Leaderboard

Had a blast at the convention! Was great to meet @polliwog @Fala and was also great seeing @Graeme and @Pugilist. Briefly saw @Shaun1105 which was cool but missed @BrianH due to walking past every booth except the one he was being tattooed at. Feel pretty dumb about that since it was directly behind the one I was hanging out at. Also bummed to have missed seeing Sam whose handle name eludes me at the moment. (Mitslam??) Got this by Nick Colella on Saturday in the same booth and at the same time as @Graeme was getting an awesome tattoo by Robert Ryan. Absolutley love it and had a great time talking to Nick. Such a great dude and awesome tattooer. This is my first leg tattoo. On the side of my left calf.

Lil' anchor by Josh Henderson

Because when you come to the internet for advice, you get advice on everything, not just what you asked. ;-)

It's like you can read my mind. Very impressive. I'd recommend the laser if you really don't like this tattoo. Have you considered just getting another (good) tattoo somewhere else on your body and learning to accept this one?

As satisfying as snark can be, I wonder if these threads might not be discouraged if they were just ignored. Otherwise you're kind of granting their wish for attention. Let them die and sink down the page. I agree with you that it's a frustrating situation.

I washed up tonight and planned on staying with the Aquaphor for one more day...until I washed my new piece. My eagle is molting like crazy already. With as much peel as I'm getting I opted just to move to a light application of Aveeno for the duration now. Some of the lines have that milky look too so I well on the way to healing.

Here are my yokai made by Dave Cummings. Love them so much. @a_beukeveld your hannya is gorgeous but that's no surprise! I bet it's already healing super well! I also got a great little skunk from Nick Colella!

Not sure about this. Without context it just looks like someone is taking a shit haha

Greetings fellow longtime site users. I have been noticing an unfortunate trend in topics posted to the site of late. Everyone and their brother and sister too, want to know; Is this is a good design that I found on google image search? Is my brand new tattoo as messed up as I fear it is after staring at it all day? Can you help me decide what goes with this, but I don't plan to like any of your suggestions? I got a bad tattoo and then a worse coverup and now I want it gone, but can't afford laser, and I have no intention of talking to an actual tattooer about a better coverup, what should I do? In light of this influx of close minded advice seekers, I have decided to begin responding more often, but with an increased snark factor. I will encourage posters to persue their pre-determined courses of action with great vigour! Most make it easy by stating their decision in their opening paragraph. I have noticed that some of you seasoned veterans of internet tattoo discussion, appear to be behaving likewise. For this I salute you. Let us make LST great again! A place where new users are cautious about telling us how it is, but where those who show a true interest can find a wealth of information. To the surly few, carry on fine friends. You know who you are, and may you respond well knowing that your wit and sarcasm are appreciated! P.s. Here is a picture of a tattoo I got, from Greg Christian, at the Art Tattoo show in Montreal this past weekend. I learned about him and many other greats through this site :)

I think there is a middle ground - i dont know if I come off snarky or sarcastic or what sometimes - i just try to be honest - sometimes honesty isnt what people want - there are def those threads where the OP is fishing for the validation of their idea - no matter how ridiculous - I would rather LST be but a ghost town then become a place where folks are high fiving over upside down blown out tattastrophes - just so they dont hurt each others feelings i'm rambling - but anyway - i hope the good folks here keep coming back and talking tattoos and posting their tattoos - we've had some good new members too

making tattoo scary again haha ... how did people even get tattoo before the internet?

well,I like yours way better, . and IMO there are enough differences that it really doesn't matter. . that shit is gonna happen no matter what.no biggy.

Get it lasered. Scars usually don't tattoo too well. If it's all soft dot work then you probably only need 1 or 2 sessions before you can covered it with a dark as shit WOLF (which is not even close to a panther).

Cut it right out! Slice it off! Make it bleed! Seems like a lot of folks are coming here and posting "questions" after already having made up their mind. If you can't afford laser, wait until you can. If you can't wait cut it off. If a scar is nicer than the tattoo then go for it. Maybe think on this one for a while as you seem to have made two decisions you are unhappy with so far, getting tattoo #1 and then getting a non coverup cover up.

wouldnt that be awesome - but since you cant i'd say live with it and learn to love it or cover it getting tattooed is permanent or at least it should be which is why i made my comment people are in such a rush to get a tattoo that everyone can see and they dont even know if they want to be a 'tattooed person' yet

Sure you can. It's easy.

And people will wonder why you are slapping your shoulder.

Made an appointment with Darryl Hart at the Montreal convention for saturday. Going to put this nurse on the lower half of my calve. Every tattoo Darryl does looks amazing healed so Im really stoked. Hes so fast and light handed too.

...if you are unsure of what tattoo would look good next to your existing one...easy...just as yourself WWHSD ?

ps would this make a good tattoo ? i found it on googler

The Dark Wolf, for coverups where panthers fear to tread!

My guess ... at least 4 x the cost of the tattoo + whatever buddy charges you to redo the W and E afterwards. I don't have any experience with laser or coverups. Measure twice tattoo once.

Just take the whole thing off with a belt sander and startover :p

i'd love to see this tattoo - heck i'll probably like it as i like most tattoos sounds like instead of a cover you got a blastover which looks kinda cool if you're already covered in tattoos but even still - sometimes tattoos that have poor design or execution can still look rad show us what you got

Excising is an extreme and painful procedure. Most of us would just get it covered up or live with it. So no, you won't find any people cutting out tattoos here. Wait for the laser! You'll be glad you did.

so you were thinking about the coverup for a long time - listen - keep the tattoo - and get to a good artist before contemplating your next move - if you tell us where you are located - there are usually folks that could throw out a few names for you - because a good tattooer wouldnt have done a lame coverup on you like that

I was also hoping there might be people who've gone the surgical route before that could share their experience...but I guess not. I'm thinking I should wait for laser...I can live with my tattoo for a few more years.

My Dad had a killer skull with an intertwined snake on his upper left arm - he went into the Marines in 1946 right after graduating from high school. He was too late for WWII but remained in the reserves after serving two years active duty in California and was then activated and sent to Korea during the Korean Conflict. I'm assuming he got his in the San Diego/Los Angeles area since he was stationed at El Toro Air Base. This is a picture of him in July 1946 at Parris Island - had just been named high scorer for his platoon during qualification week. The rifle in his hand is a Springfield Armory-made M1 Garand. The serial number is 2860035 and I am still trying to find it - a needle in a hay stack...but I'll keep looking. So, for me it seemed natural for people to have tattoos since my Dad had one. He was an electrical engineer and taught at a College and then went into the corporate world.

thats what i thought but, some people take things differently and having some advice from LST makes me feel better about calling up instead of biting my nails

My grandpa (WWII U.S.N. Vet) and my uncles had tattoos on their arms. It was pretty much expected if you were an enlisted sailor.

I have been itching like crazy for a few days.I feel that the itchiness is worse than the pain from the needle.Its just so annoying !

I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.

Officially started to peel this afternoon. And itch. Did I mention it itches? Oh, and no scabs so far!!!

I have a tattoo on my ankle. It was my very first, now covered up by a bigger one.

It is SO perfect, Mark. It is spectacular.

Recieved this from Dave Cummings at the Montreal convention. He did an amazing job.

Sometimes you just have to let it go. It's a tattoo and you well know that makes it permanent, so don't insult your girlfriend. Nobody wants to hang around the person who criticizes their tattoos. It's equivalent to pointing out someone's physical flaws, only you're calling them stupid at the same time, because they chose to do this. Say something like that looks solid, or nice linework and move on, for your own sake :)

So I will post this pic here as my start point - about 24 hours post finish. I slept in an old t-shirt last night and had no plasma or ink leak that I noticed. Showered this morning using antibacterial soap and am using a light Aquaphor application in place of the A&D my artist gave me (I used Aquaphor on my first tattoo also). This one seems much more sensitive than my first - perhaps because of the amount of shading on this one versus my first?). It is tender - like a brush burn. Most of the redness is gone, it just is uncomfortable to have a shirt sleeve rubbing it. I was out this afternoon and as I got in the car Lynn mentioned that it looked like I had some plasma leak - never had that with my first. When I got home I washed it again and reapplied a very light cover of Aquaphor. I noticed when I pat it dry with a clean paper towel, I am getting a small amount of ink but that seems to lessen with each washing. So, we'll see how this one goes. My guess is that it's not going to be as easy as my first.

Hello all, I'm 47 years old from the Cincinnati area. I'm getting ready to start a traditional Japanese back piece after a 20 year gap since my first tattoo. I've got the feeling that once that's done I'll probably look to move right into knocking my sleeves out too. I'm not getting younger and I've always wanted this so now's the time. Loving this site, it's a great resource. I found my way here through Scott's Youtube interviews with the various well-known artists. Love those awesome insights into the artists' backgrounds and personalities.

Its just normal bruising. Both your new tattoos look great. Relax guys, the lines are fine. @Jason687 go back and see whichever tattooer you jive with. Or try someone new, enjoy your time at the shop.

my wife is not a member here yet,so I am posting this for her,she's my low tech babe,I will see if she wants to join here,she loves tattooes but she doesn't really do online forums at all, she has an appointment with Alycia Harr at Classic Tattoo in Grass Valley for a hummingbird & flower piece on her right lower leg,on October 10th.

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

I've been with my guy for 26 years - over half of my life. I was always crystal clear about my desire to be tattooed. My husband doesn't have tattoo's nor will he ever. But let me just say this...my tattoo's are proving to be better than Viagra. Huzzah!

My grandpa was in the coast guard, and he has a knife/dagger on his forearm with a white ribbon around it that says "Death Before Surrender". It's extremely faded and blurred out, smudged now but it's still pretty hardcore. I never thought of it in the sense that I liked or disliked it, it was just part of my grandpa. First tattoo I saw that I really loved was my uncle's. He has Calvin and Hobbes on his calf. I remember how brilliantly colored and crisp it was when he got it and thought it was awesome.

Before I was born, my dad got his shoulder tattooed while in the navy during the Korean war of an anchor and oak leaf clusters. I remember him telling us about what it was like getting it. I'm not sure if he got tattooed while in San Francisco or San Diego. My great grandfather (1880-1977) had a horse's head on his inner arm that looked like a big "L" when he was in his 90's.

I was thinking straight across the chest. That way when you squat, shirtless, in front of a mirror, you know you'll always be in the right position.

I got this Baphomet head from Tim Lehi last month. Why? Easily my favorite tattooist, and I think he understands what I am going for. He has tattooed me a few times and always gives me suitable tattoos for me, like he knows me, ha.