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Well I don't have any experience with this, but it sounds like you should probably listen to your doctor and artist(s). And if you're really concerned about it, maybe you could get a small, discreet tattoo as a sort of 'test.'

1. It's way too early to know what the tattoo's gonna look like. Healing can be ugly, give it at least 3 weeks before really scrutinizing it (pro tip: don't scrutinize it at all). 2. Yes, that's a totally normal feeling. You just changed your body forever, and the reminder is right there in front of you. I've felt the same way before. It'll fade.

Blowouts happen. Nothing's perfect. Enjoy your tattoo for what it is! And welcome to LST!

Dang, thanks for sharing. Welcome to LST!

Congratulations! You made 10 posts!!

Forgot about this thread. What a gem...

What a rad souvenir!

@jesscboone Hope your new tattoo heals well. In the end my tattoo came out fine. Glad to know this thread continues to help folks.

Don't. Thanks.

Get the tattoo you want, not the one you can get now. Like @Gingerninja already said. I'd stop in the shop one of these days and see if you can talk with Natasha in person. edit: @Hogrider beat me to it, and then some!

You're probably not going to get a good answer here, and you'll probably have to be a bit less secretive if you want to get a straight answer from any reputable artists. This is the type of question that (to me) only seems relevant to: elementary school "what I want to be when I grow up" reports, actual tattooists, or someone trying to leech off the industry. Good luck.

Hi. Why do you care?

I don't think it's uncommon to have mixed emotions like this after altering your body. I know I've certainly had it with at least one tattoo, and it had nothing to do with the quality of it. I quickly got over it and began enjoying the new way I look. Got a picture of it? We like pictures 'round here...

I had some weird bumps come up in the color shading of one of my tattoos, and ended up vitamin E oil on the spots. That helped clear them up quite a bit, although it was certainly a different case than what you have. Still might be worth a shot if you don't get any other answers...

This is a conversation best had with your tattoo artist. If I were you I'd just add more tattoos around it; they don't have to be "connected" per se. But if you want one cohesive sleeve then you probably should have started with a design in mind.

Too much "meaning" for me, just get whatever you think looks cooler...

Now THIS is a badass tattoo.

Dang @Gingerninja you weren't kidding about tying everything together. Can't wait to see more!

@oboogie nailed it. That's a solid F***ing tattoo and you should be proud to wear it, microscopic "imperfections" and all. edit: The older I get, the more I appreciate the Japanese (very appropriate here) concept of wabi sabi, or beauty in imperfections. These are the parts of the tattoo that really tell a story: of past, present, and the human(s) involved along the way. Hopefully you too can see the beauty in that some day, but for now just leave it alone! You're much more likely to do more harm than good.

IMO it wouldn't look nearly as good without the shading. It's a nice tattoo, just leave it be.

I was without internet for a few weeks (and survived!), but I ended up missing a lot of these. Really glad I caught the Ed Hardy ep. before it became restricted, holy crap was that enlightening. Also made me real homesick for SF...

That's a question for a competent artist to answer. I imagine it would be a difficult cover-up, given the size and placement. If it were me, I'd just start thinking about other tattoos to go around them. Were these done by the same artist? If you like that style, they could probably build a really cool cohesive sleeve from what you already have. Or just collect different tattoos around it - I honestly think they either way would look just fine.

Which tattoos do you not like? The roses/mandala/triangle? I think they look nice, and appear to be well done.

Too early to tell, nothing to do about it, tattoos aren't perfect etc. Should we just change the name of the 'Initiation' forum to 'Does My Tattoo Have a Blowout?'?

I really don't like watercolor tattoos, but that looks fine to me! I once heard Cheyenne Sawyer say that instead of getting a coverup you should get better tattoos around the tattoo in question so they could talk to each other. So, if you're into it, just get more tattoos on that arm!