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It's a waste of good real estate.

In my very short time here and now with two whole tattoos, I remember seeing two comments most frequently. "Get a panther." And "Go large or go home."

Tattoos for people who don't like tattoos. But seriously if you just want to dip your toe in the water get something small in a small area: wrist, ankle, etc. No hands or neck, please. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

agreed as long as they are going to quality shops/artists. but too often people think "it is just a small simple design so anyone can do it!"

Does a heavy metal detox include not listening to Slayer for 10 days? :)

this is a concept design I was working on, Full-back Biomech Skull them - not on skin obviously, but seemed the right place to post... feedback?

Yep, 200%...and the rest ?

something as small as the flower on the rib cage example...it's like what's the point? why do you even want to get the tattoo?

exactly. these are for "tatt-tourists" - people that want a cool tattoo like their fave celebrity but want to get tattoo with as minimal commitment as possible.

i feel like the micro-tattoos from the 'gram link posted are one size too small. The scale of the tattoo and proportion to the body location is off. They'd have a much better impact and longevity as a tattoo and better placement if they were upsized by ~10%. They look more like a sticker or temporary tattoo IMO... ...and then I realize the 'gram link posted is for the tattoo "artist" JonBoy who gives all the unskilled affluent celebrities all their superboring tattoos that the mainstream is so easily dazzled by. i feel like LST should be encouraging people to get tattooed like fucking David Lee Roth and not some Kendell Jenner bullshit sticker "tattoo". i mean people can get tattooed with whatever, but c'mon... i've got some micro tattoos and they are super-fun...my grumpy bumble bee is my smallest and favourite tattoo. but I'm cramming them into the gaps between worn full scale tattoos which makes them interesting to me as the owner and more fascinating/funny to onlookers when I point them out in my hypercolour mess. cheers

not a fan of small tattoos unless you're covered in tattoos and you're getting fun filler type of stuff i really dislike small script tattoos but - that stuff is popular and i think because there is definetly clusters of people that want to have a tattoo buuuuuuuuuuut...not really and i guess i'm just not a fan of that

Finally ! I have a reason to post haha ! So stoked about this ! I mean........SO stoked ! Bandage and endorphins still on lol And the freakin' pics will likely be side ways ;) I finally got my crawling panther, like everybody should ;) By Franz Stefanik at Okey Doke in Toronto, ON. Awesome personable guy, awesome chat, awesome tunes. Just a cool chilled out hang and I got to go home with a wicked tattoo at the end haha. ..................................................................................................................... Wow ! Upside right ! Who knew haha !

Not everyone wants large tattoos and I don't think that's such a bad thing. I don't want to be covered in tattoos. But I do want a few pieces here and there. At the end of the day, all the people getting tiny tattoos are supporting the industry and we should be thankful for that.

I think most people here will think it's just a waste of good real estate.

I think your tattoos are really cool. One thing about tattoo shading I've found -- it always looks better on someone else. When you are looking at your own shading, you are up close and you see how inexact it looks, you see the needle lines, and sometimes it even looks sloppy. That's because it is designed to read from a distance -- which is why it looks fine in your pictures and to others. Your line work may leave a little to be desired, but while maybe not excellent, I don't think it's bad enough to actually call bad. And you kinda want those traditional old-school flash-y looking tattoos to have hand-drawn look. I really think they would look worse if they were super precise. It's a style. This forum isn't reddit, so if people here are saying they like the tattoos, you can bank on the fact the fact that they're pretty good.

Summer is over...and winter is coming. Time for us to get the tatts! The real tattoo season is now declared OPEN !!

I wish I could change my username to "Just Get a Dragon". Would save me allot of time.

^^^^ This. Or a panther.

Rad. Now go get a dragon.

Lets get this thread going again! The latest progress on my back from Adam Kitamoto from tenten tattoo in Melbourne Australia.

Hello my name is Charles Murray, been Tattoo Artist since 1997, started at a biker shop in an apprentice situation, where I was the human photocopier, run errands boy, cleaner, phone answer and drawer. I would call this and Oldschool American Apprenticeship. The owner did not know much but I got my foot in the door and have been committed ever since. I work hard, study hard and try to get better every day. Looking to connect with others in the tattoo Scene.

@sister123 Yes. Fine line tattooing and micro tattoos will not stand the test of time. I say go for it if you really do want it because being that it is such a small tattoo you could always get a tattoo over it. A dagger going thru a wolf or gorillas head should cover it right up!

size XL or size S ... if you need to squint to figure out what the tattoo is, the tattoo is shit. micro tatts still need to be readable.

@sister123 yeah to a certain degree i agree - i mean whatever floats your boat right - i just say personally i dont like microscipt tattoos - just me personally - and i will say i like most tattoos - i guess the thing that moves me towards disliking a tattoo is when the readability becomes an issue - which it definitely does when it comes to microscript pieces

he's not a doctor...but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

Getting a tattooer to design your tattoo is the first step, non-tattooers have the wrong skill set in laying out a design that is meant to fit on a three-dimensional human body, wrapping around it, in a purposeful way. Also, a tattooer will know what detail and lack thereof will look best on the skin (now and later) at the size you want it, the tattooer filter, is step number one! If you skip that step you end up going back anyway so why waste time?

Most any job is a grind at times. Otherwise, it's a hobby. Tattoo artists spend 8, 10, 12 hours a day hunched over a customer or a drawing board. Work is work. If you feel that your talents lean towards this vocation, then develop the skills and experience for it. You want to be a mechanic? - train with mechanics, not people that just love cars. You want to be a tattoo artist? - get an apprenticeship or go to art school and then get an apprenticeship. We can tell you if we like Your sketches, but that's about all. I teach a highly skilled engineering job. It's amazing the number of students that come in wanting to be cyclotron engineers with no knowledge of math, science, mechanics, or electronics. Get the basics first!

Honestly, as someone who is very new to tattoos, I would advise getting something big and bold. Yes it is a scary thing to do when you're starting out, and yes it is easier to commit to smaller designs, and once you have it, you may have a small freak-out, I know I did, but as some very smart people on here told me "If you're not ready to fully commit, seriously reconsider getting tattooed" Now, that doesn't mean you should go out and get a huge dragon full-back piece (though I don't care who you are, that will always look badass) but pick a design you like and make it at least big enough to see without squinting I hope you find a design you love and for god's sake don't get a tattoo on impulse or because "it's the cool thing to do" get it because YOU want to. Remember, in 40 years instagram and pinterest probably won't be around. But you and whatever tattoo you choose will be. Or, you could get a panther, that works too.

all that delicate detail will most definately become fuzzed out and gone over time. i take the 10% back, those tattoos should be blown up at least 200%

On the subject of what tattoos are supposed to be i think rob ryan said it as good as you can say it in 3 minutes enjoy

I got my second tattoo a week after my first. A little black and grey wolf head. I was convinced it wasn't great despite the fact it really was. I asked a very old school tattooer in another shop to cover it with the red hot chili peppers logo and he sternly explained to me that the tattoo was very well done and he wouldn't cover it. 25 years later I am thankful for his gruff advice and adamant refusal and realize how completely off base I was. Just because a certain detail doesn't look 100% dead on doesn't mean it isn't a good tattoo. Super glad I left it alone since I really can't stand the chili peppers at all anymore.

Good for them that you can now zoom in on Instagram or I wouldn't be able to tell what half of them even are

@omeletta congrats on the finished tattoo! looks awesome really like the composition, lots of space and the tattoos flows really nicely. welcome to the crane-club !

no no no - what you need is an octopus protecting his last jar of peanut butter...

Wow, thanks for the honest responses everyone, I wasn't expecting this! After giving it some serious thought I've decided to leave well enough alone. You're all right, I am over analyzing this. Maybe it's because I've got some sh*t going on right now that's giving me a lot of stress, plus I've always been like this, over analyzing things and having unrealistic expectations. And while I'm still not sure about returning to the same shop, I really do want to continue collecting. But next time I will put more though into design and placement, and when I'm sure of what I want I'll give it even more thought. I look forward both to getting more tattoos and to sharing them on here with you guys. Thanks .

Theyre fine. Youre over thinking it because they're some of your first tattoos. Plus theyre not even healed yet. You might have had a friend (or mom, in this case) or something say they look bad, or read some stuff online that made you worry. Hell, I remember crying over my first tattoos, and they were on my f*cking hands! Tattoos arent perfect. They're hand made. Dont expect them to be 100% perfect because you will never get that. Trust me, you're over thinking it. Go get some other tattoos. It works. Live with it, and learn from them.

Agreed with what has been said here! You are new to this and are expecting something that doesn't exist. Your tattoos are great! I was admiring them earlier and am surprised at this post. Well not too surprised because a lot of folks go through this over analyzation when they first dip their toe into this world. You have some really nice pieces. Stop over analyzing them and enjoy them. Nothing wrong with any of them. Your expectations are unrealistic. Not trying to be a jerk. A lot of us were like that at first. Please do not waste any energy worrying about them or trying to cover them. They look great.

These are cool little tattoos imo i dont see the issues at all i would say 'live with it' of course and i'd think long and hard before you get tattooed again because i think your expectations of what tattoos are might be a bit distorted good luck though whatever path you choose

I got it at Three Tides in Tokyo from https://www.instagram.com/bangganji/

Hell, I have a dragon tattoo on my ankle... (or just above it anyway).

Just get a dragon.

Don't take this wrong, but I think your artwork would make for horrible tattoos. Go into the main forum and read the "What makes a good tattoo" thread and then compare the discussion with your work. I'm not saying you don't have artistic talent, just that nothing you showed us really translates into tattooing.

I'm really late to this conversation but let me chime in the only time I ever suggest someone getting a tattoo surgically cut out is if the tattoo is smaller than a typical pinky finger nail or smaller than a dime, and it's in a portion of the body where pulling skin together isn't difficult. I.e., doing this on top of a foot, the side of a wrist, top of shin, etc. are not ideal places. Aside from that, in an event like a tummy tuck, tattoos are often cut out when the removal of skin happens for that procedure. The handful of clients I've had come through my office who went and tried the surgical route had horrible results and all wish they didn't do it. I've had laser treatments, I do it for a living to other people. It's expensive, slow and painful, I totally get that. I'm the least pushy "sales" type guy you'll ever meet. But that the end of the day you have a tattoo you don't love, don't do something else to your skin because you 1. can't wait or 2. can't afford to do it right because in the end, you'll end up a few years down the line not loving the change. Most clinics don't make you pay up front for the entire process, in fact it's pretty rare. The first handful of treatments should be 5-6 weeks apart, at a minimum. Based on the $1200 you were quoted, that basically means you need to save roughly $20 / week to afford laser (based on the average person needing 10-12 treatments divided by $1200). And here's the other real truth you should know; Waiting longer between treatments will ultimately get you better results.

this is why you shouldnt go forearm first tattoo - jus sayin

Somebody with one Celtic parent and one Japanese parent might disagree! :)

Healed up real nice! It's an awesome collaboration. I can't remember if you have anything on your torso already or if you had mentioned it previously but do you have further plans for the front? - - - Updated - - - Healed up real nice! It's an awesome collaboration. I can't remember if you have anything on your torso already or if you had mentioned it previously but do you have further plans for the front?

Henning requested pics of my healed back with a black background. Believe it or not, it was tough finding large enough black material like a curtain or spool of cloth but luckily my local dry cleaner had something I could borrow. I had to email him LARGE files because he may publish the photos in something. Fun looking at all the details. Maximize your browser!

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

One tiny little touch up/detail session left next month!

this is a great quote: "I have two cats. I'm the furthest thing from a gang member."