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Ahhh, fingers crossed for you on that one, @ironchef.

Anticipation is half the fun! Spend the time digging around and learning more about the art and you'll be more confident going forward. This is a great place to learn. I sure did!

I think the dragon is cool - it would look more cool with more black and a bad ass snarly face. IMO it is the best part of the tattoo. I can't comment on blasting over in a particular case - I just conveyed my understanding of it. It's certainly worth seeing some good artists in order to get a real opinion of what they might suggest, even if you were to decide to stay with this artist. - - - Updated - - - And that's what really sucks about asking what other people think of a tattoo. If you like it, then screw what people think. But it seemed like you were really struggling with it and would consider other thoughts. So, don't feel unhappy about it - feel happy that you've got some good names and if you want, you have a good path to making the tattoo as kickass as you imagined one could be.

Based on your latest post, I would not go back to this guy. If this is really the skyline he created based on the reference material, I'd run - even the buildings are different, and those were the buildings you wanted! If you really wanted that volcano, a good artist could certainly add more black and sharper details to better match the reference. Is this really made by the same guy from the instagram link you posted? @DJDeepFried said it well - you shouldn't be directing every aspect of this tattoo, and you shouldn't have to. A good artist would put all those elements together in a good way, or tell you why it shouldn't be done the way you envision and suggest other designs. From what I understand, and I am not an artist nor have I had one (a blast over, not an artist lol), a blast over is simply doing a new tattoo right over the old one without any laser treatments to lighten the original one. It would take a talented artist make a design that could cover the original well, and the resulting tattoo would have much more black and contrast - which would be a good thing. It would likely be larger as well - which is always cool. You can always request that some parts be saved and reworked if want, since you like this dragon. Maybe an artist will swing around by and enlighten us all. ...and I have to say, you are asking great questions and being very forthcoming about your experience and being thoughtful about the feedback you are getting, and not taking anything personally. Nothing is directed at anyone personally, just conversation about your tattooing experience. Everyone wants awesome tattoos. I really hope you find a good outcome that you are happy with.

@polliwog - I think he still has feet to go. Then he's gonna start back at the beginning and refresh everything - a never-ending cycle!

Yeahhhhhh sigh. They bruise like mad. The other one last session was pretty bad. I am currently sitting with an ice pack jammed between said love handle and the back of a chair :) Thanks! I am so excited!

@DragonFanSa - if you haven't been happy with the sessions so far, and you think the artist knows he didn't do good work, why would you do any more sessions with him? If you are not happy, stop and reassess. You are not obligated to complete work with an artist if you do not feel comfortable with it, and it seems that you are not.

You need to seriously invest in some ice packs that will contour the area getting tattooed. How long are each of these sessions? Ugh.

LOL! You know, that is a really good idea. One of my dive friends is a great underwater photographer - if he's going on our next trip, I think he'd love to do it. Thanks for the suggestion - that would be really cool!

Nearly finished the anemone and shading and side corals, and shadows along the bottom. The red is the huge bruise already starting. The clownfish were already there, and the crab first pass was from the last session. I am so amazed at how this is all turning out! Two more session until we're done!

Wait, I thought I was perfect...?

There is no one perfect artist. If you want to limit your search to women, then do that. There are tons. If finding what you define as "the perfect artist" is more important, then look at work without regard to the sex of the artist. Not much to think about there!

I was in a favorite blues club this week while away on business, and later in the evening, this dude comes up to me at the bar and points to the blue edges of my tattoo sticking out from the left arm of my sleeveless shirt. "So I see you have a tattoo there, so what's is about? Can I take a peek?" as he's leaning in to me. Sigh. So I turned around and showed him the edge of the tattoo sticking out from the right side and said, "It's the other side of this tattoo." The bartender (with visible tattoos) just laughed and told me she loved my response. It was completely spontaneous but I'm saving this one too for future cretins.

@marley mission and @purplelace - nah, just a plain 'ol brownie with the Hershey's packet of fudge goo, and slightly undercooked. I don't think I'd do well with the special ones when I'm tired before we start. But YMMV! - - - Updated - - - @marley mission and @Rawok - I used to do some serious shaking until I started wearing warmer clothes during sessions and staying hydrated. If you're sitting there for hours with an open wound and your artist is wiping and wiping, you are losing water. Drinking something with electrolytes isn't a bad idea either, like Gatorade or Nuun or the like. And eating snacks high in sugar and fat. And keep drinking water for hours afterwards through the night, like you are nursing a hangover, because that's kind of what it is with the dehydration. And of course, the cider. Always the cider. (I just checked, we have 4 different kinds in the house right now.) It really makes a difference for me, and the "tattoo flu" is much reduced. Again, YMMV but worth a try.

Welcome! Research = Good and this is a great place to learn stuff.

A couple sessions into my back, I found the wonders of brownies as tattoo food. Since then, I have been making brownies and giving the rest to my tattoo artist. Until this summer, when I realized that I had started to associate the taste of delicious fudge brownies with tattoo pain. O.O Turns out my tattoo artist was getting tired of brownies too! So I branched out. I've made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and tonight I am making cut out Christmas sugar cookies. I never intended for this to become a ritual, but every Thursday before my Friday session has become Baking Time! Bizarrely, it's kind of calming.

Cool. Thanks for sharing. I think it's interesting to see before and afters.

What an awesome thread and some great responses. There's probably a couple PhD theses worth of data on LST with all the heartfelt questions and responses.

I'm sure someone around here can give a great recommendation for a tattoo artist. Where are you located?

Maybe you can find a creative artist who can "see" a larger image behind this, where the tribal marks are darker parts of a larger thing, if that makes sense. Could be a neat challenge. Random filler might just look like, well, random filler.

Welcome! Sorry to have missed your post. Yes, there is some great stuff here, isn't there? [emoji2]

Welcome! Sorry to have missed you post!

^like

I second the welcome!

Welcome! Do you have pictures to share? Cover it up with something you love. And, to cut to the chase, a panther.