Gingerninja

Hey @Mia We may have different ideas on what haggling is but if you told him your budget was 300-400 then you want it for 300, that's haggling to me. Maybe we are simply misunderstanding each other! I am still not understanding the ask to draw up the tattoo if you DON'T want to see it before hand? Sorry, it's been a long couple of days.

@Mia Hey there, yeah, that's called haggling. Don't do it. 🙂 He’s a very good artist and I know he wouldn’t take advantage. I was just unsure of how artists feel about complying to a budget. He said he would be between 300-400, so trust him. And if it was rude to ask him to draw up something that would be worth what my budget was and let him do it to we’re it would be worth that much to him. I don't follow. ? Remember, cheap tattoos are not good and good tattoos are not cheap. MOST artists are not going to draw something up and give it to you in advance.

@Dan Oh, those are lovely!

Nice! I saw that Tattoo and Blues was this weekend as well. It looks like the venue was a school or something? The scoreboard threw me a little. 🙂 @Dan

Amazing @tacifone! I bet that felt good. Chris nailed your piece. Congrats!

No photos to share but I started my left arm sleeve last week with Grez. A lot more to go before it's done but I'm so excited. 🙂

My only concern is your immune system. You can get an infection by just blinking. Keep an eye out on the new tattoo. Good luck! @PlaceInTheSun

Ha! The exact opposite happened to me. The first calf was miserable; the other was manageable. Shows to go ya.

QQ for you - how big is the Higg's piece? Would you be sitting for over 2 hours? I'd say if you really feel good and it's on your arm, I'd go for it but don't bullshit yourself on how good you THINK you feel. Be really honest with yourself. No sense in crashing yourself if you really don't think that you are up for it!

Hey @Decay You have a lovely new tattoo. Tattooing isn't science, it's art and you can't set a clock by how long a tattoo will take. Your artist, who I assume you trust to tattoo you, will always give you a best guess. It may take longer; it may take less time. You do realize how much goes into tattooing, right? Your artist has to come up with a design, a piece of art, from whatever concept you have in your head and translates that into a tattoo on your skin. There's design, drawing, and setup among other things that happen way before the needles hit your skin. If you feel like you are being ripped off over what you think is 30 minutes, you need to think long and hard if tattooing is for you. Enjoy the ride! Let go a little and you will have a better experience. I have never seen a menu of prices and that concept will not serve you well on your tattoo journey. Where do you live where you haggle over everything? And I really hope that you tipped your artist.

Tattoo semi-holiday next week. I need some R&R!!

@oboogie and @Oiocha You both have amazing pieces. LOVE. @Oiocha Your ribs make me wince a little. You are a warrior, dude!

Hey @emmar15, you are going to have to give it time to heal. It may take 6-8 weeks to fully settle in. No one here is trying to be mean...just realistic. I have had tattoos that took a couple of months to settle in and now they are beautiful, imperfections and all. This is part of the deal with tattoos. Breathe. It's all gonna be okay.

@Wilkins512 I'm an idiot...this thread is the tegaderm thread. Doh!

I'd contact the artist or a doc for an opinion but if it's not hot or spreading, my thought it's not an infection. Depending upon how you heal, it may take a few months to resolve completely. Bummer...I am sorry. I use tegaderm on 99% of my work and have never had an issue. Have you read the tegaderm/saniderm thread on this forum? I don't put my tegaderm on until the next day.

Is the bump in the tattoo or outside the tattoo where the tegaderm was placed? Is there more than one bump (re: has it spread)? Is it an actual blister?

Oh, no! I am sorry to hear of the diagnosis but at least you know what's going on.

It will settle in a week or so.

Well, you can do whatever you'd like, right? I got stuck on the Three Year Rule. <grin> I think that asking for two designs is a bit much (okay, a lot too much). If your legs aren't done, save one the concepts for your leg. To me, it's like asking a chef to plan two menus complete with a tasting menu before you decide but only paying for one menu. The other thing is to ask your artist, conceptually, which idea would make a better sleeve.

There is so much here to unpack that I don't know where to start. 🙂

It's been beautiful seeing the wonderful, heartfelt outpouring of love for him. *sniff*

Let it heal. Breathe!

This!! I would never laser a part of a tattoo in order to fix it. Did you talk to your artist about it?

I would be the person staring and asking questions, just so you know. 🙂 @bongsau

@tmbelknap When did you get it? Is it warm to the touch? Sore? We aren't doctors, so if you are concerned go get it checked out. Have you contacted your artist?