Synesthesia

I'm kind of concerned that an artist wouldn't have you stand up for placement. Every tattoo stencil I've ever had applied, they had me both look down at it and then insist I stand up and look in a full length mirror. Kinda sketchy they wouldn't have you check standing.

I attempted Japanese style stuff for the first time ever and I thought hell, why not make it unnecessarily hard on myself and do two koi instead of one. I used Copic markers.

Sorry it's taken an absurd time to respond, I can never get the site to work well on my phone and haven't been able to use a computer since I posted. I'm familiar with Dave Fox and actually was thinking about getting him to do some crazy metal tattoo for me someday maybe, never would have thought of him for this. And my issue with Pat Haney isn't so much I don't think his style is suited for this, but more that I think his style is better suited to other imagery that I would consider him for. Again, didn't really think this would even be something he'd be interested in. I've been following Topper for a long time on Instagram and didn't even realize he was in Philly, somehow. Never heard of Lacasse but his stuff is impressing me. You guys have given me stuff to think about!

I wouldn't have even noticed if you wouldn't have pointed it out, especially now that color's been added. Good solid tattoo.

To elaborate a little more...I think the frontrunner for me so far is Aaron Francione, I love his lady heads. But who knows, you guys might find me someone else I love too. And I don't necessarily have to get just ONE tattoo on my vacation...

This has probably been discussed a zillion times, but I couldn't really find anything when I searched. I'm spending a few days in Philadelphia in April and I've been kicking around the idea of a lady liberty and/or patriotic type design, and where better to get a patriotic tattoo than the city they call "The Birthplace of America"? I'll be pretty close by both Seven Swords and Philadelphia Eddie's Chinatown shop, so those are places I'm looking into. I really like the idea of all the history behind Philadelphia Eddie's and I might just get some flash off the walls. I know Pat Haney's in the area too, and while I really want to get something by him someday, I'm not sure if this is the piece I want him to do for me. I'm looking for something really traditional and classically beautiful, not necessarily "slutty," that's not really my thing. Any other suggestions for shops or artists in Philly who would kill a patriotic lady tattoo?

So spoilers I guess... ... Ryan won. I'm irritated. Almost every episode it seemed like she did black and gray stuff, her specialty. I thought Gian was overall the strongest competitor (never in the bottom, versatile in every style) and thought he deserved the win. The girls in general imo were way too egotistical and their skills just didn't match up. I am really irritated though that they didn't even show Kelly's final chest piece. Why ask her to do all that work and put in all that time and make the client suffer all those hours if it won't even appear on TV. And the fact that they penalized Kelly for doing new school when AMERICA VOTED FOR HER TO DO IT.

I disagree with this statement. My foot and lower leg are both tattooed and they both oozed a ridiculous amount and scabbed badly in spots as a result, a lot of which was just due to gravity and blood pressure. After walking around for a bit, my leg and foot would be literally dripping with various bodily fluids (sorry for the gross mental image). Unless I washed them 10+ times a day and laid on the couch all day, there was no way to avoid some heavy scabbing. I guess Saniderm would have been an option, but I didn't have any of that...so yeah, scabbing was unavoidable in those places. Scabbing isn't necessarily going to ruin a tattoo unless you pull them off too soon.

@Amanda Don't feel bad! Most people will need a touch up on their feet, it's hard skin to deal with and having to wear shoes or socks makes it more complicated. I have a foot tattoo I've had for like 8 years now and it needs a touch up but I haven't gotten around to it. Worst case scenario, parts of it will have to be redone, no big deal. That doesn't sound like the worst aftercare, maybe a little antiquated. I think the most "progressive" recommended aftercare methods are to either wrap it in Tegaderm/Saniderm/etc (it's like breathable saran wrap) or to heal completely dry or mostly dry (little to no ointments or lotion, only a tiny little bit when it gets unbearably itchy just to keep yourself comfortable). In the future, your aftercare doesn't have to be so extensive, your body can take care of itself and sometimes doing too much can cause a whole new set of problems. It's been so liberating since I started doing more dry healing!

What exactly has your aftercare been and where was this done? It didn't look like it was in super solid to begin with (the color doesn't look well saturated in spots and those feelers already look gray and blurry in the bottom picture, which I'm guessing was the day it was done) but a combination of poor aftercare and the foot being a tough spot to heal could have contributed to even more color falling out. There isn't much you can do at this point. Just don't pick the scabs (in fact, I would recommend no lotion of any kind except maybe a drop when the itching gets so bad you can't stand it anymore) and re-evaluate when it's fully peeled and settled in, at least another 3 weeks.

I love when people blend Japanese traditional and American traditional, the American style borrows a lot from Japanese imagery (like this Asian themed Sailor Jerry sheet). I think both styles work great together and a black and gray rose would work fine.

I've been a member of the forum for years but post sporadically based on how sick I am of being tattooed haha. I take breaks from the forum after some particularly rough sits where I get burnt out even thinking about tattoos. Here's my thoughts on these questions: 1) It's more newbies posting a few questions, starting arguments, or spamming ("go to this website that has the same name as me for more tattoos that look like this!") than it is meaningful discussion or lively debates. I think a lot of the veterans barely post anymore, probably they're in the same boat as me where they just need breaks from the hobby sometimes. Some of the newer members are great additions, but others just are a drain on the place. 2) I love tattoos! I love getting them, having them, and hearing about other people's experiences. I lurk on some other tattoo forums but this is the only one I actively use because I like the format the best and it's just the one I'm the most familiar with. 3) A sense of humility. Sometimes you get to feeling a little too big for your britches when you live in an area where people are covered with shitty tattoos and yours are way better. This forum has put me in my place in that aspect and also just in seeing what other people have gone through and how I still have so much to learn. Obviously, I've also gained a lot of knowledge. 4) I don't really have a lot of concrete suggestions. I know I'd like a better filtration system for newbs (as far as blocking spam, moderators stepping up to address new members causing issues, etc). As far as actually creating great discussion among us...not sure.

@Rob I, sleeve goals! Your arm looks so nice. Plan to do the same with the other arm? Since starting this thread, I still don't really have much to contribute. Sometime within the next few months once my finances get in better shape (working part time and filling in a few shifts at my old job here and there) I'd like to start working on more traditional one shots and filling some gaps, since my arms are going to be all traditional.

Solid piece, even with the wonky lines. No worries, it's not really noticeable...if you decide you really hate them, it's an easy fix, just color them in solid red. Who did it?

My tattoo and a story: I got the Minor Threat sheep when I was 18. I was straight edge from 14 - 24, when I broke edge for alcohol (the only substance I use, and even then I'm pretty much just a beer snob ). I still have a lot of the same beliefs and thought processes I used to have about substance use and abuse, so I don't regret getting it and I'm not one of those embarrassing people that gets wasted every weekend with a straight edge tattoo on full display. I might have one (craft) beer after a tough day at work, but that's about the extent of it. For me personally, I just started to have more of an "in moderation" type viewpoint with everything as I got older and trying to remain straight edge felt forced and like it wasn't right for me anymore. I was having a lot of problems with depression and anxiety and it was one of the contributing factors; I was trying to be be something I didn't necessarily believe in anymore and the very idea of having all these limitations was stressful. Now I choose to abstain more often than not, but it's on my terms so it's almost more empowering in a way. Still love the people involved in the scene and the music, but yeah, trying to label myself straight edge when I didn't have my heart in it anymore was just doing me more harm than good.

Every session of my thigh piece got worse somehow. I did about 7 hours for lining and that sucked, but things were just downhill from there. The last session we did was some more background and touching up and was only maybe 2 or 3 hours, but I was spent by the end. I'm sure some of it was psychological from all the other painful sessions and some of it was just being in bad physical shape (not eating enough, not enough sleep, etc). I find there isn't really a "trick" to getting past the wall, you just have to make yourself do it and do your best to prolong the wall by being prepared...because with a long enough session, it will come, it's inevitable. About the only advice I can offer (it's true for me, anyway) is to try not to take a lot of breaks because it's always worse coming back into it after the adrenaline wears off and your skin has some more time to process all the irritation it's going through.

Crappy pic, but I did this recently for a friend who had to put down her dog Einar. I used Copic markers (you can see they aren't dry in spots) and pen. I plan on giving her the original after giving her time to mourn.

Kruseman was at one point pretty local to me, I forget where he's relocated to recently but he still comes by to visit periodically. I'd like to get something by him someday. He was actually on my "get tattooed by" list before I even found out he'd been cast, so that was cool. Thoughts on the most recent episode: Gian's male pin-up was really cool, definitely the winner of the bunch. With every episode, I grow to hate the women on the show more (except for Kelly, she seems decent). Every episode is just them whining and complaining, and consistently turning out mediocre at best tattoos. Their ego doesn't even come close to their skills. But hey, what else is new with this show.

I don't know any off the top of my head. I see this on Pinterest and Instagram all the time tagged as a "botanical tattoo," so maybe start there. It's hard to narrow down suggestions without knowing where you are, especially since so many people are dabbling in this right now because of demand. Somebody might have an idea if you give a ballpark area of where you live.

Cool, Dave is someone I was thinking about asking to do a couple lovebirds for me! I just need to save up and make the drive down to the Baltimore area one of these days.

Sounds like you're looking for more dark and abstract imagery. Find a really good black and gray (I assume) artist who specializes in this sort of thing and let them go crazy. I'll give some suggestions to give you ideas of what's possible. Don't expect to get in with these guys any time soon, most of them are legends booked years in advance. We can give more specific artists to check out if you tell us roughly where you live. https://www.instagram.com/paulbooth/ https://www.instagram.com/carlostorresart/ https://www.instagram.com/josh_duffy/ https://www.instagram.com/grindesign/ https://www.instagram.com/joeyboontattooartist/

I hate that question, not so much because it's rude, but because you ALWAYS get one of two responses: 1) "Whoa, that's a lot! I'd never spend that much!" and/or "You could have bought a [insert expensive object here] for that much!" 2) "I know a guy who does them for $20, you should go to him!" Nobody ever thinks it was reasonable, they act like I have to sell my organs to get even a little traditional one shot.

We do have this thread for art, though. To get an apprenticeship, you need to continue to build your art skills and create relationships with local shops and tattooers...a forum isn't really the way to go.

It's hard to tell if some ink fell out or if it just looks shiny in the pictures. Worst case scenario, you get a couple lines touched up, no worries. It might not even be noticeable after the color goes in.

Yeah, that was part of what inspired me! I probably have it saved somewhere, turned out so good. I always thought that design would never work on women.