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Why does everyone ALWAYS ask questions on the internet about things that don't directly concern them then get pissy when they don't get an answer? I don't get it? But really, I'll try to be nice... personally I don't answer that stuff online anyway. Here's some reasons why, in no particular order: 1) Many people equate time to cost and base their tattooer choices on cost. Most decent tattooers do not want to be involved in a bidding war or pitching for work. 2) serious customers ask at the shop, via email, the phone, conventions or whatever. We get a lot of time wasters, especially online. Nobody want to entertain time wasters. 3) It doesn't really matter. 4) with very large tattoos the time taken to complete it can vary between clients. Simply looking at a photo on a smartphone doesn't tell you that the client was a giant, or very petite. 25 hours for one client could mean 45-60 for another. 5) some of us get enough comments, likes, adds/requests or whatever on instagram per day that the 'news' or 'updates' tab that we miss it - there's less than 100 spaces in there so 100 likes and 2 comments means that your urgent request is missed. If you need to know how long a particular tattooer would take to give you a certain size tattoo or amount of coverage so you can budget for your tattoo - contact them via the method they prefer, phone, email, whatever. If you're just curious - get over it, you win some, you lose some.

I got this one today from Steve Boltz at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour. I had too much black & grey on my left leg so felt the need to get some color.

Those backs. Goddamn I love tattoos.

Yeah. The next thing you know they'll be pitting "artists" against each other, timing it and making them COMPETE!!! Hey, wait a minute . . . .

I would just get more tattoos and not stress out about small things.

@Iwar found this photo yesterday. Mike and Mike, Rubendall and Roper. Sooo good! Coolest thing I´ve seen in long time! Another dragon-king, Hide Ichibay:

From a customer perspective, I care 100% about the outcome much less about how long it took. Some artists are fast some are slower.

Stewart always says it better than I can

:p You can tell which are Jondix and which Mike´s.

Haven't posted in a bit... Session number... 7 or 8, I think, from Mike Rubendall today. Finally hit the ass, which made my ribs seem like a breeze. About two months ago Thomas Hooper finished my torso: And then one from Scott Campbell about 3 weeks ago:

Boo.. you'll be missed!

A few years ago I started thinking about getting an old one covered up and I kept hearing this advice. It seemed counter-intuitive at first, but I now firmly hold this belief. Get more and you'll find you stop worrying about it. In fact, I came all the way around and now really like the one I was going to cover up.

For every person that has a tattoo there are 100 more that are going to get one.

Also, just as a general practice, don't self-diagnose for anything. The internet is the last place to get answers to medical questions. Too many variables, 'what ifs' and potential possibilities. The internet certainly provides the quickest source of info, but by no means is that info reliable.

Go back and show the person who did it. Regardless. Do that. Not only can you usually avoid bad advice but also, if you develop any problems/reactions, etc from a tattoo or aftercare. Your tattooer will want to make notes anf ask you some questions and document everything. This is important in figuring out what's going on as well as helping to avoid potential problems in the future.

Here's my rib tiger Ross Nagle did while he's here in Chicago.

and i imagine the drive through vermont would be nice... discuss this with my girlfriend and see what she thinks...

Could have been the beginning of a glamorous modeling career!

My favorite recent personal experience. This was Monday. I was out for a jog, which is a sight in it of itself. I was crossing a street and noticed a small SUV teetering towards a stop sign, but thought nothing of it. As I passed I heard, "Hey, hey, excuse me." I stopped, assuming the person needed directions. I turned around..."What's up?" "You've got beautiful tats." "Uh, thank you..." "Do you ever let people photograph you? Would that be something you're interested in?" "No, that is not something I am interested in." I then jogged off. This exchange stayed with me the rest of my run. Mainly because I was near the park, and if the guy wanted a mouth fuck, he could've been more direct. I still would have said "no" but I appreciate a candid nature.

A few months ago I was planning on going but then I made appointments to start my backpiece in 2015 so the smart thing to do would be stay home and save my money for that huge project. But Montreal is only a 5 hour drive away....

Okay, I have had my first comment about my visible tattoo and I laughed at her. I had a mother at school pick-up say to me "you know that's permanent, right?" to which she got me saying sarcastically "No? Really? Oh shit!" and rolled eyes. That was closely followed by her muttering "I think tattoos are disgusting".

plastic wrap is cheap at the grocery store, sterile bandages from a medical supply place cost more. like @daveborjes said, it's just to get you home. usually because some local health dept requires you to leave with something on it. it's not for healing the tattoo up. so whatevers on it, take it off when you get somewhere to wash it up and do your first aftercare ritual.

Ever? I know that England508 on instagram has posted how long certainpieces take, and I have seen it other places. To speak to your question though from an outsider's perspective, the amount of time spent on a piece, especially large ones, could be seen as a private matter between them and the client. They spend a lot of time and energy on certain pieces, and are already sharing the photos. If they wanted to volunteer the info, then cool, but some might not see it as the casual onlooker's business. That's just my ignorant perspective though.

Thank you @Graeme, @hogg, @Iwar and CultExciter! Fingers crossed that is going to be a good one. Little scared that the tattoos going to suck ;) Hannya/snake on thigh from Rubendall and maybe a mermaid from Ichibay - - - Updated - - - ...and what is @Iwar nagging about?? SF? Mecca? Start his backpiece? Grime? Wtf?!?

Some progress photos on the piece Martin Lacasse is doing for me at Olde City Tattoo. Just started color at the end of the last session. Excited to start seeing it come together.

Jesus was the first tattoo recipient. Haven't you seen the famous pictures of those big old fashioned needles that they used to tattoo his hands and feet?

I´m stoked to tell that I got an appointment with Ichibay.

Don't stand a chance but here's my tattoo from Mike Wilson, inksmith & Rogers FL 1 hour 45 min, inner arm

1 Shot Rib Tattoo (5.5 Hours) by Tim Hendricks at Gold Rush Tattoo .

My 9 year old daughter, after learning how much her grandmother hates tattoos, told me, "well, that's her problem then." :)

- - - Updated - - - http://www.poopsenders.com/ You can send poop

Yeah I'm kinda thinking that way, funny how it works like that, hard to be a tattooed perfectionist!

I agree on doing what makes YOU happy.. Never been a huge fan of tattooing things that are 'fleeting' if you will, I mean in 30 years you may have forgotten most of breaking bad(which is a great show IMHO) and have a different opinion. I'll never discourage anyone from getting something that has meaning to them. I'm sure there are plenty of ppl who would though. I'm planning on getting a Dark Tower piece, the difference IMO ONLY is that this book series is the root of basically everything Stephen King has ever written and has a different historical significance, again just my opinion and am not trying to discourage you at all. I guess it's the same in some respects but different in others.. Any idea of what you want? I personally lean towards subtle VS lets say a logo.

Love this! The snake is killer. I'm such a fan of Boltz's work, it's everything that a tattoo ever needs to be.

As long as its not something that would look fucked up or simply not work it shouldn't be an issue. The art belongs to both client and artist and both should walk away happy with the piece. If something just isn't possible, it's just not and the client has to trust the artists expertise. I'd think any reputable artist is looking at the long term affects of changes or requests because when ppl ask who did the work good or bad it their reputation at stake. I'm no expert but in other mediums mixing colors can be touchy and the results unpredictable to some extent. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will chime in.

Since I always rush home to take it off right away anyways I could care less.

I call him Ladyface Navarro.

Many thanks. It took about three hours. It wasn't too painful, I've had a lot worse. Getting nice and comfortable is the main thing as keeping your arm stretched out in the same position for a long time is no fun. It does swell up a bit but the good news is that it's one of the quickest healing tattoos I've ever had.

I've noticed it's often what they don't say that speaks loudest. Over the last week I stayed in an upscale hotel and had breakfast each morning in their restaurant. Most of the other guests were on business trips or expensive wedding parties. I got lots of surreptitious looks from curious people. Most were fine. It didn't bother me. But one or two of them openly glared at me. It was strange, but I ended up feeling kind of sorry for them. They had nothing better to do than try and make someone else's day a little worse. (It didn't work!) The hotel staff on the other hand were great. I think they enjoyed having a polite, good tipping, friendly customer than the stuffed shirts who were generally unpleasant to everyone around them. In all my years I have never had anyone say anything openly nasty or unpleasant to me. I've had the usual "what do they mean" questions over the years, but for the most part people leave me alone about them - unless they are tattooed themselves. Then I often have a good conversation, swapping our experiences and finding out about artists I hadn't known about. I'm curious to see if anyone gives me grief from a religious perspective. I suspect my reaction would be to yawn and move on.

Yeah, I feel like Martin's work is super-underrated. He did my wife's arm, and she gets people stopping her in the street constantly to say how beautiful it is. When I finally take the plunge on getting my back done, I'd love him to do it.

Hello and welcome! I'm 57 and would gladly accept a free ticket to Melbourne!!!

A deep breath, Valium, and trust will get you a long way :). The right tattooer will take that amorphous mass of ideas and turn it into something glorious.

I think you need to get off the internet and stop looking at so much. Take two to three examples of things you like and let go. You're asking someone to design something for you. So obviously they are doing to need a little say so in the process.

Stoney by Steve Byrne.

This monster of a kirin is a oneshot from Marius Meyer.

Tattooers are the worst at taking care of tattoos. All those things we tell you to do? Most of us don't do any of that shit, mostly because we're lazy. I've never had anything heal poorly no matter what I did or didn't do for aftercare.

@gronk, you're entitled to get any type of tattoo that you want. that is everyone's prerogative. but many of have found, some through personal mistake, or seeing others, and just living for several decades, that tattoos have trends just like anything else. a good majority of us here realize that, and we stick to traditional american, japanese, and black and grey tattoos because we know they will still be relevant 10-20-30-50-100 years from now. that's right, my rotting corpse will still have relevant tats!

Here's my back piece being done by Matt Arriola from Liberty Tattoo in Seattle WA. Hope you like it.

Andre Malcolm of Analog Tattoo Kollektiv in San Jose does really incredible dragons: ANDRÉ_ATAK

This one has been posted here before but damnnn, this is so good. Mike Roper