DJDeepFried

Shocker. Congrats, @ThatGuy! For the rest of the pack there can be no losers when you rock a sick tattoo like that. Not a lot of contestants this month but quality over quantity.

If you're going to Jess Yen's shop you'd be foolish to get a backpiece from anyone but Jess Yen. Foo dogs are a great subject for a backpiece, especially with peonies. You should probably listen to your artist when it comes to placement. But if you can't afford a good backpiece, don't get one. Now is not the time to go bargain hunting. My advice: Get the best tattoo you can. Money is secondary. If you can't wrap your mind around that one, you're not ready to make that kind of commitment. The reason many tattooers can't quote you a price up front is because it's hard to know how long a piece of that size and scope will take, but I'd guesstimate you're looking at least 25-50 hours – 100 on the outside. Hourly rates are mostly meaningless because some of the best artists are very fast and some newbies are very slow. By trying to get a bargain you could end up with a mediocre to bad tattoo that's way more expensive than the one you could have had. Take the time and save up while you make up your mind. And/or consider getting one foo dog on an arm or a leg and take it from there. From everything I've read, however, you're probably not ready. Feel free to prove me wrong but don't ignore good advice from people who know more than you.

Hmmm... The plot thickens. Pics or it didn't happen!

Wow @taaaro! He is the best.

Young Fathers – Dead Brody Dalle – Diploid Love Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata Elbow – The Takeoff and Landing of Everything Jack White – Lazaretto Beck – Morning Phase St. Vincent – St. Vincent

Here a li'l photoessay of our venture to State of Grace. Still pretty jel I didn't get a tattoo or even a lousy T-shirt but the wee one did. /r220/ddglazer/DSC06564.jpg[/img][/url]

My vote: more leaves, black, red, green, and more black.

Not a tattoo artist but yes I think it would look better with color and shading. Was this not suggested to you by your tattooer?

Feeling the itch are you?

I really like tattoos with tattoos and that one would really pop with some light blue diamonds for example but ask your artist!

I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to swastikas @real meta but I wouldn't have seen it if you hadn't pointed it out. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Welcome back @Delicious! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I like it just fine @Dog Bite. Thinking about adding color or no? Best not to get too hung up on little imperfections (not that I see any glaring problems). Just get more tattoos! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

So sorry @SeeSea. We went through the same thing with our dog so I know how hard a decision it is to make but you absolutely did the right thing by her. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Half of these are gonna look like utter shite in five years: The Top 15 Tattoos on Reddit | Tattoodo.com

Hey @MadeIndelible no preaching or judgement but look into Refuge Recovery a brand new book by Noah Levine that lays out a Buddhist approach to sobriety and was specifically designed to avoid all that Higher Power and God talk. Noah's been clean for twenty plus years and he's helped a lot of good people I know including me with my own path.

Drove up to SOG w/ @TrixieFaux to get her monmon catted now I'm jet setting to NYC for a reading of a script I wrote leaving the poor girls to drive back down to LA solo because I am a terrible husband and father but that's how we do in Hollywood, baby!

My condolences @Colored Guy. I know most of us are just a bunch of strangers on the internet but I do feel like we're part of a community and we truly care about each other.

"The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory.” -- Aldo Gucci

That's a lovely tattoo, @growltiger! I'd suggest adding more peonies and then bringing it all together with a traditional Japanese-style black & gray background (wind bars, waves, clouds, etc.) for a more cohesive look.

Ladies with animal headdresses and hirsute gents with bushy beards and/or curly mustaches may have reached the oversaturation point but I will never tire of tattoos with tattoos be they monmon cats or peoples.

Some have had good luck with tegaderm et al but ymmv.

Good stuff! Close to our hood in El Sereno.

Noice! I took the pic -- shouldn't that count for something?