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went to Seattle and got crabs by Jake Whitson @ Liberty Tattoo Seattle my lady also got a really nice wrist tattoo from Jake. She liked it so much we went back into downtown on Friday nite and she got a midnite walk-in to get something matching on the opposite wrist. one of the coolest tattoo shops I've been in and really nice folks, great hospitality. can't wait to go back Seattle was an awesome city.

I don't think we're going to save every single person who sees this board from what we perceive to be a bad idea. People who want simple walk-in or street shop tattoos can still get a tattoo that is more or less well done, even if it's an infinity symbol or a phrase that we might think is dumb. For that matter, I'm going to guess that plenty of tattooers who have posted here have spent many hours making tattoos like this one at various points in their careers. And learning from it.

Guys. How about we be kinder and humbler on the newbie threads? This is really tedious and frankly not fun to read at all.

I love when newbies (especially underage ones) post and get mad because no one agrees with them. Fun times. Ah, to be 17 again and right about everything. I'm sorry about your sister, but your memorial can wait until you are of age. Turn 18, go to a great artist, and get something wonderful for her.

A couple of months ago my girlfriend told me that if I got into the school I applied for, she would get me a chest piece! After months of hard work I found out today that I got accepted for the school! So I guess a chest piece is on it's way!

do you have an artist in mind? find a good artist and trust them with sizing and placement.

so I got an appointment today for August 25th for a tiger head on my left hand with Alycia Harr(grass valley).

Okay so yeah, wasted breath. Yet I am not deterred somehow... You may not regret the symbolic aspect of the tattoo, but you might regret the application. Most high quality studios won't do tattooing on anyone under 18 and I would be skeptical of any that did. You may regret what you choose to honor your sister with. How many people got a feather or infinity symbol and then felt a little embarrassed for getting swept up in the trend? My own preferences in tattoos have changed drastically throughout the years and it wasn't until a couple years ago that I really nailed down what it was I loved about tattoos and what styles I liked. Wait a while and see how your interests change with time. Again, it won't kill you to wait until you're 18 and then it's a mistake to live with that's yours and yours alone if it ends up going that way. It doesn't hurt anything to wait, you have your whole life ahead of you to get tattooed.

@oboogie You feisty today!

Nowhere. There's your answer.

I don't think that getting a small script tattoo that isn't to the taste of people on this board is such a terrible thing. Just go to someone who will tattoo it well and solicit his or her ideas on placement so that it's the appropriate size for the body part it's on.

a photo realism lion on my left shoulder/arm similar to this:

Get a wristband with that saying embroidered into it. Or have a belt buckle made. Or a pendant. Or something else that isn't a tattoo of it. You can send me $50 in five years as a thank you gift.

I can't offer suggestions of where to go since I know nothing about Spain, but I would suggest as far as subject matter, don't get anything related to your dad's health problems. No one (including him) wants to be reminded of that all the time. There's more to him than his condition. Find a positive way to spin it: maybe you want to say that he's brave or strong, in which case a ferocious animal might be the way to go. Maybe you have some fond memories of your dad that could be showcased by something beautiful and delicate like a flower. Maybe you could get an image of something that reminds you of your dad: did he carry a pocket knife, have a favorite hobby, go on family vacations, etc? Think of the good times and stuff that reminds you of him and something will come to you.

You know those nasty orange slice jellies? Yeah, those. I power munch those. I only eat them when getting tattooed. They are delicious and when they stick in your teeth, it gives you something else to think about.

congrats on many levels,that's a great goal to achieve with a tattoo icing on the cake to boot ! good job to you and your girlfriend ! now the real hard work begins at choosing the right artist and placement and concept !

This. Thanks all. We want to avoid filling up LST w/ negativity. Gracias.

Hey, all. If I did or said something insensitive, I do apologize. I'm out to go chase unicorns and rainbows.

this thread captures all the suck

Okay.

I thought that I was nice and supportive. ? @polliwog

Feisty...and honest.

@Gingerninja, it's Monday. I had to go to the DMV at 7:30 this morning. So yeah, I am feisty alright. ;-)

The most frequent question I get when people see that I got my first tattoo is focused on the pain. "Did it hurt?" "How much did it hurt?" The answers to both are easy...but they really don't get to the root of the question people really want to ask - "How much pain would I feel if I got a tattoo?" In my case, the answers to the first two questions are No and Not at all since I never felt anything I would really call "pain." Scratching? Irritation? Yes. Pain? No. But, there's no way for me to answer the real question of how much would it hurt someone else since we all process pain differently. And, I also recognize that my tattoo is done on what is one of the least painful spots so my frame of reference is limited. Still, this comes from someone who once set a fractured bone in his own hand thinking it was a dislocation. My brother in law, the ER Doc, told me I set it as nicely a he would have...but he would have given me some Novocain first.

This is a tattoo you'll regret, but it will be so small that you can cover it up when you learn about real tattoos. Do whatever you want. You asked for advice, and you got it. :-)

Planning on going to Brightside later this week for "Flash Friday." Coincidentally, like the Dan who posted above me, my name is also Dan, and I will likely also be getting a tiger head. Not on the hand though. The sheet of flash they're using has a few cool designs though, so we'll see come Friday what I end up going with.

Regardless of if you're allowed to...don't do it. From about 13 on, I knew I wanted tattoos and if I looked hard enough, I could probably find my old journals (from when I should have been taking notes in school) where I doodled all my amazing tattoos I was going to get the day I turned 18. A lot of nautical stars, metalcore lyrics, upside down koi fish...who knows what else. I finally got my first tattoo when I was 18. Not on my birthday like I always thought I would but a couple months later. It was a logo for a straight edge band. I still like the band and they were massively influential to my music taste and lifestyle (I was straight edge at the time) but it's kind of funny now because I'm no longer straight edge and beer has actually become a big passion of mine in recent years. I'm 25 now and I don't regret it, but I had also been deciding what I wanted for 5 years and obsessing over tattoos since I was in middle school. As it stands now, if I could go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't. Had I been able to get a tattoo at 16, who knows what I might have done. I was a lucky one, probably just because I've always had an affinity for art so I had a little bit of a head start as far as realizing what good tattoos looked like. I'm assuming you're 16 or 17...waiting until you're at least 18 isn't that hard but I know it feels like forever. If you wait until you're 18 and still make a bad decision, at least you're an adult and can take full responsibility for your decision instead of later growing to regret it and blaming the artist or your parents for letting you do it. Plus it never hurts to think about something permanent for a while. If something is a good idea today and a good idea a year from now, it was always a good idea. You'd be surprised how much the tattoos I want even now as an adult (kind of) change over 6 months or so of sitting on the idea and really thinking it over. In the meantime, learn as much about tattooing as you can. Look up artists, do research into what makes good tattoos, think about how you want your tattoo to look...just don't get it until you're at least 18. Probably a bunch of wasted breath, but whatever.

So here is my progress. I promised myself a big bright sleeve as my entrance into your world. This is it after 2 sittings, about 5 hours total. I love it and can't wait for my next sitting which isn't until September. The plan is for a full sleeve of flowers and critters and stuff. The lilly will be getting coloured in next. Humming birds and butterflies to follow.

@lildropofsunshine - You came on the site and asked a question. No need to argue with everyone you disagree with ;-)

Actually I was thinking of not leaving only the text. That sentence means something to me of course, and was translated from a cousin of mine that was born and lived some years in Japan. But I was thinking about envolving the text with some kind of "wind" I don't know. I just feel that the text only would be kind of maybe boring. But I never thought about putting only an image, and I liked the lightning idea a lot :D Thanks a lot for your help. SStu and oboogie thanks for your help too. Since I am bit unexperienced on this I also want to make sure I am making it right.

lol you guys really hate that tattoo idea

You want text in a language that you don't understand? Why not just get random marks?

Images are so much more interesting . . .

My unsolicited opinion: get a classic Japanese tattoo theme to represent that sentence you want. It'll be awesome and you won't have to worry about a poor translation. What I really mean is: GET A TIGER! Or a tiger fighting something. Or growling at the (unholy) wind. Or lightening. Lots of lightening.

http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com/

Tell her that you love her and hug her when you can. Oh, and maybe not post any more photos. :) Side note: None of my family approves of my ink. When my brother gets mad at me he calls me a "tattooed white trash whore". I, too, have multiple degrees and a great job. My strategy is to kill them with kindness. You most likely can't/won't change her mind but don't let that impact you being an awesome, loving daughter.

@marley mission dude you are the epitome of zen. You always seem so even and calm. You should start teaching classes @Morrigan it's a bummer to read this. No matter how old we get, we always want to please our parents. It's pretty natural. I would try humor in this situation. Humor always seems to cut directly to the issue and disarm it a bit. I bet most of us here have parents that are not thrilled with our choices when it comes to tattoos. Some handle it better than others. All I know is that if you can manage to make her laugh, the subject will get easier. All the best to you and good luck.

So here's mine? Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

My 3 latest...

In my dreams, I would have a full Japanese body suit, neck to wrists to ankles, front and back. But it is just out of the question for so, so many reasons. But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming and looking at pictures of people who do, and sometimes I play “what if…” and have thought about the nipple question. For women with total boob coverage, the nipple is an issue, maybe more than for men, due to nipple size. I used to think that designs that just left a hole where the nipple is located looked odd. Why not just tattoo over it, or color it black? I’ve seen a few pictures and read things that suggest that nipples don’t hold color well, and have to be re-tattooed repeatedly. YIKES! But I saw pictures of some ladies with Japanese body suits where the nipple is incorporated into the center of a flower, and I think it looks cool. They leave the nipple natural, but it doesn’t look like an unnatural hole in the design. I really like that. It sort of “celebrates” the nipple, but makes it part of the design. Here a couple of pics of the same lady, in different stages of her body suit development, so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. Wish this could be me...sigh. Sorry if this is too much boobage. .

Who better than Chris Garver to fill a crucial spot on my forearm? I requested his rendition of a phoenix inspired by a line drawing in Ed Hardy's latest book, "Drawings for Tattoos." Aside from that, I told him to do it however he wants. I guess he wanted to make it perfect and pink. "Well... it's more of a coral." Either way, I'm digging it and I feel much more complete!

I think you can post other threads after 10 posts on the forum. And I don't think that will work well as a tattoo. Too many fine lines that will thicken and blur with time, leaving you with a black blob in a few years time. Even if you did that as a massive backpiece, it's just too many lines too close together. What may work better is something like Ron Henry Well's smoky/drippy designs (pictured is an example), still sort of abstract and giving that fading in/out look that the drawing has, but with shading, which will hold up infinitely better. I would suggest finding a really good, creative artist, and giving them free reign to come up with something inspired by that picture. We can offer suggestions maybe if you say where you're located.

@sophistre You're making great progress on it! It seems like it's coming together super fast! The sessions might suck, but it's all worth it.

I think for most people this won't look like much has been done, but oh well! All of the black/shading, with the exception of some clouds we're going to add, is now done. All of the lining, too. We had to line two more dragon feet and I thought I was going to die. If I never see another liner that size again, it'll be too soon! So now we get to start color after this, and I can't wait. Greg Whitehead and all that.

Added this one tonight from Jonathan Montalvo. What a genuinely good dude.

In my work I treat patients with MRSA and it is everywhere. You can pick it up anywhere in the community now, not just hospitals and nursing homes. For most of us, hand washing and general common sense, keeping wounds covered, etc. will be enough, but if your a drug addict or otherwise have a compromised immune system you can get it easily

If you are looking to lose major productivity, check out the live streaming of the brown bears in Alaska setup by the National Park Service. http://explore.org/live-cams/player/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls You're welcome.

Wow, absolutely love that tiger, so beautiful! I have kind of a red kitty on my thigh as well, in a way similar but then totally different (pic is quite swollen, haven't quite managed to take a healed pic yet, sorry). By Alix Ge, done at the London Convention in September this year.

Thought I'd posted these the other morning - probably forgot to hit the submit button. This is the time of the year that I love our place the most - affectionately referred to as Mighty Mortgage Manor. We spend a lot of time working on fences, the garden, Lynn's plot of fresh flowers, cutting grass...and even find some time to spend in our pool (we filled in an old one and built a new one last year). But, the mornings are so peaceful - sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee is so tranquil. Here's my view from the back porch, looking over our small lake. Sunrise from the front porch: The pool from the back porch (still growing some grass to cover where they dug up the yard for the water and electrical lines): The front of the house: And the back of the house: All four seasons are wonderful here in the Northeast, but I just thrive in the Spring and Summer months.

a 2 year wait to get my backpiece started. which was great in retrospect. it really helped me solidify and articulate what exactly I wanted. it made the end-result that much more meaningful and the act of tattoo more powerful as well.