Hey everyone, first time here

[swami11]

Hey everyone, my name is Dev and I have never had a tattoo so this will be my first experience. This week, I wanted my idea to come to life and have asked a few artists to draw up my idea. Its a story which always stuck to me of a pre-Vedic God called Trisiras, with one head he ate, with one head he saw the world and the other head he read the Vedas. The king of the Gods was so weary that he would become powerful, he came down on Earth and sliced his heads off. But the Earth and universe filled with a glow of light that would last for ever. Internally it meant that our time on Earth, we need to devote ourself to our passions, and even in death, it will echo through time, I know it sounds cheesy but it stuck. I also loved the Greek legend of Atlas and have gotten the artist to incorporate that. As this will be my first tattoo, I want an amazing artist who specializes in hyper realism. As I live in NJ and have access to both NYC and Philly, I would love to have the best artist for the jobs. Some I have been considering is Logan Aguilar at Last Rites, Chris Gherman, and my list ends there. I also will have many more artists draw up my idea. As far as where my first tattoo will go, I have no idea if I should put it on my left chest or left arm. Thank you everyone

[swami11]

Would love suggestions for any other artists who specialize in realism near the NYC/Philly area. Thanks everyone

[SStu]

Welcome.

You might find that the best artists aren't going to draw up anything for you without a deposit, so if you're intending to have many of them draw something up, be prepared to shell out. Most don't draw anything up until the day before your actual appointment.

I would recommend adjusting your strategy to:

a/ continue learning who does the best realism in your area (and I personally can't help you with that)

b/ study realism tattoo art and learn what makes any piece stand out over others

c/ continue to gather reference material (the one above is pretty fuzzy)

d/ get in line and be patient with whatever wait list the excellent and proven artist you end up deciding on has.

[Guerillaneedles]

Hello and welcome. Your idea sounds cool, but as an artist myself, I can guarantee your going to piss off a lot of those artists you mention by asking them to draw you an idea that got might not even get tattooed. My advice is to do your research extensively, talk to the artists - you might find some are more keen on your idea. I don't do realism but I've seen the stencils and they're sometimes incomprehensible to anyone but the artist whose using them! I guess what I'm getting at is that if you do your research you'll find someone you trust absolutely to do the job - and you won't need to waste the time of other artists whilst your at it. 

[swami11]

Hey Guerillaneedles, I am not asking tattoo artists to draw up my ideas, I know time is money. I am paying a bunch of graphic designers, local college artists, people online, etc.. to do it. Then from their sketches, I'll put it together the best ones. I also realized the deposits are like $500 for hyper-realist art so I am chill. I also realized the area I live in is also really expensive and even if we have some great ones. Montreal is not a too far of a drive from me and there seems to be a great deal of up and coming artists I like there. An artist named Anon Qureshi, Charles Saucier another one near Toronto named Travis GreenoughI I really like who do as good or better work.

Edited May 28, 2016 by swami11

[marley mission]

you live in jersey

chris adamek kills black and grey realism

http://instagram.com/chrisadamek

agree with whats been said - just take your references and your idea to your artist and then show some trust and let them do their thing

i dont have tattoos from chris but I have been tattooed at the clinton immortal shop - nice shop - and I have seen some color lived in chris adamek tattoos in person and they look dope - dont think he does color anymore though - anyway - good luck

[swami11]

Hey he was the only jersey artist I was considers, thanks! here is another design

[Graeme]

You're wasting your time and your money getting anybody other than the person who is doing the tattoo to draw it.  Anything you bring to the artist you choose would have to be completely redrawn to make it work as a tattoo.  Better to do your research, find the artist you want to do it, and approach him or her with the idea directly.

[oboogie]

I do hope you know that any decent artist you take these drawings to will rework them and make them more their style. I know my artist's pet peeve is people who bring in drawings by people they know and expect him to just copy it. First of all, he's a better artist than most (with a degree in graphic design), and oftentimes, the photos/drawings people bring in are shit.

[21stNow]

My other concern with what you want would be placement.  You mentioned left arm or left chest, but your idea incorporates a lot of things and wouldn't look as good if done as a small/medium tattoo.  I would consider full back or full chest for a design to incorporate that many elements.

[swami11]

I don't expect the artist to copy it obviously and any good artist would make it their own style as I wouldnt want to pay someone to just copy something, the last thing I want anyone with creativity is copy it, I myself am very offended by this idea. See the problem is  I really am unsure of what I want so I am just playing elements/ components. As the tattoo artist is the main artist, he will do his own style, I got that. But I get to choose do I want a lotus or dna-helix. Do I want space or clouds, do I want a swan or is that too much...Do I want a hyper-realist tattoo like the one below with my style blended in the background. As this tattoo will mean a lot to me, I want to have a design in my mind that works rather than going to an amazing artist and regretting it later if you all know what I mean? I at the same time dont expect him or her to copy my same design...

[TattooedMumma]

17 hours ago, swami11 said:

I don't expect the artist to copy it obviously and any good artist would make it their own style as I wouldnt want to payou'reeone to just copy something,  the last thing I want anyone with creativity is copy it, I myself am very offended by this idea. See the problem is  I really am unsure of what I want so I am just playing elements/ components. As the tattoo artist is the main artist, he will do his own style, I got that. But I get to choose do I want a lotus or dna-helix. Do I want space or clouds, do I want a swan or is that too much...Do I want a hyper-realist tattoo like the one below with my style blended in the background. As this tattoo will mean a lot to me, I want to have a design in my mind that works rather than going to an amazing artist and regretting it later if you all know what I mean? I at the same time dont expect him or her to copy my same design...

Then why go to so much trouble with designers etc? 

Just go straight to the artist you want, give them your ideas and let them workTHEIR magic. Take some basic print offs so they have an idea of what youre On about sure. But dont go to all that trouble mentioned in your previous posts.

 

[bongsau]

22 hours ago, swami11 said:

I really am unsure of what I want

hey there bud, welcome

the first step is knowing what exactly you want. once you got that figured you just need to set foot in a tattoo shop with a hardcopy of your reference, articulate what you want, drop your deposit and lock in your appointment. this is the hardest part of getting a tattoo - knowing exactly what you want. cheers and good luck.

[Shaun1105]

Hello and welcome.  Lots of good advice here already for you.  
I think your Trisiras idea can be made into a great tattoo once you find the artist you'd like to do it.  An Atlas tattoo also would be cool.
Putting them both together into the same tattoo - probably not a great idea.  Just get two separate tattoos (unless you're thinking this is going to be a full god-themed sleeve or something).  I know it's your first tattoo and so you want it to be perfect but putting too many elements into it will not make it better.

Good luck!