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Yep, @Graeme is right. Who gives a shit what people think. The majority of people have no ability to discern elements of a tattoo design once it is applied to the skin, let alone a japanese piece. I had someone ask me if I had a dinosaur on my forearm a few weeks ago. DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A FUCKIN' DINOSAUR TO YOU?! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!! People are dumb, just ignore them.

I endorse this sentiment 100%. The issue here has very little to do with the actual tattoo and almost everything to do with self-confidence. @2bacanvas if I have come across as a dick on this thread it is because I am a mean and hateful bastard, but you have mentioned that "people say it kinda looks like an alien", that you "get allot of mixed reviews on this tattoo. Some like it and some criticize it." If you get hung up on what other people think about your tattoos, you are ALWAYS going to be unhappy with them. Fuck what other people think because 1) it's on you and it's permanent (you're never going to laser off a little bit of it and have the guy rework it so let's just drop that notion); 2) most people are stupid and uncreative and have no idea when it comes to art and don't especially care either, so if you ask the average non-tattooed or lightly tattooed person what they think of tattoos they're probably going to prefer the bird silhouettes that are contorted into their children's initials and look like a pile of shit over a beautiful Japanese tattoo that has no overt meaning. So basically nobody with any sense should give half a shit about their opinions. And that includes the people here. If you're not going to be confident in the tattoos you get you probably shouldn't be getting tattooed anyway. Tattoos aren't for everybody, and that includes a lot of people who have them.

Just finished with the captain america coverup on my left arm. The pic was right after, so a little swollen and still a little bleeding, but anyway.....

[/img] Little filler done by Mike Rubendall at Kingsave

@Tornado6 I'm gonna echo the placement argument here. A few months ago I started a new sleeve, and the first hour or so was spent finalizing the design and figuring out how/where to lay it on my arm. The artist went on to explain how the arm is basically a cylinder, so a cohesive sleeve is about creating an image that complements and enhances your natural movement. (I hope I'm doing justice to his explanation.) So when I bend my arm now, the bottom bird's wing creates this really nice spiral where before was just a hard, 90-degree angle. What I had originally imagined got changed completely, but it was absolutely for the best. I have no gift for composition, haha. Placement is important for a piecewise sleeve too, of course, but you can get away with a lot more with this approach. As for the feminine/masculine thing and how people will read it, I don't think you should worry about that. It's going to be on your body, so on days you are feeling more girly, your tattoo will complement it. On days you're feeling tomboyish, your tattoo will it as well. In a way, a tattoo is the ultimate accessory, so how you carry it can change its quality. I hope this makes sense.

Yea, one of the things you need to learn (as new to tattoos, I assume?) is that there will always, Always, be something wrong with a tattoo. Whether that something is created in your own head or is something visible, you'll find something wrong with all of your tattoos. I can point to all the flaws in mine: where a line fell out, where the color didn't heal like I thought it would, where color faded after healing, where the line has spread a bit, should have gone a different color, should have gone black & grey, etc. Learn to live with it - they all come out like that, with some manner of imperfection. Nobody will scrutinize your tattoo like you will, they'll see some finger waves and an octopus - and it is a nice tattoo. Just get more.

Ah, there it is...the opinion that validates yours. If you don't like it (and it seems like its pretty clear WHAT you don't like about it) why ask around about opinions? I don't mean this to be harsh, but maybe this style of tattoo isn't for you? It's been my experience with larger work that there will be differences between the original drawing and the final tattoo application. They are, after all, two very different things. If you go in being dead-set on every detail and line I think it's a pretty sure bet your expectations will be different than the outcome. I think the impact and overall effect are much more important, but that's me. Not to say you shouldn't feel like you can (and should) get what you want, but with something that large and involved it's unlikely that any drawing will be a perfect transfer into the tattoo. As mentioned above, extend it up! With more coverage, the over-all impact will become the focal point, not some minuscule details that only you (the wearer) will notice because you have the opportunity to obsess about it. Just some guy on the internet's $0.02

I think it would work if it was all black, illustrative style tattoo. However I wouldn't be confident the shape of the skull will hold over time, as your body changes, as you age, as you move with the tattoo on you, since the design is fairly static. A skilled tattooer could make it work though. An alternate perspective: If you want to get a skull, get a skull. If you want to get flowers, get flowers. Too often we try to get too 'clever' with a design and it ends up being hard to read, complicated, and (especially) dated. Simplicity is what stands out and stands the test of time. My $0.02

At one point I found out the gynecologist I have been going to for years had not one, but TWO 3/4 sleeves! Blew my mind and made me adore her even more (she's the best doctor I've ever had). A lot of the ladies at my job have small tattoos like love-in-an-infinity-sign and that sort of thing. It's still exciting to talk to them about their tattoo plans even if we are drawn to different styles. Several of our male software developers are heavily tattooed with rad stuff. I'm lucky in that everyone at work has been really supportive of me taking off work to get tattoos and are excited to see what I come back with.

Someone complemented the dragon on my forearm once, with complete sincerity. I have a big ship on my forearm...

Haha nice. I once got, "Is that a genie coming out of your ass?"

We are just bummed that you are bummed. I would be thrilled to have that tattoo.

best thing to do when you dont like your new tattoo... get another! seriously - it works!

Bradley Tomkins has taken over bright_and_bold today and it's great rather than showing his favourite tattooers he is posting the tattoos that he has collected over the years

+1 to advice to keep it simple. However, this effect can be killer in the right hands. Check out some of James McKenna's stuff. Some of his stuff pushes things a bit too far for my tastes, but there are some really amazing ideas in there too: https://instagram.com/j__mckenna/ https://instagram.com/p/zYrrrqQ2sH/?modal=true https://instagram.com/p/wilI64w2vd/?modal=true https://instagram.com/p/j9HGFKw2sI/?modal=true

Super stoked that I finally got tattooed by Eddy Deutsche!

That big torso devil from Theo Mindell is on me! We have finished everything now except the last bit of fire/flames. Next/Last appt coming up in April to kill the beast.

...but that's what I doooooooo! It's easier to kick it around here with tattooed people. It isn't like, a serious stress in my real life, but it is fun to talk about on the internet. Look how many pretty lady arms we got out of it :D

My arm isn't done, and I've only really started on one, but I can actually contribute! So I shall. :) Taking pictures of my own arm is hard, and I suck at it. There are individual pictures of these in my gallery, though, anyway! I was really late in coming to an appreciation of traditional designs (aside from traditional Japanese, which I have always loved). What sold me on traditional sleeves was the interesting way in which individual pieces become more than the sum of each individual tattoo...it becomes this collective aesthetic that I find so fascinating, in addition to being a very cool collection of individual images. I mention this because I have similar feelings about 'masculine' and 'feminine' aesthetics. (I'm also one of those people who thinks a man or woman can wear whatever the hell they want and still be masculine and feminine if they want to be, but that's a discussion of a slightly different variety. For the purposes of this post, I'm just using the generally accepted definitions of those words.) I think whether something reads as 'masculine' or 'feminine' in the traditional sense depends mostly on general presentation. There are tons of pictures out there of women wearing tough, aggressive traditional work, but they dress or present themselves in a way that's still super-girly and feminine. I think this look is amazing. Of course, there'll always be people out there who just find tattoos in general 'unfeminine' or whatever, buuut. That's really more about them, imo.

Post your devils/demons/etc! Planning to get one from Craig Boxcar Chazen next week, but for now here are some of my favorites. Luke Jinks Theo Mindell Chris Marchetto Boxcar

Hi All, Pushing 50 and never been inked. I've wanted tattoos more than half of my life but there's always been a reason not to but I'm a big boy now and it's about time I started making my own bad decisions. I had an epiphany recently and found myself asking "Dude, what's the worst that can happen?" so I've found a local artist whose work I like and I have a five hour slot booked a week from now. I've had sleepless nights worrying about what I'm going to have done - it's not that I can't think of anything, it's because I can't decide on only one thing - but one thing I do know: she'll come up with something far more impressive than I if I only let her have her creative freedom. So I'm gonna give her the broadest of briefs and let the chips fall where they may.

Hey guys, my name's Ye and I just graduated from university (undergrad) a couple of months ago. I've currently got 4 tattoos on the underside of my left fore-arm but I plan to get a full-length sleeve on my right arm within this year. It's something I've been looking forward to but I'm taking a rather steady and clincal-ish approach as this is something I would like to proudly display and after-all, "regret is unprofessional" - M I'm looking forward to enjoying my time spent in this forum, see you guys around.

why not? haha! had some space so . I'm starting my back soon so didn't want to do anything major. It's a nice little filler by one of the best..

@Graeme It wasn't until that appointment that I really understood what is meant by "placement", which I used to think just meant "looks good in this spot". I'm grateful he was willing to explain his process to me, instead of just slapping it on there. Just took a look at the photo of your sleeve - those concentric rings above the crow actually look like they're spinning. It's amazing!

No did not get my name from ink master. Lol. I understand not every part of a tattoo has to be perfect (in my eyes) I do like to point out this is not my first tattoo. This same artist did my left arm which is a complete sleeve wrist to shoulder. I am very happy with it and that is why I went back to him. I guess I just didn't expect some extra free hand stuff. And the tentacles didn't go as I imagined it. But I know he gets into a zone and adds stuff. Which I didn't mind on my left arm. But a bit on this piece. Maybe it has to grow on me. I'm a perfectionist in life and at work so maybe I'm uncomfortable when things don't go my way. But I didn't want a photo like octopus as many people have . Japanese style is a awesome style and I love my japanese left arm. My initial response was to see conformation from others regarding my issues and have it fixed asap. But that's in my personality. This tattoo is executed professionally and I would like to appreciate it more over time. I do appreciate the input of you all. It is a great forum to be part of and get some insight in my tattoo. And perhaps adjust my wrong attitude towards what I expect.

did that work?

dont forget bad placement! good advice above to the OP dude - your tatt is cool even if it wasnt - you should still rock it like you stole it

In the winter when it's dry, I find that Lubriderm dries too quickly. I use: Shea Moisture - Raw Shae, Chamomile & Argan oil. It's long lasting, smells good for man or woman, don't need much. Pretty much all natural and organic Deionized Water, Raw Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Oil*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter*, Olus Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Nut Oil, Centhera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Borage Officinalis Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil, , Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Boswellia Serrata (Frankincense) Oil, Chamomile Extract, Myrrh Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract *Certified Organic Ingredient.

Whenever I think of devil/demon tattoos, the first person that comes to mind is Derek Noble. Don't think it gets much better when it comes to the demonic stuff. And like a couple people have already said, as badass as they look, I don't think I could properly rock something like that. But they do make for some badass tattoos.

word! @sourpussoctopus these pieces are really awesome!

@sourpussoctopus Tattoo buddy! I like that! :)

There's a guy in the machine shop at work who is my little tat bud. We talk tattoos constantly and discuss our upcoming plans. Its a great respite from the corporate drag. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Baltimore is cool, really spread open and pretty big, a lot of average tattoers, some great ones though

Have fun with it - my first was Baltimore, where I wandered around looking at portfolios and talking to artists. If they aren't working, people will talk with you about ideas. That's where I found my guy - I'd been looking for someone and just talking with someone in person helped me feel like he could do the job and was interested in it. i didn't get tattooed that day, but I could have. There is the off chance that I will go to this convention. I will be in the area on Sunday with perhaps nothing to do.

I feel like I'm doing a double post because I already submit my last tattoo for the February contest but I guess it would fit here too! ^^ So here it is! Done by Valerie Vargas at her shop Modern Classic Tattoo in London. So Stoked of this one, it's more awesome than I was expecting (I knew it would be massive but for me it reach the perfection!) Here a video to show how it fit on my knee: Video by Valerie Vargas(valeriemodernclassic): Manu came to @modernclassictattoo a... | iPhoneogram

I'm new here, but I definitely can't resist to a contest! Maybe a bit late to enter for this month tho ^^ So here's my last tattoo (knee cap), done by Valerie Vargas at Modern Classic Tattoo last week - Drawn-on and one shot there's also a vid here: Video by Valerie Vargas(valeriemodernclassic): Manu came to @modernclassictattoo a... | iPhoneogram

Mine from Marc Nava (pic from his Instagram)

In the interests of completeness, @Cork and I survived the tattoo contest so I'll answer my original questions here for posterity and other potential contestants. A couple pictures are attached - the three from @Cork in the http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/lst-get-togethers-tattoo-conventions/6245-philadelphia-tattoo-convention-2015-a.html thread. Aside from the awesome photo bomb from Brian O'Halloran from Clerks, you see @Cork waiting for his turn to show while a girl is illustrating one clothing option and showing how to "assume the position." I also included a picture of my contest slips and of what it looks like trying to see the stage from the crowd - I had my camera held up over my head. Well before the contests start, you head to a table by the stage and enter as many of the contests as you want. Sign up, pay your $10, and you get a slip of paper with the category and your number in the category. You hand/show it to the judge when you get up there - it's supposed to be anonymous. There were about 30 of us entered in the backpiece contest. It was on Sunday, which apparently has fewer attendees. For comparison, there were fewer in Extra Large Color (which I was gently ragged-on for also entering). There were about 5 for Overall and around 10ish in categories such as hand and neck. There were many more than 30 for small and medium color and black and grey. The announcer presented a girl with an underboob tattoo and announced it as "The New Tramp Stamp." <cringe> Sigh. There were mutterings that there should be gender classes for the "chest" category. Anyway... There were two judging tables - one on the stage (which was elevated about 2-3 feet - the same stage that was set on fire by this genius: Caught on Cam: Fire Breather Catches Fire During Tattoo Convention | NBC 10 Philadelphia) and one table on the floor just in front of the stage. They ran both at the same time with different categories at each (for example, at the start, they ran all black and grey from the left at the lower table, and color from the right at the upper table). We went right up to the table and turned. The three judges sat behind the table and didn't come around. For thigh pieces and the like, the entrants backed up a couple feet to allow good viewing. Not very, other than when they call your category, you had better get in line. And because they were running two tables, the categories got out of sync and didn't go in order - they called XL Black and Grey which is listed AFTER XL Color, and I thought I missed it! So a category is announced like this, "Backpiece, line up on the right of the stage starting with Number 1, Bob, Number 2, @SeeSea, Number 3, @Cork, through to 30, and you all have numbers so figure out the rest on your own." The line is not behind the stage or behind a curtain - see the pic of me standing in line for XL Color. The first person waits to be called and they go up the steps. You tell your number then turn around and stand there, looking at the crowd, which is somewhat paying attention but often just chatting among themselves. Then you look back a couple times because you have no clue if they are done, and eventually they will nod or say, "Thank you." Most people didn't turn to show the audience - I remembered to for XL Color but forgot to for backpiece. No one is announced - after the person in front of you finishes, wait a short moment then head up and lather/rinse/repeat. Some time later, when those scores are tallied, the announcer will just announce the results over the loudspeaker while judging of other categories continues. Somewhat controlled chaos. And boring. Because you can't really see anything, everyone is just standing around waiting, wondering if you can get through the line at the bathroom in time. I saw all kinds but no pasties. Many girls wore halter tops or bikinis of some sort, and untied them or pulled them aside. This is what I did. My halter covered a bit less than the pictures show - I used those heavy clamp paperclip things to pull back the sides on the bottom so the entire tattoo showed. There were a few girls who had hoodies or jackets turned around and unzipped them. In the picture where @Cork is walking up to the stage, you can see the girl in front of him doing just this. Then there was this girl who was right in front of me in line. She had on a string. Just a string. And she looked great in that string. She had a black and grey astronomy tattoo that went down one cheek so it was a good outfit to show the entire thing. Obviously for the dudes, shirtless was easy. @Cork dropped trou, weighted down by his belt they slammed down BAM right on the stage, drawing a quick look of surprise from a female judge. Good times. Then he crunched up his boxers to maximize visual impact for the judges and maintained a strong look of decorum, staring straight into the crowd. I don't recall fundoshis for Backpiece, but I saw some for Overall. Wearing a fundoshi and then waiting to drop pants/shorts on stage facing away from the judges would have been just fine for those concerned about public displays of cheekage. Nope, not for backpiece or any contest on Sunday. On Saturday, there are gender classes for many but they don't do backs on Saturday. Apparently this is the case from what I hear. Second place was a black and grey Ben Franklin theme. We were in Philly. Go figure. Although, the three trophies went to a back-to-thighs new school odd evil fish with teeth organic things with extra eyeballs that was pretty cool, black and grey Ben, and then back-to-thighs Japanese. So it clearly wasn't restricted to a particular style. Overall, it's an experience and you'll see a wide variety of styles and quality wandering around in the crowd that is waiting to be judged. There were some really great tattoos there, and some less fortunate ones.

By Jasmin Austin down in Perth, Australia.

Lady (horse) parts?

This came in the mail yesterday. I am so excited!

My latest and greatest tattoo on my left knee, Had a very personal battle getting this one almost tapped a couple of times. Artist is WT Norbert so stoked to have him working just down the road from my place

It's tough for me to articulate as well. I will say, though, some of my favorite tattoos I've seen on women are ones that accentuate their female form with placement/flow/lines/etc. I think tattoos can be one of the coolest ways to be more feminine. Roxx at 2Spirit in SF does this really well with linework.

My arms are still in process but here's the 1/2 sleeve so far

@TrixieFaux absolutely love your arms...so beautiful...fits perfectly with you :) - - - Updated - - - oh...and my arm so far...

Some crappy phone pics of my Lehi tiger. He is being mean to a dragon.

I'm a bit biased being an ongoing client, but I personally love Henning Jorgensen's tigers. I plan on getting one on my front right thigh soon as he finishes up my left thigh and the collaboration back piece he's working with Rubendall on. Check out the pics!

I'm sorry, but I don't get it. What's the rush? Who needs a large tattoo that quickly anyway? Is regular (shorter) sessions too much trouble? Even if you are traveling, I see no need to do 3 full consecutive days. I'm gonna stick my neck out here and say that every sleeve that I've seen (in person) completed in marathon sessions or super-close consecutive sessions heals pretty rough. I'd love someone to prove me wrong and i hope someone can but I don't see how you can heal a full arm while maintaining some sort of normal life (which includes moving your limbs, going to the toilet, moving food to your face etc.) without having some colour drop-out or whatever. I find healing larger tattoos to be miserable at the best of times, particularly around the ditch, elbow, armpit etc. For me, marathon consecutive sessions means another trip for touch ups, which negates the need to finish in a short space of time anyway. It usually takes just a little more thought from the tattooer to finish smaller sections of the tattoo with a mind to extending it later if the client doesn't want to live with an un-finished looking tattoo, or the manner CaptCanada described at the end of his post above. This can still be tough to heal, but is a more efficient use of time, particularly for people who travel long distances. But I guess you don't get so many bragging rights, just a solid, awesome tattoo. Please bear in mind that I have occasionally and begrudgingly, tattooed the same person on 2 consecutive days to finish a large tattoo before they leave the country/go to prison or whatever, so that probably discounts my opinion.

i agree with the previous sentiments -- i dont want to be touched, i shouldnt be expected to tolerate you nor should i have to explain my tattoos to you. in that past few years i have just started to reject the advances. however my "no, you cant see my arm." and "please dont touch me" always elicits surprised stares. they seem really caught off guard that I wouldnt want a stranger pulling my arm to his face or that i dont want to hear about what they want to get done in the future. one of the most frustrating things is having a total stranger get rude with me for telling him that i would rather he not touch me. the conversation typically goes as follows: Interrupting my conversation "oh sweet tats, can i see them?" "no. sorry, im having a conversation" "you dont have to be such a bitch." >: ( the other random approach i get disgusts me and that is a guy assuming im some sort of "naughty-girl-gone-wild". that conversation usually also ends with me being called a bitch and begins something like this: "well helllllloooo there, you look like a bad girl." smarmy smirk "...no. please go away" "i bet youre a real handful hunh?" "...no." "oh ho ho someones an evil evil thing hmmmm?" also, my friend who has a chest piece gets "can i see how far down that goes?" at least twice a week. a lot of my friends who do not have tattoos will ask me why i am not really into men who are tattoo free and its because of my experiences with the aforementioned jerks. they seem to think of me as some sort of dominatrix that would be a "good time" rather than an interesting person that they should get to know. it freaks me out a little and makes me question their motives for approaching me.

what i seem to notice is that the only men with balls big enough to date a heavily tattooed woman are heavily tattooed themselves, but i might be wrong of course, this is just what ive noticed. most tattooed folk will attract a few looks when out and about but people cant help but downright stare when they notice tattooed women, in the summer i dread wearing shorts knowing all i'll get is questions, and i cant stand answering the same shit over and over again. though i'm always left alone when im waking around with stewart (my other half), it might be to do with the fact hes even more heavily tattooed, over 6" tall and is usually frowning at them already haha. i guess when im on my own, people dont seem to be scared of me as they seem of him, if im alone, they will ask more readily expecting a sweet young girl to just be that, sweet, and kindly answer their questions. its that that particularly that annoys me most, do they really think im gonna entertain them? a complete stranger? just cos im a girl? what worries me is what the media is making tattooed women out to be. it has always loved a slutty-tattooed-woman scandal. were all sex/fame/money hungry according to them, when in all honesty, some might be, but really, theres WAY more untattooed women that way inclined. but hey, thats another much more elaborate post i cant put my energy into right now.