L2DB

My wife and I were planning to go to the Cleveland Tattoo Convention ( Cleveland Tattoo Arts Convention by Villain Arts ) this weekend, but can't get a sitter. I can go myself, but we were considering taking our kids (ages 3 and 6). They're relatively well behaved and the older one is into drawing and art, but, never having been to a convention, we're not sure if it's a good idea. We wouldn't be around during the suspensions or anything like that, but we're not sure if there's enough to keep them interested for ~2 hours or whatever and we don't want them to be a distraction to any of the artists or others. Thoughts?

Tattoo done late Monday afternoon. Applied tegaderm Tuesday AM after standard wash, dry, etc. I was hoping to leave it on until after my indoor soccer game tomorrow night (taking off when I shower afterwards), but the Tegaderm is starting to peel back on some of the edges (not sure if I put on poorly or it is just a lot of movement (bicep) that is working it loose. What's my move now? Take it off and go with traditional methods? Take it off and reapply new Tegaderm? Leave it as is?

Yeah, I'm more thinking about a possibly fatigued muscle and the area then going through the tattoo process. I might just take it easier on arms than I would otherwise. Thanks.

So I'm getting my inner bicep done this afternoon.... going to be out of workout commission for a little while (obviously) so I'm wondering if I can go before my appointment without there being any issues getting the tattoo. Thoughts?

Haven't had work from him in the past, but some of the things he's done in the past (from his portfolio) are the best match stylistically for the piece I want him to do, at least in the immediate area. I've explored a fair number of artist portfolios from shops nearby and haven't really seen anything else that grabs me for what I want to get done. I'll call the shop or stop by when he's back in town, but may check out artists from Columbus or Pittsburgh (I'm in Cleveland) if it doesn't work out.

Haven't called and stopping by in-person isn't conducive to my schedule. I emailed earlier today. Calling is a good idea - not sure why I haven't thought of that. At this point, it almost seems desperate - I don't want a grudging "okay, I'll do it a guess" type response like I'm being a PITA.

So the above happened July 20th. Sent a text to artist July 21st saying could do the 27th. No response. Sent a text July 28th saying I could do Aug 3rd or would need to be end of August/beginning of September. No response. Artist was generally slow to respond in setting up initial appointment, but I'm wondering if it's beyond poor customer interaction skills and he doesn't want to do the tattoo. We left it well (I thought) with him seemingly excited about really doing a good job on it and I think he might have been on vacation for a portion of the time since then, but still... do I just cut bait and find someone else at this point?

Went Monday to get my Celtic warrior on my inner/front bicep. First stencil was too small, but artist had concerns about placement of something bigger (i.e. distortion about wrapping it around to the front). Had the idea to move the small one higher to front shoulder-cap/upper arm, but stencil didn't look right there to me (I have an existing piece we are working around and some other things I want to get in the same area so there are some planning considerations). Process had me 2nd guessing the design. Re-looked at first placement with bigger size and artist seemed to reconsider his first thought, but was concerned about time left in the day to do it right. Mutually decided to postpone getting it then. Hoping to go back next Monday afternoon, but still need to confirm. Kind of bummed, but better than being bummed after the fact. Larger and placement towards the front was what I was looking for initially, but I'm a bit concerned I won't like it at that point either once the stencil's on and given how long I've thought through what I want, that's disappointing. We'll see I guess.

Well, turns out only the competitive waves are still available for registration for the race so it's moot. I may try to do a race later in the fall.

Posted this in another thread a few days ago, but haven't gotten any responses. I'm getting my next tattoo on my inner/front bicep on July 20th and I'm considering doing Warrior Dash August 9th. (Warrior Dash is a 3 mile mud run/obstacle course type thing.) I should be okay, right? I only have recent healing experience from my calf which I don't want to use to judge for arm-healing time.

Quick question, this seems like a good place for it. I'm scheduled for my next tattoo on July 20th - it will be on my inner/front bicep. I should be okay for doing a Warrior Dash race on August 8th or 9th, right?

I'm in the process of scheduling an appointment for my next piece sometime mid to late July. Adding a Celtic warrior on my inner/front bicep to go with the existing Celtic dog I have on my arm. Plan is to eventually add a 2nd dog and something else and turn it into a Finn Mac Cool (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fionn_mac_Cumhaill) collection/quarter sleeve.

I would get the tattoo there because you want a tattoo there and not because of how it impacts your perceived cankles. I have nothing concrete to base this on, but I'd think something a bit longer and narrower (think feather) going from side ankle up into your calf would offer the most camouflage, though your concern about drawing attention to the area with a tattoo is pretty valid, IMO.

I will try to go post it there. And it is clouds. I don't think it's a fade off - though maybe that was the intention. The "gravel" (darker spots) go down farther than the gray of the road. I can try to post a better picture (maybe in a new thread?)

What are you doing for aftercare?

Fully healed from my Irish landscape/road done in a woodblock print style. The way the artist did the hills is different (I can't say not how I expected, because I wasn't sure what to expect with them), but I think it's a function of trying to get the reference picture into the style and I think as it fades a bit, it will look even better. My two minor issues are the shading of the road at the bottom right and the rock (I think) that looks like it got missed along the left hand side. Now that I'm healed, I assume it's not a big deal to touch base with the artist and have him fix those two areas real quick sometime?

These. Provided your artist can make it look right. As a pretty new lurker/poster on this site, the traditional tattoos are the best tattoos vibe is pretty strong. IMO.

Upped this to March 30th. Should have pics up here this time next week. Do I put them here or is there another thread for that?

Just booked my appointment for April 6th for my Irish road/landscape done in a woodblock print style.

Got my first without asking/telling either senior year of HS or the summer between that and college - somewhere around there. My mom noticed the bandaged area through my T-shirt and asked what was wrong with my back/shoulder so I told her. Didn't get much reaction. When I pierced my ears (I forget what gauge) for a week before saying f it, I tried to pull a too-small toboggan down past my lobes, but it didn't work very well.

I'm going to semi-piggyback on this thread since I can't start new threads yet... I'm still in the research phase of my next tattoo - it's been 10 years since my last one and I'm in a different part of the country now. I'm looking for an artist that does what I'm looking for (my Intro thread is below), and have gotten some advice as to shops to check out, but narrowing it to an individual artist seems trickier. I'm guessing that an artist with a Neo-traditional specialty is going to be my starting point, but my question is this... if I go into a shop and talk to person X - will they guide me to a different artist in the shop if there's someone else who may be better suited to what I'm looking for? Or will they usually just do it themselves by default? http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/initiation/6262-new-member-introduction-looking-advice.html

Pretty new here, but I'm looking to do this sometime in the next 6 months or so: I have some questions that I put in my Intro if anyone wants to offer an opinion (I'm not sure how often that sub-forum gets read). http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/initiation/6262-new-member-introduction-looking-advice.html

I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I don't really have a sense of how the average Ink Master contestant compares skill-wise to a solid, well-recommended artist in medium-sized city X (I'm in Cleveland, but think of any similar-sized city). I think the show tries to give the impression (or maybe it's just my initial interpretation) that they are sort of a best of the best in the country, but then the critiques (and even a non-professional eye) identify a number of mistakes. Is it unfair/wrong to worry about my local well-recommended artist? - - - Updated - - - So I got over the page count and started reading the thread. Pretty much answered my question in the first few pages.

Hey everyone... I got my first tattoo (family crest on back shoulder) about 10-11 years ago and my 2nd (celtic dog on arm) two years later and have been on hiatus since then. I started watching Ink Master on Hulu a few weeks ago and have been blowing through the episodes. Naturally, I want another one now. Wife-approval is a reward for losing some weight (215 down to about 195-200; nothing major) so I've got a few months to get my ideas worked out. I haven't talked to an artist yet, but I'd like some input from others prior to then so I have some perspective on some elements of my design. I want a road (I like this one, but I'm not married to it), but I'd like it stylized as a woodblock print (a la William Rice - example. It seems fairly straight-forward, but I have three main questions... 1) It seems like a lot of the woodblock style can be achieved just by not smoothing the colors as much and having the changes in color be a bit more obvious. For example, on the lower right side of the example above, there's a patch of white snow, then a noticeable border of cream/tan, then it moves into the blue gray. 2) In that section of snow, would each color change be outlined or only the major forms (in that section, the blue/gray part I guess)? 3) Is the effect I'm going for even possible or is it just going to look coloring-booky? Thanks.