Synesthesia

I can understand that. I am so glad I didn't get any of the stuff I wanted when I was 14, I'd be covered in nautical stars and metalcore song lyrics. I "sit on" ideas for a few months to make sure I still like it and to help me formulate my opinions about what I want from the piece (I currently have several ideas in that stage :D), but it's not specific designs. And when someone who knows way more than you about something (anything, not just tattoos) tells you they think what you're doing is stupid, you listen. People like the guy I'm mentioning think they know everything there is to know about something, with no experience and no research. On this board, I'm still very much a "newb" and that's humbling and makes me want to learn and experience more; however, compared to this guy, I'm an expert on the subject. So when I tell him what will most likely happen with his design, and he goes out of his way to defy me and get his way even after I explain why it's a bad idea...that's not just a nervous first timer, that's someone that's choosing to remain ignorant and gets what they deserve.

Someone recommended this local place to me because the guy who owns it is "an amazing artist." I think his art is mediocre at best and looks like something a kid in high school might do, and the tattoos are pretty poor. It blows my mind how someone could look at any of this and think it's good...wavy lines, weak lines, rough shading, and it seems like they do their lettering as they go with no drawing of any sort (?!). ^ That last one is laughably asymmetrical.

A guy at work last night wanted my advice on a design his friend had drawn for him (sigh), because apparently I have the most "bad ass" tattoo of everyone at work. That's not exactly difficult when everyone else has tiny little wrist/ankle scribbles and swirls. The design is apparently "the only thing" he would ever want to have tattooed on him, and he's been holding onto it for months because he's too scared to actually go through with it. It was basically a question mark with an eye. Of course, it had some deep, literal meaning that he had to explain to me (the question mark is because he's always questioning things, the eye is because he's always seeking the truth). The whole thing was just so poorly designed and pretentious that it took all I had to not roll my eyes at him. I basically told him he'd be better off coming up with a vague concept and letting an artist draw something, instead of having someone imitate this design, because it was awful (I didn't say that). Then I got the whole "Well, this is really personal to me and I want to have some say in its design" response. At the mention of another artist changing it, he said he would just go to a friend of the guy who drew it, who, of course, is an "amazing" tattoo artist and would copy it exactly the way he wanted it. Funny how everyone knows someone that's amazing at tattoos. At that point, I just kind of nodded and went back to work, it was a hopeless cause.

My parents used to be adamantly against me getting tattooed, and I'm sure it still bothers them, they just aren't as vocal. I went 4 years between my first and second tattoo because of financial and emotional issues, and now I finally have the time and money to pursue my interests a little more. I've been getting a little less grief from them about it these days, although so far I don't have anything too "offensive," so we'll see how that changes when I get more coverage. My dad has 4 tattoos, so until I get 5, he doesn't have any room to talk. My mom is pretty artistic and likes to watch the tattoo shows like Ink Master, because she likes the art, so she's not a hard sell on subjects as long as they're cute/pretty...the day I get my first skull or dagger will be a different story, I'm sure. The biggest issue has been my boyfriend of 4 years. He just doesn't get the appeal and would prefer I didn't have any. But he's been making more of a conscious effort to understand my interest, and he likes some of the more realistic or illustrative type designs, so that's something. He would just rather not have me getting them. He has started saying he wants to be there when I get more, unfortunately he's kind of obnoxious in shops and I need to teach him the proper way to behave. :o I think the biggest misconception a lot of people (at least all the people in my life) have, is just that tattoos are awful little scribbles and aren't real art. Everyone I know is always amazed when they see what's possible in the medium. Good tattoos can be appealing to all but the most stick-up-the-ass type of people.

^ I am so sick of seeing all my retarded friends immediately freak out about their tattoo/piercing being infected when it's a normal part of the healing process. I've seen so many people take out perfectly healthy piercings because they slept on them the first night so they were a little red and sore. And apparently I know a whole bunch of doctors, because everyone is so quick to diagnose each other as having an infection. Do people just not do any sort of research to what they're doing to themselves? :confused:

^ I personally don't like the idea of a tattoo fragmented like that, I think it's kind of gimmicky. They should be able to stand on their own and be readable. How many times are you going to have your forearms awkwardly smashed together to make the complete picture? And I hate everything about Little Swastika (the guy responsible for the second pic).

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've honestly never really looked into the flash side of the industry too much, I was always more interested in custom stuff until recently. Now I'm really giving flash some thought and it's kind of confusing what's considered appropriate and what's not.

I work with mentally ill adults. One of the...not so friendly ones made some comments a couple days ago. He asked "What are you going to do when you get tired of them?" and informed me "God made you that way for a reason, why would you want to change that?" If God didn't want us to alter ourselves, he wouldn't have made skin as malleable as it is... :p The other night one of my co workers asked me some questions I seriously could not believe anyone thought could be true: do certain colors cost more, can they tattoo trademarked images, and do they charge by the line. Wow.

Maybe the Higgs mention wasn't the best idea. The Higgs flash in particular was just what inspired me (it was the first time I thought "I'd get that with zero alterations"), and after doing some more looking around, I found some other pieces of flash that I got the same gut reaction from. Most of them were from the Sailor Jerry era, which is kind of what I was primarily referring to. Designs that are really timeless and classic and popular that I would want as true to the original art as possible. With something like that, I'd assume most reputable shops would have Sailor Jerry stuff on the walls. But maybe they don't have the exact ship I want, for example. Is it okay to bring in that particular piece in case they don't have it on the walls? I would have to travel over an hour to get to the shop I had in mind that specializes in traditional, and it would suck to get all the way there and they say they can't do it because they don't have that particular flash. And I didn't know if it was discouraged to bring in your own (print out, I don't own any flash). And I had no idea if the same standards that applied to classic flash applied to modern flash, hence the mention of modern stuff. I'm glad I got some discussion going though, I was afraid everyone would be like "No, DUH" and the thread would instantly die. :D

I had the idea recently to devote part of my body to a few really classic flash pieces (inspired by some Dan Higgs flash I fell in love with!), but am unsure of how exactly the process works. If I were to bring in a classic piece of flash to a shop and say I wanted that done, is that frowned upon if they don't have the flash sheet in the shop? I don't want to seem disrespectful to anyone by asking them to just copy a picture of flash they don't have, that almost seems like cheating in my mind I guess! But I would think these kind of classic images are almost like public domain at this point. And what about modern flash? :confused:

I wore those sleeves one year for Halloween when I had to come up with a super last minute costume for work. Bought those at a dollar store, threw on a metal band shirt, put some safety pins through my pants, and I was some kind of metal/emo/goth whatever (too lazy to make any kind of distinction through more detailed accessories). Some people at work thought the sleeves were real. Yeah, I got 2 full sleeves done and healed within a day. :confused:

Oh god, I forgot about that. It's scary that these people really thought they were good to go after just a couple weeks. About Hannah and Kim on LA Ink, I know they're good tattoo artists, but I don't think they were ever really at their best during this show. Probably the types of clients they got in and the prioritizing of good stories over good art. And I might have found a worse show than LA Ink (I don't remember much from Inked, it could have possibly been worse). Black Ink Crew on VH1. Not only are the tattoos literally the worst ones I've ever seen on TV (very poorly done, ghetto-ish work) but it's probably about 90% drama. I've seen 2 episodes and in that time, I saw maybe 3 tattoos done. The rest of it is about who's dating who, who's opening a shop, and thug attitudes. It's absolutely about tattooing as a business and status symbol, and art isn't a priority at all. Some of their work: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/68116_439366719464671_1315922978_n.jpg

Bald guy...sounds like Ami James, he was on Miami Ink and NY Ink. I have fond memories of Miami Ink because I watched it a lot when I was younger and more impressionable, I caught an episode recently and was like "Shit, I thought these were good?" Chris Garver usually did good stuff on Miami Ink though, and I think Tim Hendricks made appearances on both shows, that was cool. And the other one you're talking about is Inked, or something like that. I hated that one too. I don't really remember much about it, other than this one guy had bird tattoos all over him, and the tattooer made a comment to him about getting some hunters shooting at the birds and the guy was really offended because he liked to bird watch. Tons of examples of bad customer service on that show...

Which show? I like to "hate watch" LA Ink, which is just about the lowest of the low in terms of tattoo shows (the only saving graces were Corey Miller and Dan Smith making appearances). I just watched the episode where Kat rips out all of the seating for clients to build a giant skate ramp that goes right in front of the door, and she was so excited about it because no other shop in the world would have it. There's probably a reason for that. Sigh.

I used to think thigh tattoos looked kind of awkward and had no interest in ever getting mine done, these days I've grown to love a big bold thigh piece and am pondering ideas of my own. I especially love your pieces, @Dumpleton. :D

They could easily treat the industry with a little more respect though, I think that's the point we're trying to make. It doesn't have to be side show circus all about ratings (but it will be).

Thank you. :p I think the next addition will be a moth done in a similar style, Jason is super into it. Just a matter of saving up again now.

I've wanted tattoos forever and my parents have always tried their best to dissuade me from getting any, to the point of threatening to kick me out. The summer after I turned 18, I decided I wanted a tattoo to memorialize that I was going away for college and to try to remind me to stick to my values (I've been straight edge since I was 14 and wanted something to kind of rebel against the traditional college lifestyle). I told my parents I wanted to get one and told them what I wanted (the Minor Threat sheep) and they were actually okay with it, a lot more okay with it than I expected. My dad has 4 tattoos, so he kind of gave me the whole "It's going to hurt soooo much, it's your funeral" speech to discourage me, but ended up saying it was my choice. My mom has always been into art, but not tattoos, so she was a little more hesitant. She ended up being okay with it because she said it was "cute" enough. :D My mom actually went with me because she was worried about me passing out on the drive home, and she did better than your average mom. The place I went to was 2 levels, the first floor was like the lobby and the tattooing happened upstairs; she waited downstairs and wasn't your typical mom hovering over the artist. They both were happy with my second one I recently got. I'm not sure what's caused them to change their minds, but it seems like they've slowly come around in the past few years.

I think only tattoo artists should be judges on the show. I hate when they bring in some football player with scratcher level work or something, as though he would know anything about what makes a tattoo good. Same thing with Navarro, he's covered in shit, why would I care what he thinks?

Just finished my Jason Reeder owl. :D My picture is awful because it's still shiny/swollen/red, plus I'm bent over upside down trying to get a good angle, it looks slightly distorted here but looks better in person. It's on the side of my leg and the wings wrap onto my shin slightly, so it's tough to get a pic of it all. Jason is awesome to work with and we've already discussed expanding on this piece and having a nocturnal theme around my lower leg. 2 sessions, about 5 hours.

This is either fake or the artist has no integrity. She should have been turned away as soon as she started getting obnoxious.

What about hipster girls that have one word or a tiny circle tattooed on them? That would be some creative torture.

As of now: hands, neck, face, any place that will fade quickly (palms, bottom of feet, etc), stomach, inner thighs, butt Some of that is for job reasons, some of it is because those are areas I plan on losing weight in. I'm not huge, but bigger than I would like to be. When I lose the weight, those last 3 places will become possibilities.

Thanks guys, I didn't know if it would be considered rude somehow. It's not exactly realistic to expect someone to get ALL their tattoos from just one guy, but didn't know if it was thought of as someone "stealing" someone else's business or anything like that. I've been looking into local-ish shops lately and there's some places where I love what everyone is doing, and would consider getting pieces from each of them.

Just out of curiosity...what's the general consensus on getting ink from different guys in one shop? Is it better to stick with one guy per shop?