I also asked people with ink I liked where they got their piece (also ask if they know a place to avoid from previous experience). Once I had a decent group, I tossed out artists who's style I didn't like for my current tattoo (but might revisit if I ever wanted a different style tattoo). If you're still unsure what style you want, keep the ones with a style that interests you. Once I narrowed it down (but didn't have one that screamed it was the perfect place), I showed them to more experienced people to help narrow it further. Because of my allergies, I then contacted my top 3 via Facebook with a couple questions. One of them was kind of a jerk (which I had heard from someone else was the norm), so I was down to two (because he apparently didn't want my money). After seeing shops and healed pieces and learning about them, I had my artist.

A lot of the artists and collectors here are willing to help narrow it down for you. It's nice to narrow it down at least a little yourself before asking for help as the list can be pretty lengthy if you are willing to drive a few hours (or even fly).