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Thanks Dan! Yeah it gets old hearing negative feedback so often. This definitely helps me understand the pricing better though 👍

it's all relative, if you like an artist and it's a good tattoo that YOU like, then it was worth the money. tattoo hourly rates vary from $100 to $700, I know a tattooer that says she needs $300 per hour with an 8 hour minimum,(UP FRONT),for anything ! I got a 9 hour one shot one time that cost me $3000., I was fine with that. I know people that have paid $5000 and up for an arm sleeve. those people that are saying that to you should keep their mouths shut.

hahaha you're a riot But seriously some of this is definitely true. I get nervous before hand and all the way out to Brooklyn still, but as soon as I enter the shop I'm chill. While getting tattooed I tried to talk as much as humanly possible--that gets me through it. And then yes, totally, that last wipe down is such a relief! And then it's on to the next month....

Sorry you're having a bad experience/not the experience you want, but I'd say at the outset that nothing you describe sounds terrible/terribly out of the ordinary. A lot just sounds like a personality difference. But: 1. if the artist is a true pro it's not so important about the planning: she knows what she's doing. the discussion is more on you to ask ask ask. (That said, I'm doing traditional Japanese where you only pick the subject of the tattoo and everything is up to the artist. So I come from a very different perspective on this.) 2. "touch-ups" in the context of still working on a large piece are different than if it were complete and you were going back months later. They're often necessary, and I would just chalk it up to getting the perfect piece. 3. $250 is a loooottta cash but yes that's what you'd pay for a unique top quality piece. Without seeing it it's hard to judge whether it's truly cookie cutter though, you know, rather than your feeling bad about it given the experience you're having? 4. yes it'd be an issue, and don't do it..... 5. finish what you started. You have to finish things in life. That's my 2cents, others may disagree/have different interpretations. Cheers and good luck!

20 month after my first appointment, after 40h in 12 sessions, my back was finally finished a week ago. I'm so happy that I'm done for now but there are already some plans if and what possibly could be my next step towards an even more colorfull body....😋 Not sure if I'll first go for my right butt cheek and upper thights or if I'll start with my arms... But well, that's the future. Won't probably get anything new until end 2019 or even 2020. At least not until I was able to put some money aside to get it done in a foreseeable period of time.

Not sure if I'm doing this right lol. In response to scottyg: Thank you for responding and sharing your perspective! Honestly sometimes I wonder if I'm not just somewhat nervous about entrusting such a big decision to a perfect stranger. Especially since this is my first tattoo. Maybe it'll improve with time :) It doesn't help that anyone who knows how much I'm paying will constantly tell me I'm being ripped off. That's coming from friends with many tattoos that they've gotten from different artists all over the US. It feels disheartening. As for finishing the tattoo, that's a definite!! The question was never if I'll finish but if I'll stick with the same artist and how I'll finish (do one full sleeve or do both lower half sleeves then add the upper half later). It may seem odd to work on both the lower half sleeves first before completing them in full but I'm trying to cover a skin condition and I'd love to have both forearms complete so I can feel confident to wear short sleeves ASAP vs just one arm but not the other for an extended period of time. Due to the price I'm paying per hour I'm only doing 2 hour sessions every couple months so this is gonna take a little time to complete. Hope that makes sense. Anyway, thanks again! Really appreciate it.

Isn't Timothy Hoyer traveling around in an RV or something like that? But, i mean... he would basically get his pick of shops anywhere he parks it.

You won't forget. You'll never forget it. The thought of it will make you shudder for years to come. But you'll still go. You'll dread every moment up to the session and despise every moment the needle is on skin. But that dread and despise will be mixed with excitement and stoke. Then, when you're getting that last wipe down of the session and checking it out in the mirror, all the dread will be gone and the stoke will increase exponentially. Enjoy it! But then healing. 😐

Thanks for the advice and warm welcome! I think I will try out a new artist for my next one. One more thing, this next tattoo will fill up the last large space on my lower arm. I have a bunch of small filler tattoos I want although I am not very particular about the placement or even the design, would it be normal to let an artist know I have some random spaces, and give them 8-10 things I want but let them choose 2-3 to tattoo or do you think it would be preferred to just provide the specifics when scheduling. I am not typically very picky and since they'd be choosing from a list I would be pretty comfortable letting someone more artistic than me choose what makes sense in the available space.

Welcome! Those are sweet tattoos. I say do both. You can have it all. 🙂

My artist has done my sleeves and my legs, but I occasionally go and get a tattoo from someone else. I love his style, and I want him to finish what he started on my sleeves, but I like fill-ins from others. Just depends on what you want.

I personally prefer going to different artists, unless you want to build on a themed sleeve,etc,etc yes there is a lot of good talent in so cal, it all depends on what style you are interested in getting,

Everyone's backs look amazing! I've had a little work done since August, next session is Saturday.

Thanks everyone. I am very happy with it - I had a few moments of “oh shit” after getting a visible one, but it’s special to me. Thanks for the advice and reassurance.

You got a thin line tattoo on some very delicate skin. Your expectation should be that there could be some blowout. No tattoo is perfect. If you take a microscope to ANY tattoo you can find something wrong with it.

@SStu thanks 🙂 this is a good exercise in learning how to chill the hell out.