bongsau

good question! my tattooer designed the layout of my backpiece such that I can take off my shirt, leave the pants on and spectators can still tell what it is going on and then if I really want to give the whoa factor i can drop trou...we need to remember the average person thinks a butt tattoo is a joke, like a tweety bird or 'your name' heart on the cheek, and a lot aren't prepared for what they get when they ask a backpiece wearer "how far down does that go eh?" and then you get the really horrified/intrigued folks who want to know how deep the tattoo went in your ass crack...(?) really, it all depends on the context of the situation and your relationship to the person that is asking to see it. i've probably shown mine off on the phone screen more than in person...because people are dumb and ask to see our tattoos at the most inappropriate times...at a work meeting or at the grocery store...or like i'm having dinner in a restaurant, yeah you want me to stand up and show you my tattooed ass crack? sure, let me finish chewing first! lol in the tattoo shop though...anything goes! drop em and show em what ya got!

@mmikaoj god damn right! thanks for sharing, that is one good looking tattoo. cool too that you got to experience double machine business, not a lot of people get that opportunity.

Got the invite to go meet Shad at Steve's studio when he's here to visit my city end-April. Hopeful that I can align a small piece from Shad and then get back to my back w/ Steve, colour and details in May. Going to get OllieXXX to touchup and fill in some cracks on my leg tattoos too. Going to try and get out to the Kootenay's this summer to chill on my inlaws farm and hookup some additional work from Shawn O'Connor. But first things first, go burn all this tattoo-nonsense off in the Jamaica sun...Ras Colouring Book ribbit lawdamercy

sounds like a cool opportunity. a wise man once told me - 'you can never step in the same river twice...take the opportunities when they are given to you'

I deliberately left a 2" x 3" blank in my tattoosuit...for a spider with a yin-yang butt. i fuggin hate spiders, every since that grade 6 science fair where these little bitches traumatized me for life with a taxidermy tarantula. But I digress...I'm sure this concept has been done before and you can copy my sweet idea if you want, but it won't look a fraction as bad ass on your shoulder as it will tucked into the hidden realms of my shaolin suit hehe! My advice...wait...then go the distance with a big ol dragon tattoo. Put the yin-yang in the fireball in the dragon claw...do the dragon big enough such that the claw is the size of a baseball glove and yin yang is the size of a hardball!

Benvenuto ! I would expect NYC to have a lot of world class tattooers be accessible to you. Flyrite - Adorned - Kings Ave - NYHC ... those jump to mind but there are others here that are more local to the area that have been tattooed by some of the best in NYC. I think Flyrite is near Williamsburgh? I don't know I've only been to NYC once over a decade ago. I did get the opportunity to check out Flyrite on that trip (my NY bud said I should go check it out for the sake of checking it out), it had a super bad ass old school vibe. Would love to get tattooed there. In my opinion you may be hard pressed finding a "good" watercolour tattoo or tattooer anywhere in the world! a-o zing

@jen7 @xcom you both are lucky! by the time my back starts peeling my wife is checked out like, yeah you're on your own budd, gross! guess I'll have to rub A&D on my butt by myself :(

3 hrs is a very legit sit, don't be too hard on yourself bro. Progress is progress. Eat the elephant one bite at a time..."with ketchup and bbq sauce."

Headline should read "Tattooer Discovers How To Use Shadowing in Tattoo Design" - - - Updated - - - Over-shadowing in tattoos to get the 3D gimmick makes me think of airbrushing. Airbrushing looks good on a boogie van, not so much on the skin, my $0.02

The mechanics of a coil machine vs a rotary are different, the way the needle moves in/out of the skin and the feel/feedback it gives the tattooer. To use a coil machine effectively a tattooer needs to understand how to build/tune/setup the machine for the way they tattoo. And that may be why a lot of tattooers use rotaries these days...convenience. Rotaries are more forgiving in terms of overworking the skin, lighter weight i.e. reduces strain on the tattooer, they are easy to procure, good to go out of the box and can facilitate faster tattooing (if you they know what they are doing). Coils can achieve the same things but come with a steeper learning curve to understand the mechanics, optimize the geometry of the machine build and dial in the tune for their method. My tattooer who uses coils exclusively, he knows how to setup his machines and can spec a machine build to compliment his methods. And boy, you can feel that control when he tattoos. wow. He can really achieve the subtle details, the smoothness in his gradients because of the way he can achieve finer control with coils, that perhaps could not be achieved with the out-of-the-box characteristics of the rotary. His coil tattoos heal like butter everytime like clockwork. Because of the optimized setup, experience and skilled hand doing the tattooing. I also have another tattooer who is on the rotary train (the first rotary I experienced) and runs it bastard hot (sounds like a coil) and can utilize the rotary to compliment his speed and methods. His rotary tattoos hurt like hell, however go in smooth, colours stay ultra-bright after long-term healing and he is FAST. Me...I like the LOUD noise, I like the pain, I like the mechanics. So whichever side of the rotary vs coil debate my tattooer is on, doesn't matter because I gain a better understanding of the big picture of tattooing when I'm on the receiving end of either method. I just love good ol ELECTRIC tattooin! The louder the more electric the better :cool:

very awesome, nice seeing Andrew Stortz' tattoos, I like his stuff.

If you want something bad enough and you put in the time, patience and persistence...it will happen. I waited 2 years to finally get a spot w/ my tattooer. Well worth the wait if you really want it!

@Kinglambert this is fantastic! really love the composition, placement and most of all the story behind the imagery. awesome!

@jen7 good luck and enjoy the experience. the nerves, anxiety and fear(!) leading up to that first back session can't be replicated once those lines are in.

@marley mission check out "JapaneseCollective" on IG. Very high calibre japanese tattoo art. - - - Updated - - - Y'all can check the bongsau at "Dennis_Kool" on the IG. Pics of my dog, cats, bad ass wife, reggae records and kung fu crew. Oh, and the odd tattoo #tbt and backpiece progress (unsolicited-tattooed-butt pics by DM only!)

Less experience, lower hourly rate...more hours, higher overall cost. Your back is the primo real estate. Start small, see how smooth this newish tattooer's technique is, how you heal, and also how you click together in a tattooer-client relationship. Less experienced tattooers may have good technique but have they made enough past mistakes to understand placement and design composition? I'd rather they make the mistakes on someone else! my $0.02, i've been tattooed by apprentices and guys with 20+ years experience. And now that I'm almost full-up there are some spots I wished I'd waited to get with the 20+Exp cats. But really when it comes down to it...no rugrats

I think it is awesome that you older cats are jumping into the world of tattoo :)

Why leave it alone? Because your octo-forearm-tapus is barely healed, you're not 100% satisfied and there is 10 pages of internet-design-by-committee, constructive feedback, and indecisiveness in your thread. That is why I'd listen to Marley's good advice to let the thought sit until you have more confidence in the direction you want to take the upper arm to tie the whole thing together. Go enjoy the summer sunshine, let the octopus heal and pick up where you left off in the fall/winter aka tattoo-season. What's the rush?

best advice so far...

don't make it complicated by adding too much. do you want a shark or a snake? having a bunch of snakes and a shark together is going to scale down the proportion of the shark on the upper arm which will look small and unbalanced against the proportion of the octopus. $0.02 go for a shark on the top and fill the rest w/ black and grey water and wave background. the background is what is going to tie it all together. less is more.

...I'd like to get a spot with him in late-April if he visits my city ;) I've only heard some stories really hoping my opportunity works out...if you want something bad enough, the greater universe will make it happen for ya. good luck with yours @beez !

It is just linework, you will be fine. Get some ice packs ready, control the swelling especially if you are going to be walking around all nite a few hours after getting your leg lined. Wear baggy homeboy pants.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia if you desire tattoo of ocean water, above is the best reference available. straight up, just japanese style finger waves and water. doesn't get any simpler, bolder or timeless as that. - - - Updated - - - @SStu beat me to the punch !

Welcome @fortnightofwar! Don't overthink it. It's a nice, simple tattoo design, it's on you and that's what matters. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a bird or a tiger head. Or an eagle, octopus, shark, panther or hotstuff. And I also have a lion that is somewhat similar (but it is a flyin' lion). But it's on me and that's all that matters.

Today I commiserate not about my scaly raw feeling hot-crossed-bunz...but about the look of confusion my wife gave me when she walked into the room and saw me applying the A&D all over said bunz. Awkward....lol!