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I would say that technique aside I'd be really bummed if any of those were on me, but the truth is if you showed me your drawings I'd refuse to be tattooed by you so it's a moot point. @CultExciter offered you excellent advice above. Those people would be a lot better off with some simple Sailor Jerry flash because at least it would be drawn correctly. Trace classic flash. Take up drawing from life to understand how things work and go together. Always use reference. Traditional style should be about taking objects and distilling them down to their essence: look at Scott Sylvia's roses. They're simple but they fully capture the elegance and beauty of a rose. Work hard to draw like that.

Invisible, less than a week. Too excited. Will be posting pics when done.

The Boston Tattoo Convention is in less than a month. I suggest you go and scope out some artists.

Good for you for working it all out. To be quite honest, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, it looks like you're just starting to figure out some of the basics of drawing for tattoos. I'd spend some time tracing stuff. Seriously. That SJ rose you see on the wall. Trace it 100 times. That way you know it by heart. Repeat. On whatever subject matter you like. Nothing too big. Just things to get your understanding down. I would hesitate to do any of those as tattoos just yet. That whole crawl before you can walk thing. I started in the same place, and not too long ago at that. While I have a fine art background, learning to draw a panther, or oni, or rose, or swallow, or dragon, or whatever...it takes a lot of practice to do so correctly. I'm still figuring it all out...much like the rest of us.

Get a tattoo of a penis and see what you think it looks like. Probably not a lighthouse.

I am unstoppable when it comes to cured meats.

I try to ignore them, personally. Unless intentionally and obviously a racial/ethnic/religious/national/whatever slur, there are too many people inventing and imagining slights just to draw attention to themselves and gain control over others. There are too many real problems with society to worry about reading something into someone's ink.

Picture 1: This is style I draw for my first 20 tattoos (I've done 12 so far) Picture 2: This is what I draw with NO clue how to tattoo it yet ;)

A Native American client put it in perspective the other day. She was looking around the shop and stopped at a sheet with some Pacific Northwest Native Designs. I asked her if she was interested in getting that type of tattoo, because I have a lot more reference in the back of that stuff. She replied "Anyone who takes a look at me can tell I'm Indian, I don't need a tattoo to say it, I want to get a Unicorn or a Pegasus, do you have any of those?" I told her we could draw one for her and she said "I've never been in a tattoo shop that didn't have a Pegasus or a unicorn on the wall." Fast forward, she leaves stoked with her bitching new tattoo. First of all I want to know what shops she's been hanging out at, cause I want to see some awesome unicorn flash. Two I guess it makes sense, while lots of people get tattoos to represent their family cultures and background, others are looking to differentiate themselves and possibly even rebel against the common perceptions. I can see how some people could be sensitive towards stuff from their culture, but with all due respect if we all got tattoos based upon exactly who we are, we would all have the same tattoos (or else we would all have to join the navy or somehow turn Japanese). Look at most tattoo designs. So many animals tattoos are loosely based upon what they would look like in the wild, but very few would be a spot on accurate representation of the species nor is it really intended to be, plus I don't think they wear funny hats or smoke cigarettes either. It's tweaking old ideas that generate new ideas and keep old ideas fresh and new.

I've been drawing up some smallish designs. I'd be interested to see what other apprentices are drawing and planning to tattoo.

https://youtu.be/plY9cZFBxiA Thanks for watching!

lighthouse tattoos are awesome...relax

Funny revisiting this thread because I actually did end up getting tattooed by Monga on that trip, but I got it done on my calf instead.

Thanks for the input everyone. I know my drawings are not top notch yet, but i'm working on it everyday. After 6 months of being in my apprenticeship I've been able to tattoo a few friends, myself, and a pof. I've noticed after doing these tattoos I understand what i'm watching a lot more when i'm leaned over my mentors shoulder. It's a struggle everyday to draw and get better, but it's worth it. I can see the progression of my linework and my understanding of using a shader. I freakin love being at a shop and doing the damn thing. I think what I actually like most about it now is the pushing of the machine and just actually working on the tattoo. It's a great feeling. Anyway if you guys have any critiques i'm all ears! :cool:

Awesome tattoos man! You're dedicated

You should probably get a koi. They never look like penii.

IF I see you this october please do not beat me

...and I proceed to quote you on it, sorry! But only because I know that the eyes are the most important part. Ideally, you want sunlight going into your eyes from an angle slightly above you. (Like the sun, natch.) We thought I had S.A.D. for a while, and I tend to be D-deficient if I'm not careful, so I had to learn these things. This is what I get for living and working in front of a computer, indoors, with no pants on, for years. :rolleyes: I'm having to wear a lot more sunscreen than usual this year, @beez. Where is this constant rain I was promised when I moved to Seattle? All of the grass on the island is dying!

every tattoo has a penis hidden in it.

Oh Gray Seattle. A tattoo collector's paradise. I feel Seattle (sans maybe 2 months of summer) and SF have awesome weather for tattoos. LA definitely not.

Got the itch this weekend and scored a walk-in with Gus Martinez at Ocean Ave Tattoo. I really dig his pin-ups, they're very Nagel-esque:

I know I posted it on one of the photos, but I feel bad for whoever has to follow @hogg's takeover. That was incredible. I had a friend who just kept texting me throughout the day every time a new one came up. Haha. I'd seen a lot of them from the gallery on here, but the stories were great and gave terrific insight.

I didn't know where else to post about it, but this is sorta some newsworthy "lowdown" on tattoos. But Ross Hogg CRUSHED IT with that @livedintattoos Sunday Takeover, holy shit.

I think the aesthetic of tattoos is so interesting - what is done, why, how it will age, and everything in between. It's a whole different media/art form, and has it's own set of rules. I don't know those rules, but also coming a fine arts background, I get the rules intuitively and understand that it must take an immense amount of time to learn how to draw (not even tattoo) well enough to be tattooing what one has drawn. It's pretty cool, and I dig that there is still an apprentice system out there.