Full Back Piece Experience Thread

[Iwar]

Very cool @Isotope!

[suburbanxcore]

Rule of nines?

[Graeme]

Rule of nines?

It's a system to measure the extent of burns on the human body, but it can easily be adapted to figure out what percentage of tattoo coverage you have. I learned of it through taking first aid courses.

[Isotope]

I posted here a while back that I had never had a tattoo itch before. Cross that out. My entire back feels like it was attacked by a swarm giant mosquitos. I've never itched this bad even from poison ivy and contact dermatitis.

[Isotope]

Update:

The Back Piece: An Uncomfortable Journey: More background shading.

Your comment about shading only being a 7.5 gave me a glimmer of hope!

- - - Updated - - -

Dunno if there is anyone else here who is extremely ticklish, but there was nothing I could do to keep myself from flinching every time the needle got to the sides of my waist, I felt like such a jerk. Wasn't even the pain that was a bother, just the heightened sensation of the spot.

Yes! I know exactly what you mean! God damn it drove me nuts, flinch tickle pain, flinch tickle pain. rinse, repeat.

[misterJ]

@ isotope that is an awesome start. I love the arrows.

about 1 side hurting more than another. I'm a lefty and that side is way more sensitive. As @BrianH mentions, just wait for your lower back shading that was certainly enlightening for me.

thanks for posting your piece

[cltattooing]

Getting tattooed right now. Butt and thighs day! Although only one cheek, hahaha

[Graeme]

Getting tattooed right now. Butt and thighs day! Although only one cheek, hahaha

Worst days. My ass and back of thigh lining session was the shortest one I had on my back, I think I barely sat for two and a half hours or so and I was DONE at the end of it. Best of luck to you, it will be worth it.

[cltattooing]

Worst days. My ass and back of thigh lining session was the shortest one I had on my back, I think I barely sat for two and a half hours or so and I was DONE at the end of it. Best of luck to you, it will be worth it.

Haha thank you. We went about 4 hours, although I dunno if I could have done it without some chemical relief. I've never taken codeine for getting tattooed, but it was great cause it didn't make me high, just kept me from twitching and made it suck less. I mean it still hurt and sucked but it was doable. Oddly the worst of it was the inside of the lower thigh :confused:

[sophistre]

So, I'm really curious -- what is it like, healing linework across such large expanses of your back at once? Is it less crazy-itchy because it's just the linework, or is it just as bad as healing any other tattoo, except gigantic?

[Isotope]

So, I'm really curious -- what is it like, healing linework across such large expanses of your back at once? Is it less crazy-itchy because it's just the linework, or is it just as bad as healing any other tattoo, except gigantic?

My entire back itches like a lied down in a hammock over a cloud of mosquitos. It is the most itchy I have ever been during my healing of a tattoo.

[hogg]

Oddly the worst of it was the inside of the lower thigh :confused:

Yeah, that spot is special, isn't it?

[bongsau]

So, I'm really curious -- what is it like, healing linework across such large expanses of your back at once? Is it less crazy-itchy because it's just the linework, or is it just as bad as healing any other tattoo, except gigantic?

I found linework to be quite easy to heal. I mean a bit swollen and bruised for a few days. We didn't even wrap it up at the end of the session. I just threw my shirt and pants on. Went home had a beer and jumped in the shower haha.

Shading patches were difficult though to heal. It reduces your mobility a lot while healing those sessions because it is such a large area, you get to thriller-walk around haha. Especially the ones on the spine, in between the shoulder blades. I could handle the itch, but maaaan my back and shoulders were ultra stiff for a good week. Itching would come and go to different areas at different times. I don't know, can't really explain, it is something you just gotta live through and experience it for yourself (if that's your tattoo desire!). Backpiece tattooing IS a heavy experience but the whole process of tattoo and healing is very enlightening and exciting.

[Isotope]

I have a shading session right before I head to to Boston for vacation/wedding. As in... the day before. Should be fun!!

[cltattooing]

@sophistre Easy to heal, not as intense as a full large tattoo, but the itch is definitely as bad because it's everywhere, so that part is pretty nuts for sure.

[Graeme]

I think the only straight lining session I had was ass and back of thighs. Even the first session when we lined the tiger and snake involved shading the tiger's stripes, and healing shaded bits can be difficult. Healing that first session made me stop dry healing because my skin got so dry and tight it was actually painful. Healing shading sessions on my ribs was uncomfortable, and I often found it difficult to get in a comfortable sleeping position because of it. Legs were also kind of shitty because I work on my feet in a physically active job and I would sometimes be limping at the end of the work day because my legs were so sore. Like @bongsau said above, it's a heavy experience, but I think that's a big part of the appeal of backpieces.

[Cork]

I went around between Instagram, my phone, and the back piece thread and pulled together as many shots of my back progress as I could. Anyone interested in seeing the process? The only reason I ask is it is a lot of gratuitous ass. Like, a lot. Obviously it's all already on the internet, but just seeing it one folder on my hard drive seems excessive as it is so I figure I'd gauge interest here before posting.

[Graeme]

@Cork I think you should do it. I think it's cool seeing how it comes together bit by bit.

[9Years]

@Cork: Agree with @Graeme. Do it!

[OutOfIdeas]

I've never asked a man for ass pics before, but you know what they say.... ya never know till ya try it :D

[cltattooing]

@Cork I totally want to see!

[Diehardonvhs]

Always ass. Always.

[MrToby]

@Cork I have been doing the same as we have been going along. I have a whole folder on my laptop just with pictures of my back progressing session by session. It is amazing to see the gradual change and those sessions when it suddenly seems to jump ahead. Really interesting, but as you say a lot of ass... none the less... share it.

[Patrick Bateman]

post it i said @Cork :p

[Cork]

Well I've always been of the mindset to give the people what they want.

It looks like I can only bundle 20 pictures per post, so here you have the first half.

Of note in this set of pictures;

My back is really only my third tattoo, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew I always had an interest in this type of stuff, and it was something I had to do. The very first lining session reminded me of the pain of my previous tattoos, but the worst part was the hair. I distinctly remember clutching the table as the 5th hour rolled around and it was time to start the hair. 30 minutes later, soaked in sweat, I can say I did what needed to be done. After that session, Dana says that he is notorious for pushing his clients, and that if I really needed to take a break, to just let him know. The guy is a machine and just rolls on forever once he gets started.

Once that love handle got hit, I knew I had to turn to chemical relief. The average session was 4-5 hours and I didn't want to let Dana down by tapping out early. That may be frowned upon by those who never turned to relief, but anyone who has turned to pain killers will tell you that it hardly does anything. It just takes the edge off and lets you breath a little. Make no mistake, you definitely still feel it. Kudos to anyone who goes through the ass without any assistance. I don't think I could have managed sessions any longer than 2 hours if so.

We did a ton of lines and shading. We both got a little bored with it and decided to color in some fire before finishing the shading. We were both itching to see color and it was a great change of pace.

One major thing to note, and I want everyone to take notice about how a tattoo changes and you just roll with what works. At first, Kongo Yasha was going to have a nice yellow aura, and the lines were down to lay the path, but that changed once the fire got started. Since Kongo Yasha is an angry ass dude, we decided a full fire aura would look the best. Dana put some lines down and I think it was a change for the better. You can hardly even tell what was originally intended.