omeletta

It's a great tattoo! Don't forget, it won't look as black in a couple of months, once it's settled properly.

@bongsau looks like you've finally run out of space and had to start layer 2 now ;-)

Really love this one! Cranes are awesome ;-)

Lovely work and welcome!

Awesome, been waiting for that for years!

It's rather unlikely to take that long...might actually take less than half that time. But as zetroc said, it'll depend on a number of factors. Enjoy!

Well, sounds like you don't have a great feeling re this guy, so I'd recommend to follow your gut and look around a bit more. I think it's totally reasonable if you're after a different experience, people are just different...luckily ;-)

Hi there and welcome! AFAIK it's rather unusual to see a design in advance. Depends on the artist though, I guess it's worth asking if they'd do it for money. But, isn't the whole point of checking out shops and artists' portfolios to find out who you'd really want the tattoo from? As in, trust them enough that it'll be great? Which also defies the point of asking someone else from the shop to do it because you don't want to wait. Just because they work in the same shop doesn't mean they are equally good or have similar styles...there are of course always things that most decent tattooist can do. But those don't usually need too much of advance design work anyway... What's the hurry? The tattoo is for life, if you think you've found the right tattoo artist, just enjoy the wait. Look at it like waiting for xmas as a child ;-) Good luck!

Congrats, it's such an awesome tattoo! To be fair, I thought they were all pretty awesome, but one has to make decision... Looking forward to the next contest :-)

Not entirely sure what your intention is here...are you planning to take this photo to a reputable tattoo artist as a reference to put something similar on you? If so, why not. A decent artist will give you a good tattoo. There may be a bit too much text as others mentioned, but you wouldn't want to get an exact copy anyway, would you? Take it as an idea and make it your own!

If you like skulls, check out the tattoo of the month contest from December:

I assume you are aware that a healed tattoo will never look as vibrant as the one in the photo? Nothing to do with how good the artist is, but with how tattoos heal. Just saying... Still always a good a idea to try and find a good artist.

I could imagine that using UV ink might work in this case as well...? @Piecewise if you let us know where you're based, someone may be able to direct you to a place nearby where you may get actual help with your question. Good Luck and feel free to keep us updated! Quite an interesting topic methinks...

That tiger looks bloody dangerous!!!

Weird things happen in this world...I seem to remember you're not the first person that came here to ask about involuntary UV tattoos...found the old thread actually, maybe it's useful to you in some way: As for the tattoo machine question, you may have figured this out by now, but of course one doesn't need a machine at all. Just something that puts the ink deep into the skin, a needle usually. Traditional tattooing was and is done this way as well as stick and poke tattoos. No special equipment needed as such and no electricity. No noise made. Good luck with your research!

I would imagine a little arrow could make a good filler between lots of other tattoos.

Ha, well done, right on time for the new contest :-)

Hi and welcome! I can't give you specific advice regarding what's possible with your tattoo, but Black Garden Tattoo is a reputable shop with great artists for sure. So yeah, go and talk to them and feel free to roam this forum as well! And if you need more recommendations for shops or artists in London, let us know...

Would Montreal work, too? https://www.instagram.com/eilotattoo/

For what it's worth, it just occured to me that I haven't actually used E45 on a fresh tattoo. Only once healed, for moisturising. But that pretty much daily...

Thanks, I think it flows really nicely on my arm. Still very black though, I'm curious how it'll turn out once settled. Hey @jubilantfawn, nice to see you again ;-) I remember your backpiece for sure. You had another session in the meantime, didn't you? You should write about your experience of having two tattooers working on you in the full backpiece thread! Remember your crane as well. Wasn't that done by Stewart Robson? Was there no white in it, really? Mine aren't even pure white btw, but it makes them pop so much more. Time will tell how the colour holds up.

Finished my crane arm with Yutaro at Seven Doors Tattoo in London today. Everyone in the shop is super nice, highly recommended! I'll miss going, but will try to have a bit of a break from getting tattooed...for now...

I did some, admittedly only quick, research on the web about this. All I came up with was one website that mentioned it. And they were selling a tattoo after care product. Not sure how objective they are and where they have this info from. If anyone here knows more about this, I'm more than happy to hear about it. So far it seems to me like someone has come up with something obscure to make their product look better. Apart from that, personally, I'd rather stick to what I know my skin is ok with. I have extremely sensitive skin and prefer not to experiment. But if I did decide to try something else, I'd start using it a while before getting tattooed, to make sure it doesn't cause any problems.

Hi, welcome! A bit of a long shot, but have a look a some new traditional stuff, maybe you find something you like among these: Emily Rose Murray Tiny Miss Becca Matt Adamson Neil Dransfield Mitchell Allenden If you'd like recommendations for local artists, let us know where you are based...

Hm, my oldest tattoo is only two years old, but I've been using E45 moisturiser all the time and it looks fine so far. Never heard about the lanolin issue. That doesn't mean much though. Maybe someone else knows more...