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Had my 2nd session with Thomas Hooper yesterday. Mostly dot shading and mostly sat okay for it. Much easier than the line work during our first session.

I echo that sentiment! If someone posts a picture of tattoo on LST that you don't like, please don't shit all over it. Even if someone ask for critique, try to be gentle with your feedback, and educate rather than simply state how shitty you think it is.

Are you cray? He is totally that weird brown wizard with the animal poop in his hair. Let's be real.

The latest addition to my Simpsons in Space leg sleeve. Work was done by Rev. J.R. out of Vicious Ink in Rochester Hills Michigan.

Lemme throw in Mr. Hot Stuff himself, Danny Reed: And @mmikaoj, I love that Judas piece you have - it really stands out from the other pieces on your legs. - - - Updated - - -

Did another six hours yesterday covering the waist to knees. I watched a couple of movies which helped keep my mind off everything, although I found the ass/legs to be way easier than the lower back. We've got 10 hours total so far, and the next appointment is only in a few weeks, woot!

i think this tattoo looks awesome. @2bacanvas you need to STOP overanalyzing it immediately. You are going to drive yourself nuts. It's kinda like body dysmorphic syndrome going on right now. You are seeing problems that aren't there. It is an excellent tattoo. Stop getting hung up silly little trivial issues. Imagine what you'd be going through if you actually got a bad tattoo! This one is great! Stop worrying and don't even think about lasering some and having someone else finish it. I've made the mistake of having someone else touch up an another artists work. It ruined what was a very nicely done tattoo. I had to wear that crap for almost 20 years before I finally covered it (with a bad ass panther). Be happy with the great tattoo that you recieved.

Wow, when I read the thread title and article topic, I just assumed it was birthmark on her face. Sure, her birthmark is big, but it's on her leg. Your otherwise healthy child has a birthmark on her leg that can be covered by pants most of the time; and at a later dated could almost certainly could be lasered to be lighter/less visible. Maybe this is just my perspective as the father of a child with special needs; but this seems super dumb to me. It's also a waste of money and quality tattoo real estate.

Javier Betancourt. The whip is amazing.

Here's my hand by Rudy Fritsch, made at the London Tattoo Convention.

Ah-HA I think we have root cause here, folks. Maybe you should stop by the thread below if you haven't already. It's your tattoo to be happy or sad about. It's hard to not let our wife's opinion influence ours, but in the end, you're the one with the permanent mark on you. I doubt my wife likes Kongo Yasha's faces, and who can blame her, he's an ugly bastard, but that's what he looks like and she has to deal with his ugly mug along with mine. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/546-relationships-tattoos.html

Welcome to LST. As much as I am sure you want to be a tattooer, it sounds like you need to get the fuck out of this sketchy apprenticeship.

Maybe it's because i just woke up, but the first thing that popped in my head when i read all that was a wizened old hobbit playing ice hockey. Something to do with @Graeme being Canadian i guess... awesome mental picture though.

So I feel like a fraud but... I cancelled my appointment. I ended up drowning in doubt. Doubts about style, design, my chosen artist. By the time I'd finished tying myself up in knots, I doubted whether I even wanted a tattoo at all. So not the best frame of mind in which to make a lifetime decision. I was pretty bummed out about it for a couple of days but I know I made the right decision and I'm gonna take some time to get my head straight before making another appointment. I think the best place to start doing that is right here. I'm gonna soak up some culture and wisdom. I'm also going to attend a couple of conventions in May.

I mean, who wouldn't want to be a hobbit?

I love that this thread has gone from contentious to nerdy. Always a good change of direction.

If you look at patterns of Berber face tattoos, or Harquus patterns, you'll notice they're kinda similar to the tattoos you posted. You'll also see similarities with the patterns in assuit fabric and Tuareg jewelry (the shapes of the jewelry as well as the etchings on it). If you want to decipher what those tattoos mean, I guess you could also research the symbolism of the aforementioned examples. When it comes to these simplified, geometric, pattern-based tattoos, you could point to several different cultures and find similarities. Humans have been adorning themselves for so long with these kinds of shapes, it's almost impossible to guess what the artist is basing their designs off of (unless they're explicit about it).

No outline, no black shading...they're not going to have those tattoos when the kid grows up.

Awesome pic! Oh, I can't wait. This will be me sometime in the future. Consult in April!

Pic of me getting worked over by Horitomo if anyone is interested. https://instagram.com/p/zjCmORIcF9/?modal=true

Psh. @SeeSea you say that as if that's all we say around here... Tigers are the other acceptable option.

Right on! I got this fun little Geisha that he had pre drawn from some old Hardy flash. I was even representing LST whilst getting it, haha!

I submit for your consideration my coverup. This was just done, so there was a little swelling and bleeding on the bullets. Unfortunately Im at da3 3 of healing, so no proper pics for another 4 or 5 days. While not you typical tattoo, please consider that fact that this is a coverup and I wanted a tattoo as comic like as possible in style. This is a reverse image of Captain America Volume 7 #15 from March of last year. This is a large piece that takes up my whole left upper arm

Hello, new poster here! I'm starting my back with Chad Koeplinger next week, extra super stoked! Last time I got tattooed was a year ago by Zach Nelligan and Joel Madberg Soos.

just don't post a picture because we might critique the amount of butter/salt and the number of unpopped kernels.

@silentspring - wishing you a speedy recovery. Your tattoo does indeed look pretty impressive given the circumstances! I doubt any of us can advise what to do about it, but I will say that there is a local old timer who has a faded old chest eagle that has a huge scar from his pacemaker right in the middle of it. It looks tough as shit. So see how it all heals and then decide if you want to rework it or not! And crossing my fingers for a clean report from pathology.

I'd stop while you're at it man. Let it go and hey, keep getting and posting good tattoos.

By the time thst child is in her 20s the birthmark will most likely only cover some of her thigh, where as her parents' tattoos are going to be giant and red more-or-less forever. I saw this article on my facebook feed earlier, and at the risk of sounding heartless (I am sure they are very thoughtful and lovng parents) I feel that they should try and help their child embrace their individuality, as everyone is different - rather than go to such extremes just to make your child feel 'normal'. I dunno, just found it kind of odd. Edited because I just read through the article and saw that her birthmark appears to be growing with her. So this could be something that could cause her to feel self-conscious. However this does bring up an intetesting question, how will she feel about her oarents tattoos as she grows older?

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

haha - nope you didnt miss it - probably next week i'll post - healing well but still a couple days more and i'll snap a shot

Not sure if it's just me and my language barrier, but that reads a little snarky and sarcastic to me. Is it because what I'm stating should be a given, or do you disagree with what I wrote? Should I have gone easier with my shit metaphors? Have I offended you in any way? Oh, the questions :)

Started with a goldfish that I won at a firemans fair by tossing a ping pong ball into its bowl... Thousands later lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hi~ my name is karl, form hk, lurker also:)

@Flo Ania, I'll try to catch you! ;)

@Flo Ania , I'll be going to Paris. Second time. Let me know if you wanna hook up at the convention, I'll be there every day. I'm booked on friday and sunday around at 12:00, and on saturday at 16:00 (with Paul Doblemann, Dan Gilsdorf and Jim Sylvia), otherwise I'm available, on peut prendre un verre and hang out? Also, I plan to see the exhibit at musée du quai branly on thursday (taking my aunt with me, haha), musée du quai Branly: Tatoueurs, tatoués , you should check it out. Je parle francais, so no worries about language barriers...

Good luck with your recovery. Hoping you have clear pathology report.

Sorry to hear about your leg, ya so far i just had my first appointment so black ink only. My main concern is if the product my dermatologist prescribed is going to be for my tattoo. My next appointment is like a week away and i don't wanna go in there with an active skin problem. The allergic reaction is only on the back and inside of my tricep and i had the whole arm done. I wasn't planning on using red on my tattoo anywhere but thanks for the heads up. It might have been the ink i had a reaction to, but if it was would it only be on one spot ?

Maybe we could welcome new posters instead of ripping into their tattoos?

I think Iain Mullen does some of the best devils around. Straight up gnarly and evil looking. I've got a Judas wearing a hanyaesque devils mask on the side of my leg, by Iain. Tattoo was done in two hours, boom!

So, sorry to readers who came for the devils. But! Re: your point about Christian female iconography - I did ask a tattooer about the allure of Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu art, which led to a pretty funny discussion about how we grew up as crucifers in the Episcopal church. So devils: Theo Mindell is an obvious choice but I so want a devilish girl-head from him.

Wait... no. You know owls don't have human shaped mouths right?

So here are some finished pics from yesterday.

Super stoked that I finally got tattooed by Eddy Deutsche!

Marius Meyer started this one a couple of weeks ago. Gonna add more dragon next time.

Jason Colehour, Lifetime Tattoo Denver Last Friday my girl and I drove down and got some walk ins, I got this fun filler, she got a panther. Fun times

Franz Stefanik, The Okey Doke, Toronto, Ontario

Out of excitement I open a thread and forgot that this one was meant to post about your latest work... 1st sessions. 5hrs.

Crystal Morey Talks Shop with Bunshin Horitoshi More info for y'all :)

It comes down to how YOU communicate your expertise. Your in the prime position to help educate. The average collector/ enthusiast without any understanding or artistic knowledge needs to seek their ideas from somewhere.,.dont they? Do you just expect them to come in with a blank idea and you magically come up with the same interpretation, or expect to only tattoo what you want to put on their skin. That comes with time and trust. It's like an old time piece of flash, it's been duplicated a million times. Isn't that plagiarism to a degree? A panther is a panther is a panther. I understand to a point what your saying, a custom one of a kind piece, well maybe, but pieces say things to people and can capture exactly what that means to that individual as well, so it could mean more than just wanting a copy cap design. It's like my smoking wizard with the starburst from the pipe as the background. I had wanted a wizard for 20 years, but no wizard captured that exact pictorial message, until I came across this wizard on the net. I took that picture in to my tattooer and said...man, after all these years I found the one. I can understand if you need to change it, but it's emulates something quite specific. His response, and knowing me for years was...man, your right, it captures you perfectly, I couldn't make it any better. We slightly changed some aspects like hat band & colour, but why try and reinvent the wheel on this occasion? It was perfect. Is this wrong? Fuck you to anybody who thinks it is, this is one piece out of my entire suit that had already been captured, it speaks volumes, it's my favourite tattoo next after my back tattoo. There's also been times I've taken an exact design in and said ...man, something like this...and from there we come up with a complete new transition, sn even better custom piece. Maybe next time someone comes in with an exact picture and turning them away (only to have it tattooed by someone else without any education) you can say...man, that's a great design, I can see why you chose this. What's it's meaning to you?...dig a little, become a consultant, tap into that individual a little and say, ya know man?...leave it with me, I reckon I can come up with something even better for YOU without doing s copy. That person may just walk out of there with a little bit more knowledge than they did prior to them entering, and maybe you EARN a loyal and devoted customer for years to come. I'm no tattooer, I'm also no artist, but I've learned a lot from my tattooer over the years because he actually took the time to help me understand. This is the 1 reason that he has been responsible for my entire suit, and the rework of everything he didn't originally do. I'm just offering a different perspective on this subject, not having a dig. We all help educate each other, because my tattooer had mentioned to me the same, that over the years has learned to appreciate where his clients come from also. "Booze, Blues & Tattoos"