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Got this little bowl of ramen tattooed while I was in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. Picture taken immediately after session so it’s a little reddish but it has healed really nicely.

This is a tattoo I have on my leg which was done 22 years ago. It looked completely legible at the time. Now the black mass of hair and the face have become quite obscured. The one redeeming factor with time is that the ink tends to fade a bit in intensity, which means the option for a touch up after a good chunk of time can help remedy an old tattoo. I may one day get this one reworked with more whites to help create better separations. But ultimately it was a bad design choice. I thought maybe sharing an aged tattoo with lots of black could help this thread.

Just got this sleeve almost finished by Eddy Deutsche recently. I am currently a Tattoo apprentice but I do paintings and such my instagram is @sg.artist

Got an update for y’all , not as old school as I originally planned but I’m happy with it

Well guys, the day came and went, and honestly its fantastic. The artist did a great job with the design, and it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. Overall I think I was just having first time jitters (plus I have major anxiety over even small desisions so...yeah). But now that its done I have no regrets!

Thank you everyone for your responses. It was very nice to read and some of you make really wise comments. JAC1961 comment was pretty wise actually. And reading from some of you who are heavily tattoo and have similar feelings was reassuring. I am sharing a pic of the tattoo 3 days after the session. It was around a 10 hr session. As it is healing and I am getting used to my reflection it is feeling much better. Actually, I feel much better now than when I posted this. I think I will be ready to continue up to my shoulder and give it a finish feel soon hopefully.

A healed photo showing where I am currently, I'm back in the chair in about two weeks and I can't wait! Looking forward to those last traces of the old pieces disappearing.

this was the inspiration for this piece. this is a beautiful song,sit down and take a good listen to it.

More work on my arm this weekend...only a few hours scheduled but I'll take it.

You can't cover over that big black tattoo with a water color tattoo. As @SStu suggests, start some laser treatments. This isn't going to be fast or cheap to fix. DON'T hurry, find someone really good at coverups and be prepared to spend some serious money. If you don't, you'll make an even bigger mess. That is a big honking black tattoo on some really delicate skin in a really public spot, so it's going to take someone really good to do something with it. Good aint cheap and cheap aint good.

several laser treatments will get it back to where you can fix it. Once that's done, stop going to the cheapest alternative.

Going to finally get a tattoo at Aloha Monkey next week. A bunch of guest artists are coming in for there 20 year anniversary weekend party and I'm booked with Doug Hardy. It's going to be a good time and hopefully it doesn't hurt at all.

A full sleeve would be twice as much as a half sleeve. ;-) Don't cheap out, don't rush or you'll wind up even more unhappy. I always get anxious when people start asking "how much." It's usually followed by "how do I fix this."

This. I think from both sides it's a recipe for misery. The artist most likely is going to lose focus (who doesn't after a long day). I have sat for 6-7 hours a few times and I always say I won't do it again. Between breaks (even short ones) the time really adds up. Then, you are a giant open wound just asking for an infection. It really takes a toll on your body. PRICE shouldn't have anything to do with your decision. Save your money and get the tattoo(s) you really want.

please don't do that.

it could be fun to makeup different explanations for different situations as to what the symbols mean when asked about them ! LOL

As @gtrjunior said, too early to tell. I wouldn't go back to that tattooer or shop under any circumstances though, that artwork and line work is really rough. If you need a touch-up after it's healed, find someone really good.

Today’s piece. On the back of the arm with the Ganesh from a month ago.

Run Forrest, Run!! Just my opinion, but I would let that heal for a couple of months and start looking for someone experienced in coverups. It's going to take time, laser and money, but I think you can save that.

yes all 3 when they were freshly done

I got trash polka, lettering, realism, and looking forward to getting oriental next. I like em all and idc what anyone tells me.. except my bank when they tell me I don't have enough money for all these tattoos 😉

Well, that was a thrilling read.

ongoing leg weirdness by the magical El Tragico from Saturday.... next up two headed snake blastover to cover some eighties/nineties "tribal" and a bit more leg...

we added some more to it,the bee and a little shading

Yep! i'm weird and am gonna keep one side of my body completely black and grey and the other side with color lol

Sun is almost certainly going to do more damage than rubbing against your shirt. I don't think there is an answer to your question. I think it depends on a lot of factors. As far as being dull, you won't know what it's going to look like until it's healed in 4 to 6 weeks. There's just no getting around that.

having a nice *short* tattoo session next Saturday... a marvellous eye thing above the tree person.... anything over 4 hours for me is too long - as I have discovered to my detriment..... it sort of goes... first 20 mins... ouch 20 mins to 2 hours ... oh that's nice I have endorphins. 2 - 3 hours... that's sightly less nice.... 3 - 4 hours... please can I go home now. I have picked a poor hobby for someone with a low pain threshold 🙂

appears very good for the style, the problem being that watercolor tattoos aren't typically recommended, as they'll be a was in a few years' time. good luck.

Putting that tattoo on you without warning you what was going to happen is just wrong. I wouldn't go back to that shop. Everybody's skin is different; there is no way to tell if it will last one year, three years or ten years. Enjoy the tattoo right now. There is NOTHING you can do now anyway. And forget about learning to tattoo.

Don't do that.

let it heal for 3 months before you take too close a look at it, THEN maybe you could get a touch-up if needed. for now,keep Aveeno on it daily, enjoy it, and start planning your next bad ass tattoo. and stop looking at it with a microscope ! it looks fine.

you don't have to explain shit to anyone man

I would have to agree with whoever told you it won't fit properly on your arm. No problem for the Chinese characters but the little Russian words (at least in the proportion you're showing there) won't last forever. Consider changing the proportions and/or how it's layed out. Also consider an image based tattoo instead. One that reminds you of something you shared or something that reminds you of her.

Behind it with white? What the what?

Just my opinion, but two weeks in I'd leave it totally alone. It takes 4-6 weeks to heal and there is NOTHING you can do until then so I'd just relax and wait to see what it looks like when it's healed.

4-6 weeks to know what you've got. let it settle.

It looks like it's still healing. Try leaving it alone, no lotion. Those bumps look like you over moisturized it. I'm very fortunate that I don't have much itching, but when I do it's usually one or two weeks after I get the tattoo.

Too soon to judge, and stop putting so much lotion/Aquaphor/whatever on there. You're smothering it.

welcome! you could have wasted one or 10 of those posts with pictures of your current tattoos . . . 😉

I'm 61 and have no problem healing. Every tattoo doesn't heal exactly the same. Maybe this one is just being finicky.

Tattoo posted.

This isn't a "learn how to tattoo" site. Seriously, if you want to learn, go through an apprenticeship and do it right. You are damaging your skin.

https://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/guidelines/

I'm no doctor, but I don't see how a chemical would affect the tattooed skin and not the surrounding skin. Anything is possible though. There was a recent thread discussing bumps on black ink. You might want to check this out. As far as a doctor, you're the only one that knows if it's bothering you enough to need a doctor's help.

This. And a combination of styles (hard outline with watercolor shading/background/highlights) might satisfy both courts in the right design. This particular artist looks like she might be able to capture this.

Hi @Kitsune! Welcome to LST! There have been plenty of threads here that discuss the watercolor style. A quick use of the search tool will get you a lot of information. 😃

Great minds think alike. I was looking at it thinking, "When that goes south, time for a panther."

Yeah, even if you went into the shop and said "I want a photorealistic typewriter but only 2 inches square" a proper artist (and certainly shop owner) should have said "that's not going to age well".

I scheduled a consultation with Melissa Manuel from Humble Beginnings in San Jose to get a Filipino-inspired tribal collar piece. The consultation isn't until April 29th. Hooray for links!

@duckgoosed, it will probably end up looking like a black blob in a few years. Nothing you can do about it now. Just enjoy it and get more tattoos.