Raskolnikov

Ba-yoodi-ful.

Thanks Ursula. Rask is fine, btw. I've been called worse. On this very board :)

Zatoichi our eyeless cat, adopted from the wonderful no-kill, vegan animal shelter Freshfields in Liverpool (and Wales): Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre Damn, I love this ridiculous cat. I used to work at Freshfields and can guarantee that it is a great place and really worth supporting. If you are thinking of acquiring a beast I would urge you to give them a try.

Yes, he was a fabulous artist, and Into You have only very recently taken down his RIP page. I thought this was a very moving post from Tomas Tomas regarding Jason at the time of his death. Also features some wonderful Japanese work in the first picture.

Thanks Jake - yeah, I am completely open to artists coming up with a design, and frankly I find it surprising when people are so prescriptive about what they want. To me it is about giving the tattooist an idea of what you want, and then letting them interpret it. Also, I think for me it is about being aware of some terms so that if I am asked if I want a particular feature in the work, I will know what to answer. The thread has proved that most terms are not set in stone, and that being fluent in certain aspects of tattooing is perhaps not even necessary for someone in my position.

Yep, I think it would definitely be the minority of people who like their work. I certainly balked the first time I saw it. I'm interested in the idea that they don't look like tattoos though. To me they are a just different way to approach tattooing in an open-minded way. If I live to be 90 I imagine all of my tattoos will be getting pretty blobby. I hope so anyway.

I have had a couple of conversations with him whilst waiting around outside of Into You and yep, he is delightful. It doesn't surprise me at all that he was so open to the work you brought in, in general I would say that it is a very open and chilled out studio, what with Duncan X also being a professional, calming influence. I wonder if the experience was enough that you would go back for work from Tomas based on seeing his usual tattooing style?

Honestly, I didn't mention traditional in the context of artists "scratching away doing other people's flash" at all so I don't understand how I could possibly be "putting down most western traditional artists." I'd be happy to reply to Stewart's points but I imagine this should move to PM or just die away. I'm happy with both.

Wow, I genuinely just thought we were having an interesting discussion. I didn't for a moment you were doing anything other than expressing your view, which I was interested to hear. What did you post that I could possibly consider being me being shouted down?

Oh, you were talking about of work such as Berit Uhlhorn in Germany and Musa working out of Tribo in Prague that I mentioned in context of work I have come around to? That's interesting because I've never thought of them as not looking like tattoos, other than I think they don't look explicitly like traditional or neo-traditional. Also, I imagine there are people getting both modern and neo-traditional work for a variety of bad reasons, but I imagine trying to look cool and clever must be up there as the most common bad reason for all styles. I like to see people like Berit, who also does extensive work in hospitals with cosmetic tattooing (such as nipple tattoos on women who have had mastectomies, or skin shading on people who have had invasive surgery), pushing tattooing art in a way that shows true artistry, rather than scratching away doing other people's flash. My personal view is that Guy is doing something more interesting than Hooper, though I respect them both massively, of course. It's definitely personal.

Tomas Tomas is unbelievably good.

Not a hassle at all - just finding my way and its good to know how the forum works. Oh dear, I posted that stuff to that thread twice, except the second time I just posted links so as not to swallow up the thread with huge images. I'm happy for you to delete the original post if you like. Yep, not a troll, and generally find the spleen-venting/attention seeking side of internet communities to be childish and depressing. Can't promise I won't ask stupid questions though. I could never promise something like that... :-)

Yes, it definitely evokes Thomas Hooper too, although not too much, and he clearly has his very own clearly defined style. I often find myself, like you, seeing work that I think is incredibly wonderful but could not imagine getting myself. Over the years I have marvelled at the work of Berit Uhlhorn in Germany and Musa working out of Tribo in Prague, but never thought it would suit me. I have done a complete 180 degree on that in the past few months, and I am focussed on getting work by both. Can't see myself ever getting any bio-mech work though, as much as I respect the ability and imagination required to do it well.

Thanks all for your advice, most appreciated. I thought it might be useful/helpful for me to know some terms but it is clear this is open and people have different ways of describing something. Nothing is set in stone, in other words. That's a relief. Stewart - thanks for your help. I suppose partly it is making sure that if an artist mentions "red burst" to me that I know what they mean, which up until 10mins ago, I most certainly wouldn't have. Ursula - yes, I have seen that style of burst done in green, orange, purple etc, and it can look great. Your description of that kind of cloud work is precisely how it should be described, rather than a snappy term. Thanks. Jaycel - I guess as my original post suggests, I am completely OCD about making sure I am prepared, so I will have a lot of visual material always. Valerie - Yeah, for me it is not about being prescriptive about a design, and stating exactly how a design should be, so much as saying "I like what you did here so include it if you want to, or you think it will work with the design." I agree with you that showing the artist examples of what you like about their work specifically is the way to go, and I could not imagine showing other artists' work at a consultation. That's pretty rude, and unhelpful.

I know he won't be to everyone's tastes, but I do adore the work of Guy Le Tatooer, who works out of a studio in Toulouse, France (and who also does some guest spots in Berlin on occasion). I rarely see him mentioned, which is a blessing in terms of not having a long wait to be seen for work, but it does surprise me as I think he is a master of what he specialises in. He seems to do mainly animal tattoos, and predominantly b&g. I adore his etching/woodcut/illustrative style, and the mix of detailed anatomical style work with some very expertly creative pointilism. I suppose he could be compared with Duncan X, but I would say he is more refined and his material less dark and influenced by old-school than Mr X. GUY LE TATOOER Guy le tatooer Old Nevermore: Guy le Tatooer I hope to be going to either Berlin or Toulouse in November to get some work done.

Apologies in advance if this is an irritating newbie-style thread starter*, but after reading through the very interesting slang terms that make you cringe thread I started to think about certain aspects of tattooing that I like that I do not know the name of, and do not have the specialist vocabulary to communicate. I found myself trying to find quick snappy terms to describe the following three tattoo features but could not come up anything: Details from Tattoos by Valerie Vargas In the first detail, I don't know the name for that technique of using highlighting lines, like sun rays. In the second, the use of clouds in traditional tattoos (traditional clouding?), and in the third the traditional 'red glow'. Yes, you are right, I do appear to have invented my own techincal terms that probably could be easily understood by a tattooist, but I am eager to learn the proper terms so that I can communicate better. I have looked for a good Tattooists Glossary so that I can increase my vocabulary but they always tend to be fairly basic. I'm also interested to find out if Tattooists prefer clients to have a decent grasp on this kind of specialist knowledge, or if it isn't necessary. * I may be a newbie, but I won't be asking questions about the price per hour for a tattoo, the best tattoist in Grimsby for tribal and a portrait of my child from a photo, or asking whether my wife should really be apprenticing in Fred West's Strangeways Tattoo Studio.

Thanks Lochlan and Dari - yep, it is definitely a useful filter for the mountain of spam that forums get these days so I wholeheartedly endorse its use. I was just wondering if there was a way for me to see that I have messages pending (such as you would get for a Tripadvisor review, for instance). It looks like it HAS disappeared, and it might only be me, but it could be a head's up that others posts are not getting through, but maybe users aren't reporting it. If I have a few minutes later today I will post it again.

I'm new here and I didn't really want to send a PM to an admin as I imagine they get bothered a great deal by dumb newbie questions. ANYWAY - I posted yesterday in the 'Who do you think deserves some recognition?' and got a message saying that it would need to be validated by an admin (probably because I attached images). Firstly, is it normal for it to take this long, and secondly, is there a way for me to be able to see if I have a pending message, in case it has just got lost into the ether? Much appreciations.

I know that skulls have always been popular, and will always be popular, but I think we will be seeing a flood of them in the next year by people who frequent dodgy high-street scratchers. Mainstream fashion has been using skulls so much that crappy markets now have them on their knock-off clothing for kids. Walking through the posh and not-so-posh areas of London last week I noticed skulls everywhere on people's clothes. I guess the sort of people who get stars and cheryl cole wrist tattoos will be getting skull tattoos in response to shite clothing design.

I suppose this thread is according to taste, but I would say Guy Le Tattooer (working out of a studio in Toulouse, France) should be regarded as a modern great. I love his mixture of pointilism plus a quite surreal etching/woodcut/anatomical style that evokes Duncan X, but perhaps less dark in subject matter, and more focussed on animals. GUY LE TATOOER

I personally think it is all about perspective. Artists are exchanging their labour and creative abilities for something of equal value - usually cash. Obviously this has spiralled into a load of extraneous stuff that has little bearing on an individuals desire to ink their body, but as long as it is seen as just an exchange between two people, then none of the other bullshit should matter.