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Shading in Japanese tattoos


Zillah
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I'm getting a 'large cohesive' koi tattoo on my upper arm this Saturday, and the artist has just sent a sketch through for me to look at. He has stated "shading and colour to your liking".

I want to let him know that I want the shading to be "dark and stripy, with scalloped edges", as they say in Japan. Ok, they don't say that... I don't know the correct terminology. Can someone please help me out? :p

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The "m" that I think of is munewari, but that's different from what you are asking. As far as I know, the edges are typically rounded off, or scalloped, for easier integration into a larger piece later on. I could be totally wrong about that though!

Here's a google result from @Graeme's awesome research: http://books.google.com/books?id=yuMUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=botan+mikiri&source=bl&ots=Wt5Vpij1t2&sig=6GttzL7InkcSkj7X2Aomt83IWvU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eCFXU-HeC4-_sQTpwoCYBw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=botan%20mikiri&f=false

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It's a beautiful book.

I have been looking for a reference book to get ideas from. I'm planning a Japanese half sleeve this year. Would you guys recommend this "Perseverance" one for that purpose? If not...any suggestions? I am particularly interested in making sure the "rules" are followed (seasons, correct imagery,etc).

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I have been looking for a reference book to get ideas from. I'm planning a Japanese half sleeve this year. Would you guys recommend this "Perseverance" one for that purpose? If not...any suggestions? I am particularly interested in making sure the "rules" are followed (seasons, correct imagery,etc).

First off if you want to look proper then you need to go over onto the chest as well. Which is awesome because that makes the tattoo even tougher.

Super basic and easy to find book that has excellent images and basic explanations is The Japanese Tattoo by Sandy Fellman, and also really good one is the other The Japanese Tattoo by Donald Richie. The Ritchie book has less photos, and they are of an older generation of tattooers, but the information is excellent and well-researched.

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First off if you want to look proper then you need to go over onto the chest as well. Which is awesome because that makes the tattoo even tougher.

Super basic and easy to find book that has excellent images and basic explanations is The Japanese Tattoo by Sandy Fellman, and also really good one is the other The Japanese Tattoo by Donald Richie. The Ritchie book has less photos, and they are of an older generation of tattooers, but the information is excellent and well-researched.

Thank you my friend! I shall order one or the other tonight.

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