Leaderboard

horizontal placement of a dagger would not really fit with the body on the rib cage, it will look like a bent blade in my opinion. vertical dagger would be better placement on a rib cage... but at 7cm (half the size of your pinky) horizontal/vertical won't matter, it will look extra small like a sticker on the ribs. take the plunge and go waaay bigger, at least 3x bigger.

I'm pretty much in the large dagger category. :)

It's easy to say people are dumb or cheap or whatever, but there's got to be more to it than that. Can they really not tell the difference between good and bad tattoos? Do they not know where to look for good artists or even what to look for? Do they just not care? I'm not even talking about little Pinterest tattoos or a few words of script, which can be done well. I mean scratcher-level badness.

go bigger

I don't think I ever posted mine in this thread. Done by Sam Warren in Lancaster, PA. Sam's a real nice guy and this turned out so awesome. I gave him the picture that inspired me and asked him to put the skeleton and horse in armor since he does neat armored stuff, and it turned out so much cooler than I ever expected. I've also got some thunder thighs so this thing is massive, hip to almost the side of my knee, and wraps around the front, side, and back of my thigh. ^ The front/side ^ The back ^ This picture was my inspiration, the cover of one of my favorite metal albums I've gone back and forth on what to do on my other thigh, for a while I wanted to do something really opposite: colorful and cutesy (I have an idea for peach faced lovebirds). But now I'm kind of thinking I might want to do some realistic black and grey on that thigh. I kind of think the lovebird design I'm imagining might sit better on my calf. And since I've already bombarded this thread with images, why not: here's peach faced lovebirds. Aren't they fucking adorable? I'm imagining them in a neo-trad/illustrative type style, super colorful.

I was in a shop recently that was having a flash day. One poor soul had drawn up a couple mandalas and did pretty much nothing but those for the first few hours of the day, so he finally stuck up a piece of paper that said "sold out" over the most popular one. I think mandalas are trendy now, but they're a pretty harmless trend, I think they'll age well and look timeless (for the most part). I get a little tired seeing them popping up on Instagram and Facebook all the time, but I don't think too many people will be really ashamed of them in the future. It's still better than upside down scribbles on your fingers or whatever.

Alice by Jennifer Lawes at Pearl Harbor - this may have been my easiest tattoo ever.

I don't think there are any "rules" about placement of a dagger or knife. Not sure about your experience with respect to the planning stage and realistic outcome of tattoos, but just in case you hadn't thought about it, you're not going to get much detail into a 7cm dagger.

MANGY (unhappy) PANTHER by Theo Mindell.

Pretty much. One of the tattooers in a shop I was in was cracking jokes about girls who come in to get mandalas (not in any particularly cruel way, just in the sense that a certain kind of customer seems to inevitably want mandalas), but I don't think this would stop me from getting one. I'd still totally get a mandala tattoo. They're beautiful! IDGAF, haha. Tattooing doesn't have a long history of catering to a crowd that cares much what other people think. Seems like most people who get tattooed have to some degree or other already said their goodbyes to that. (I mean, it would probably hurt my feelings if somebody said nasty things about one of my tattoos, but that would be more about somebody being a dick to me than anything else!) edit: Apparently I've already posted this?? HAHAHA At least I'm consistent. :p

Fads come and go. Some say tribal is back in so you're ahead of the curve! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My thigh pieces (more side of thigh for them both). first one by Sam Smith when she was visiting the UK. I think about 5.5hrs one hit. Healed perfectly in 3 days despite being in a car crash where I rolled my car 3x and wrote it off on my way home from the shop. Second one, my beautiful big red kitty from Stu Pagdin. One hit - 6hrs. I took the train. This one was more of a tricky heal, got some lovely scabs but I think he's got a heavier hand. I love to collect but I'd be covered in Stu's work if he lived in the UK. I just love it!

Howdy folks! I posted here before awhile back but forgot my username and which email I used. So, here I am again. Thank you for having me. edit - sorry! I forgot the important parts. I am a tattooer in Tacoma, Washington. I'm not the best by any means, but I'm always hungry for learning. I get by.

In order to find the best things in life (food, music, people, tattoos, whatever-the-fuck you're into) you have to give a damn beyond a cursory level. You've got to put in some work. Most people don't want to do this in my opinion. More so if they're not going to be into tattoos as a continued hobby. Or they're just busy with other things that are more important to them. They probably don't understand why one would settle for a terrible interest rate on a loan or something...

I don't know if it helps you at all, but this thread made me think of Davey Havok, who has a couple pairs of daggers going diagonally across his ribs. I think anything diagonal/vertical works in that spot, horizontal just looks awkward imo. I myself have a tiny dagger through a heart on the back of my arm to fill a gap (plus it was to benefit an animal charity, I couldn't possibly go home that day without getting something!). I plan on getting a bigger dagger someday.

Starting the thread and entering my Amy Winehouse tattoo!

Yeah!

Yay! I've seen it - it's awesome - but I'm not seeing it on my phone right now. Anyone else have that problem? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Done, @pidjones!

How about someone just start a thread for it each month? Someone would need to tally the likes and compare, plus declare a winner (winning bragging rights for the month).

Hi! So I'm new here, I have a few tattoos, including a couple of small ones that I had done on a whim without giving it much thought. I'm planning on getting a bigger one soon, and have actually done proper research and everything this time... I was just wondering, I've heard that it is rude to ask an artist to touch up someone else's work. My problem is that my first tattoo scabbed quite badly, resulting in some ink discoloration. I'd like that touched up, but I've moved across the country since getting it done, and don't fancy making a 6+ hours long train journey just for a very quick fix... In this case would it be rude to ask my new tattoo artist to do small touch ups on my old tattoos while getting a new one? Thank you!!

Having spoken to a bunch of my friends after getting a bunch of my own...I genuinely think that most people just do not know what good tattoos look like, or even why good tattoos are good in the first place. I've had a lot of friends send me links to shops near them going, 'what do you think about this person's work?' and half of the time the shading is terrible or the lines are wonky, but they just don't see those things. Even after I show them a bunch of examples of better work, they don't seem to internalize it quickly. I do think there's something to the control aspect, though...that most look for an artist doing things like what they've imagined their tattoo will look like, even if what they want isn't going to make a very good tattoo. I dunno.

It's been said ad infinitum but this is something to discuss with your artist who can advise on placement etc. but it definitely can be done Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wish I could find it, but I read a post somewhere (maybe here) about someone who incorporated an old four leaf clover tattoo into their sleeve; I want to say it was a traditional Japanese style sleeve...? Not sure. But it worked out fine with him. I think with a traditional/neo-traditional piecemeal approach, you can incorporate all those elements with some negative space or filler around them with no problem. You might need to retouch the older tattoo so it looks like it "belongs" there, but I think it could easily work. Something like this as far as placement, maybe in a different style if you want:

4th of July spread!

Love your tattoos! Welcome back!

Welcome back!!!

Booked in with Chad Koeplinger in September!

I've found that if you are friendly, and willing to pay for the time people are quite happy to do five minutes of work on another artists work. Mention it and say some thing like, while you have your machines setup, would you mind throwing in a touch of... Good luck.

When I began looking for my first - have had it about 4 months now - I searched for images that appealed to me and reflected my personality. As it turned out, the one I chose had some tribal lines along with the wolf head. I had not idea that tribal was "out" and, honestly, even when someone commented on it when I first posted a picture in a tattoo forum, I don't care if others find it outdated. I'm not trying to please anyone else - I selected it and got it for me. So, from my perspective, what is trendy or fashionable is unimportant to me. If you like it - go for it.

Old Guy At Home Depot: Hey, those tattoos look expensive. How much you pay for those? Me: Well, you know what they say, "Good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good." Old Guy's Wife: His were cheap.

Got this awesome piece this week on the spur of the moment/walk-in from Tommy Stegall at Baldy's Tattoo in Radcliff, KY (near Fort Knox). It's my first American Traditional tattoo and I am in love :) Wildcat

I was approaching middle age when my mom saw my first visible tattoo (I already had one that she didn’t know about). She just sort of exaggeratedly rolled her eyes and shook her head, but had a smile on her face and wasn't judgmental. But I started getting more and more she just couldn’t comprehend it, and there was a period when she wondered if I had gone wacko. She kept saying “Why?” and “I just don’t understand.” But she was never rude or judgmental. She truly just didn’t understand why. It was just beyond her ability to process. I think we who are tattooed (especially if we have a lot of coverage) can easily forget how different we look, or how extreme it may seem to others to go through the pain of a large tattoo. But even as she struggled with accepting my tattoos, Mom always complimented the artistry of my pieces, and never criticized. She eventually got accustomed to the “changed me,” and accepted it. What is interesting is that she is now at a point where she makes an effort to point out people with interesting tattoos to me, and even has made an effort to learn a little bit about the subject. And quite honestly she has developed a pretty good eye for quality work. And her reactions demonstrate that you can be uncomfortable with tattoos, or not understand the motivation, yet still be polite and respectful.

seriously? don't skip the game !! i'd take the patch off before you play. you will be fine ... just wear a clean shirt between your skin and your stinky hockey gear. that's the only thing i'd be worried about with respect to infections. the tattoo isn't going anywhere man. and on a side note...you guys and your 'derm'

@SynesthesiaI'm ashamed to say I've lost the accompanying information, but I'm pretty sure this is the Pharaoh's Horses you're talking about, saved it from here a few years ago: It's amazing. Google reverse image search seems to suggest that it's by Prof Falcon but I can't vouch for that. I also really love the use of space with this Marius Meyer eagle: Edit. Ah, found it on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/yc0-fSwB_2/?taken-by=prof_falcon

got my first tebori from Toshi(Bunshin Horitoshi) the other day. Great experience, and Toshi is a great guy. Went with something simple and classic for my first japanese tattoo

instagram - to me - love it or hate it - is a game changer for evaluating what to expect from a tattooer its not everything - but its huge i like when artists post regular work not everyone does this but when i can go a year or 2 deep into someones IG and i see hundreds of tattoos they did well that says something if you see a consistent body of work that pleases you then you can feel confident that you will probably be pleased with the outcome of your tattoo like i said - its not everything but its a big thing in the current processes of choosing an artist i personally love IG i have mentioned to a few artists that i liken it to growing up and looking at the sports pages following your favorite athlete well - i dont follow sports these days like that but i like going onto IG with a cup of coffee and checking out the latest pieces of awesomeness that my favorite tattooers have posted anyway good luck in your search i also am a big fan of the LST interview section fun stuff and you'll get some good perspective on the world of tattooing