Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/09/2016 in all areas

  1. Hey all!! Thanks for the awesome feedback!! Its great to hear peoples opinions that are actually tattooed, especially because the only people I have talked to about it don't have any ink. I just emailed KiKU about a date for my first session and I couldn't be happier! Once again thanks everyone, I assume I'll be talking to you guys again somewhere on the forums.
    6 points
  2. Hey everyone, my name is Em. I'm new here but I would just like some honest opinions about my new/ish tattoo. I got it done last year September and I personally think it is quite beautiful but I would like others opinions about it. And if there is anything about it that I could get improved? I have some more tattoo ideas for the future but just contemplating if I should get anymore or if I should be content with this one by itself.
    4 points
  3. Rob I

    New Tattoo, Opinions?

    Super nice. Don't touch a thing on it, but feel free and encouraged to get more tattoos around it.
    4 points
  4. Fixed your post for you too. Sheesh.
    4 points
  5. Neil

    Hi - Again!

    Hey Oboogie. Hopefully This :D
    3 points
  6. sorry folks these photos are too big, don't know how to resize down, i've been having probs linking urls from the 'gram, I've got a little choice spot above the skull. i actually think i might blast over the nonsensical skull. who knows what yet. and here's the wraparound OllieXXX whale in better view:
    3 points
  7. this is my project for next season (winter) i'm going to tile in some background in and behind the frog...perhaps some overlapping matrix of black and red spider webs. I don't know about the other side (inner thigh), its my last major space for a big tattooo. Something with fire, crazy colours, the weirder the better.
    3 points
  8. bongsau

    Lighthouse Ideas

    Here's my lighthouse. I got it done by King Len in 2012 (photo from when it was fresh). It was my first spontaneous tattoo - popped into the shop to say hi, Len was guest tattoo-ing, flipped through his flash book, hum'd and haw'd for 5 minutes and said hey you got time? ok let's do it! Come to think of it all my Len tattoos are like that ! Asked him to put an eyeball at the top and he obliged, but he wasn't going to use any extra colours other than the basics, that was non-negotiable. Kinda of a dumb spot to put a one-shot small tattoo (on the thigh) because it really cockblocked the space for a full size thigh tattoo, but meh no ragrets and I like that it symbolizes the no-plan spontaneous aspect to tattooing that I had overlooked for many years. https://www.instagram.com/kinglentattoos/ Len actually has made a lot of really nice traditional lighthouse tatts if you scroll through his 'gram.
    2 points
  9. kitti

    Upcoming Tattoos

    3 weeks till my appointment, my first time having something more complicated drawn up for me, so excited and a bit apprehensive to see the design :) Should cover most of my lower back, more geometric blackwork and Studio Ghibli movie references.
    2 points
  10. Let's not take the "don't talk about money" rule too far. Perfectly fine to ask an artist what his/her rate is and how many hours it will take and do the math. Bring extra in case it goes over an hour or two and always tip your artist. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2 points
  11. I wasn't into ladyheads for the longest time. And now, I totally want one.
    2 points
  12. 2 points
  13. Thanks I got it done at Shinto Tattoo Gallery in Geelong, with Lacey. She's a young tattoo artist - I think about 21 years old. She does some pretty good work.
    2 points
  14. So now we have to address each specific person that brings up a point or risk "singling out" someone? Come on. This is a forum. People are free to respond to and address whoever they want, whether it's individuals or a group as a whole. If you don't want to have individual conversations with people, maybe the internet isn't the place for you. Let me address everyone equally so no one gets their feelings hurt: My experience with smaller tattoos has been I get a specific amount when I ask for a ballpark estimate (ie: "This tattoo will cost $200"), I put down a deposit, and I'm told "This will come out of the end total so you now owe the balance." With bigger tattoos, it's also been the case that I get a certain dollar amount per session which is usually based on what an artist charges per hour at a slightly better deal (ie: "I'll charge you $400 for each session"), and I again put down a deposit and pay the balance for the first session, and then the session amount for every subsequent session. We usually go over my budget in the email/consultation and we both come to an agreement. I've never had any surprises with my tattoo costs, really. As for this instance, it's your job as a customer to make sure you can afford the tattoo so in the future, you might want to work more closely with your artist about your budget and expectations. What's done is done here. You can either be a repeat customer and maybe he'll cut you a break on future tattoos, or you can take your money elsewhere if you were really not happy with how he did things. But you shouldn't penny pinch too much on tattoos, it's worth spending a little more to get something you're happy with because you have to look at it forever, after all. In the grand scheme of things, assuming you have or plan to get multiple tattoos, an extra $200 really isn't much at all. On a related note...I will say I've only felt "ripped off" once and that was by Chad Koeplinger. He apparently takes your budget as the cost of the tattoo. So when I was emailing him, I told him my maximum budget, afraid if I said anything lower, he wouldn't be interested in doing the tattoo at all or would do it kind of half assed. So that day I paid the maximum amount I was willing to pay. He told me mid-tattoo that that's how he does things, and I felt kind of like a dumbass for essentially charging myself so much. Especially considering how fast he tattoos, I paid over $250/hr if you think of it that way (which I try not to). However, it WAS still technically within budget, and it's an absolutely awesome tattoo. Meeting him was awesome too, he's one of my favorite tattooers and artists in general. So even then, I came out on top of the moon about the whole thing.
    2 points
  15. I just saw my artist about my next tattoo a week or so ago and I asked him what he thought the approximate cost would be so I know how much money I need to save. So in that I don't agree with "if you have to ask you can't afford it" because yeah, maybe you can't afford it that day, but in a month you'll have the money. Nowhere in the shop is there an hourly rate, just that the shop minimum is $75, so I don't even know how the other artists in the shop charge. There are 3 others, I've met 1 of them, but I've only been tattooed by this one artist.
    2 points
  16. Graeme

    Thigh tattoo questions

    Talking about how much tattoos hurt is about as interesting as talking about how much tattoos cost. It isn't. I'm getting a thigh done this weekend. It's going to be fun. I'm excited.
    2 points
  17. I am by no stretch of the imagination even half as tattooed as most of the people here, but even my personal experience has taught me that all of these things are really individual and there just aren't any rules about it. Examples: The tops of my thighs didn't hurt, really, but the outside, over the IT band, hurt like a sonofabitch. All of them healed REALLY well, though -- no scabbing, not really any pain, and they barely even peeled. Contrarily, most people's complaints about where they've been tattooed on their backs, the worst spots, were not the worst spot for me; mine was in a weird spot between my shoulderblades -- not even the bit in the crease of my butt/thigh could compare with it, and that was no picnic either! My back has also taken a shockingly long time to get to a 'settled' heal state, where the lines aren't super raised, too...it's all just depends on the person. Trying to predict what anybody else is gonna feel seems like a fool's game to me. Plus, some people just do not feel pain like other people do, and that is science fact. Anyway, this thread is about thigh tattoos, so here are mine! I'm including a healed pic of the one that @cltattooing did on me, too, since I don't think I ever sent her one! It's very difficult to take pictures of your own thigh tattoos without warping them.
    2 points
  18. @rayray115 awesome first post and good choices. don't second guess yourself or Kiku, you got this ! ps don't worry there is no text in your tattoo haha
    2 points
  19. Palm/Lightning Bolt are 12years old, Turtle is 11, Shark is 7, Octopus is 6 ... :) it's almost time to start thinking about filling in those open spots on the back of the calf. blast in solid bright-ass yellow in the bad brains bolt. maybe a mini-beach scene inside the palm tree. likely going to blast over the red-yellow rising sun. also thinking of getting the turtle redone (by the same tattooer Miles Kanne) in the next few years. I'm keeping the blue water, how Y2K-Canadian of me
    2 points
  20. That may have been me. It was actually at Saved in NYC and there was a woman there wearing a top with a low cut back and she had a Kiku backpiece that was incredible. I want to say it was of Kannon, but it may have been of another goddess. Anyway, that back was super influential in making me go huge and bold on my own back. As as far as regret goes, it can be complicated, but koi and cherry blossoms is a timeless design, you want a great size and placement for it, and you're going to a world-class artist for it. I'd say you're as good as you can be.
    2 points
  21. Enough already. @j144, if you don't tone down you attitude and language you will be banned. @oboogie, namecalling has never de-escalated anything. This right here is the kinda shit that every forum in the world is riddled with, but LST used to be nearly free of. This thanks to the respectful and reflected tone that dominated throughout our member base. How about we try to get back to our roots, educate the best we can, or just don't reply to posts we don't agree with, and let them die out. Not groovy, man... (Sorry, I just re-watched Easy Rider)
    2 points
  22. That sounds like a great choice of artist and subject. It's normal to be apprehensive--I get the jitters every time I make an appointment. I haven't been lucky enough to see any of them in person--there was discussion on here about seeing a backpiece of his at a convention and being blown away by it--but based on pictures and videos and stuff, I absolutely love Kiku's tattoos. You've saved up and you'll be able to cover your first tattoo pretty easily. I'm hardly an authority and am admittedly biased because I want to get tattooed by Kiku someday, but it sounds like you've got this.
    2 points
  23. I bring a wad of cash. Give me art. Take my money. Make another appointment. Repeat cycle.
    1 point
  24. 1 point
  25. @Synesthesia time to let it go
    1 point
  26. You're doing it right. Totally natural to be nervous. You came to a tattoo forum so of course most of us will tell you the same thing: go for it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  27. lape

    First Tattoo & First Post!

    I'll go against everyone here and say that if you aren't comfortable with the idea of getting a tattoo, hold it off for a while. Your skin will still be there, the artist will probably only be better at their medium and you might even get some interest of your savings.. I don't think that you'll regret your tattoo, the artist is great and it's a very classic Japanese design. What people regret is lame moto text, turd birds, upside-down tattoos, whatever springbreak tattoo and dagger handles that poke out of your neckline that looks like a dickhead.
    1 point
  28. @Synesthesia poor form ripping chad here about nothing
    1 point
  29. Either I'm not understanding this or this shop has some weird practices. You were put on a waitlist and you were going to be just assigned a random artist? I haven't done a walk in (yet, about to try this weekend!) but first of all, I wouldn't do one for a shop where I didn't like every artist. You never know who might be busy that day, and I want to be happy with whoever I get so I don't waste my time going there. And if you wanted a certain artist, I'm not understanding why you didn't just make an appointment with that person? I don't think you were wrong to walk out, but I just don't really understand what was happening here. Also, even if you got the apprentice, any tattooing apprentice worth his salt should be able to do simple Sailor Jerry filler. I'd be concerned if he couldn't and would question the judgment of everyone in that shop who thinks he's ready to tattoo. As for price, it costs what it costs. If you want someone to do it bad enough, you'll pay what they want for it. In the end, and especially if you have several tattoos, an extra $100 or so is chump change. It's not even really worth the haggling.
    1 point
  30. Personally, I don't go back and read an entire thread when I respond to a post. Oboogie wasn't singling you out, she responded to your comment. If you see that as being singled out, that's your issue. In reality, it's just a response to a statement.
    1 point
  31. Devious6

    Hi - Again!

    I'm a newbie, too, both here and to the world of tattoos. Just got my first 3 months ago. Looking forward to see the progress on your back piece!
    1 point
  32. I don't know what to tell you. You made a comment. I replied. If you don't like responses on your comments, you probably shouldn't post comments. Just try and relax a bit. My point is this: Smaller pieces are usually paid by the piece. Larger pieces are by the hour. That's just a fact.
    1 point
  33. Right...not singling me out when you said what you said... Who else were you talking to when you said that? And I am chill. I just happen to not particularly like being singled out.
    1 point
  34. Uh. I'm not singling you out? No idea what you're on about. You're pretty new to tattoos. Maybe try and chill a tiny bit?
    1 point
  35. exume

    I hate summer :(

    Summer in the mountains is my favorite. No humidity, max temp 85ish... pretty pretttaaaay good Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
    1 point
  36. I definitely understand the nerves. I had them bigtime before my first irezumi sleeve session - and I'm more than double your age. My prediction is the only regret you will have is not extending the sleeve farther down your arm!
    1 point
  37. Hey there, I want to say for your first tattoo you are 100% going in the right direction. I have zero interest in getting tattooed by Kiku, but his work is damn good. You will not be disappointed at all and he is super nice to his clients. I was getting tattooed at Invisible and he had a customer. Very awesome dude and the shop in itself has GREAT vibes. I wouldn't worry too much about it because your are aiming to the top for your first. At this time there is a wealth of information via magazine and instagram. You made a good choice, don't get cold feet. I kept getting cold feet for over 10 years. Stick with it, you're good man.
    1 point
  38. Kiku at Invisible NYC? You won't be disappointed. His work is so beautiful and distinctly Kiku. Bold, simple, stellar line work. The shop has a great vibe! Make sure to bring some candy (or sugar of your choice) to munch on/drink after an hour or so. Your adrenaline will most likely crash because you're so excited. :) Enjoy the process!!! @rayray115
    1 point
  39. Welcome, @rayray115! That sounds like a solid, classic tattoo, and I congratulate you on your good taste. I don't think you'll regret it, but there's no way to know that for sure. I thought I knew everything when I was 18. I do wonder what kind of shit tattoo I'd have chosen had I been interested in tattoos back then. Sounds like you've been planning and saving for a long time. Getting a half sleeve for your first tattoo is a big step, but only you can decide. Good luck!
    1 point
  40. Graeme

    Upcoming Tattoos

    The best tattoo you can get is two animals fighting. Unless you get three animals fighting.
    1 point
  41. 1 point
  42. 1 point
  43. Piercings have come a long way in recent years. Nowadays with proper jewelry and technique, there's no one who "can't" heal piercings. Sounds like your piercings didn't reject exactly, you just have a steel allergy, which is somewhat common. You might want to look into getting titanium, glass, or silver/gold (not silver/gold plated steel which can flake and expose your piercing to the steel underneath) jewelry for any future piercings. The title "surgical steel" or "stainless steel" doesn't have anything to do with its sanitation levels, it just means it's safe to use in your body. If you're allergic to steel, you'll be allergic to all kinds, but will have more severe reactions to cheap steel. Anatometal, Industrial Strength, and Neometal are good options for metallic jewelry, and Gorilla Glass makes great quality glass plugs, nose bones, nostril screws, etc. You can even have your jewelry custom made by the company if you place an order through a shop or certain websites, to make sure you get exactly what you need. See if there's any APP members near you, they generally are of a higher caliber than your average piercer: http://www.safepiercing.org/get-involved/locate-a-member/searchable-member-database/ If not, that doesn't necessarily mean there's no good piercers around you. Go into local shops and see if they have a piercing portfolio, look up shops on Facebook, research what makes a piercing good or bad, etc. (Sorry to go on a non-tattoo tirade!)
    1 point
  44. Got my the lower part of my sleeve worked on today - Dragon scales done and the colour done on the Jizu and on the Kannon. After 3 appointments of solid lining, I'm happy to have some shading done.
    1 point
  45. I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast. And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home.
    1 point
  46. i don't think this behavior should be encouraged. sounds exhausting. @BrookR70, i think this shop just wasn't the one for you. nothing wrong with deciding you are not comfortable with the process at particular shop and deciding not to get tattooed that day.
    1 point
  47. i'm not a fan of an artist taking frequent smoke breaks for the main reason is that it breaks the flow of getting tattooed if the area getting tattooed is an uncomfortable area to have tattooed it can be frustrating to have to stop and start anyway - it wouldnt stop me from getting work from a particular artist but i'd be lying if i said that its never been a factor for me especially if the artist is on the slower side in terms of the pace of which they tattoo you
    1 point
  48. planning for. a touch. up? you havent even seen the tattoo yet
    1 point
  49. I vote for a Jesus head with a dagger through it.
    1 point
  50. Honestly, I think the apprehension and not-knowing before getting your first one is about 1000x worse than anything you'll experience afterward...because while, yeah, it does hurt, for the most part it's a known quantity and you know sorta what to expect. At least, that's how it has been for me. We were joking last night at Liberty about how we get wussier with every tattoo we get, because the first few you're like 'I'm gonna tank this like a champ! There's no way I'm gonna wuss out! BRING IT ON!' by #6 it's like 'oh god damnit here we go again' and you kinda whine about it a little more. That said, I think the fact that most people who get tattooed go back for more of the same is an indication that it's totally worth it in pretty much every way. :) To stay on-topic: lower leg tattoo presents fresh challenges, like my cats trying to rub on my legs, and one of my cats LICKED IT WITH HIS FILTHY CAT MOUTH EW. Should be fun walking around PAX with this thing healing. Woooo
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...