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I'm with pretty much with @Graeme on this too. I'd never planned to have any reference to my children in a tattoo, wasn't something that even occurred to me, but as it happens I ended up with one anyway. Amongst the reference I took in before we started my arm was a copy some old botanical type drawings of eggs and nests, they weren't meant to refer to anything in particular - I just like the images. So, a few sessions in he pulled out a stencil he'd drawn up of a nest with 2 eggs in, 'you have got two children, haven't you?' he says... Well, if he'd not said that I'd probably never have associated it with them. But he did and now I have a progeny centered tattoo, which is nice. No names though. - - - Updated - - - The only photo I can find is quite blurry and possibly not fully healed, here: reference: - - - Updated - - - uurg - curse of the massive photos. Sorry. This is maybe better. Maybe.

Can I suggest finding a tattooer who does really nice script and just getting their names done simply and beautifully? I don't really understand all the posts above suggesting the necessity of finding a representative image here: it's your child's name, it has way more potent symbolism on its own than any design you could think of.

here's mine...

Finally got around to taking decent pics. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section.

I have my kid's names, but I didn't dwell on any meaning or specific reference to their personality or interests. I got my son's name before we even knew we wanted another kid. I was down in Austin visiting a friend and went to Diablo Rojo and picked a sacred heart off the wall. Leo changed it a bit based on things we talked about and threw "Ethan" in the banner. Really just because I like catholic imagery. And then when my daughter was about 4 years old she started giving me crap about having Ethan and not Ruby, so when Kore Flatmo was drawing up my cover up, I asked him if he could just toss in a banner with "Ruby" on it...bam...problem solved. I actually really like how it turned out. She was floored then...and still thinks its the best thing ever.

"Maybe this will help you" Find the best artist to do the work you want to get, so many great artists all over the world but you just got to find the one. If you let everyone know your rough location the good people here on LST will point you in the direction that will give you the best chance of getting the best end result. When you do finally decide on the artist that you would like to do the work go into the shop and talk to them, tell them your ideas show them some good reference and ask them the questions you might need answering. Hope this helps

My son is nearly 12, my daughter nearly 10. My daughter likes looking at my tattoos but says it won't be for her. She's funny though, she sees other people with tattoos and frequently and quietly comments, "dad, you have way more tattoos than him" My son is always planning his suit which comprises of dragons, snakes, ships and skulls. They can never understand why people have to stare so intently when we're out when I'm rocking singlet and shorts. It's nice to know they're developing a non judgmental attitude towards people who "appear" different.

Lady head on my upper arm by Garret Egles in Calgary.

Hooray for new jobs! I just completed and submitted a 100 page manuscript to my publisher for inclusion as a chapter into the next (30th!) edition of a very famous engineering book. Publication later this year. I will be the very first woman contributor in the book's 100+ year history.

Well, looks like I'm on my way to being employed again! Yay! This means I can start getting tattooed again at my snail's pace of 1-2x/year. ;)

Nguzunguzu. I did my PhD dissertation on the paleoclimate and oceanography of the Solomon Islands. They are smack dab in the West Pacific Warm Pool, one of the "heat engines" of the Earth's climate. They also sit under the largest perennial rainfall feature on earth, the South Pacific Convergence Zone. I spent a lot of time out there caving, sampling fossil corals, and hanging out in villages listening to villagers and elders tell amazing stories of the past, and depressing stories of the present; logging and overfishing are becoming epidemic. In the Western Province, tribal warfare and headhunting raids were often conducted between the small islands, with warriors transporting themselves in large Tomoko war canoes. One of the iconic images of the Western Solomons is the figurehead that adorns the prows of these canoes: the Nguzunguzu. A guardian God carved of ebony wood and painted black, with v or z shaped shell inlay. The eyes are always open, on alert. They are mostly either depicted holding a head or a frigate bird. Frigate birds are merciless, hardy, seagoing predators that will not spend the night at sea. They hold a place of reverence in the West Pacific. When I got my diploma, I got this piece on my chest. The flowers are Dendrobium laevifolium, an orchid species native to the remaining Western Solomons primary rainforests. The artist was Chelsea Kotzur at True Blue on Red River in Austin.

looks good on you... by Matt Dunn, Rabbit's Den, Milltown, NJ about 2 weeks healed - crappy pic fully healed on the other side... by the same artist... also crappy pic - gotta say my pics of my tattoos never do them justice...anyway

Not sure I want Elsa and Anna tattooed on me. Kids interests change faster than the wind. Any "meaningful" image will only be temporary. I may have to think about Grame's idea just for the simple fact that I could save that space for something cool like a man burning at the stake.

I really like symbolism for this. A horseshoe for a gal who rides a horse or likes horses, etc. Banners can be incorporated into almost anything. But I'd look for some sort of symbol that would remind you of your kids. Sounds like you're on the right path though.

As promised. This is the second session of 4. We will finish the pixels, planets, and the galaxies on the next session. Pixels in the unknown.

Just came back from a 6 and 1/2 hr session. Time to get some proteins in my belly. Pics coming up soon.

These are some of my favorite, not on me or done by me, but other people Ive seen floating around. Don't remember who did them as they're just saved onto my hard drive, but the last toad is one of my favorite tattoos ever. Its so stupid and goofy looking, its perfect.

Had my 4th session on my back with Chad K this past friday at Congress St Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH. I'm sure several have seen these pics already, but I love this thread and wanted to join the fun even if it's not a "full" back piece. Could not be more thrilled with it. I love Chad and I love this tattoo. He thinks only 2 more sessions till we're done! I think it helps that I'm a small guy. Less to color :) Lying down pic was taken by Chad night of, and the standing up pic was taken by my wife the next morning after that dreaded first shower. Lighting is terrible in the second pic, but you get the idea. It's so freaking bull shit that the pics always post sideways. trying to attach link to gallery photo which I think i was able to fix

Here's a teaser. All the linework on my left leg is complete, and some of the dots/shading - but quite a bit of both remain. I've got another 10-12 hrs booked for April and June - so I'm hoping by end of summer I'll have a completed and healed half squid pant. - - - Updated - - - Whoa. Sorry about the huge photo.

It's been a while, but I just recently got back to reading the forum and looking at what other people are posting as far as new work. By way of jumping back in, it seemed like posting what I've been up to since I last participated in this thread is the right way to go. This might be a bit of a long one. Sorry. Sometimes you're in New Orleans. Sometimes you end up with a butterfly. Brent at Uptown Tattoo did this one: Jake Miller from Cathedral Tattoo in Salt Lake did this little ditch guy for me: I did a bit of a run of appointments at Great Lakes Tattoo. Erik did this one: Nick did this one: And Matt did this one on my calf: Javier Rodriguez at LTW in Barcelona made this crazy tiger head for me: John Raftery, who is also at Cathedral in Salt Lake now, did this snake while he was still in New York at Fun City: Ben Haft at Fun City did the tops of both of my thighs with a sinking ship and a rose of no man's land: And finally, Mike Suarez at Hand of Glory in Brooklyn was able to squeeze me in on Saturday and do this on my shin: I picked up a few little bits of filler here and there, too. Next up is getting my left knee done, I think. All of this has really just motivated me to start thinking about back/chestpieces. Further down the rabbit hole.

I did much research before deciding to do my coverup. After watching television shows showing what could be done, it was encouraging while at the same time, you don't want to trust just anyone. As great as the internet is, I have seem far too many bad cover ups although many were simply amazing. My first attempt at research was disheartening as after asking several shops, I simply got too much conflicting information, people simply too eager for business, or simply my gut telling me something wasn't right. Finally I saw some coverup work on a tv show mentioning an artist from Dallas. After a quick search I found that he was a few miles from my house. At this point I went to his shop, but he was on the road. Talking to the shop manager and explaining my situation, I mentioned that if possible I would like to do a Captain America tattoo. Once I said that, I was quickly able to set up an appointment with the owner/artist. Although very high in demand, apparently if you are wanting something that they want to do as well, I have found that artists can shift schedules if there is a type of tattoo that they want to do. Fortunately for me, I later found that the artist was a much bigger superhero fan than myself. Over the next month, I spent wakeless nights admiring his work and many of the comic stuff he has done and spend many hours downloading comic images trying to conceptualize what would work for the coverup. My consultation finally came and after asking me what I wanted, I kind of hesitated with questions as to what my limitations were. His response was, not to worry about it, just tell him what I wanted and he would make it happen. So, I gave him my top 3 comics. We set an appointment and I left trusting him to come up with something. It was kind of crazy committing to something without knowing what exactly I was going to get until I showed up, but I trusted my instincts and research. I was straight up blown away with the results and feel I learned quite a bit along the way. - Older tattoos are better candidates for coverups than relatively new ones - Non-recognizable shapes are easier to cover than geometric shapes I don't know why some artists try to just go for the simple black out with no detail, like a panther head. You do not necessarily need to go darker for coverups, blues rock! - You should anticipate going at least 2x the original size. Bigger is better - Detail will help draw attention away from the orginal tattoo, so some slight detail show through - At least for me, the skin where the old tattoo was scarred and bleed a bit more than fresh skin. These area scanned more. Anyway, if anyone has any questions, shoot away. PS.. I was still a little bloody on the yellow lines, but you get the results.

Hey everyone, My name is Chris and i am from sunny southern california. i currently have no ink as of yet. but i am the process of getting a full back suit. been thinking awhile now about this, and figured i might as well go big or go home. and who else to do it but the master himself, Jess Yen from MyTats in Alhambra. just recently had my consultation and really looking forward to proceeding with this piece. a bit nervous but more excited than anything else. from what I've already read on here, the back seems like it has many surprises lol. any advice or words of wisdom is greatly appreciated!

Welcome, this is the place! Back is full of surprises...but being your first tattoo it will all be surprises and new sensations so you won't know any differently ;) Hot tip for any tattoo session - bring a healthy meal to level up during the session. Get a good nights rest. Stretch beforehand. Wear warm socks. AND bring a wooden spoon to bite down on haha. Good luck :)

No, you have yours right. But, if you are speaking (verbally) to someone and say it, they may think that you refer to the film "Mr. Deeds goes to Washington" and think you are indicating that you are not all there mentally. In that film, two darling old ladies refer to Jimmy Stewart's character as "pixilated" (I think the spelling was added later, luckily different by one letter but not by sound from the word meaning a picture somehow broken into component parts). Webster online includes both spellings and meanings.

This is nuts, the amount of people starting off with full back. I love it.

Name your kid dragon or tiger or panther or rose . Those words would look beautiful as a script tattoo.

My advice might not be what you want to hear. But the best thing you can do now is to put it off. Give it a few more years. And I don't mean ponder and think about it for a few years, I mean put it out of your mind. Live, experience, and enjoy life then come back to it when you are 24-25. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will give you the insight that that experience and time will give you. You'll be a much more complete person and, hopefully, won't need to turn to an internet forum for advice on your tattoo. At that point there'll be no hesitation if it is still something you want and you'll be ready for it. In all honesty, you're 19 - you will change sooooooooooo much in the next 5-6 years. Trust me, wait it out. Edit: Also, welcome lol

I've been discovering a new rabbit hole - Fountain pens and their associated ink. Just what I needed! Another expensive hobby!

So my wife and I moved from Las Vegas to a small town Manteca CA to be near her folks. So we opened a shop thinking we would struggle for a while, well we where wrong. I am overwhelmed with the response of this town. I really could use some help. I need someone full time who is serious and makes good tattoos and also wants to be part of the family. Most tattooers in this area are not very good or work from home. So if your looking for a clean shop normal split with most supplies supplied for you let me know. No drug addicts blah blah you know the rest. Check us out on line Onesixteentattoo.com instagram @onesixteentattoo my personal one is @stevethompsontattoo

Your thread was locked on the other thread for a reason. If you spent any amount of time researching contact dermatitis, you find that a person may never find what specific ingredient they have or had a reaction to. You would also find that one could have a reaction 1 time, but not the next. Your own documents provided on your locked thread were even titled "rare cases". This doesn't mean that the ingredient is a carcinogen, it simply means that your unique biology is not compatible with it. Anyway, I think there was no foul play here. Likley you had a reaction to a heavy metal used on pretty much all ink http://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/survey-selected-samples-tattoo-inks-presence-of-heavy-metals-july13_0.pdf

Throwing this here because I think this is a good place for it. Goshawks are incredible: This beautiful and terrifying marvel of nature is named Ellie.

once more into the ring... by Matt Dunn Rabbit's Den Milltown NJ 6 hours on da ribs reference art by David O'Keefe not the best pic - about 2 weeks healed edit: i think this pic is showing sideways - i made the change and you can see it rightside up if you tap the pic again - anyways...cheers

This is my frontpiece by Marius Meyer. We finished it about a year ago. Two sessions and a total of seven hours if I remember correctly.

Got the peony on the inside done last night. The color is more like the first picture. That was the last part of the cover up. I have two more appointments to do who knows what. Expand the peony/water theme across the top of my back and around the frog that's back there, and add to the cherry blossoms on the other side, peonies and other flowers and wind bars. Whatever we figure out. He also added a little white around some of the cherry blossoms and outlined the blue peony again in some spots.

My Dogs: Sasha & Feona: Foxy:

my baby, Blaze. hubby was nice enough to do a photo shoot with us today

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.

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

bengal kitty, 2 snakes, lotsa fish and corals.

this is Zephyr ,our 19 pnd miniature Australian Shepherd . this one of many beds she has,my DIY'er wife made this for her,(yes that's her toy box,she's not spoiled) . .

I still believe the most effective method of tattoo removal is the belt sander...

I'm on a huge graphic novel kick right now...wait, nevermind, they are comics. I am on a huge comic kick right now. Just finished Preacher Book One (incredible), Scalped Vol.4, Revival Vol.3, and Batman: Hush. I finally ordered the first book of Y: The Last Man and I'm super stoked.

chris trevino

This thread has great potential.

Here's a closer picture of my back.. The last ones I posted I now realize were reversed.

I was about to say "How can there be no Judd Ripley in this thread?" and then saw that Perez had posted something awhile ago ;) so here is a bit more Judd Ripley

Mister Cartoon, bad ass!

my in progress back piece by Travis McGregor this is after my fourth sitting, the shading is pretty much done just a few more bits and some stuff on my ribs. next step is the color, so pumped. i shall date after i get more work done