Looking for advice

[andysnowmi]

Hi All,

I'm approaching the date of my first tattoo.

The style will be Japanese with 3 Koi floating upstream with water and wind on a full sleeve arm.

Here is my dilemma:

I want to add some flowers on it but I would like to match them.

I was considering chrysanthemum and cherry flowers but after a lot of research the seems a bit in contrast with the seasons, so I was considering maple leaves with chrysanthemum.

Can I have some advice regarding it? 

Thanks to all

[SJP0tato]

5 hours ago, andysnowmi said:

I want to add some flowers on it but I would like to match them.

Not sure what you mean by this.  
The design/style/layout is all your artist and you.  Go with what feels best. 

[SStu]

match them to what? Are you trying to pair up appropriate Japanese themes, ie: which flowers/plants go with Koi?

[scottyg]

Three koi on one arm seems a lot. Also, wind doesn't seem intuitive, because they don't fly. You could pair with autumn flowers like maple leaves. Ultimately I think you'll have to decide if you want traditional Japanese or more modern, and then from there how trusting you are of the tattooer that he/she's going to do the right job.

[andysnowmi]

9 hours ago, SJP0tato said:

Not sure what you mean by this.  
The design/style/layout is all your artist and you.  Go with what feels best. 

I mean that I would like to match koi fish and flowers. I’m deciding all with the tattoo artist I just don’t want to ended up with something that is going in contrast with traditional combination elements

[andysnowmi]

9 hours ago, SStu said:

match them to what? Are you trying to pair up appropriate Japanese themes, ie: which flowers/plants go with Koi?

Yes I’m trying to match koi and flowers. Currently I have koi, chrysanthemum and cherry flowers. Just want to make sure that they match

[andysnowmi]

6 hours ago, scottyg said:

Three koi on one arm seems a lot. Also, wind doesn't seem intuitive, because they don't fly. You could pair with autumn flowers like maple leaves. Ultimately I think you'll have to decide if you want traditional Japanese or more modern, and then from there how trusting you are of the tattooer that he/she's going to do the right job.

The tattoo sketch is already done (attached, sorry for the quality)

maple leaves is what I was looking also because I would like to have a traditional combination of Japanese elements 

[Hogrider]

10 hours ago, andysnowmi said:

The tattoo sketch is already done (attached, sorry for the quality)

maple leaves is what I was looking also because I would like to have a traditional combination of Japanese elements 

I wouldn't throw anything else in there. That's already very busy.

[Gingerninja]

Think less is more. Unless you have a giant arm, you have more than enough going on. Let the design breathe. 

[scottyg]

Plus aren't chrysanthemums a fall/winter flower? And sakura are definitely a spring flower. So you might remove the cherry blossoms and replace with maple leaves, but even then, there's really a lot going on.

The sketch itself is nice, but the images are very compressed.

Did you design this yourself? I like the style of the waves, certainly, but something seems static about the picture. It should of course seem completely vivid and in motion.

That's my 2 cents and I'm by no means an expert and don't mean to offend.

[JAC1961]

My 2 cents. 3 koi are too much. They'd be so small they'd lose their detail and look amateurish. If you're really set on having 3, consider moving it to your leg.

Most important, if you really want it to turn out well, go to an artist that has studied Japanese tattoos and understands how they are to designed. Don't just go to someone who has "done a few".

[oboogie]

It does look super static and very cluttered. I'd start paring down a bit. Too much "stuff" in such a small space.

[andysnowmi]

9 hours ago, oboogie said:

It does look super static and very cluttered. I'd start paring down a bit. Too much "stuff" in such a small space.

Actually the one I showed you it was the second sketch that the tattoo artist did for revision and show me. The first version (attached) I think that is more accurate and suits more my desire. The only mistake he did was the direction due to probably a misunderstanding between us

[andysnowmi]

12 hours ago, Gingerninja said:

Think less is more. Unless you have a giant arm, you have more than enough going on. Let the design breathe. 

I know that less is more but the decision of 3 koi is dictated by a meaning for me, like the flower that I choose. I was also thinking to scale down the koi, but I think that the size it is ok 

[andysnowmi]

11 hours ago, scottyg said:

Plus aren't chrysanthemums a fall/winter flower? And sakura are definitely a spring flower. So you might remove the cherry blossoms and replace with maple leaves, but even then, there's really a lot going on.

The sketch itself is nice, but the images are very compressed.

Did you design this yourself? I like the style of the waves, certainly, but something seems static about the picture. It should of course seem completely vivid and in motion.

That's my 2 cents and I'm by no means an expert and don't mean to offend.

I show u the first draft that the designer did on my arm. I think works and it is really suitable for my arm. Just the direction was wrong so he is changing it

[scottyg]

flows much better on the arm than I'd thought.

but yeah, I wouldn't add anything else.

have fun!

[Gingerninja]

So, koi heading down means you have completed your transformation and journey. Congrats on that. My dragon koi faces up...work in progress. 

[andysnowmi]

15 hours ago, scottyg said:

flows much better on the arm than I'd thought.

but yeah, I wouldn't add anything else.

have fun!

Thanks

[andysnowmi]

5 hours ago, Gingerninja said:

So, koi heading down means you have completed your transformation and journey. Congrats on that. My dragon koi faces up...work in progress. 

Actually this one was the first draw, and he misundertstood. the final tatto will be with koi moving upwards, i still have a lot to complete. when i will complete all the next arm will have the downstream one

[andysnowmi]

I have another question because i can't really find anything regarding it.

I want to use saniderm because working in office and having a baby it is difficult to leave all open and care too much about it. the problem is that i will have all the outlines most probably done at once. my question is if all the arm is cover by the tattoo, how can i stick saniderm on my arm? I mean i have to roll the product on my arm, but i need to find healthy skin to attach it but i will not have, so can i just overlaps the bandage and try to pack all the tattoo?

Thanks

[SStu]

12 hours ago, andysnowmi said:I mean i have to roll the product on my arm, but i need to find healthy skin to attach it but i will not have, so can i just overlaps the bandage and try to pack all the tattoo?

You can overlap the derm to find a firm anchoring spot, but if you're having the whole arm outlined at once you'll probably have to be open to being less than 100% at the elbow/hinge. 

Not sure what you're saying regarding "pack all the tattoo" . . . 

[andysnowmi]

On 3/13/2020 at 11:17 PM, SStu said:

You can overlap the derm to find a firm anchoring spot, but if you're having the whole arm outlined at once you'll probably have to be open to being less than 100% at the elbow/hinge. 

Not sure what you're saying regarding "pack all the tattoo" . . . 

my meaning of packing the tattoo: i will have the outlines all over the arm, so i will not have empty spots except the wrist and the upper shoulder. so how can i use saniderm? can i just stick it on my arm and overlap it without any problems?

thanks

[SStu]

yes! You'll likely just have to be extra careful and patient when it comes time to remove. 

[andysnowmi]

Quick Update on the tattoo.

Saturday I did the first session and in 3.5 hours we did all the outlines. Here some shots of the day.

For now really happy and surprise also about me. really didn't know what to expect from my first tattoo

[SStu]

Jumping in with both feet. Congratulations and welcome to the worm hole!