Synesthesia

That would certainly be one solution to the problem of women getting chestpieces. Rather than fight the boobs, I should embrace them.

Well what else am I going to do with my time at work but read tattoo forums!

Maybe both actually.

I feel like I've been talking about this for years, but I think I've finally settled on pharaoh's horses for my chest piece. To accommodate boobs, I might need to spread them out a little and maybe add flags/roses/stars/etc to make the overall design more triangular. I'm in no financial or mental condition to be undergoing a multiple session tattoo any time soon, but it might be my next big project. Thinking of getting this dude to do it: https://www.instagram.com/johnrippeyv/

I think it comes down to these as your options: 1) Laser it completely - Takes a lot of sessions to completely remove, which can get expensive and painful. Might not be TOO bad for something that size though. 2) A couple laser sessions to lighten it and then a cover-up - Gives you more options to work with after you break up some of that black. 3) Cover it as is - Unless you want a bowling ball or a tiny panther, it's going to need to be fairly large to cover it and not look like a cover, at least palm sized...and you would probably need a lot of dark colors to cover all that heavy black. You can have an artist look at it and see what they think might work, but be prepared for it to be much larger than you might want. 4) Add some vines and frilly stuff like @Dan said - It's only going to make the tattoo bigger and might still not give you the look you want if it's the backbone of the tattoo that you seem unhappy with...adding to it might just give you more to dislike. It's up to you though to decide if you want a complete overhaul or just some minor changes. Be honest with yourself about what parts of it, if any, you really like and want to enhance. 5) Get awesome tattoos elsewhere on your body and/or learn to love what you have - Sometimes trying to fix stuff just makes it worse and the best option is to just live with it and laugh it off as a dumb mistake. Surrounding it with awesome work takes the focus off it. Maybe not an option for you if you don't want to be a more heavily tattooed person. In that case, just try to accept what you have if lasering or a cover-up is really not an option for you. Whatever you do, I would not suggest adding white anywhere. It tends to get yellow/brown with age and I think it would just muddy up the tattoo more. It isn't going to stay nice and crisp like Instagram always shows it looking.

Please don't get that. Tattoo artists are professional artists who specialize in that medium, if you choose a decent one, they'll be able to design something that will look great and still get across whatever message you want. In general, I discourage people from getting words on them, unless it's a bold font. Words tend not to age well, plus you're going to have a lot of people grabbing whatever body part you get them on and twisting you around to read them. It's bad enough when people want to see what an image is, they're extra nosey about reading words for some reason. I would encourage you to think of an image that represents what you want. Images usually look better as tattoos and you don't always have to be so literal about what you're trying to express. Whatever you do though, you don't have to draw what you want. Maybe find some examples of the style or elements you like and bring in the pictures to the artist to help steer them, but they can (or should) be able to handle the drawing portion.

Less is more. I mostly heal dry now out of 1) laziness and 2) convenience. I just put tiny dabs of lotion on when the itching is so bad I can't stand it any more, at most once a day and seriously like a pea-sized dab or less. Your body can take care of itself at this point, there's no need to keep it clean once it starts scabbing and flaking. Any lotion you might put on is pretty much for your own comfort.

@Rob I, you've got something really similar to what Chad did for me in the same spot, except mine is a panther and rose. The first line he pulled basically knocked out a whole leaf in one go and I was like on the inside but trying to look tough, I thought he was never going to lift his machine. I want a new tattoo so bad but I'm going to be going through a minor financial crisis soon and I can't. I'm just going to live vicariously through you guys and people on Instagram.

The lines in the swing ALONE should have been enough! Compound that with "watercolor" that looks like some kind of skin disease and some of the worst celtic knotwork ever on the show, and I can't believe he squeaked by again.

Spoilers I guess, even though anyone who wanted to see the episode probably did by now. This last episode was laughably bad. That drawing with electricity challenge pushed everyone to impossible standards, and the results were embarrassing. I wish they'd do more tattooing or drawing (with conventional materials!) flash challenges because no one was ever going to make anything decent here. Disagreed with the judge's decision and thought Tito needed to go. It was badly done and didn't even meet the challenge (watercolor = scratchy sunset?). He's long overdue to leave, I can't think of a single good tattoo he's done, and giving that poor girl a tombstone shaped tattoo with some of the shakiest lines I've ever seen on the show...oof.

My teeth hurt SO BAD before getting them pulled that the surgery was actually a gigantic relief! The soreness and swelling after surgery was nothing compared to what I had been dealing with.

I guess this could either be an awesome or shitty thing depending on how you look at it, I'm choosing to look at the positive side: I'm quitting my full time job (with benefits, gulp) in social work and taking a part time job at a copying and printing center, with plans to go back to school for graphic design ASAP. It's fucking scary to lose all this pay and my insurance and all that but something needed to change. My co-workers suck (there's a rumor I've been dealing with for months that I'm an alcoholic and come in to work drunk all the time), my bosses suck, and our schedules are about to start sucking when they make us all work 12.5 hour shifts starting at the end of this month. I knew I needed to get out because this place was going to drive me crazy. I've wanted to do graphic design since I was in high school but I let various people (guidance counselors, my parents, myself) tell me I wasn't good enough for it, so I chased all these other career paths and now I'm thinking "Fuck it, I should have done this in the first place." So this copying and printing center gives me some entry level graphic design experience, gives me a chance to network with local businesses that might use us, and gives me the time to go back to school and work on an art portfolio. In the short term, it's going to be financially tight and more stressful, but in the long run, I really need this. I'm just glad my boyfriend is doing really well at his job and can help with rent and bills, he's also thrilled I'm quitting because he knows how much of a toll this job has taken on me over the years.

The shittiest thing that's happened to me recently: I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled about a week ago. The Sunday before Labor Day I started having severe tooth and jaw pain (of course, right when no one is open for appointments!) and between the holiday and needing a referral to an oral surgeon, it was another week before I could get the teeth pulled. So for a week, I could barely eat or sleep because my teeth were throbbing so bad nonstop. Even the 600 mg ibuprofen prescription the dentist gave me to hold me over to my surgery barely helped. One of my teeth was badly impacted, two were partially impacted, and one hadn't started to come in yet but they suggested we take that one out too because I would probably end up in the same boat if it ever did start to come in. I felt 1,000 times better the day after my surgery and healing has gone fine since then, but still...a week of agony and my first surgery ever. Combined with my irrational fear of anesthesia awareness...

Curious to see what others have to say about this since I have a couple freckles right in the middle of my forearm and I hope it won't affect a nice, visible piece of skin like that. I'm under the impression that generally it's okay to tattoo over birthmarks and freckles as long as they're relatively flat? Could be wrong though. Ask a couple artists what they think, if they see them in person they should be able to evaluate them better than we can through pictures.

Sorry if pics are huge (although I don't think dog pictures could ever be a problem), but my boyfriend and I adopted a dog recently! Her name is Maggie, she's a terrier mix. Her owner was going into a nursing home and had to surrender her to a rescue. She's very sweet and very lazy.

I think the quality of artists this season is pretty rough. I'm rooting for Nate, but most of the others are just average at best. My parents like the show more than I do at this point, we get together and watch it every week.

I've been MIA on the forums for a while now. My last tattoo was a huge thigh piece that really drained me as far as energy and finances, I came back long enough to post some about that tattoo and then took another break. I hadn't even thought much about my next piece until recently. I've also taken another job (and a reduction in pay) and gotten a dog, so money's tighter now than it has been. I've got a few bigger projects I'm considering in the distant future and in some cases, some artists I'm considering for them: - a pharaoh's horses chest piece I'm thinking of getting John Rippey to do (https://www.instagram.com/johnrippeyv/) - some sort of black and gray animal or maybe a portrait by Bryan Merck (https://www.instagram.com/bmerck_ink/) - lovebirds possibly by Dave Wah (https://www.instagram.com/davewahtattoos/) - various other small traditional pieces, no idea who or what

I have the Minor Threat black sheep on my foot, I got it a couple months after turning 18. Not the greatest experience, the guy I went to was a little unfriendly and the shop wasn't the best. Tattoo came out okay but probably needs a touchup by now. I used to be straight edge so it held a lot more meaning then than it does now, but I still like the band and it reminds me of my past and all that good stuff. I probably wouldn't do it again if I had the chance, but it doesn't really bother me either. I've considered getting a hop tattoo on my other foot for a humorous contrast between feet: one for straight edge and one for beer.

I have a few. Lobes stretched to 0g, one tragus (the other will be done soon for symmetry's sake), one side of my lip, and my septum. I also had and retired two upper cartilage piercings. One of them was at a slight angle and never really healed 100% and the other fell out while I was sleeping and I just decided to let both of them close up. Don't really get people who say piercings are high maintenance. My septum was the single easiest body modification I've had and I can be super discreet with it on days when I don't want the attention. Lobes and lip both healed quickly and without any issues. The only one that gave me much trouble at all was my tragus, but that's mostly the fault of my piercer. She pierced me at 18g with a fixed bead CBR (pictured below, they fucking suck), then had me come back a couple weeks later to pry it out of my ear and insert 16g jewelry...she wouldn't just pierce me at 16 for some reason. Caused a ton of unnecessary trauma to the piercing.

It might need some touching up to bolden up the lines and shading, but overall I think it's a nice tattoo. If you're planning on getting it colored in, most of these "imperfections" won't even be visible. Re-evaluate in a couple months or so after it's more settled in.

At this point, no. MAYBE once I'm more heavily covered, I'll look into getting tiny, goofy, impulsive filler tattoos. But I'm just not too interested in that style of tattooing now, and certainly not at a place where the artist's quality might be suspect.

I usually just bring water and/or Gatorade, gum (except for when I told an artist I was going to Chad Koeplinger next and he warned me not to bring gum because it's a pet peeve of Chad's), and a jacket. The jacket is usually balled up and used as a pillow to try to get as comfy as possible for any tattoos I think I might need to lay down for. For longer sessions, I gorge on snacks on the drive up (Slim Jims and candy mostly) since eating during a tattoo kind of breaks my concentration and I usually don't want to take long enough breaks to eat anything.

Okay so yeah, wasted breath. Yet I am not deterred somehow... You may not regret the symbolic aspect of the tattoo, but you might regret the application. Most high quality studios won't do tattooing on anyone under 18 and I would be skeptical of any that did. You may regret what you choose to honor your sister with. How many people got a feather or infinity symbol and then felt a little embarrassed for getting swept up in the trend? My own preferences in tattoos have changed drastically throughout the years and it wasn't until a couple years ago that I really nailed down what it was I loved about tattoos and what styles I liked. Wait a while and see how your interests change with time. Again, it won't kill you to wait until you're 18 and then it's a mistake to live with that's yours and yours alone if it ends up going that way. It doesn't hurt anything to wait, you have your whole life ahead of you to get tattooed.

Regardless of if you're allowed to...don't do it. From about 13 on, I knew I wanted tattoos and if I looked hard enough, I could probably find my old journals (from when I should have been taking notes in school) where I doodled all my amazing tattoos I was going to get the day I turned 18. A lot of nautical stars, metalcore lyrics, upside down koi fish...who knows what else. I finally got my first tattoo when I was 18. Not on my birthday like I always thought I would but a couple months later. It was a logo for a straight edge band. I still like the band and they were massively influential to my music taste and lifestyle (I was straight edge at the time) but it's kind of funny now because I'm no longer straight edge and beer has actually become a big passion of mine in recent years. I'm 25 now and I don't regret it, but I had also been deciding what I wanted for 5 years and obsessing over tattoos since I was in middle school. As it stands now, if I could go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't. Had I been able to get a tattoo at 16, who knows what I might have done. I was a lucky one, probably just because I've always had an affinity for art so I had a little bit of a head start as far as realizing what good tattoos looked like. I'm assuming you're 16 or 17...waiting until you're at least 18 isn't that hard but I know it feels like forever. If you wait until you're 18 and still make a bad decision, at least you're an adult and can take full responsibility for your decision instead of later growing to regret it and blaming the artist or your parents for letting you do it. Plus it never hurts to think about something permanent for a while. If something is a good idea today and a good idea a year from now, it was always a good idea. You'd be surprised how much the tattoos I want even now as an adult (kind of) change over 6 months or so of sitting on the idea and really thinking it over. In the meantime, learn as much about tattooing as you can. Look up artists, do research into what makes good tattoos, think about how you want your tattoo to look...just don't get it until you're at least 18. Probably a bunch of wasted breath, but whatever.

That's because it's a terrible, useless design. I'm sure it has some deep meaning to you and that's great, but it's a completely boring image with no point to it. First of all, EVERYONE who sees it will want to know the "story" which will get old quick. They do it even with tattoos that are obviously just awesome flash picked off the wall, they will certainly do it with an esoteric type thing like this. Second of all, what happens if someday you see a big, beautiful tattoo like this: Or this: And think to yourself "That's so cool, I'd like something like that" but you've already got crap cluttering up your arm or rib (whichever you go with). These are huge projects and you're just throwing something in the middle of the space they need to work. If you're already planning multiple tattoos, you need to think about the usage of space and maximize what you have. I really suggest just going for the better artist and getting the better piece you're imagining. It can be a shock to the system to suddenly see yourself with a huge tattoo, especially if this is your first, but in the long run, you'll be so much happier.