Leaderboard

Well, my response didn't come off as intended. All I was trying to say was that I have mad respect for you doing a memorial tattoo for your mom. My mom is sick and dying, so your tattoo resonated with me. Best wishes.

Put some work into the 2nd layer last nite and ran over some old tattoo with new. It was an awesome time. Trevor is an old pal from our teenage punk years. We teased him when he was the first of our friends to get some tattoo. And now he's tattooing us 2 decades later. It's really funny. 3 swallows blasted over the background of my 13 year old St. Francis tattoo. All draw on. Used spearmint, lipstick red inks and some old National Yellow pigment for extra cool points. Cheers

It's not bad at all. Quit beating yourself up about it. You'll get used to it. It won't go away completely with lasering, so unless you want to cover it up with something else, just leave it and get more tattoos.

Damn, so many amazing tattoos here, @havetsherre - that is a hell of a dragon, can't wait to see the finished piece. My latest is an Eagle and Snek done last weekend by Joseph, currently doing a guest spot at Cuba Street Tattoo in Wellington (his usual shop is City Of Ink in Christchurch) @jj_doom on instagram.

Going in this Saturday for a traditional kraken vs clipper ship on the ol' shoulder from the same artist who did a great biker girl head on my other shoulder! Can't wait!

You are grieving dude, be gentle on yourself. You ended up with a solidly made tattoo as a tribute to your Mum. It's not stupid. Sounds like you got a case of the post-tattoo blues and apprehensive about how big it ended up. It fits the forearm. And it's pretty minimal, not really what I'd call a BIG tattoo haha. Wear long-sleeve shirts in public if it causes nuff anxiety. You will be a-ok :)

@Howie I wish I could double like that for the Ron Swanson gif.

Lots of great advice and support here for you. I think your tattoo is awesome and looks great. If I saw you walking down the street, you'd make me smile and want to give you a hug. I wouldn't, of course, cuz that's just creepy but you get my drift. :)

Got some fun ones over the last 6 months or so: Finished up my rib piece with Theo at Spider Murphy's: Scored a walk in with Chris Wielk at Ocean Ave Tattoo: Another walk in with Cody Miller at Blackheart: And got this scropion from Alex Matus when she was guesting at Idle Hand back in September: Took all the images from the respective artists' Instagram page. Have an appointment with Jay Watkins at Spider Murphy's tomorrow, so I'll post that one soon too

Started my back with Marius Meyer yesterday.

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

That's a nice bright green. Looks great man!

Alright, here's the thing, you got the tattoo, and no, it's not going away completely even with laser. You have two options, you can cover it up with something else, which I don't think you want to do, or you can live with it. I recommend the latter. It's well done, well placed, and it looks good. I get your frustration, but actions have consequences. And trust me, it wont attract that much attention. Maybe it's because I live in an area where most people have tattoos, but believe me, they're not the first thing people notice about you. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

Really, fix the 'dot' in the 6? That is nothing, it's a tattoo.

hey @Youngjason... seems like your mind is made up, so our opinions on the situation aren't really changing much. but all is not lost! there are plenty of threads on LST that can help you out. search around and find some answers. here's a few threads you can start to pull. use the search function. keep pullin the sweater. best of luck!

so I had this done yesterday. This time the pain was quite strong. My first tattoo was on the opposite side of this tattoo, but then the pain wasn't strong. Could it be because of lack of sleep? Because there were moments, when I tought that I will not handle this:D

No final idea yet on my next tattoo design--but I DO know it's going to be another catattoo OR something inspired by Tim Burton or Neil Gaiman (I've been in love with their dark and whimsical style since I was a kid). I want to take my time with my next tattoo and not rush it--I mean I love my tattoo now that it's fixed, but I wouldn't have had to fix it in the first place if I had taken more time before I had it done. Do post a pic of your sleeve when it's done! The Alice in Wonderland theme sounds awesome--what style/interpretation did you go for? ?

If you are worried about work/school/social reactions, they make sleeves that are surprisingly comfortable. From personal experience of having a poorly done piece in the same area and size lasered for re-work by a better artist, you're looking at $2k to make it go away. And that is a conservative estimate. I didn't think the pain was all that bad. Then, there is always the tried-and-proved black panther cover-up, but somehow that doesn't seem like what you want. I'm sure she left you with many great memories to help you through. Maybe some of those can help you make peace with the ink. Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

Thanks people on here, really supportive. My main concern it is just too damn noticeable which i feel anxious about.

Sorry for your loss, man. Ive been there. Its a solid tattoo. I understand that loss can make the tattoo process hasty for a memoriam but as others have said, just keep getting some more tattoos. You got this.

Welcome! I'd love to see some of your work! That is if you want too show your work of course.

Wow fair enough and thats another reason it attracts too much attention

@OiochaMaybe not a contest, per se since everyone is a winner who has a tattoo by him. Maybe a "founders day" celebration instead. :) @suburbanxcore Still love this hard.

We will all confirm that he freaked out!! Truly, take your time and investigate the options. Consult with an artist(s) and make an informed decision. Lots of people get buyers remorse initially when the permanence sinks in, especially if the work is done on impulse. But, your intent as a memorial was there from the beginning so from that perspective you've done well. And, you got someone to do the work who executed it well. +2. So, now think your way through what's next.

exactly. a full sleeve would likely be cheaper and less painful, but definitely look way better than laser removal. think thru this next decision carefully and learn from your past. maybe get something positive that balances the negative energy you're feeling and make it BIG! that'll make your current tattoo relatively smaller and it'll be allllll goooooood. best of luck and welcome to LST!

Nothing special about it, just the sign of a good artist that knows what they're doing. For that second one, check out Great Lakes Tattoo. Not that they likely couldn't knock out something like that flower, but it's a whole stable of guys crushing bold, "crisp," traditional.

Sorry for your loss. It appears to be a well placed and well executed tattoo. Is it the design you hate, or does it have something deep to do with making your mom's passing really real?

The contrast between black and gray and color, realism and illustrative works nicely together IMHO. Leaving it as is would be perfectly fine, I think. One idea did grab me though, as I looked at it ... stunning blue eyes in the kitty ... to tie them both together. :)

@Gingerninja Can't wait to see the healed pics!! But, sorry about the vertigo. Ugh. You finished it, though. Done!!

Finished up my tiger with Chris O'Donnell on Friday. We added chrysanthemums, rocks and fingerwaves. I'm over the moon with the way it looks (healed photos to come) and thrilled that I never have to have the back of my thigh tattooed again! Oh, and all while having a full on vertigo.

Getting the colour started on this one on Tuesday. Another 6 hour session, can't wait!

Well, speaking of Scott, here is my shin/almost entire lower leg. It wraps in a way that makes it really hard to get a good shot. Done in one shot at the Pagoda City Convention in 2015. I'm posting from work and Photobucket is blocked, so hopefully these pics work out. Also, it should be noted that @embers and @graybones TOTM winning snakes are two of my favorite snake tattoos. They're incredible.

Been away for a while, had issues with my account and had to open another one. We got a new kitten in May, his name is Ivan. He's a feral rescue at 5 weeks old. A bit of a handful, but everyone loves him. I got my old Ford insured and registered in July, have about 1200 miles on it. Running well and still de-bugging it.

A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. If you want a tattoo, go to a TATTOO artist to have an original piece created. I don't call a doctor when my toilet is backed up and I don't go to a plumber to have a will drawn up. You may be an artist, but you aren't a TATTOO artist.

hey @Kracov welcome to the forum Everybody wants a unique tattoo. But the strongest and most powerful tattoos are ones that takeoff of classic imagery and timeless themes. Tattoo design is more than the drawing/image - placement, scale, composition, simplicity, black and contrast are very important in making not just a good tattoo but a unique tattoo. Your design - it's waaay too busy. A strong tattoo you can tell what it is from across the street. All the smaller items around the perimeter - the spikey eyeball, moon-spider-web, pictographs/icons, latin writing, asian/tribal markings - those all take away from the main idea but could work as one shot tattoos on other parts of the body like the arms. Maybe that would be a good starting point for you to get experience. Then you can go bolder and bigger with your battle-axe-predator-sword-demon-IDK idea. I'm not sure what exactly you're going for. Really a consultation with a tattooer is a first step to making any tattoo a reality. But you need to be able to answer this question: "what exactly do you want on your back" with the simplest, no-bs, get-to-the point answer. Suggest you cruise the LST forum threads, gallery and check out the tattooer interviews to gain some insight into what makes a good tattoo. cheers

that's who first introduced it & used on me for the first time this august. it is as good as it sounds,and yes it does help a bit with clothing rubbing on the area IMO,also it was great to sleep in any position and without worrying about staining the bedding !

Car scratches can be pretty rough!!!