KBeee

Loyalty to my marriage said "NUMBER 3!!"...but mecha-panther will always have my heart. But seriously, @exume your mecha-panther is really awesome.

Soooo, I had a thought recently that Hubbs should let ME chose his back piece tattooer and subject because I was the one who was going to see it ALLLL of the time and vice versa. He didn't go for it. But isn't that just the most practical and wonderful idea y'all have ever heard? I could wake up to a giant Horitomo Kanon EVERY morning! I'm certain it would make me a better spouse.

Congratulations @graybones! It's beeeyoootifull! I love it!

Welcome to the forum! :) Congratulations on pursuing your first tattoo! Very exciting! :D I agree with @Iwar. Put all of your current energy into looking at tattooers and finding someone with a good, solid style that you like. Maybe as you are looking at their stuff pay special attention to how they do skulls and if their approach appeals to you. Most newbies (actually A LOT of people) over think the design. I promise you that you can not think of a cooler tattoo design than someone who has devoted their life's work to doing it and doing it well/right. Once you find someone you dig, you already have the perfect thing to tell them without having to pull up a bunch of google images. BOOM! I think that is just perfect! That is also the benefit of choosing an artist that already represents a style that you like and skulls you think are cool. The very best tattoos/favorite tattoos of mine have all come about this way...a great tattooer, the elements and location I want (with just a little bit of the why) and their expertise in pulling together a final design rendered in their style (which is why I came to see them in the first place). Best of luck and keep us posted!

Ooooh they are all so cool but that Horse!!! I love myself a good horse head! It's really great! <3 - - - Updated - - - I love "bae". Second only to my love for "boo". I'm not kidding. What exactly does everyone mean by 90's kid...like born in the 90's or old like me?

Haaa! Wooooaah..totally ironic! I enjoy the hustle and bustle that comes with getting work in a street shop. My experience in a studio setting was fun but I think having Hubbs and/or another friend there greatly contributed. Though I enjoy the company of that particular tattooer, the studio/salon vibe just isn't quite as festive. I think that there will always be street shops. They are just too accessible to the general populace. Even though the internet has changed everything, the simplicity of the street shop as an entry point for the act of getting tattooed can't be beat for someone who has never gone down that road before.

Yes, I definitely think that we are talking about placement and design now. I get what you are saying and this line of thought. This is one of those things that you share with your tattooer and they create a design that doesn't have strange lines or cut offs that disrupt the overall appearance of whatever body part on which the tattoo is placed i.e. is flattering. - - - Updated - - - Yes! Let's keep the lady arm pics coming! I'm so into it! Just waiting for the opportunity to get some taken of mine...helpless to take my own pics.

Ahh, gotcha! So then maybe what we are really talking about is placement and design. Placement is where/how the design settles into the flow of the body. To me it is one of the more subtle hallmarks of REALLY good tattoo design. I don't know how to explain seeing good placement in a forum post but I CAN stress to you how very important it is. Maybe what your eye is registering as "masculine" is clunky tattoo design and placement? And wanting something "feminine" has something to do with more harmonious body/tattoo flow? Idk...shot in the dark...

Hi @JOACOISBACK Welcome to the forum! If the idea of "Igualidade Animal" is what you are going for, maybe consider representing the word "animal" with pictures of several different animals. It may also give your new tattooer more options for effective cover up (instead of trying to do it all with one eagle wing). It would also give you the option of working everything into a single chestpiece with the word "Igualidade" surrounded by different animals all the way onto the other side. It could be a very strong visual message. It would be very important to find some one who really knows what they are doing so you end up with something that proudly represents the idea that you love. Good luck and all the best :o

Oooh man! Tell me about it! I have sat down on four different occasions and couldn't quite make it happen either...a lot happening on that level. - - - Updated - - - Agreed! And there is a lot of sneaky subconscious enculturation in the mix as well. There is an opportunity to become more aware on many levels regarding perspectives of "feminine" and "masculine"..."blessed opportunity" for sure.

Ha! I remember the first step in clearing a shop (for friends or what not) use to be the smell. Perfection Tattoo had a certain smell (looking back, I think it may have been Green Soap?) and if a shop did not have that certain smell I would tell my friends "Noooo WAAAY! Don't go there" :p ...But really, there is a "good tattoo shop" version of the hospital smell and it indicates rightness. I don't know how to explain it...anyone? Also, I remember the good old days of xeroxing reference material at the university libraries to take with me to my consultation. Two copies...one for my folder and one for the tattooer's :D

Aaaaaaah that is awesome! Your Triceratops made me LOL. I love it. I actually find it kinda inspirational...I'm a total weirdo. :D Thanks for sharing!

Oh @Colored Guy, I am so sorry to hear it.

Thank you @beez! I got a little rambley there :eek: It was my husband who took us there for Theo flash. He happened to luck into a cancellation with Paul that day. I really liked Matt Howse's stuff online so was considering seeing him at some point but I was immediately consumed with jealousy about him getting in with Paul. That is when I knew. The more time you spend there seeing everyone's work and how lovely they all are...you are just ruined and doomed after that. ;) Beeeeware! How did you get started with Diamond Club? You have A LOT of (really amazing) work from them (that I love).

In the beginning.... I really thought that I would only receive tattoos from one person for the rest of my life. It was the early 90's. I wanted all my tattoos to be Korean. I was in TX. There weren't tons of local people doing that kind of thing back then. Chris Trevino (Perfection Austin) UNDERSTOOD the difference between Asian styles and the quality of his work blew me away. I felt very committed to him as my tattooer. I moved to CA. Years later I tried to "branch out" and get a little, traditional, floral tattoo and HAAATTEDDDD the placement of it. It was traumatizing. There was such a difference between Chris' sense of design/approach and, well...everyone else's. He had been the only person with whom I had worked. It was so easy and the end result was perfect. I probably learned more about tattoo and tattooers from those two experiences than anything ever since. After Chris started working with Horiyoshi and favoring Japanese traditional, I assumed that I was never going to get tattooed again (out of respect for my Korean family who wouldn't understand why I was covered in Japanese art. They were greatly affected by the Occupation). No tattoos for almost ten years (with absolutely no desire to get tattooed...weird, right? I felt fully, totally committed to Chris especially after the flower incident). The floral tattoo didn't age well. I was over it. I was going to have to get it re-worked and fill up almost my whole arm to balance it out. Hubbs had just started catching the tattoo bug and turned me onto the amazing world of tattooers on social media. THAT completely blew my mind. Things were soo different from when I had gotten my first one! There was creative and technical, tattoo INSANITY happening EVERYWHERE. The next couple of years I saw a lot of different people and went through a stage where traveling for tattoos was what I wanted to do. Then we settled down and started going to Spider Murphy's a lot. I love that shop and everyone in it. It's just a great crew. I've gotten tattooed by Theo, Paul, Bryan, Heather (pre-Blackheart, of course :o ) and I carry Laurant's first official paid-for-on-the-books-tattoo from his first official day on the shop floor. There is a definite tendency to "keep it in the family". More and more, I just book with Paul Dobleman. I love him. A session with him is like Christmas. I can see myself getting many, many more tattoos from just him and being really happy about it... ...except for that Stewart Robson character :mad: ...he is so NOT close but so good and I loove my tattoos from him...he's a real pea in my mattress that one. :mad: I guess, @metalmancpa, I could have just answered your question "Yes" but thanks for hanging in there if you have read this whole thing. :o