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Finally got my griffin calf piece done back of the knee was no joke.

soooo i designed a medusa portrait for my sleeve, still not certain ill go with it though

Hey guys I got my first tattoo five days ago and I don't see any sing of peeling or scale on it is that normal or something wrong and how much night I must wrap before going to bed please someone help me out please please reply and should I rub any lotion on it while wrapping it during the sleep This is my six days old tattoo without any lotion

getting my first on june 29th. this site has been great for information... i may have missed it but how is it new members go about participating in the other forums? this is the only one that allows me to post. edit: saw this in the email... I guess asking a question about something already communicated wouldn't count as quality :-( Once you have 10 quality/thoughtful posts, then you will be able to create threads in the other forums.

Greetings all! I know I'm probably prematurely worried, but I'm not sure if this is blow out or will go away with time? It's my first tattoo and is on my bicep - my aftercare has been pretty well maintained. And I assume I'll have to go for a touch up in a few months, but can I get some feedback on how it's doing so far? Thanks a million! :D

Hey people am new to this but jist would love some honest opinions, I got this tattoo (pics below) last Thursday and was just wandering if the faded bits are normal, prob being over worried and should give it time to heal, but there bothering me as it's like some bits have faded and fucked off out of the tattoo lol please be honest I can take it ? The first pic is when it was first done, the rest r jist now just looks like on the 3rd pic it's jist ah to F*** lol

I started getting my tattoos as part of a conscious choice to acknowledge my life changing drastically from an employed member of the work force who occasionally had health issues to a mostly unemployed life where I need to find myself and on days when I'm not sick in bed, re engage with my hobbies to keep me interested in life. In the last six months I've worked on knitting, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, beaded bracelets, rock painting, wood painting, and as of yesterday, rock carving and wood carving. It's fascinating how all those art forms overlap, especially with placement and design. I studied a lot of Instagram tattoo accounts including the design and execution. I always felt like I wasn't as good at drawing as I should be to really be an "artist", but for whatever reason watching the tattoo artists sketch and plan their art has given me more confidence and hopefully skill :) Plus I love my tattoos and being able to see them on my arm is really inspirational to me, helping me feel better about myself, having something about myself that I think is beautiful and won't be gone in the morning like a good hair day! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't really expect to learn anything from getting tattooed, or for tattoos to change me in any way. I got my first one due to an interest in the art form and out of curiosity/a desire to take a risk and experience something new. The whole process of getting tattooed (everything from planning the design to scheduling the appointment to waiting for the appointment to trusting the artist to not F*** up your skin to living with the work after it's done) has been so much more fascinating and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I think getting tattooed is a pretty intense trust exercise. You approach an artist - who's probably a stranger, describe what you have in mind, and trust that they'll be able to execute your vision and put it in the right spot and apply it with proper technique. Even after you approve the sketch, you have to trust that it will transfer well to skin, and that the color palette will match (or be better than) what you imagined. All that can be nerve-wracking, but as someone who loves to control everything she can and worries incessantly about plenty of things she can't, there's something incredibly therapeutic about relinquishing control and putting trust in a stranger to put something beautiful and permanent on your body. My tattoos have also been a great exercise in acceptance. My control-freak nature also comes with a healthy dose of perfectionism (and a propensity for not taking risks), but with my tattoos I've had to let that go. I think I have great tattoos, but of course they have their flaws, and learning to live with and accept them has been healthy for me, I think. I made a choice to get tattooed, trusted my artists, and have to accept the work as it is because it's there forever whether it turned out like I planned it or not. Lastly, I never expected getting tattooed to be so FUN. Not that I explicitly enjoy the needles-boring-into-my-skin part, but the excitement and ritual leading up to tattoo day, hanging out in shops, seeing the huge lovely flash collections on the walls, and meeting interesting people has been so delightful.

Welcome to the forum! How long ago was the work done? Healing looks fine to me. You have some blowout - some of that will fade out over time. Short of a cover-up there's not much you can do about it and, in reality, you see it more than anyone else will. We're all just more critical and tend to overthink the work. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the quality of your artist's work. Lot's of issues with the line work - some corners squared, more rounded; the line pull of the outlines, etc. The most important issue is whether YOU are happy with it, though, in the end.

Some blackwork roses in a shoulder cap by Jacob Kearney at Metamorph in Chicago :)

Wrapped up this little guy today! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My first freehand tattoo - a big ol freaky blackwork peony by Dani Liberal, guesting at speakeasy Chicago. I basically let him do whatever and I love it but am a little freaked by how big it is, haha.

Got this one from Heather Bailey at Black Heart last year. This is her photo right after it happened.

HI there! I'm Nicole. I just recently got my fourth tattoo and am currently planning a fifth (plus a cover up). I look forward to getting to know you fine folk.

I got this rose from Sam Castro while she did a guest spot in Killeen, TX

I got this from Oliver Peck at the Fresno show.

I applaud the initiative, @Dan! Here's a little filler rose I got from Tim Hendricks at last years London Convention.

Hi guys, I haven't been able to get to the shop yet as I have been really busy I'm just looking for another opinion or maybe you guys still think this is normal The tattoo is now two weeks and one day old, and I'm still not convinced it's 100% In fairness it could be my lack of knowledge and everything is ok, I have tried to take a pic the best I can This next pic is of a tattoo I had a week ago and in my opinion there is a massive difference in appearance I do appreciate your feedback guys as you are obviously more experienced than I am Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Right managed to add pics, the letetring one is about 2 weeks old and the one bee was done yesterday by a different artist It was the lettering that was giving me concerns

Here's a side-by-side of my first tattoo about a week into healing (it was so icky then...) and today, two and a half months after I got it. The pupil of the eye took what felt like forever to heal - I am not a patient person. The color is now a perfect even color. Next to the new tattoo I got today it's slightly faded, but in two months they'll both match. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I dunno, I felt like a massive pussy taking the cream but I needed to finish up, my next one i'll still go in for with no cream. Um, generally pussies are one of the toughest things I the world. They squeeze out giant, living beings. Just sayin. @Freddie (And yes, ribs suck but you did it!)

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of bias against tattoos out there, especially in certain fields and professions. There are a good number of folks who work at my college with visible tattoos. I interview every full-time employee before they are hired - some came to the interview with exposed tattoos, some not. And many of them work in my IT department. For me it isn't an issue at all. I also don't hide the fact that I have tattoos - although I have not made the jump to a below-the short-sleeve shirt level....yet. I find it funny when I'm out somewhere with folks of my age and hear them comment about tattoos. Generally, I don't say anything but, if I'm wearing short sleeves I'll casually make like I have an itch on my upper arm and expose part of a tattoo. The reactions are priceless. I also make a point of wearing sleeveless shirts in the warmer months and my social media pages have pictures of me with my tattoos exposed. Call it my campaign to help eliminate tattoo bias. Of course, I'm 62, have an Army retirement check coming each month and I'm the president of the College. There's not much people can do to me at this point. Still, I will probably wait until I retire in a few years to move to an exposed area. That's my long way of supporting what people have said about focusing on the importance of your job. It's unfortunate, but unless you are willing to wear long-sleeve shirts for work I'd probably forgo an exposed tattoo for now.

I hate pinterest because they never link or credit the actual artist. it's filled with annoying buzzfeed links

i usually just bring the body part thats getting tattooed

i was bored at work and found this gem on youtube. freddy corbin doing some work on odb. i couldn't find a thread for videos, so i will leave this here. it is rad!

Wow! Thank you so much for posting and for your service. It is so great to see. This really made my day.

1. Painting. I really damn enjoy it! 2. People and their motivations for doing things. 3. How to spin plates. Not in a literal sense, but to focus on ten different things, and draw on people, and babble like I do... its a good skill to have. 4. Discression. Oh yeah, things the clients tell me stay with. DO THEY! And its the better part of valor. 5. Food. I can go for 18 hours without eating. Should I? Noooooooooo. and last... Stop and smell the roses. Or at least draw them.

Doc Price (early 80s): Old Ink | A pictorial archive of tattoos and artwork from the past