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i think a lot of this is funny... listening to people slam the tv show but not the people on it cause they are said friends with participants of the show. pick a side and stick to it. if you dont like the show then admitt said friends f*cked up and crossed the line by being on the show. you have to be willing to admit that or not talk at all about it. the shows are here to stay apparently so who cares. tv is shit anyhow, what makes anyone think this would be any different? honestly good for anyone who takes the corporate money from going on those shows. at least they deserve it. except navarro he should be ground down to small pieces slam away

I mean I've done two one on a guy and one on a girl. They were both beauty marks otherwise I wouldn't do em. It's alarming the volume of young kids getting facial tattoos. It's my opinion that you don't look hard when all you have tattoo wise is a few knick knacks on your face. You just look like a dumb asshole.

hey everybody we have been coming out of pocket on this site it actually cost money and a ton of time to run. so i would like to introduce you to the donate button down at the bottom right. feel free to use it if you like. thanks

I haven't heard much about this show except that Oliver is in it, but I would say if they want to make it realistic the first challenge they should do is have a client come in with a horrible idea. The tattooers job will be to talk the client out of it and make them get something better. Extra points if finished tattoo is a eagle, dagger, or jungle cat of some sort.

LST: Bringing disgruntled/disaffected tattooers together over 3% beers in Utah since 2011. Good luck dude(s)!

Hmm-maybe an "Inkmasters" producer will pick this up as a 'challenge' for their show: "Today we're going to be pushing your design skills and creativity to the limit. Each of you will be responsible for creating a tattoo based on your client's line of work..."

Most insightful thing from this thread is steve still uses XP... On Ubuntu firefox it works fine.

HA HA @kirkson I know the feeling. After seeing this thread and learning Mike wilson may be in San ANgelo this year I contacted his shope simply to say IF he is there I would like a panther

Beauty marks are a different story, cosmetic tattooing that nobody could tell for certain was tattooed. Don't know exactly where the thread will lead but the "taboo" of face and hands comes out of the era when "it had become taboo", evolution curves the way and want. For instance, the old wall chart that some here can remember or may still have dictated in color code what pricing variations of the area's to be tattooed, i.g. the hands, neck ect. and where we did not tattoo, so evolution takes place and when at one time we "generally" denied a foot tattoo, it became a "fad" so after the passage of time among the uninitiated to get their very first on the foot and they were done by us all due to the acceptability, demand and profit. This being said, when Dale Kellitt called from New Orleans after Lil' Wayne became successful telling me of the large amount of people from Waynes area of the Big Easy wanting designs on their eyelids, symbols that could get you into trouble in some areas, all kinds of stuff that the uninitiated wanted for their very first tattoo on the face was overwhelmingly in demand and became somewhat a everyday semantic argument of "what I do with my body" versus takin their money and shuttin up was a weird balancing act, it seemed everybody wanted to start "representing" their area whether they were gangsta's or not. It may be "fad" to get the face tattoo and it may also be in the "new tribalism" area of some locations of the planet as, we know how well a Moko Face would go over at the farm supply store in Billings Montana versus South Central, the former would be met with "hard luck" where the later would be "accepted". I honestly feel that most people can be discouraged with a "Yu don't want to do that hon" and can accept such advice but when someone wants anything within the shop standards of design understanding, such as not givin somebody at symbol that the operator knows they aren't qualified for or some racial standard violation of shop policy, then by all means have them fill out whatever and put that ice cream cone with sprinkles on their cheek and accept the money knowing ya did the best job ya could after a fair discussion about the repercussions. It's really in the same family of "mah girlfriends name" for the most part, we have all ran the rundown to the client about that kind of tattoo and there was never a soul who wanted one who wasn't convinced that "No, this gal is forever" but the reality is that we can choose to say that they will regret it and take the money or ask them to come back in 12 years and if they are still together we will do it for free, it's when the job turns into arriving at the studio every day to talk people out of getting the product you offer is when it gets as defeating as being forced to watch a whole season of 16 and pregnant. We can't cure stupid but we can profit from it, we can also choose to refuse stupidity from a shops moral standard which can be referred to a sign on the wall that reads "We have the right to refuse service to anyone", the operators choice. We all have stories of the people we turned down and the ones accepted, I walked into my shop years ago to find Celtic Ruins being drawn across a guys forehead, I asked "what the hell are you doing?" the question directed at my artist, I was met with "It's "I am the Lords (Isaiah)" in Celtic" by the artist. Long story short, I ran into the guy 2 years ago after he had worn it for 13 years and it was GONE. the client asked me if I noticed and I replied I had, then I ran down to him the entire situation from start to finish with "I remember walking in and asking what the hell you were doing and I knew you figured whatever the f&%k I want to cause it's my body" he replied with your absolutely right. I said "I figured you got tired of people asking if it was Satanic because the average person don't know the diff between Celtic and anything else and it was counter productive of what your intentions of showing the world how you felt or where you stood with Jesus" and he agreed with that also and then told me how he had it lasered off. All full circle a learning experience for artist who did his best to see his work removed and the Christian that figured out the hard way that he never had to place it across his forehead and could have ran the bumper sticker instead. Just watch, tomorrow somebody will walk in wanting "Wicken" across their forehead, it's their business but I will try my best to talk them out of it and when all else fails I know I would refuse, it's just the way I feel and if they can find somebody to fulfill their dreams I hope they can find a doctor who can be handy with the laser. Just my two cents, if the client can't pull it off like Mike Tyson and don't have much for any other tattoo I feel I myself would have to refuse the service.

Haha if I had tattoos of what I do for work I would be covered in excel and word document tattoos....now that would be rediculous.

Got another Russian piece yesterday from Troy Taylor @Skin Thrills in Roanoke VA

A sharks thread'd be cool.... This is only a small one, from Chad Koeplinger, but it's one of my favourite animal head tattoos ever. If I were going to tattoo my hands .... (As it is I'd love something in this vein for my feet next year) There's a lot of larger scale work I've seen that is amazing in a probably more obvious way, but this is the one that popped into my head when I read this thread.

Here's my hand I got from bailey a few weeks ago

My buddy got his chest done by Curt Baer of Championship tattoo in Redding. next to the Lehi tigers... this is my fav. Sharks only

Ok at the risk of sounding like a huge bitch i'm gonna post this anyways... As far as I know Scott and company started this site to promote good tattooing, and good tattooers. I've noticed lately in the members gallery there have been a lot of bad tattoos uploaded. Is this just going to turn into another tattoo photo gallery where anyone can post photos of every horrible tattoo they do, and then have people thinking that work is good because they saw it on a site that claims to promote only good tattooing? I feel bad when I log on and on the very first page there's awful tattoos being shown. Am I just a horrible person for thinking this or do others feel the same way? I feel like if I wanted to see average bad tattoos I could just do a google search or visit one of the numerous tattoo design websites. Is it wrong to have a moderator removing bad work at the risk of offending the person who uploaded it? We seem not to have a problem telling people in the forums when a tattoo is shit.

My name is Sean and I work with a crew of super talented tattooers in Austin Texas. I'm just trying to keep earning my keep in tattooing and give back what I can. I still believe there are secrets in tattooing cause I've been blessed to have a few shown to me and eagerly await earning more of them.

This one i heard a LOT in Tampa- Always get sparrows, not swallows. Cause swallows are gay code. For.... you know.

I am with on the this. I love those as well.

i totally wouldnt mind vikings and wizards! bring that shit on

I believe its just called water.

It's cause you just got cable..

What a beautiful little cat.

evie! puppyCat i see you... You have no chance to survive make your time.

@Kev I got intouch with her thanks kev. Will try to catch them in Dallas after LA to cut my travels in half for the day lol

from a friend: "Buddy of mine owns a flight charter company in AK. He just flew a photographer, Norio Matsumoto, up onto the glacier at Mt. McKinley for the 13th year in a row. This guy builds a snow cave on the glacier and lives there for 7 weeks taking pics, with his main goal being taking the perfect pic of the Northern Lights and Mt. McKinley. " more info here :)

Maybe it'll get tossed in a blender and be old timey doom metal biker antique collectors?

flying down to get my leg done by eric jones in a few weeks, flying to austin march 20th to get my thigh done by tony hundahl, finishing my sleeve april 13th with noble. im having two moles on my back removed next week, so i can get my back started this summer. BIG year

@irezumi sent me this today:

Red is made from fire and Blue, obviously, is made from clouds. I also been told by clients that fatty and boney parts hurt more to get tatted, or hurt less, depending. That tat guns go a "million times" a second. That Kat Von D is the most famous tattooer. Of course, there are always the stories that still persist of the ol " fox hunt" tattoo that they're buddy's uncle had. That female tattooers hurt less (especially Kat Von D). Oh ,and where can I get that skin -colored ink to tattoo over unwanted tattoos..Bill WaverLy? I'm lookin at you....

I think there will be more demand for neck script and general cholo culture tattoos.

Then take look at this "Spencer Kmyta" tattoo And compare it to the original @Valerie Vargas tattoo which he obviously tried to rip off It's like the second picture in his online portfolio! The fucking nerves on this dude.... Same thing happened to @Stefan Johnsson a little while back (different hack though)

I think it's my same list as last year: 1. Palms 2. faces junk.

Those sharks are great, but I probably would have liked them even better if they didn't have bellyplates. I'm sure many will disagree with me on that though.

Wes Langs stuff is sure to strike a chord with a few folk on here ,completed on authentic jail house stationary -ha. Wes Lang: New drawings for "Hell Raisers" at Galerie Lange+Pult in Zurich January 19th

the wings look like the swans saying "come and have a go if you think your hard enuff !!!"

There is a really wonderful tattoo by Valerie that isn't up anymore, so instead I will go for second place, which is a tattoo from back in March by Thomas Hooper. It's probably not objectively his best tattoo of the year, but I really love the choice of subject for this chest piece. It is a far less obviously aggressive animal choice than you tend to get on chest pieces, which is great because swans are as hard as fucking nails. I like the wing positions and it's webbed feet.

Some of the stories and half-truths are pretty amusing and they serve a purpose to protect or obscure some things that should remain at least a little esoteric. What bugs me more than fables and tall-tales are when someone has half a useful piece of information and it swirls around in their busy little mind until they think they are a fountain of knowledge. They then spout that 'knowledge' to their friends or to people who are desperate for crumbs of information on the internet. But that's a different thing I guess. I'm not of the opinion that everything should be laid out and explained to any yahoo that comes into a shop or internet forum. So I don't want to burst too many bubbles. But... In may towns and cities in the north of England, many people believe if you get an 'X' tattooed on the sole of your foot you get it for free. Variations even extend to: If you get the bottom of your foot tattooed totally black, you get any other tattooing free, for life, from any other tattooer, in the world. As if more than 5 tattooers can agree on anything, never mind every tattooer in the world adhering to some secret code. Visitors or customers in those shops were all totally bummed out when I told them that's not true. At least not the way I work. Fucking nuts.

Sweet, so all I need to do is bring my dad with me to hold me down?

i think this is somewhat of a "slippery slope", if tattooing is to be considered "fine art" and copying should not occur it creates this paradox that makes me wonder how its ok to copy norman rockwell's version of rosie the riveter or some other piece of fine art as a tattoo. other mediums don't get the same time of respect that is expected within tattooing when it comes to reproduction. obviously it's easier to identify when these reproductions occur within the same medium because it will be viewed by the same audience more often than not. even if you create an image for one individual it is always possible that the image will resonate with other people who might see it, they might not attach the same level of attraction to it as say a movie character or a cartoon character that they would want reproduced as a tattoo but there is obviously a resonance that the image carried for them to want it. i guess i think of it like going to see a bar band play covers, at the end of each song i'm not going to yell and say hey that was a (insert band name here) song. i know i'm not seeing the real deal performing. now with all of that said, i think its funny that the guy who did valerie copy put his name and a big copyright on the pic of his tattoo. but that is also the same amusement i find when i see another piece of art from another medium copied and then the tattoo "artist" puts their copyright on it.

"This better not be that Qui-Gon Jinn shit..."

I've just sent an email to Bailey Hunter Robinson. Hopefully October.

that is beautiful you guys get the best work

Just get more tattoos!

Here's my observation: First: It's T.V. so surely it will be edited and somewhat scripted so that it will be appealing to many types of viewers. Second: There will be valued members of the tattoo community as well as a few not so well known tattooers on the show. Third: If you are looking for something to get out of the show other than what it is designed to be, I'm sure you will be disappointed. So, if you decide to watch the show, great. If not, so be it. Nothing wrong with it either way. The simple fact that there are many tattoo related shows on T.V. now and then has the tattoo community and the general public frequently discussing the pro's and con's of both sides of this issue. So my take on this is as long as there is and interest, there will be shows and big business making money with advertising and such. So what. The B side is that it also generates exposure to our industry (good and bad) which generates more clients which in turn equals more money for us as tattooers. The traditions of our industry are being changed but not lost. If you stay true to your own personal beliefs and practices regarding our industry then you are doing your part to keep the values alive. Never let someone else change who you are. Be the best YOU can be and continue to grow everyday and better your craft and ability to provide a quality produst and good service and you yourself will succeed in what ever you do. So in closing I believe there are valid points to both sides of the commercialized tattooing epidemic. I simply say use it to your advantage and move forward. No one is holding a gun to your head and saying watch the show or conform to the present depiction of our industry on T.V. I plan to start everyday the same. I wake up spend some time with my wife and kids and then head into the shop to paint, draw and do my best to improve my skills as a tattooer and learn a little more everyday. I can live with that. So no matter which side you may be on, remember one thing, you have to give respect to get it. Jay

George Carlin. The seven words you can't say on television.

When Josh Hoffman was doing my arm at Olde City, they used to BLAST the worst loud aggressive black metal imaginable. You're getting the ditch of your arm tattooed and you're wishing to god they'd just play some fucking Smiths or Magnetic Fields. But no. You've got another two hours of Norwegian Black Metal to deal with. Nowadays with my spoiled method of getting tattooed it works out much better.

just for the recored devo crack that wip BETTER be played at mine..dare you not to laugh.. at our shop i work with 5 other assholes who think they are the only one with good musical taste and your just a dick for playing anything, so lets say it gets tricky..we listen to an ass load of sabath which i use to love. a bunch of shit like tom petty, zep,van halen,high on fire, sleep, waylon, if it was up to me i would listen to a combo of sleep and country that would be the perfect mix. i agree leatherface is amazing. i love oi and older punk/hard core not the shit when everyone heard slayer for the first time that can blow me. all of the crap about music at our shop and how some people take what you want to hear as a personal attack has led to" music free mondays"..where im the only boss that works and you, meaning the co workers can play what ever the fuck they want. smiths, dance hall, rap, whatever it rules..when customers complain, if its not black metal playing cuz i dont know why any one would want to get tattooed to that unless your trying to find a spine to sit good? if its not that i tell them they get a pick when they pay the rent, or i give them "oh you didnt pick this? wierd?" they usually get it. i do however think that customers should NEVER be offended as in nigger or faggot crap, they are paying me for god sake they shoildnt be miss treated by there suroundings,oh and yes i like the smiths just hate the fans....so sensitive.haha

Also, different clients like different shit. I know that's a no brainer, but I've heard people talk about how they like to get tattooed to metal, because they feel it gives them the balls to sit through it. And that's not just teenage dudes saying that either. Some people obviously like mellower shit, and some the more upbeat fun stuff. Whatever. You can't please everyone. At least if I'm happy and the client isn't too put off by it, then it stays on. Last time I did a spot at Three Kings in Brooklyn, Albrigo had the greatest tattooing music. Weird ethereal, ambient shoe gaze shit. I love that shit. Like half Jesus and Mary Chain, and half Twin Peaks soundtrack.

For me its Leatherface right now, mix it up with some Dwarves,Cobra skulls, Turbonegro, The Clash. If the soccer moms decend upon me I hit them with some Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. I as well try to keep up some kind of conversation though.