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20 month after my first appointment, after 40h in 12 sessions, my back was finally finished a week ago. I'm so happy that I'm done for now but there are already some plans if and what possibly could be my next step towards an even more colorfull body....😋 Not sure if I'll first go for my right butt cheek and upper thights or if I'll start with my arms... But well, that's the future. Won't probably get anything new until end 2019 or even 2020. At least not until I was able to put some money aside to get it done in a foreseeable period of time.

Not the greatest pics but here's the ship on the back. Color fresh, outline and shading 2 weeks healed. Dagger is about 3 months healed.

Outside of same leg... There's a tall ship on the back calf and a dagger rose down the shin. I'll try and see if I have good pics of those.. Jason did these too.

More red! Green next time!

Everyone's backs look amazing! I've had a little work done since August, next session is Saturday.

He has the means to run around tattooing in an RV, but he doesn't have the means to get to a shop? Run Forrest, Run! Coming soon - is this a blowout, is this infected, can this be fixed?

So in the end, they emailed me saying they have to reschedule and they needed to be with family. I asked for my deposit back and they said it was no problem and to just call the shop and ask for it. I think your right atomicmagpye, the tattoo gods are telling me something lol. Luckily I got in with another artist, I was planning to go to anyways, on friday to get the same subject in a different style.

progress....

I wouldn't base getting or not getting a tattoo on what might happen. Unless you double the size of your forearm, it will most likely still look good. If you plan on going all "he-man master of the universe," you might want to wait, otherwise, get in there an get that tattoo.

flaming torch

Inner calf addition to a leg sleeve I just completed. Done by Jason Walstrom @ Seawolf in Minneapolis.

My questions are 1- Is my experience with my artist's lack of planning and discussion so far normal for a larger piece? If you want more input next time, be up front about it. My first tattoo was a sleeve too. I told the artist to do whatever they wanted in the Japanese style. My only input was when we discussed what to put on my elbow and I suggested a flower. 2- Should I be paying for touchups when I'm already paying so much per hour? As stated, in a multi-session tattoo, yes. 3- Is this the price you'd expect to pay for a custom design not just a cookie cutter one or would it cost more for a truly custom piece? Unless they pulled the design off the shelf or stole it from someone else, it's not cookie cutter. 4- Would it be an issue if I switched artists since I'm not completely happy at this point? Yes, I doubt another artist in the same shop would finish the sleeve and even outside the shop you might have trouble finding a quality artist to finish someone else's work. 5- I was told it would be best to finish one full sleeve before moving to the other arm because the ink would look different if there was too much time between doing the lower half and upper half. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, finish one before you start the other. 6- Is that true or would it all look the same after it's fully healed even if there was a large time gap before doing the top half? Ink fades over time, so you don't want to take years to finish a piece. Stop listening to "friends" who say $250 an hour is too much. I'm not sure what kind of asshole tells someone they paid too much for a tattoo, but that's not something a friend does. It doesn't matter how many tattoos they have. You knew the price going in, I'm not sure why it's an issue now. Next tattoo you need to set expectations with the artist. If you want to be really involved int he design let them know up front. Not every artist is interested in working with someone like that. One sleeve and my back I let the artist do whatever they wanted. The second sleeve, I showed a picture and said, "something like this." My first leg, I just said I wanted a tiger and we talked about the other elements. My other leg we just talked about the elements and kicked some ideas around, but I deferred to him. I've never seen a drawing or stencil until it went on me.

it's all relative, if you like an artist and it's a good tattoo that YOU like, then it was worth the money. tattoo hourly rates vary from $100 to $700, I know a tattooer that says she needs $300 per hour with an 8 hour minimum,(UP FRONT),for anything ! I got a 9 hour one shot one time that cost me $3000., I was fine with that. I know people that have paid $5000 and up for an arm sleeve. those people that are saying that to you should keep their mouths shut.

hahaha you're a riot But seriously some of this is definitely true. I get nervous before hand and all the way out to Brooklyn still, but as soon as I enter the shop I'm chill. While getting tattooed I tried to talk as much as humanly possible--that gets me through it. And then yes, totally, that last wipe down is such a relief! And then it's on to the next month....

Allright, you weren't joking. Had my first two days this wekend; the back is horrific to work on. And outlining on the back of the thighs... the pain was near indescribable. Made the arse, spine and back part of the ribs pale by comparison. All of you are utter beasts for doing this purely by machine. I cannot even fathom. 😵 Have a few months before my next session, hopefully I'll completely forget about what this weekend was like by then.

drawing does not equal tattooing ability or safety

This year at Redemption in Boston - Mike Shea. Right on the hip

Just got this cobra/elephant by Squid Yu on the front of my left leg just under the knee. Pretty stoked. Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk

Sorry you're having a bad experience/not the experience you want, but I'd say at the outset that nothing you describe sounds terrible/terribly out of the ordinary. A lot just sounds like a personality difference. But: 1. if the artist is a true pro it's not so important about the planning: she knows what she's doing. the discussion is more on you to ask ask ask. (That said, I'm doing traditional Japanese where you only pick the subject of the tattoo and everything is up to the artist. So I come from a very different perspective on this.) 2. "touch-ups" in the context of still working on a large piece are different than if it were complete and you were going back months later. They're often necessary, and I would just chalk it up to getting the perfect piece. 3. $250 is a loooottta cash but yes that's what you'd pay for a unique top quality piece. Without seeing it it's hard to judge whether it's truly cookie cutter though, you know, rather than your feeling bad about it given the experience you're having? 4. yes it'd be an issue, and don't do it..... 5. finish what you started. You have to finish things in life. That's my 2cents, others may disagree/have different interpretations. Cheers and good luck!

kind of like this ?

I plan on going up flames like a Durafame log. Not opposed to if someone wants to preserve their skin (I think the concept is really cool).

I read this article yesterday as well. I've thought about this tattoo preservation in the past ... my organ donor card has "skin" as the exception ... But now I'm feeling more like when my time comes to cross, i want my tattoos cremated with my body. I'm taking them with me to the other side. Tattoos are my spirit armour. Without being "lived in", well, tattoos are just pictures on dead skin and lose the meaning if I am not alive. Just me personally. This belief is dynamic, just like the meaning behind all my tattoos. cheers

haha coming along nicely ! i'm working on filler sections and layers with my upper/inner squid pants

Original was my first tattoo from 20 years ago. Met with my artist to see what would work. He took several photos, did an outline tracing and committed to drawing what might work. The old dragon was 20 years old and tired. Got it on a business trip in Chicago at the Jade Dragon Tattoo Parlor. At the time a group of young, enthusiastic managers went downtown to see the iconic tattoo shop. 6 of us left with new ink. Many years later, I wanted something new, fresh and keeping with the dragon theme. My artist carefully explained what colors would work, what design would work and the size of the new piece to effectively cover the old work. Little did I know this was going to be a journey, a process and commitment of many months. Once I saw the stencil and the pc screen illustrating the color choices. I decided to take the plunge. First session was about four-five hours for outline work. Second session was the beginning of shading. (4-5 hours) Third Session more color. ( five hours) Fourth Session-almost done ( Was coming down with the flu and getting cold chills and shaking thinking I was getting cold) close to 4 hours.. Have been back for two touch up sessions and have the last one scheduled this week. If you notice the yellow areas in the whiskers and scales between the horns, a little more color saturation is needed to prevent the old image from showing through. Comments-Cover work can be very complex. Its a blend of design, choosing the appropriate colors that will cover light and dark and going larger to find a design that will obscure the old work. It may never be completely invisible, however the focus of the new work will draw the eye away from the previous work. Detailed shading and design is never one and done. Plan on more than visit to get the deep color saturation you desire and to cover the old areas. I waited 30 days in between sessions to allow my skin to heal and allow my artist to see what really needed to be done next. Learned a lot about what after care products I prefer. When doing a lot of shading work, some products with lidocaine do make a difference. While you might not experience the same level of relief on line work. When shading and the pores get opened up..there is a difference. At my age-(56) five hours is longest I can sit. Four hours is much easier. Having a cool artist that understands you and the end goal are very important. I wont be doing any more cover work but I plan on lots more ink. Have had a couple more new pieces since this piece was almost done. Hope this helps those thinking about cover work. My artist explained he would much rather work on a 20 year old piece than one done six months ago. Just one old guys experience.

Day 2 down, both lower legs colored. Next trip we color the upper legs finishing up the full backpiece and then it's on to the front.