Graeme

Me too, man. I'm starting to get really excited for it, and I'm sure the experience of getting it will be as great as the tattoo will be. That said, I'm really not looking forward to getting my ass tattooed. It's gotta be done though.

I talked once with Yoni about doing the rest of my right arm, so from just above the elbow down, and I still want to do that, but I'm not really going to have enough available money to do that until I have my back done, so that's probably a year or two off. Besides, I'd prefer not to travel to do my back--travelling to do a sleeve was enough for me--especially when there are guys like Dave working locally.

Dave Cummings at PSC Tattoo. It's going to be what @BrianH said above. Or maybe a tiger, possibly fighting a snake. We'll see.

@cltattooing That's going to be amazing! I hear nothing but good things about him both as a tattooer and as a person, but you know that already. Also that wait will go quicker than you imagine! I start my back in a month after having booked it ten months ago and it hasn't felt like too bad of a wait.

Welcome back, dude!

@Pugilist has a story about how when she was getting her back worked on I asked Stephanie about tebori, because she's getting her back done by Shinji, and Steph then proceeded with an impromptu tebori demonstration with a machine on Pugilist's kidneys. I still haven't been forgiven for that one.

I don't think the two are necessarily in contradiction. Read this article by JoJo Ackermann, especially the part where he talks about how he can do the same design on ten different people and have ten different tattoos at the end of it. Take a look at the sheet of roses that Adrian Sanchez posted on his blog here and notice how different they all are despite them all coming from the same line drawing. And this is even before we get into placement, how these tattoos go with your other tattoos, and so on and so forth. Basically, even if you pick a tried and true classic off the wall, you're still getting a unique tattoo.

Yep, or have decent reference in hand. I get the impression that if you want a tattoo that's going to require a couple of hours drawing you're better off getting an appointment.

I'm truly sorry to hear of your loss @Colored Guy. Take care of yourself and your family.

The French word for biker is "motard". Just don't call one that to his face.

I agree with @Mick Weder and @SeeSea here and with regard to copyright, looking at pictures of Jun Cha's tattoos it looks like a lot of them draw on reference from Renaissance sculpture. Of course there's interpretation there, composing it to work as a tattoo, actually tattooing it, etc., but regardless it isn't like his tattoos spring purely from his imagination. When contracts and the possibility of lawyers is involved, it isn't really tattooing anymore to me.

Welcome. Who is the artist? The tattoo looks good and I don't see any need to have it fixed, but I will suggest that the best way to address your concerns about the tattoo is by getting more tattoos.

Somebody with better knowledge of the tattooers in the area might be able to offer better advice, but Stephanie Tamez from Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn sometimes does guest spots at 2Spirit in SF. Steph is great with the woodcut/etching style and she's one of the best people in tattooing that I've ever met. I'd give 2Spirit a call and see when she's next tattooing there and see about getting in with her.

Face tattoos aren't my thing and won't ever be my thing, but you should post up some pictures of your suit. When you started here you were 130 hours in, and you're at over 200 in half a year, and getting it done half way across the world too...that's some crazy progress. I'd love to see it.

Welcome! Those interviews are really something special, I'm grateful that Scott does them and shares them with us all.

Here's a thread about that: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2396-what-makes-good-tattoo.html

Every hairy man needs a bear tattoo!

@Breakme that's such a great tattoo. I love how it combines strong and bold forms with that really beautiful soft shading.

@SeeSea so glad to hear she's looking better this morning!

@9Years I was in Barcelona four years ago and it's such an amazing place I don't want to have the vacation ruined by my poor life choices, especially when I have so much open space elsewhere. Knees, feet, and other places that are going to restrict my mobility for a few days are unfortunately going to have to wait until I'm in a job that doesn't require me to be on my feet in a physically active job. @TrixieFaux This is very special ham, and in any case, tattoos will happen, just not in places that will keep me from walking.

I'm going to have to post on the relationships and tattoos thread about how my wife doesn't support me getting tattoos because she won't bring me delicious, delicious pata negra while I'm confined to a hotel bed because I've hobbled myself by getting my knees blasted while on vacation.

Chad did most of my shin in under two hours which wasn't too bad, though I remember thinking at the time that numbness is a really wonderful thing. Me and @Pugilist are going to Barcelona and I'm hoping to get tattooed by El Monga or one of the other Aloha guys. If it happens I'll just pick something off the wall and stick it on my legs, but I was wondering if one of those bat heads or something similar on the knee was not a completely idiotic option.

@Iwar I assumed, but thanks for confirming my suspicions. Your knee looks amazing.

So reading this thread, I'm getting the impression that getting my knees tattooed while on vacation is a really bad idea, right? Especially if a good part of said vacation will involve walking around a lot?

I will say that when I had my elbow lined it was a pretty gnarly heal and a small section of line scabbed and actually fell totally out. It was small, barely even noticeable, and once it was shaded, because it's all solid black feathers, you can't tell at all. The shading healed up really great, super solid and black and didn't need any touch ups. After care is probably an issue, but I have heard from tattooers that it's just a really difficult area to tattoo, so technique is probably a part of it as well.