Bexter

@TrixieFaux @graybones @iowagirl @cltattooing I draw on myself with eyeliner too! Phew. Like iowagirl said, I'm mostly doing it at the moment to make sure I don't pester my artist!

Hello! Thanks for commenting on my welcome thread, thought I'd come and say hi over here on yours :) Any thoughts on what you'll want on your shoulder piece?

WOW, great tips. Thanks a lot. I've heard a lot about Danny Rossiter, might have to check him out. Claudia's work is gorgeous too, as is Sneaky Mitch's.. hell, they're all amazing. Just added to my Instagram following. Should be at the Tattoo Tea Party on the Sunday, managed to find a buddy who wants to come with. Ack. I can't believe it's still 5 weeks away. - - - Updated - - - Aw yeah, I came for uni and I think I'm trapped here now. Lived in the centre for a good long time, and felt like I never travelled more than 1 mile in any direction because everything I needed or wanted was just on my doorstep. Moved to the suburbs recently to try and make me explore more/ save money! It would take a lot to make me leave. Glad you like Olivia's work. I kind of fell in love with it straight away after being recommended by a friend. I'll post a picture as soon as I've got it! I can't cope waiting so long. Now I've got it booked I'm so restless to get it done. Patience was never one of my strong points.

As if you fell asleep! Ha ha. Is that allowed? I'm not allowed to sleep in public. Too much dribbling.

Most of my right arm.

That's what I was thinking! I'm pretty intrigued more than anything about how I handle it. They knew it was my first session. Guess I looked like I could hack it!

Awesome! I'm really excited to meet her. Nice to meet another Manchester resident here. Any UK artists you would recommend? Firth Street seems popular. Would you say it's worth going to that Manchester tattoo convention in August?

My first ever session is booked in for 5 hours. Hope I don't flake out.

Thanks! Really learning a lot lurking around this forum.

@therebeccawho cats, buildings, comics, bikes, toys, video games and sometimes, my face.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I'm looking to get tropical flowers and foliage. But I really like Olivia's Japanese stuff. Just not sure if those two themes would work. But I've seen Japanese tattoos with ferns and frangipani and that's what I want really. Don't take the piss but I also really want a unicorn pegasus and a bee. This is where I think people have drawn the line and told me I have confused themes. Think I'm resigned to looking at getting them elsewhere but still want to run it past Liv.

Thanks for the welcome! It seems like a really respectful and friendly forum. Olivia Chell of Sacred Art in the UK is my artist. I haven't even had the chance to speak to her yet, they said to come a week before the appointment. The guy on reception has passed on what we initially spoke about and she said she's really excited. Even asked if I could come in earlier when she had a cancellation, but I couldn't get the time off work. I just hope she doesn't think my ideas are pants! I want to make sure she understands that although I have my own ideas, I'm flexible and completely trust her opinion and talent. 5 weeks feels like FOREVER!

Hello! New to both to this forum and to Tattoos. I've wanted a tattoo since I was 14. Various things have got in the way, but it's never left my thoughts. Now I'm nearly 30 and am 5 weeks away from my first, large arm tattoo. Booked in for 10 hours over two sessions, and so excited. Curious about my own pain threshold. I like to think I'm hard, but we'll find out after nearly 5 hours. I already have plans for my next. I'm very lucky to work in a creative environment that's very acceptable of tattoos. I've always had a love for design and illustration and also the human body as an artform. Just at the stage of pulling together over 10 years worth of references and ideas and deciding what is actually going to work and where and what themes. Cool that my main concepts of what I want have stayed the same the whole time, so I know I've chosen the right things. Just not an artist myself, so interested to get advice on placement, flow, colour and themes and also, what works as a tattoo. I trust my tattooist to do a great job whatever so I'm hoping she can help. I'm a fan of everything she's done. Looking forward to getting involved with the community. Bexter

Interesting that you're trying to avoid the word sleeve, why is this? I'm getting a 'cohesive large arm piece' on my right arm and don't want to call it a sleeve because I do want some negative space there. Just not sure how to explain this properly. - - - Updated - - - Yes, Asymmetry is really important to me. Currently wondering wether to Asymmetry my right arm and left leg, or right forearm and left shoulder and deal with legs separately. Not to mention the rib piece I'd like one day.