Too fast?

[slayer9019]

To start off as of right now I have no tattoos. I have been trying to get a tattoo for awhile but money or other issues have cropped up. Two weeks ago I got in touch with an artist and signed up for a leg piece. (starting at the foot to the knee filled in completely. My friends said that was "too much for a first", but the funny thing is I am already looking at getting another huge piece started by a favorite artist, and the possibility of sleeve by the same guy by next year. Although the sleeve is a bigger step since I work in a VERY Conservative field (Wall St) and will need to think more about that.

Am I going way to fast? I personally don't believe so

[chrome]

No such thing as too fast.

[William Burgess]

Never believed in the whole "small starter tattoo" deal. How about those people getting full bodysuits by Horiyoshi III? I am sure some of those people had no work to begin with and commited to heavy coverage from the get go. If I could do it all over again, thats what I do. Have one tattoo and one only!

[Deb Yarian]

Never believed in the whole "small starter tattoo" deal. How about those people getting full bodysuits by Horiyoshi III? I am sure some of those people had no work to begin with and commited to heavy coverage from the get go. If I could do it all over again, thats what I do. Have one tattoo and one only!

i met a girl last year at The state of Grace show, she's a tattooist and shop owner in Bakersfield.

She has no tattoos but at the time of our meeting she had a scheduled appointment with Shige to get a full back piece.

[MsRad]

i don't think there is any such thing as getting too big of a piece as your first piece, but i would consider that you may want some of that space further down the line if you discover other artists you like. that's the advantage of having a bunch of smaller pieces in certain areas (or all over if you fancy) as you gradually gain more work, but have more opportunities to have different people tattoo you and different ideas that develop over time.

then again, what do i know? i got my chest done as my first tattoo so sometimes, you just gotta say "fuck it."

[CaptCanada]

i met a girl last year at The state of Grace show, she's a tattooist and shop owner in Bakersfield.

She has no tattoos but at the time of our meeting she had a scheduled appointment with Shige to get a full back piece.

To add to this, most traditional Japanese suits (or traditional Japanese tattoos) start out as a back piece. Its not so common now, but before what you got as your back piece defined what you could get on the rest of your body.

[cfgsteak]

At first I thought the OP was going overboard then I thought about my own plans...I have 2 small tattoos from about 25 years ago. I started a half sleeve a week ago, have plans to have a pather head put on my calf when I am done, followed by a forearm tat and then a half sleeve for my other arm inside 6 months so...you sound like you are on the same schedule as me pretty much, lol!

[slayer9019]

Never believed in the whole "small starter tattoo" deal. How about those people getting full bodysuits by Horiyoshi III? I am sure some of those people had no work to begin with and commited to heavy coverage from the get go. If I could do it all over again, thats what I do. Have one tattoo and one only!

Personally I have a strong opinion against smaller tattoos. I like very large pieces and plan probably having a bodysuit with 3/4 sleeves (job :( ).

[dari]

Go big or go home!

[hogg]

After going big, I go home; I prefer to shower there.

[Tight-Lines]

Just start covering your chest. Unless you work at a Wall St. branch where you have to be shirtless W/O tattoos.

That would look ridiculous if that existed.

[Shadow]

My only tattoo regret was starting with a small one. That's covered up now though. As long as you can afford it, I don't think there is such a thing as going too fast.

[slayer9019]

Just start covering your chest. Unless you work at a Wall St. branch where you have to be shirtless W/O tattoos.

That would look ridiculous if that existed.

Im almost always in a 2 or 3 piece suit (suit with a vest). I could probably go everything but hands, face and neck but I do like to roll up my sleeves so i would probably stick with 3/4 sleeves. Oh yea everyone on Wall St. rocks shirtless.

It mores goes that I travel globally for my job (consultant) and need to look "normal" under their definitions.

[JAllen]

i always tell people to get the tattoo they want, where they want it. don't let friends or others opinions of size/pain/location of tattoo affect your decisions.

[sboyer]

when I was 18 I thought it would be sweet to have my leg tattooed black from knee to ankle. I wish I had that space back. poor choice on my part.

[Genie of the West]

I'm also a huge advocate of go big or go home. I started off with a half-sleeve when I turned 18 and I like the look of huge pieces. It's already hard to see the detail in my ink because of my complexion so I really like large and ornate pieces.

I just got the itch to put a huge piece on my right thigh even though I just finished my first sleeve a few months ago.

I picked up extra work hours recently so I'll have some spare cash. I think I'm going to do it :D

[GrayCatLove]

You know, the first time I go to a new artist, I get a piece that's smaller than my hand. Why? Photos don't tell the whole story, and while they may have fabulous reputations and their tattoos look amazing in photos, it may not be something I want taking up so much room I don't have more room later.

I think the world of the young man who does most of my tattooing now, and the first tattoo he did for me was a classic rose tattoo in pink. Since then, he's done some big, detailed pieces on me, but I really like having a relationship where we can talk openly and there's a degree of trust. I still plan on work with other artists, but I wouldn't go huge with someone I didn't have a good relationship with.

[zephyr]

Instead of thinking whether it's too fast, I recommend you think through if it's what you really want. And make sure that you inspect every single detail of the tattoo that you are getting. Don't regret it

[Gregor]

I dont really get small tattoos I like big readable images . Leaves some wierd spaces in between though ...

[GrayCatLove]

I dont really get small tattoos I like big readable images . Leaves some wierd spaces in between though ...

This is where it becomes a tricky question. What is "big?" If it's 13-14 cm across, that's considered a small tattoo by some, large by others.

I guess there's always filler.

[Gregor]

I suppose big is relative to the size of the person getting tattooed too so 14 cm will be huge on a small person and small on a huge person. or whatever lol .

I don't like filler I like space or if the skin is covered its part of the art . Filler is such a shit word for a lot of effort and hard work by an artist. Id hate to ask an artist who's work I respect for "Filler"

[GrayCatLove]

I guess a more respectable word is background.

[bugxjuice]

I don't like filler I like space or if the skin is covered its part of the art . Filler is such a shit word for a lot of effort and hard work by an artist. Id hate to ask an artist who's work I respect for "Filler"

I don't know, I think a lot of artists enjoy doing little filler pieces and don't mind calling it that. I also think the patchwork style of American traditional tends toward leaving little spaces that look weird empty, and it's fun to put little filler pieces in there. Obviously you wouldn't ask Rubendall or whoever to do something like that, but from my experience there are plenty of people out there who would enjoy the work and wouldn't feel disrespected if someone came to them asking for "filler"

[spookysproul]

I don't know, I think a lot of artists enjoy doing little filler pieces and don't mind calling it that. I also think the patchwork style of American traditional tends toward leaving little spaces that look weird empty, and it's fun to put little filler pieces in there. Obviously you wouldn't ask Rubendall or whoever to do something like that, but from my experience there are plenty of people out there who would enjoy the work and wouldn't feel disrespected if someone came to them asking for "filler"

I've met multiple artists - Henry Lewis is the first to come to mind - who referred to doing filler tattoos as just that. He seemed really excited about some of the ideas my friend was bringing to him.

[Amok]

waiting for @peterpoose to chime in here. This guy is mental, 16 hour sessions every day or two. He must have gone from no tattoos to 60% coverage in less than a year? Correct me if I'm wrong Peter. All his work is by top artists as well. I just want to meet this guy to shake his hand.