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Not the greatest pics but here's the ship on the back. Color fresh, outline and shading 2 weeks healed. Dagger is about 3 months healed.

Outside of same leg... There's a tall ship on the back calf and a dagger rose down the shin. I'll try and see if I have good pics of those.. Jason did these too.

Thought it would be cool to “Bump” this thread, and see if anyone has any new artists they like at the moment! My personal favourite at the moment is Vince Pages.. Great traditional with just the right amount of elegance.. https://instagram.com/vince_pages?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=10rnxjbe68ljt i also think Mills from Black Garden is doing great stuff, with a similar feel to Pages... I’m booked in with Mills in a couple of weeks, which is cool! https://instagram.com/mills_tattoo?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=sbckgzu5axsm

More red! Green next time!

This year at Redemption in Boston - Mike Shea. Right on the hip

Just got this cobra/elephant by Squid Yu on the front of my left leg just under the knee. Pretty stoked. Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk

Inner calf addition to a leg sleeve I just completed. Done by Jason Walstrom @ Seawolf in Minneapolis.

You should have an idea of the cost up front, how many sessions, rate, etc. I have saved up for many tattoos $10 and $20 here and there. I even junked an old car to pay for one in 2008.

Ok thanks for the tip Hogrider. It's neither dry or oily to be honest however I am still apply moisturizer. Maybe I'll just let it be for a bit, let the body do "it's thing"...

I shoot for 15% to 20% based on the estimated cost of the tattoo. I don't usually carry much cash, so I hit the ATM before my appointment. I also always tip in cash so it's their choice whether they report it. When I was getting my half sleeve I was making a set of wooden toys for my grandson and knew my artist had a son of about the same age, so I made a second set for him. Gave it to him at my last appointment... it was a hit. 🚚

My questions are 1- Is my experience with my artist's lack of planning and discussion so far normal for a larger piece? If you want more input next time, be up front about it. My first tattoo was a sleeve too. I told the artist to do whatever they wanted in the Japanese style. My only input was when we discussed what to put on my elbow and I suggested a flower. 2- Should I be paying for touchups when I'm already paying so much per hour? As stated, in a multi-session tattoo, yes. 3- Is this the price you'd expect to pay for a custom design not just a cookie cutter one or would it cost more for a truly custom piece? Unless they pulled the design off the shelf or stole it from someone else, it's not cookie cutter. 4- Would it be an issue if I switched artists since I'm not completely happy at this point? Yes, I doubt another artist in the same shop would finish the sleeve and even outside the shop you might have trouble finding a quality artist to finish someone else's work. 5- I was told it would be best to finish one full sleeve before moving to the other arm because the ink would look different if there was too much time between doing the lower half and upper half. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, finish one before you start the other. 6- Is that true or would it all look the same after it's fully healed even if there was a large time gap before doing the top half? Ink fades over time, so you don't want to take years to finish a piece. Stop listening to "friends" who say $250 an hour is too much. I'm not sure what kind of asshole tells someone they paid too much for a tattoo, but that's not something a friend does. It doesn't matter how many tattoos they have. You knew the price going in, I'm not sure why it's an issue now. Next tattoo you need to set expectations with the artist. If you want to be really involved int he design let them know up front. Not every artist is interested in working with someone like that. One sleeve and my back I let the artist do whatever they wanted. The second sleeve, I showed a picture and said, "something like this." My first leg, I just said I wanted a tiger and we talked about the other elements. My other leg we just talked about the elements and kicked some ideas around, but I deferred to him. I've never seen a drawing or stencil until it went on me.

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.

Nah waiting on original poster. I'm trying to con the hairy husband into tattooing his beer belly though. Closest thing I have to a belly tattoo is the one under my boobs. (Which I'm trying to add a pic of but it's not letting me)