Lance

Oh Gray Seattle. A tattoo collector's paradise. I feel Seattle (sans maybe 2 months of summer) and SF have awesome weather for tattoos. LA definitely not.

@AuntTudie, here's a description https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennin

Post away @MoistTowelette! Post away!

Another option you might think about is getting a slightly muted color scheme so it's not so "out there" or go something like black/grey/red. That seems to work well and I've seen plenty of tattoos with that and it works great.

I think Japanese yakuza movies from the 60's/70's have some of the best movie tattoos. They also prove that tattoos other than tribal can still be very legible on screen. I think it's safe to say that watching these movies as a kid is the very reason why I have an interest in tattoos today. Here's a trailer from a movie called "Tales of Chivalrous Women: The Chivalrous Geisha". 0:32 and 3:02. Takakura Ken is a badass!

I have a consult in August for my armpits. I hope they are less painful than getting feet tattooed. I'm lucky in that my feet were easy for me. I felt more of the vibration than pain. I was also super pumped up to be getting tattooed by Horitomo so that could have helped some too. I think it's wishful thinking though since when I got my back and both sleeves done, I remember my eyes popping out of my face when the tattooing hit areas at the outer pit area. I'm not looking forward to getting them done but I'm still going to get them done because it's one of the few non-reserved open areas I have that I can get tattooed. Interesting talk about sweat gland damage though. Hadn't even thought about that. Now another thing I have to fixate on before getting them done. Would love to hear more about it.

If you have one of those apple watch things, they may not work as well if you have a dark tattoo apparently. Forgot who postedor where, but an article was posted about it somewhere on this forum.

THISSSSSSS!!! I always knew it as "fuck the world". Imagine my confusion for a very long time. Seriously, thought there were some really stuck up people out there. For instance: Them: My child is an honor role student at ___. FTW! Me: Piss off! Are you telling the world to fuck off cuz of your brat?! YOU PIECE OF SHI...!!! Oops.

Reminds me of sushi restaurant yelp reviews written by people who order California rolls smothered in teriyaki sauce... And I'll just leave this post by Tim Hendricks here: In Response… « Tim Hendricks

@cltattooing, who's tattooing you again? Or is that part of the secret? Don't forget to include me on your posts. I'm super curious now.

@RoryQ, just saw your post in the London Convention section, you're going to Japan to finish with Tomo? Are you starting anything new? Man, I'm dreading starting my front based on hearing a few people's experiences. But also can't wait to actually get around to starting it.

So this just reminds me of Buffalo Bill from Silence of The Lambs. Sans tucking... Instead of a woman suit, let's make a coat of @Graeme's back. Sorry Graeme, you look like my size ;-) @BrianH, excellent observational skills. Dat crack!

You can probably find it at herbal remedy or drug stores. Some high end grocery stores carry it too. But you may have to order it online. Walgreen doesn't carry it in-stores but offers it online. You can read a bit into it in the link below. When I got my feet tattooed one of the tattooers told me to try it. I had to go to maybe 4 different places on the way back to the hotel before I found it but was happy I did. The next day I woke up and my feet were the size of melons. So big I didn't know if my feet would fit in my shoes. I took a dose of it and within a brief time the swelling had significantly reduced. Willow Bark Uses, Benefits & Dosage - Drugs.com Herbal Database

@xcom, I've used willow bark capsules after getting my feet tattooed. It helped to reduce the swelling. And keep your feet raised and well pretty much all the things @purplelace has already said.

@keepcalm, I have fugly feet. Imagine Hobbits and The Beast from the X-Men movies. Didn't even occur to me when I got my feet tattooed. I just wanted to get tattooed. I think you'll be fine. As what is usually said, get what you want. I'm sure you'll love it. Tip, when you do get it, keep your feet elevated and take willow bark capsules to help reduce swelling.

I don't notice stares much lately and haven't, to my knowledge, been called a thug before. At least not to my face anyway. I don't really feel self-conscious much, but then there are areas I visit where I put on a jacket by habit. If I get comments, they are usually positive. These days I have more people saying I look like Steve Aoki. I don't really. I'm just Asian with long hair but I do remember a couple of experiences. There was a time once while standing in line at the Market, an elderly woman was staring at my arms. She told me my tattoos were beautiful and they looked like shirt sleeves. I thought that was really cute. Awesome, really. Another time, I was at a close friend's birthday for her 2 year old daughter. I was probably the only single person there, the only visibly tattooed person there and I have long hair and a beard. I definitely stood apart and one of the kids there noticed my tattoos. You could tell she was really curious, staring and smiling, and wanted to look closer. The problem was while I knew 80% of the people there, I hadn't met this particular child's parents so unfortunately my internal alarms went off and I went into self preservation defense mode and had to disengage. The little girl's curiosity was cool but it kind of sucked I felt that way and felt the need to do that. They could have been cool with it, but you never know how parents can be when it comes to their child and they are just trying to look out for their kids. I guess I'm keenly aware these days I'm not as inconspicuous as others and I've never been good with babies and children to begin with. Another experience which was interesting, was a time in London. I was out with someone I was visiting, and met a few of her friends at a bar in the eve. It was winter and cold so I had a coat on. We were all sitting and chatting for a bit. All was good, then I realized I still had my coat on inside. I took it off and didn't think much that my shirt sleeves had been rolled up so everyone saw I had tattoos. Most covered it well or knew I had tattoos but for the rest of the night 2 of her friends kept staring at my arms. It was very obvious and a little uncomfortable. Mostly just weird. Neither of them said anything. I ignored the stares but it would have definitely been better had they just asked me about the tattoos or said something. I mean I won't shank people just for speaking up. Really I won't. Interestingly I've actually felt self-conscious a few times while visiting the UK. I don't know why. Love visiting there though. Oops that was long...

Compromise, just go to Spider Murphys and get tattooed by everyone there. Oh and Stuart Cripwell. Btw, good advice above. Not much needs to be added.

Filip Leu, who? Never heard of the guy. He some instagram phenom? Ha ha!

Bravo @mmikaoj! Great story. Shame you got sick but it's still worth it. Your back turned out big, bold 'n badass. Cheers!

I have to be honest @TrixieFaux/ @DJDeepFried, I have not yet seen a bearded, man bunned, man head tattoo. Come to think of it, I'm quite surprised, given I live on the Eastside and the beard and the bun are a common enough sight. Do it! Then get a Friday 14th tattoo so you can be uber hip like that. It'll be cool then to see what you really get when the time arrives.

Oh you betcha we do! Bet you can hardly wait. I know we can't wait to see it when you do get it. Did you ever decide what?

Well maybe not the Taylor Swift tattoo, but your Miley Cyrus chest piece? Um, yeah.

Wow! Sorry to hear this happening to you @beez. I'm sure it stung even more so since you knew him for so long. To turn it positively, (and I understand it's easier for me to say "turn it positively") you now know just how much an insensitive ass he can be. It's better for you to know now than get back together with him and not know.

@AuntTudie, go for it. Why not? Last week Valerie Vargas posted an image she did of a sleeve depicting the Goddess Athena. The background was black Japanese style cloud/wind background. The mix looked amazing! I see Tibetan skulls integrated with Japanese background often too. Jill Bonny actually did an entire bodysuit fusing Mexican subjects with a Japanese style. I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of variations done too. Talk to your artist like @sighthound said and assuming they're a decent artist should be able to work it out.

@mmikaoj, thanks for sharing your progress from the start. Turned out mighty impressive and strong!