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So last session today finishing up the dragon and the background on my sleeve. Arm by Daniel Innes at The Pearl Harbour Gift Shop in Toronto

Yup. Dan nailed it. The sleeve is spectacular.

@Kurgana I don't believe conversations are hijack-able as I always enjoy the various detours they take :D Your story makes me realise how fortunate I am as I did no research regarding the artists of my first two tattoos. I knew what I wanted for a while and then it was just about finally being in the time and space to have it done. I have a serious problem with making decisions in general and I really find the need to book months in advance and all the rest to be a serious impediment. 3 tattoos shows SERIOUS commitment to a band! Makes me consider a Rammstein tattoo in the future :)

HOT IS HOT. And ew. That is hot, @Dan. :-/

it's ugly here right now :( .. . and don't give me that "but it's a dry heat" crap ! 114f is fucking 114f ! LOL

Eek - well we still have the cane!

Thank you for getting me to my appt on time and helping me through that last 1/2 hr!

The shape lends itself to a large heart. Why am I thinking that that is not going to be an option here?!

how about the Owl VS something battle ... like a snake, wolf, eagle etc you can blackground in clouds and wind along the sides. i'm just going to leave this googlepic here for your consideration...

ya,that swelling thing,when I had the top of my hand done,it puffed up pretty good.I have tattoos all over my body and this is the first one that has swelled up. you can clearly see the swelling in this pic of it.the day it was done. . . and today long after the swelling is gone,5 months later

The tattooing on the knees wasn't that bad for me either - they did swell up like balloons though!

I met some Canadians a while ago. I don't want to make them feel self-conscious or anything, but I heard an "eh?" within the first five minutes of conversation. Much to my delight. They may have been less charmed by the public inebriation on display in my fair city.

actually both my knee caps were not that bad,my inner lower thighs were tough for me.

Currently suffering from mild swellbow - weird sensation.

I have an appointment on Sept 3rd with Shamus Mahannah.

My kung fu school's Dragon Team did another run at our annual city parade. This is my 11th year in the row! Here's a cool shot of our group and Dragon ...in front of some waves and wind - old mural from a tattoo shop I got my 2nd tatt at 13 years ago!

Come to Toronto of Vancouver - you'll see tattoos just about everywhere

Not all of us are nice.

that's me 100%

blastovers when done correctly...awesome look

This made me laugh. Loudly.

No central AC yet. Apartment feels like the underside of a ballsac. Sorry.

sometimes we forget that getting tattooed involves a little leap of faith in the outcome a little bit of balls if you will shit can happen even with great tattooers lines can blowout some ink might dropout you could scab and scar fall off your skateboard get bit by a dog struck by lightening so in the end - you do your research get your tattoo and move on with your life time, skin, cash permitting you do that shit again and again

@Tiresius so who'd you book in with i enjoyed checking out the work being done by those tattooers you identified in your original post i say if you want to get some funky watercolor design then get it dont worry about 20 years, 10 years - listen - you're only promised today - so go get your tattoo and enjoy it - who knows where your tattoo journey will take you - you may end up becoming attracted to a variety of styles and designs - who knows good luck - keep us posted now go get tattooed!

@Graeme absolutely the experience level helps - i enjoy talking tattos with tattooers as well - or just sometimes listening as tattooers talk to each other at this point - when i get tattooed - most of the time tattooers want to see what i have and talk about what they have which is quite fun this is why i think its crazy that someone would want to wear headphones while getting tattooed - you're missing all the good stories

Call me old fashioned, but good ol' face to face interaction works pretty well for me. When I get tattooed I tend to talk tattoos with my tattooer, I see the tattoos they have and ask about them, I find out about the people they have been tattooed by, who they like and respect in tattooing. And then I try to seek out those people. I am probably in the minority here but I wouldn't get tattooed based on portfolio or Instagram alone. I also have a fair bit of experience getting tattooed and we all have to jump in somewhere so take my remarks as you will.

i think it gets you in the ballpark - and more important is understanding what a lived in tattoo looks like - people think that a tattoo is going to sustain that day 1 look - and it doesnt i myself think lived in looks awesome - but like i said - some folks are expecting something else i think

Oh, but I actually came over here because I'd linked to the thread and wanted to add my post pregnancy belly tattoo. Here

What has been shitty for some ended up pretty awesome for me. Yesterday was told that due to business changes, my position has been eliminated (I don't like that term). BUT! I don't end employment until Sept 30, 2017 (the day I had planned to retire)! AND, I get a very nice severance package that includes 6 months COBRA (health insurance). I can't think of anything that I've done to be so blessed in life, but I'm sure not complaining. Many have not been so lucky, and I sure feel for them.

Session 3. Steve really put on a lot of ink this time. I was shaking a bit during the first hour and not doing well with the pain, but Steve said to relax my entire body and left the pain "flow through my body". When I did this, the experience completely changed. Obviously, it still hurt, but I was able to breathe through it and find some calmness. I'm very happy with the progress so far and Steven is pumped too! Close up