SJP0tato

It's been awhile since I posted, worked with my artist Brian to come up with this sweet wolf idea: Had the linework done today, just need to get back in to get the color filled in. Super happy how it's coming out so far, grateful being able to share with you all who appreciate/understand the process/result!

Agree with the others: Looks great. Any smaller and you wouldn't have been able to get nearly the level of detail, so you did good with that size.

My method is probably super archaic, but I like to do a google maps search for tattoo shops in my area: From there, I go to each one's website, and then look at every artist's portfolio listed. It takes a ton of time, but I always find one or two diamonds in the rough, and it can be fun seeing all the different shops/artists/styles within 20 mins driving time of my house. Hope this helps!

Hori Benny? Still looks great even a bit faded. The two main things I've heard fade tattoos are sun/UV and time/age. Sunscreen couldn't hurt to retain what you've got. I agree with the others: It'd be pretty hard to find an artist (other than the original) to freshen it up without risking ruining things.

It'd be neat to see before/during/after pics. It's surprising she's able to meet you halfway if just the outline is 6 hours, but maybe there's less shading than I'm imagining accompanying the 6 hours of linework. I have a theory that these kinds of situations come up because we as a society rarely have experience purchasing one-of-a-kind items: Almost everything we exchange money for is mass produced, same as the last, can buy it anywhere. So knowing what to expect, negotiate, outcome, etc can all be surprising when it's truly a custom-made outcome.

Looks cool! Now I have to ask: What's the first? 🙂

To me this is the most fun part of the process: It sounds like your artist knows what they're doing and has skills. You sound like you've got some ideas on what direction to take things, but nothing super specific yet. What I do (the fun part) is come up with a list of wants: "It needs to have a woman, and I want it to be a portrait or full body or whatever", "I want her to be sitting/standing/holding something". And then things I don't want: "I don't want her to appear angry/happy/smiling", "I don't want her to be in a forest" Usually you can draw a lot of inspiration by looking up other tattoos, and including the things you like/dislike about them into your own ideas. Trim the lists down to something reasonable for your artist, and then let them implement it in a way they think is best. It's usually a total surprise until you get to the studio, but if you did a good job defining what you want, the artist should encompass a good portion of it in their own style in a way that they know will work. Showing up day of and seeing what they've come up with is the best part.

Sounds like a good thing to talk over with your artist during the consultation: A pocket watch seems like a pretty neutral object: with gears and mechanical touches it could be interpreted potentially more "masculine", with flowers/hearts maybe more "feminine", but at the end of the day who cares: Let the artist know what you want, some ideas/guidelines, and let them do their magic. No matter what happens there'll be people who love it, hate it, and everything in-between. The only opinion that matters is your own!

Looks cool! Be sure to post up your ink when it's all finished. Get a good meal a few hours beforehand and enjoy the process. It's all about the journey!

Looks like a couple of the lighter ones are healed (or at least partially healed). They'll always appear super dark initially, but mellow once healed.

Maybe as part of the design you can ask him to make sure to keep yours lighter and have the best of all worlds. As long as you let him know upfront your preferences, he should be able to accommodate to achieve what you're looking for I bet. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Agree with SStu 100% here: The "best" artists that I like to follow will take subject material I never would normally consider (Hori Benny is first to mind for me here), and make me go "yeah okay, I'd totally get that". If you're leaning towards this artist because they're the only one that's gone along with your idea, maybe you just need to further clarify or present it in a different manner. It won't always be the case the artists will be super excited (after all they're doing nothing but tattooing random ideas day in & out), but if they can apply their creativity to bring your idea to life is the most important aspect.

Hah, good question: We sort of drifted apart after highschool, but do talk every once in awhile. I sent him a pic on social media, but no real response yet. 🙂 Thanks! This one was done by Brian Savage at Black Lotus in Gilbert, Az. Very talented guy whose style I really like. Nice guy in-person too!

I guess I'm not really a newbie anymore, but it's still fun to read & share here: I went in for #2 this week: This one's a throwback to a conversation my best friend and I had in the late 80's/early 90's: "One day when we're 18, you should get a tattoo of Hobbes, and I'll get Calvin". I guess I decided it was finally time. 🙂

Last session is done... not sure how common it is to spend so many sessions on a single/first piece like this, but I'm having a lot of fun with the process so I guess it's all good! Again really appreciate all the info contributed on this site over the years (so if you're reading this: thank you!), it's helped my experience more than I can say. One more touch-up session scheduled in a month or so (artist wants to add a little more color to a few areas), but first tattoo down, now to figure out which of the dozens of ideas to have done next! Dang things really are addictive after all... 🙂