lildropofsunshine

Oh for sure. I rarely drink so that's no problem, I never sleep well, but that's old news...but eating and bringing distractions/things to do, definitely! First tattoo I brought my best friend, second I did solo. I actually liked flying solo better, but I was really nervous for my first one.

I saw a sketch of my first tattoo before the actual appt, but not of my second. My artist said he'd work on a sketch and when that was done he'd show it to me. I should be seeing it within the next week since he said he's a few weeks out on sketches.

I'm still waiting for the first sketch...I'm so impatient, I really want to see it! Not that I've got the money yet, but I do have a start of it.

I made a comment at least 2 other people made, so yeah, you singling me out did ruffle my feathers a bit. There's no need to do that. Oh, and telling someone to relax? Yeah, no.

Right...not singling me out when you said what you said... Who else were you talking to when you said that? And I am chill. I just happen to not particularly like being singled out.

I'm not the only one who talked about charging for the piece so I don't know why you're singling me out about it. There were at least 2 other posters who said similar things as I did.

I just saw my artist about my next tattoo a week or so ago and I asked him what he thought the approximate cost would be so I know how much money I need to save. So in that I don't agree with "if you have to ask you can't afford it" because yeah, maybe you can't afford it that day, but in a month you'll have the money. Nowhere in the shop is there an hourly rate, just that the shop minimum is $75, so I don't even know how the other artists in the shop charge. There are 3 others, I've met 1 of them, but I've only been tattooed by this one artist.

@Graeme - That's just your opinion. I disagree. @byzantine - I'll have to schedule my appointment strategically then because I pretty much work every other day, but the shop isn't open on Mondays and I have Mondays and Tuesdays off...

I can probably find a decent pic of my foot tattoo...but I only have 1 pic of my shoulder tattoo in my possession and it's not very good because it's an uploaded pic from a cellphone from right after it was finished...it's not easy to photograph your own shoulder, so I gave up trying!

@sophistre - Those are some nice pieces! I agree that pain is different for everyone which is why I'm purely asking for experiences. This is a piercing example...but lots of people say the conch hurts really bad, but for me it was maybe a 2/10. I was expecting a lot of pain, and it just wasn't there, and I had heard people giving it an 8 or 9/10. @oboogie - I didn't say the blanket statement that tattoos don't hurt. I said they don't always hurt. And that's true. It's from my real life experience. And because I have tattoos, I can say it. It's not like I don't have any and I'm just like, oh, a tattoo doesn't hurt! And you;re absolutely right, I don't know what getting large, multiple-session long hours tattoos is like, and I most likely never will, but I can absolutely say what I know from my experience.

I said at least 5x6. I don't know the actual size.I'm also not good at estimating size, so I'm most likely underestimating. My artist hasn't even gotten the sketch done yet, so I can't even begin to imagine size. I do know it's not gonna be big though. I'm pretty sure I said I don't want a big tattoo...I like my smaller scale ones. I feel they fit my small body. I also just can't imagine myself with something like a half sleeve, even though I think they're awesome...that doesn't fit my personality. No, I haven't posted my other tattoos, I just joined and am really only interested in my upcoming tattoo right now. Not that I don't love my other tattoos, but I don't even have a halfway decent picture of one of them. And just because I don't know tattoo pain all that well doesn't mean I don't know pain. I do. I danced for 3 nights in a row with completely torn ligaments in my ankle and then in the summer had surgery to repair them and now have some sort of screw/pin keeping them where they should be. But until that, my ankle would partially dislocate quite often when I was even just walking. That's pain.

I say I have a high pain tolerance because of the number of piercings I have, not because of the number of tattoos I have. Also just in general. It takes a hell of a lot of pain to get a reaction from me other than an "ow!" I'm also saying tattoos can't hurt. I'm simply saying they don't always. Even you say that the shoulder is an easy spot, so why can't you accept that mine didn't hurt? The top of the foot does hurt a bit. Some bits of my tattoo lie there and there were some spots that hurt a lot, but I can point them out, it's not like the whole thing hurt a lot. Why are thighs hard to heal?

I disagree that all tattoos hurt. Like I said, I almost fell asleep getting my shoulder done...you don't fall asleep if you're in pain. If I had let myself fall asleep I would have, but I didn't want to take a nap at like 6pm. I'm just curious about the pain. I like to hear other peoples experiences. I'm the same way with piercings. It's also going to be bigger than my hand. That would be tiny! And I'm also not trying to sound cool. I'm being honest, and isn't that what we want?

I don't want a huge thigh piece. As in, absolutely no desire whatsoever to get one. I would also never get a half/full sleeve or a back piece. I like my tattoos on the small side. Depending on the design and how it would sit I might go up to 8x8 but I can't imagine going any bigger than that...plus, that would be most of my thigh anyway since I'm not all that big! And like I said, it will be at least 5x6" all depending on the design and how it sits. I wouldn't say people are lying if they say it didn't hurt. Neither of my tattoos hurt that bad -- in fact, my should tattoo was nearly painless and I almost fell asleep whilst getting. My foot/ankle tattoo hurt in certain spots, but for the most part was just uncomfortable and I'd rate the pain maybe around a 6/10 and my shoulder at maybe a 3/10, maybe.. I do have a high pain tolerance though and a lot of piercings, so that could be why I don't think tattoos hurt that much.

My artist hasn't charged me an hourly rate, just a flat rate for each tattoo, and that's what he's doing for my third as well. I asked how much he thought it might run because I need to save up the money and how could I do that without an estimate of price? But if I look at each tattoo and what I paid (I have 2 tattoos), it comes out to about $100/hr which isn't bad at all! I've tipped him nicely both times (I'm in NY), and this time around I might bring him a little gift just because I really like him and his work. He did give me a ballpark number for the tattoo -- he said $200 to $300 at the most, and I trust that will be right.

Later this summer (hopefully by the end of July), I'm going to be getting a thigh tattoo. I already have 2, one on my foot/ankle and one on my shoulder, and I'm wondering, in comparison how painful the thigh is. Not because I'm not going to get it if people say it's a 10/10, just out of curiosity because I believe that if the amount of pain turns you off you shouldn't be getting that body mod at all. It's also going to be my first color tattoo, and I've heard color hurts more than black and grey. Is there any truth to this? Size wise, I think it might be my biggest one. I'm not exactly sure how big it'll be, but it'll probably be at least 5x6". Also, I want it low enough on my thigh that you can easily see it while I'm wearing shorts and dresses without me having to hike them up. And positioning wise, I'm thinking about on the front, towards the side. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I had never heard the term tattoo collector until I started watching Youtube videos about tattoos, and one of the people said that they were a tattoo collector. I thought/think that is a very stranger term. I always just thought of people as people with tattoos.

Never gotten tattooed at that time of the month, but I do have a shoulder tattoo that I had to be careful of with bras and shirts. Basically I had to wear cotton bras that were softer than regular ones, and baggier shirts that didn't cling.

Everyone told me foot/ankle. I even had people try to talk me out of that area for my first tattoo. They said put it somewhere else that will hurt less. I didn't because I had wanted it there for about 2 years before I bit the bullet. Some spots hurt quite a bit, but others just kind of felt like a cat scratching. But if I were to compare the pain between my foot/ankle tattoo and my shoulder tattoo, I would have to say the shoulder hurt a lot less.

I have 2 tattoos and I would definitely not consider myself an expert! I know some stuff, more than the average person probably, but I still ask questions about tattoos from more experienced people. One of my pet peeves is when people say I'm going to regret my tattoos. I've had my first one for almost 4 years and I love it just as much as I did when I got it, and my other one is about a year younger, and I love that one just as much as I did when I first got it...no regrets at all!

Phoenix on my thigh, hopefully by the end of July.

I'm getting a phoenix on my thigh. I don't have pictures of the sketch yet as my artist is still working on it. I know that phoenixes are super popular, but that doesn't bother me since mine will be like no one else's because it's being custom designed.

I hid my second tattoo from my mom for months because I knew she wouldn't approve. I was visiting my family for about 10 days, staying in my sister's room with her, and managed to keep it a secret...then my mom was visiting me, and I just had a bra on, no shirt because I was changing for dinner and she saw it and said something negative but then was like, it's your body...so I know she doesn't like it and doesn't really approve of it, but if you're an adult, you do you.

Honestly, what I did was look at shop reviews on Yelp and look at portfolios of all the artists and picked one...and before getting tattooed by him, talked with to make sure I was comfortable with him. I've gotten 2 tattoos from him, and he's in the process of designing my third right now. I'm very happy with his work, so even if it's not the best, I think it's great!

Depending on how big you are and where it is on your body, that's not a big tattoo. Maybe show her the size by cutting a piece of paper into it?