Leaderboard

let's go Dietzel snake head by Todd Tattooer (Merci Bonsoir - Lyon / France) from last year (fresh on the picture!) Hard to take the whole tattoo on the picture but it has a tongue!

bloody eyes on my butterfly gal. by herb auerbach last year. just after he added the white.

Polls are closed, and the winner of Tattoo of the month January is @Gingerninja with this bad ass dagger by Grez (Kings Avenue Tattoo). Congrats!! I managed to screw up, and close the poll late this month too. Sorry about that guys. I'll try to get it together next time. Big thanks to everyone who contributed!!

Thanks everyone for the support! You all inspire me learn more everyday and I'm in awe of the amazing work posted here. When I see Grez next week, I'll share the news. I'm humbled.

Don't over clean it, either. Twice a day should be fine - I like to use Dial Gold - and pat it dry with a clean paper towel each time you wash it. I then use just a very small amount of Aveno.

Got my book yesterday ! I got home and saw the big box and figured it was one of my dumb ebay impulse buys or car parts haha...totally forgot I had pre-ordered this baby a while back. Came with some nice prints by Grez and Rubendall. Really nice attention to detail on the overall project. I went to bed super late, cause I got stoked and had to look at every single god damn page. Some super cool tattoo art and meaning dissection. I didn't realize how many tattooists were included in the project. Gonna have some new ideas brewing after digesting this book !

Time for another contest. RULES: The tattoo photos posted in this thread will be submitted for polling of Last Sparrow's Best SNAKE tattoo. This is all in good spirit and fun of course. The submission process opens on the 1st of the month and ends on the 20th of the month. After that there will be an open poll for one week, which will close on the 27th, and the tattoo with the most votes wins. Your tattoo picture must be posted in this thread (both tattooers and tattoo customers can win) in order to qualify. Include tattoo artist name & tattoo shop with your photo/post. You MUST be the one who has the tattoo or did the tattoo. It MUST be a finished tattoo It MUST fit the theme of the contest Each member may submit up to 3 tattoos for each contest. The theme of January is: SNAKES

Hey, my name is Dakota. 25 years old. I am not an artist by any means. Just a guy that loves ink.

yeah that happens. my main tattooist has clients who get going on backpieces, meanwhile they are getting lazer hits on full arms and rib panels for him to start immediately after the backpiece is done. clients with ongoing work generally get priority on the schedule. you may not be taken as seriously if you don't have the mileage yet. some tattooers will say slow-down-junior, let's start with one project before moving on to the next. all tattooers work differently. also important - don't bit off more than you can chew. big tattoo is hard on the body and the bank account. remember getting tattooed by someone is a privilege and honour and not your right.

most of us are in the same boat. welcome!

Sure. I mean people get full body suits from one artist. In my experience once you're "in" with an artist you either make all your appointments in advance or just book at the end of each session. Often the waiting list is for taking on new clients but every artist works differently. The best thing to do is ask. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congratulations @Gingerninja! That's a great dagger and a great spot for it.

Congrats @Gingerninja

Every tattoo and every body heals a bit different. A lot of variables. I've had lots of tattoos made and some heal in a few days, some take weeks. Note this is superficial healing, the real healing of the body takes place over several weeks. I don't even use lotion anymore (dry heal) because my skin gets irritated and I find that's what works to me. Just leave the tattoo alone and keep it clean, don't put too much balm or lotion on it. Whatever you think is the bare minimum cut that in half ! Doesn't look infected at all, your arm (not leg haha) isnt' going to fall off and the tattoo is in there. Just give it time and don't stress. We've seen waaaaay worse in person and on the internet and you're looking fine bud. Congrats on popping your tattoo-cherry and welcome to slippery slope of dermal illustrations ;)

Looks pretty thick and dry. It's only Day 5, give it another 1 or 2 weeks. If the surrounding skin starts getting red and inflamed, stop using lotion on it. The hair follicles might get a little irritated too if it's on your leg if you use too much goop. Remember you only nead a pea drop to deal with the dryness, don't over moisturize.

and quite a nice collection, too.

Congrats to @Gingerninja! Truly an awesome piece of art!!!

I had this happen with Jeff Gogue. I lived down the street from his shop for many years. He wants free range on his work. I'm cool with that, but some are not. Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

Session #6. Had a lot of wind under my sails and sat for 5 and a half hours. 26 hours total and unbelievably stoked on the progress. Finished the lightning and patterned the entire octopus. once this heals down, Capt'n Scott is going to blast over it all with some teal and define all the layers. This was less of a whooping to the kidneys and more of a tedious cookie cuttering.

Got this tribute to my hometown (this gazebo sits prominently in the town square) from Dave Wah at the Austin Convention this weekend.

@suburbanxcore White Rose is pretty new, the guys at the shop said they just opened about 4 months ago. They specialize in traditional and there's SO MUCH good flash on the walls, I had a hard time deciding. http://instagram.com/whiterosetattooparlour Wes didn't do the panther, that was done by Chad Koeplinger when he came through DC a couple years ago. Took him about an hour and a half to do. This is a better picture I took of it when it was freshly healed.

Some great tattoos posted on this page! Got this one yesterday from Jan Willem (@janwillemtattoo) at Bont en Blauw tattoo Rotterdam. Asked for a octopus filler and this is what he drew up. immediately said yes to his idea and this is the end result. Edit: all other work except the partially visible black skull is done by Jan Willem as well

Got my somewhat spontaneous dragon tattoo today. Wes Garvick did it and I'm so stoked on it. His shop is literally the only one in town I'd ever go to, if you ever find yourself in York, PA. And what's that you guys always say about everyone needs a panther and dragon? Now I have both and they're friends.

Healed lady I got from Ivan Antonyshev while he was guesting in Leeds last month. Spotted this design on the Mainstay T-shirt and fell in love with it. So stoked to get a piece from him at last.

Got the suggestion to 'work up' to the chest piece I'm getting (gnarling scarring I want to get covered) so I went back to Brittany at Hot Copper for something else I saw and fell in love with. Think I'm going to have to keep adding to the leg, carry on with the outdoors theme I seem to have got going on It's completely round irl, the angle I'm standing at just makes it look a bit thin at the bottom end in the pic.

I'm not great with photos but here are a few progress pictures from this last month with Lehi.