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i like the outline if it works with the design. i think stewart robson at frith st. tattoo did a fine job on this one... i totally think mario is right too, cut out everything that doesn't need to be there. i always find that the tattoos that make a big impact, are simpler and less involved. filler can definitely look cool, when done right. but i prefer the negative space between tattoos, i also think it gives each piece a stronger impact and it adds more of a storyboard effect to the body, which i think reads better. stuart cripwell at spider murphy's executed this perfectly...

i talk people out of backgrounds and useless additions all the time. i see so much garbage online. people just throw every trick in the book in there. or just tack on a bunch of roses around something, it looks awful. just let the image be itself, it has strength on its own. a gypsy head doesn't need blood splatters, a crescent moon, fog, a tree, roses and fake cholo letters all around it. except for a few people, tattooing is in a sorry state creatively. by the way, the outline thing is a SMITH STREET thing, which has now been beaten to death by anybody with a computer. you can't do anything new and cool without vampires sucking it dry. ok, i'm done...haha

I've been enjoying seeing the tattoos Ross Nagle has been doing with the "outline" around some of his tattoos which I think makes it really stand out also with the little amounts of color.

I got a bit choked up when he said how it was hard not having anyone to share the joy of her first steps/words/milestones. It's true, no one gets as excited as a parent (birth or otherwise) about these things. I forget how lucky I am sometimes to have a fabulous co-parent for my fabulous kids.

my friend soap owns a shop called lab monkey in Stirling, Scotland. I learned to tatto in the shop round the corner from his but thankfully he never hated on me for that ;). anyway reading his blog i came across a good link to a website documenting some of scotland's history of tattooing. ive visited it before many years ago but forgot completely about it, thought some of you might enjoy reading info on it Prince Vallar - Tattoo Artist

Curious if anyone else in here collects old acetate stencils? I would really like to have a peek at other peoples collections. For some reason I almost enjoy collecting stencils more than flash. I just like holding an old acetate in my hand and imagining how many people got tattoos from it. Here are some of my collection. I have a bunch more I need to take pictures of. Bob Shaw Owen Jensen

didn't know where to post this, but thought people on here might be interested in watching it:

I am so pro strong silhouette. I've been working on fighting the urge to put bursts and nonsensical background behind everything just to preserve the silhouette. Sometimes it;s difficult, but I find that If I think the image needs some background 9 times out of 10 it's because the drawing is weak anyway. So I redraw. If I do add an element into the background or something, I try to make it add to and preserve the silhouette, not take it away. I fail miserably at it all the time, but I work on it constantly.

Very sweet. I hope we are breaking some stereotypes of tattooed people by being awesome parents. Not that it's my goal, but could be a nice byproduct.

unknown pike tattooer.

These just make me feel sad for these people, that the other forms of self-mutilation just weren't enough for them. To me, they're not tattoos, just billboards for self loathing, fear, and desperation.

Check the work of my tattooist, Daniel DiMattia of calypsotattoo.com/.

Ok, so the Feminism and Tattoos Thread got me thinking a bit about something positive: preferential treatment because of tattoos. This could also be seen as a negative by some, though I'm guessing most folks on here have experienced this as a plus. Maybe you got a deal on a lawn mower or a free cup of coffee or just had a really nice talk with someone you otherwise wouldn't have spoken to. For example, I mentioned I most likely showed my wife-to-be some preference in serving her drinks when we first met because we got to talking about tattoos. That, and she's hot. So, good experiences with preferential tattoo treatment??