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Alright... here goes nothin. Pharoah's Horses tattooed by me, finished in October.

Here is my back-piece from @Stewart Robson Started - 11/25/2011 Completed - 11/24/2013 The tattoo has 78 hours in total.

Second session yesterday. Was a lot easier this time around, not so apprehensive I guess and also made a point to just focus on my breathing for the few lines that needed finishing. Looking forward to the next session! Thanks again Stewart.

Hello! I'm Adam, 29 years old, been living in New York City for the last 7 years. I love BIG, BOLD, TRADITIONAL tattoos, always with lots of black :cool: @suburbanxcore always makes fun of me for liking BIG lines i.e. a lot of the great artists from Spain (El Monga, El Toro, Deno, etc) or their American contemporaries some of whom I've been tattooed by, some of whom I've yet to meet. I work in specialty coffee and have a huge passion for food as well (Chad Koeplinger's IG feed always has me salivating). I'm also a huge camera/film/photography geek. I'll post up some photos of some of the work I have soon. Good to finally get involved!

Thanks to all the LSTer's for voting! Amazingly many cool tattoos this month as always, so I'm very happy to win the November contest! Just look how happy I was when it was announced that I was the winner, haha​​! @Graeme, I think I'm in love with your Chad Koeplinger panther / rose mix. I'm jealous!

Been a couple of months since I got my first ones finished. So happy with them, Dalmiro did an awesome job. So I guess it's time to start planning the next one?! R

Alright, alright! :p I uploaded a few.

Current list: Jay Salerno, Rempe, Shon Lindauer, Mike Fite, and Mario Desa

Yeah, and the city ain't that hot either.

I'll second that. Unless there are three-boobed aliens there. Then I'm down.

I have the great pleasure to announce that my buddy @Wilhell has won the November contest with his jawdroppingly awesome Mike Rubendall snake'n'hannya thigh piece!! Congrats my friend!! Here are some reaction photos from when he received the good news Please PM @steve1461686340 with your shirt info (size and male or female) along with your address. Thanks to everyone for your submissions! December contest will be up soon.

Read more here: A one-way ticket to Mars, apply now - CNN.com Mission to colonise Mars: 'Columbus didn't wait; nor should we' | Science | theguardian.com A one-way ticket too tempting to ignore: 165,000 apply for mission to colonise Mars - despite no chance of them ever returning to Earth - Science - News - The Independent So! There's that. Anyone interested in signing your life away to be a privately owned guinea pig living on Mars? :P edit: also, fuck Colombus. That's all :cool:

Thanks for making a newcomer here feel so welcome. What I'm really interested in is the irony that most of the world sees J-tattoos as works of art but here they are still looked down upon. I've been getting tattooed off-and-on since I was in my mid-teens but in the summer I decided to book in with Tomo at YB for some larger work. It's been a wait but the first session is coming close - which is one reason I've been reading this forum on tips on surviving longer sessions.

Ha! pass... though there are plenty of people I wouldn't mind sending there......

Is it a LST record that a tattoo of the month contest only lasted 9 minutes?

I, for one, can't wait to turn another planet into a sewer.

I'd rather go check out the pyramids in Antarctica.

by Tim Lehi So stoked on how this came out, will definitely be going back to him for more once I save up.

I always get so psyched for a tattoo and completely forget about healing it and all of the fun that goes along with that... I'm starting to catch on now (after 6 years) and scheduled my next one for the end of the work week :)

Are there tattoo artists on Mars? Then, no.

My first tattoo, done two days ago. It's a freehand piece by Yliana Paolini. Was an awesome experience. Well worth the 7hour driving trip to Brighton :) She's freakin' amazing. Next session is in 6 weeks. Can't wait!

Finally! @Wilhell :)

With long sessions, and back to back days in particular, I can say that (anecdotally) I have felt run down afterwards. Sometimes a few days later I get a mild cold or sore throat. I'm prepared to believe heavy tattooing puts your immune system under pressure. Incidentally I also feel like if you have a really heavy session on something like your back or front you can have a little touch of shock afterwards. This year when I got the first day of work done on my front I had the shivers big time that night, and I felt really cold. I think your body can react to it as a trauma even if in your head you know it's OK. Overall nothing to be too worried about though- nothing to be done about it, and I don't believe it really impacts on the end result. Being forewarned might help someone though.

Congratulations, @Wilhell!!!! So rad!

That's Fred. And Higgs, also by Hardy.

hey everyone, I'm Jules. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and currently live in North East LA. I'm 32 and never thought I'd get tattooed until I was 26 or so... and then waited until I was 30 to actually do it. I have 3 now and am starting to think about my first "big" tattoo. I'm really blown away by the community here and the wealth of knowledge, wisdom and all around love being shown. I'm really psyched to be a part of it.

Ever since the beginning of mankind ppl have plunged head long into the unknown. I'm sure countless sailors met watery graves perfecting boats, same with airplanes and cars, not to mention discovering new lands. To relate this somewhat to tattooing, I'm sure even the greatest tattooers, painters and artists did bad work before finally getting it right. These things are not 'life and death' if you will but no great things come without great mistakes. Again, I won't be applying for this, I have a great life including a beautiful wife and daughter, a great family and decent job, but the idea that we(the human race) is about embark on expanding life if exciting to me. :shrug:

Both actually..but yeah,it is a beautiful country. ;) Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

Welcome! Make yourself at home and please post pictures of your tattoos. We would all love to see them.

So stoked for you. I love his work. I need to book with him at some point, but the wife's getting a little antsy with the amount of work I've been getting/am scheduled to get.

Congratulations, @Wilhell !

Larvae, local doom from Oakland. Fucking incredible live, go see them if you have a chance. Necrot, another excellent local thrash metal band. Equally great live.

Welcome! Nice intro. What made you decide to move to Japan?

That promo video got me emotional, not gonna lie...

Actually, I also just booked with Ron Henry Wells for February at the Philly convention. He's going to be filling in the gap between my Grez and Scott Sylvia pieces. I can't wait.

Tattoos fade because your cells divide and regenerate as you age. Pigment is encapsulated in scar tissue, which also divides and regenerates with age. Thus spreading out the pigment over time.

Yokoso!! Can we see some of the tattoos you have or hear about some of your tattoo experiences in/around Yokohama? I am super jealous, Japan is definitely a pilgrimage I need to make within my lifetime.

If you had something from a great tattooer it should be immediately obvious who did it, at least to people who know what they're looking at. No signature should be necessary.

This is the 'bad tattoos' sub forum however, so this is the correct place for such a thread. ;)

You are definitely surrounded by great art, congratulations. I hope you can work from any of them sometime. Welcome.

Hey @tattooedj , welcome ! Do you have any tattoos ?

Yes!!! I finally have an appointment for a NEW tattoo! It's been soooo long!

Made it a point to see more concerts/shows/festivals, and I am actually following through Testament last Friday Slayer Tomorrow at MSG Megadeth on Friday Also got tickets to see Gorguts in December as well as tickets to Suffocation and Pyrexia. The grand win of it all was getting my 4 day pass to Maryland Deathfest (which sold out in 2 hours). So many shows, so much hearing loss! Scoping out tickets to Black Sabbath, as apparently this is their last tour ever.

I know this is not what Shawn had in mind when he started this thread, but I had to put it up here. I read an article years ago that Syd Barrett, before he died, would go out and take a photo of something then make a painting of the photo then take a photo of the painting. It really moved me, and so does the idea of these twins getting the same tattoos. I doubt that the two things are at all related, outside of my mind, but for some reason they are exactly the same to me. http://www.th-ink.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jordan-and-Caleb.jpeg

@beez - posted pics in my gallery! I figured if pictures of the tattoo are on his website, I can put them here :) Will post Shinji ones when I'm healed up!

I'm late in posting this. Also it's long. Grab a cold beer and read at your leisure. So was I the only one who attended the Shige Seminar at the SFO convention? If anyone else went I'd love to hear your thoughts. Especially if you went Sunday. I attended Saturday and what was supposed to run from 10:00-11:30, lasted till about 1:30. And only because Ed Hardy's lecture was supposed to take place in the same room at 1:00. I suspect it could have gone on for another hour. Shige was rushed at the end and had to skip over some explanations. Even then, it was both entertaining and educational. For about 3 hours he discussed the practice he goes through developing each of his back pieces. Starting with a day long consult with his clients to make sure they get the tattoo they want and to make sure he and they are all on the same page. He explained 1 day may seem extreme for a consult, but given the size, the fact they will be together for long periods for the tattoo, and the tattoo will be a part of the Client forever, giving them a day for a consult was most responsible. In one of the back pieces he showed us, he explained the Client originally wanted one design motif but he convinced him to go another route. In that particular case it was a friend with a family, and who owned a nail salon. The Client was originally interested in a hell scene but Shige asked him if he really wanted that type of scene given his new family and his life making people feel more attractive. The Client realized then that something else was more appropriate and together they arrived at a design incorporating a Buddhist diety. I thought this was cool because it showed his commitment to his Clients and their happiness. He also noted that each back piece is designed specifically for each individual's body. No design can truly be swapped out for another person because he designs in full scale, and for the bearer's shape. Rather than drawing a sketch and enlarging it, he'll draw life size designs. I thought this was an interesting approach and allowed him to fit as much detail as possible into a design. This explains a lot from what I've seen of his work where for example the arc of a sword scabbard perfectly follows the curve of someone's lats. In regards to subjects, whether they be Buddhist entities, mythological/natural creatures, or scenes from specific stories, Shige explained he takes great care in making sure he gets the subject just right in portraying them accurately and accentuating certain elements as needed. One thing he mentioned was that it was his job to educate the Client about stories. The Woodblock, Noh, Kabuki scenes are not something most Japanese Clients know about. Most people in Japan are just as uneducated as non-Japanese in regards to this. As such he takes great pain to research as much as he can. In the instance with deities, each hand carries a certain item. Which hand it is in and which item is very specific. This reminded me of Horitomo's lecture on Fudo Myo-o who said the same. If the items were lacking or in the wrong hand then the depiction of that deity would be off. It's all in the bearer if they truly care, some don't, but it's good to hear things about these deities most are not aware of to know they may be incorrect. He also noted that most motifs based on a story is based on a true story with a historical figure and context. It was very important to know this and he went through the process of showing some back pieces and describing their stories and where in particular they took place in Japan and when. And also compared the time spans between each. Now I've always been interested in mythology since I was a wee lad so bit by bit I've made an effort to learn about particular historical characters, many of whom figure into these stories to a certain degree so some of these stories were familiar to me, but I always relish the chance to hear more about them. Even so, Shige apologized many times to the group for making it feel like a history lesson, but also stressed how important it was to know it. Why so? One example he explained was when designing patterns on kimono or the colors used. One would not apply the print design of a geisha from say the 17th century to the print design on a princess's kimono from the 10th century. The pattern would be wrong for nobility and the time period would be off. subtle things. In the past the closest thing I've seen to this example was with regards to samurai style armor from the 1500-1600's being depicted in stories from about 1100. They were cool images, no big deal you think, right? Not really. I mean if you don't care about details like that it's all good, but in relatable terms it's like showing a Viking at the controls of a drone strike or a knight wearing chaps and a pair of six shooters at his side. It can be cool but it can also just as easily make someone scratch their head. All this, displayed the shear amount Shige goes through to give his all to a tattoo. What was also nice was that while informing the group about the historical backdrop of particular stories, he also touched upon their relationship to other stories and how they interconnected. He also alluded to particular stories he felt would make interesting subjects for future large pieces. Taki who was translating, joked that he wasn't sure if Shige was hinting that he wanted some one to make a request for those stories. If it was, or you want to give it a try, I can fill you in on which stories those were. Ha ha! Between all of this he also described how having no "master", outside of the constraints of certain story elements, he was allowed creative freedom to do what he wanted and not conform to rigid traditions. For example normally a back ends a certain distance on the ribs down the side but I believe it was his Taira No Tomomori back piece, that the subject wrapped around the Client's body to almost become a full body suit or in the case of another tradition mandated a Buddhist deity be depicted with 11 faces. In that particular case instead of tattooing all 11 he introduced some western notions having some hidden with the idea that as the faces wrapped around the deity you wouldnt be able to see some and he also allowed the Client's face to be the 11th. In addition that particular face was known to always wear a smile. So Shige told the wearer that he always has to smile now. I thought that was pretty clever and a nice inside joke between the two. I'll end this now, but like Shige's lecture it could go on much much longer. Suffice it to say it was a very enjoyable time and what I came away with was a profound appreciation for one man's deep thought process he gives to each of his Client's tattoos. Often times, something Clients take for granted of their Tattooers. Thank you Shige and Taki for the seminar. Also everyone who attended received a print of Fudo Myo-o and a digital copy of his book! Now I have all 3 versions. Hardcover, paperback, and digital! Sidenote, every time I mentioned "Client", I was very tempted to swap it out for "Canvas". But that would be too cruel.