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Achilles-Spider, El Monga, 2014. Photo taken (awkwardly) today.

Done by Bob Roberts at Spotlight Tattoo...

If you put Tegaderm or something similar down, I don't really see any reason you couldn't wear long sleeves over top of that. I haven't used it though so I'm not sure. I think you need to consider how long you're going to be at this job and if the field you're in is overall accepting of tattoos or not, though. If this isn't a long term job and you don't really have your heart set on staying there forever, go for it. But if you're in a field where tattoos are generally frowned upon (like banking or something) and want to do this for the rest of your life, then visible tattoos might not be the best choice.

I texted a bit with my artist and we kinda have a basis to begin with. The "horns" (for lack of a better word) will hopefully take on a stainless steel type look with reflections of the surrounding colors. I'd like to go with a blue/ purple type scheme on those surrounding colors. Also figured on using some complimentary colors form the color wheel to act sort of as a background glow to the blues/purples scheme.... Next session is Saturday. I'm anxious and excited to get started!!

friendly advice, but a touch up on a 2mm tattoo ? in 6 months it's going to look like a couple freckles anyway.

If you're looking for perfection from 1 inch away, you're going to be disappointed . . .

I snagged this from Benny Haft over at Allied last week. I finally finished my torso after five years, done by Ian Dana Camp (formerly of Good Faith in Boston) currently at Adventure Tattoo in Nashville. He was all booked up in Boston before his move, but I luckily caught him doing a guest spot in Philly right after he moved.

This. Outlines kill and shading is easy peasy. It's different for everyone.

This was done while on vacation Walked.iWalked.in random shop and limited to 4 hrs because I had to catch a plane . I think not too bad what you think ?

I like the way it looks stylewise and colorwise. There are lots of factors that affect the pain being felt. Certainly going back into a non-completely healed area is a big one, but generally after 2-3 weeks it should be back to mostly normal. Shading always hurts me more than outline, but lots of people feel the opposite, too. Going into it thinking it was going to be a breeze might the the culprit, too.

Yin Yang Spider (actual size) Drawn-on and tattooed by Jonny Murdoch

Right foot nearly superficially healed. Ready for more tattoos, but it'll be a while. Had to replace my vehicle since it was totaled. Oh, surprise life expenses, how I dislike you!

Got back from a holiday in Jamaica and upgraded my tan. Dragon Ball by Scott Rusnak at Lucky Strike Tattoo, Edmonton, AB. FYAH BUN came pretty close to passing out on this one, stressful spot for both me and Scott, but we did it !

LOL stop obsessing on the pain ! just go get the tattoo,pain is part of the process ! you are building it up way too much in your head and that will negatively affect your experience. if you are that scared of the pain,don't get the tattoo.

I'm headed to LA next month and I'm tempted to reach out to Derrick Snodgrass, Henry Lewis or Small Paul! The struggles real

I haven't posted in a while, but I got this done by Topper in Philly earlier today. So happy with it. This is my first highly visible tattoo on my forearm, too.

Started my new sleeve yesterday at la cour des miracles in Toulouse

I wouldn't do anything to this tattoo man, looks great. Who is the tattooer?

I know it's too late just for fun. This was done last August by Yushi while guesting in Seattle. The outline done by machine and color by tebori. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, it's still a bit shiny, but I heal so slowly in my old age that it'll likely be another month of more before it finally settles down. Very pleased to have had Henry Lewis fill in a very weirdly shaped knee gap with this deconstructed, decomposing alligator skeleton -

I'm glad there is no peeing. ;-)

just about done

I grabbed this just before my flight home on Monday morning, Steve was great and came in early to get it done

Since it's Tattoo Tuesday, here's a sneak peek at a WIP by Grez. The outline is done for the entire piece but only got to finish the dragon kite. In June, we'll finish the rabbit, her kimono, the moon and the background. I know that everyone thinks that their tattoos are cool but I really do think this is super amazing! Grez took my random concept and executed it to perfection. The kite is so freakin' awesome. Love this guy!

I have a new little friend! Snake and cherry blossoms by Chris Garver. My homage to spring. She fits the space so perfectly. He drew it on, made the stencil and we were tattooing in less than 40 minutes. Boom. (I'm swollen AF but whatever).

New to the site. Here is my latest. It took 6 hours and 45 minutes but got it all done in one. I think the artist did a great job and initially I was very positive about the piece. I really like some of the shaded area in the middle but am trying to warm up to the wings as they contrast a lot with my arm tattoos. I may even go back eventually to have less blank space between the feathers on the wings.

So, I got to spend a few hours yesterday with Jack freakin Rudy at Shanghai Kate's shop. Such a wonderful experience. Jack's a very cool guy and we talked throughout most of the tattoo. At the end we all agreed that it looks like an old-school Jack Rudy tattoo.

I also picked up these two from Steve Byrne and my girlfriend got the rose

Started my back yesterday by Steve Byrne at rock of ages Austin picture from his IG stories

New one today. By Will Lollie at Hotstuff. Drawn on.

Yup money Congratulations!

Here is a Fudo/Dragon sleeve I started on April first with Scott Sylvia. Still need to line the scales on the dragon and line the inside of the arm. This took roughly two and a half hours. I go back in early June. Biggest project I've started so far (my right arm I pieced together).

Tebori done by Bunshin Horitoshi

Just got to his done today by Chris O'Donnell. Pumped with how it came out so far

The Edmonton tattoo convention was this weekend. Popped in on Sunday afternoon and won the "neo traditional" contest for my OllieXXX tiger head LOL #maketattoofunagain

I guess this theme will have more success! Here's my hannya by Alix Gé

Scored a walkin and got my knees framed by Jay Watkins at Spider Murphy's. Stole the photo from his Instagram

By Luis Campos

So here's my final weigh in on my first experience with tegaderm/saniderm. As I stated earlier, it became clear early on that saniderm wasn't up to par. I replaced the saniderm with tegaderm a day after getting tattooed. I had some reservations on reapplying anything from what I had read on this thread however I was left with little choice. I showered and removed the saniderm; once out of the shower I dried with fresh paper towels directly on the tattoo then let air dry for 5-10 minutes before applying the tegaderm. After applying tegaderm. After having it on overnight I saw no change to the tattoo or surrounding skin. Four days later I removed the tegaderm revealing a beautifully in-process heal. I have attached a photo of the tegaderm I removed. As you can see there was a layer of skin/ink that came along. I highly recommend Tegaderm if the area calls for it. I did't use any tegaderm on my sleeve for a multitude of reasons. The first was simply due to the financial burden of buying large quantities and having to apply it over the weeks my sleeve was in process. I don't believe the end result is any different regardless of which healing route you take. I can definitely say tegaderm greatly reduces the peel and heal time. Hope this information helps out. Stay stoked and get great tattoos Cheers

I'm currently visiting SF and while here I got tattooed by Kahlil. Due to the placement (my thigh) we decided to put some saniderm on it so it wouldn't imped on my walking around the city. I had used tegaderm during test runs but never on a fresh tattoo. After a day of walking the saniderm peeled on all corners pretty bad. The next day we continued walking around without an issue. That night I went to take a shower; I did my best not to get it wet but in the end the saniderm filled with water. I had no choice but to remove it. once out of the shower I was faced with a choice to either leave it off and have my tattoo rub against my jeans for 6-8 miles a day for the next three days or apply the tegaderm I brought. I opted to apply my tegaderm and boy am I happy I did. I had read mixed reviews on reapplying adhesive to your tattoo but I felt like I was left with little option. I'm on our final day here in SF and the tegaderms held up like a dream. There has been zero iritation and the tattoo appears to be coming along like a dream. Tegaderm in my opinion is leaps and bounds better than saniderm. It's thinner with better adhesive and more stretch. I'll keep everyone up to date once I take it off. As of now I stand behind reapplying adhesive if the situation calls for it.

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.

freshie sssssnake bite on the hand by Scott Rusnak, Lucky Strike Tattoo (Edmonton, AB) flip side inside of the wrisssst

Yes! Best tattoo subject matter ever! 1) Winged snake drawn-on by Jeff Rassier, Blackheart tattoo finished Jan 2015 2) Snake and torch by El Monga, guesting at Spider Murphy's summer 2013.

because who doesn't need a snake and rose! Black Heart Tattoo Scott Sylvia's the best, can't wait to see him again :)

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!