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My wife and I just had our sleeves finished. Both took 3 sessions. We've been getting all of our ink done at Funhouse Tattoo in Vancouver, BC. If you aren't familiar with that shop, have a look online and read a bit about the founders. They hold some patents on some awesome tattoo machines and have been part of the tattoo scene for decades now. Such an awesome shop atmosphere coupled with wicked artists. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello All, Finally got my first tattoo, and it was a blast. I just wanted to share it; got it done at Last Rites Tattoo in NYC. I am going to expand it (forearm, and to the chest) next year, but i am glad with the result so far.

Definitely wifey winning this one!!!! Her sleeve is the thickest traditional tattoo I've ever seen. Not to mention she can sit longer and stiller than anyone any of the artists have ever seen. She'll sit for 12 hours with only 3 5min breaks... Her artist always says he has to prepare his wrist and rest for a few days after her sessions... Here's a pic of a leg piece she got done IN ONE SITTING!!! But yeah, my sleeve is all parts of my motorcycle mixed up and mashed into a sleeve... I fucking love it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow, these are both great. Congrats. Also, sorry but you're wife wins this round. That red against the black is spectacular.

At least someone didn't use the term groupie! I *hate* that term. I prefer super fan. Just because I see a lot of shows doesn't mean that I'm a groupie which for me has a negative connotation. For me, the term collector doesn't have that sort of negative connotation (or didn't until this thread).

@JBluewind hahah true. Yah i am from the Yolo generation (you only live once). Young people getting tattoos because they think its cool (it is cool but only if its good work). They just dont know it and getting some ugly ass tattoo. Later on they realise they do live longer than they expected and regret the shit out of it. Atleast the laser industry is going well i guess. If i havent traveled for my tattoo, i (prob) wouldnt gain a new friend, eat new stuff i havent ate before (greek food is delicious). Saw new things etc etc. Its really worth it to travel for your tattoo. Its not just the tattoo, its the whole experiance youre getting.

Thanks. And I agree with both comments...I always research artists well and I thought Grez would be perfect for this. I can't wait until it's done because it's going to be so much more than it already is. And yea, it's going to look a bit stormy I suppose which is what we want as a take on the piece.

Thanks for the heads up guys - there was a link to an image that was hosted on tattoodonkey.com in that thread which apparently is flagged for virus activity - I have removed that image link. Let me know if that hasn't solved the problem.

Thanks for all of the positive feedback!! Last March I was fortunate enough to purchase/finance a brand new Ducati Panigale 1299s... I've been riding since about the time I could walk, and always wanted to have a Duc. So anyways, I took all of the parts that I could represent in a tattoo and got them put into a sleeve. I took all of the "Ducati" branding off of the crankcase cover, and the Ohlins branding off of the shocks... I didn't want to have that on me, in case I decide to go back to Honda or any other brand. But yeah, I am stoked at how it turned out. The one thing I do have that is Ducati specific is the Desmodromic valves, on the inside of my bicep. I digress. Anyways, thanks again everyone! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, your wife's is awesome, but your sleeve is motorcycle related, which to me trumps her gorgeous work. Love the added ATGATT, too.

Worship me, humans. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

@Devious6 Daw. That's so sweet of you to say! It really made me smile ^_^ I would have drove you bonkers if I went to your school. I always had five billion questions, always wanted to learn everything about everything (which is why they quit using me for the curve in some classes), and always a jabber box. Come to think of it, I haven't changed at all XD I was going for Occupational Therapy, but then I got sick. I ended up disabled (severe Hemiplegic Migraines) and was forced to drop out of school. I still miss it sometimes. :) @donbcivil I'm trying my best to. I think dad thinks because I'm staying at his home he gets to make the rules and I have to follow them. I might be more inclined to listen if I wasn't a decade out of my teens and paying for half the bills. He actually told me today he was close to throwing me out because my room was a mess. No shit sherlock! I just got out of the ER a couple days ago and have been struggling to breathe for a week. Of course my floor is gonna be cluttered and my sheets overdue for their weekly change. Does he seriously expect me to clean and dust when my lungs currently can't even handle light shower steam and I got winded trying to change his sheets? XD Seriously though, dad is a pretty good guy, but if I get sick or he's in a mood, it's like living with an angry grizzly bear. @rufio Well why don't you? Aren't they all the same? ;) Seriously though, if you have the means then what's the big deal? As long as you're being financially responsible and using your luxury fund to get inked (as opposed money needed for necessities, insurance, retirement, and the like) I don't see the harm. You have to understand that most people don't know the difference in tattoo quality. All they see is bad scratcher stuff or doctored (or simply fresh) photos. When they see a real tattoo that has had enough time to loose it's fresh brightness (and maybe get a little dry), they think it must be the same quality work as the average artist they've seen, so why not go local and save the trouble? I could never afford a choice artist or the travel necessary, but at least I drove out of my tiny town to a real shop with a nice artist who does good line work. Several years ago when I was just looking for artists, I had an acquaintance (guy, mid 20s) try to get me to go to his guy in town who has started on a sleeve for him. The artist apparently nearly won a contest at a convention, only used the best inks, had a little shop, and charged nearly half the price of the shops in bigger towns because rent was less. He had gotten the full outline and some if the shading done over two or three sessions. Oh my god! It was so jacked. It was black work flames in kind of a tribal style if I had to guess, but it could have been torn fabric or something. I didn't know much about the art form at the time, but a blind man could see it was bad. I don't believe there was a line one on the whole thing that didn't have a shaky look to it. The filled in portion, while completely filled in, weren't all uniformly shaded and the shading didn't really blend in with the line work to where you didn't notice the original lines. I did not go to his guy. Sometimes I think back and wonder if he regrets it and got it reworked by a real artist or if he still thinks it's awesome.

They are both exceptional, but I have to admit the black and red contrast of your wife's sleeve is stunning.

Interesting thread. I probably qualify as collector but don't really think of it that way. Tattoos are fun to get- great experiences combined with great art and self pride. I don't want to get tattoos from specific artists just because they are who they are but I do want to get good tattoos and have a good time doing so. I also know how to look things up on the internet so I guess, call me what you will.

Having started so late in life, I know that I won't be getting more than a few tattoos and, perhaps, just one more. So, I won't rise to the level of collector. As with the first, my next will have specific life meaning as opposed to approaching it from the art perspective. But, as others have said, it doesn't matter what approach you take. The works you have and want are yours and reflective of your desires and personality. Enjoy them no matter what brought you to get them.

I kind of feel the same way. I want work from a few different artists. For the artists i wanted and got one peice from them, I tend to feel more comfortable approaching them again. Money is an issue for me as I don't have paying job until the end of May.

@Wedge Very lovely. ♥️ Grez was a perfect choice to make your tattoo.

@tofer = not stupid questions. Yes this can be done. Establish communication with the artist (preferably both e-mail and voice, and hopefully you share a common language) and make sure you ask all those questions above and that she is onboard with the scope, ideas, duration of visits, etc. It is preferable not to tattoo over the same areas prior to healing, but tattooing near freshly tattooed areas is perfectly fine, if you're up to the stress. Your artist's planning is, of course, important in the success of this direction.

Gunner likes donuts. We have a local donut shop that makes doggie donuts which are a basic cake donut drizzled with peanut butter and topped with a Milk Bone.

Almost everything that can be said about this case has been said. But when it comes to price I allways either tell the artist my budget, ask for a rough price before we start or agree on a price on forehand. Telling an artist your budget or agreeing on a price isn't and shouldn't be anything to be afraid or ashamed of. It's a business, and you're a customer.

Female here who can absolutely NOT go without a bra :) I have tattoos on both shoulder blades, one of them I've had for almost 20 years. After healing, there is nothing that a bra strap (or any other clothing for that matter) will do to your tattoos. Welcome to the obsession! Wildcat

just commented on this in another thread...i think anyway - the dilemma with what i call collector mode is the that the more you are trying to collect new and different the harder it is to get back to tattooers you really like and want more from only so much money and skin right anyway - the challenge increases exponentionally - is that a word as you meet more awesome tattooers just something i was thinkin about

My mother, yesterday evening after seeing photos of my first piece: "Oh, that's really beautiful! Well done. Are you sure it's permanent?" - - - Updated - - - (she's exempt from the Unforgivable Pedantry shown on Latest Tattoo Lowdown - she made my skin so her 'rights' trump Willem's ;))

This would not work with my kindergarten daughter who knows all about our tattoos. In fact she loves to go to the shop we like because every time we go in she gets to feed the koi fish and they give her a press on tattoo. We have had multiple conversations about how our tattoos are with needles under our skin, hurt, and are forever. She said she wants to wait until she is 50 but I guess we will see.

a couple of days ago, some random douche, i mean dude at a local bar asked why i have so many skulls tattooed on me. i simply told him i love death and all dead things and that i'd wish everyone and everything was dead. he left me alone.

My grandmother and I were chatting yesterday. She's 90 years old and is one of the most important people in the world to me. Well, we were talking about life, work, and how my apprenticeship is going. She looks at me and asks "Would you tattoo me? Right here, a big butterfly, and you can use this mole as the head of the butterfly." I'm still grinning over that.

just did my first yoga class!