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how do you feel about text? Maybe something like: "I like Batman, Stars Wars, and The Matrix. But not necessarily in this order. Right now Batman is #1 but it is possible Batman could drop to #2 or #3 based on how good or bad the future Ben Affleck Batman movies are. I am also a fan of wearing bracelets. This might be obvious if I am wearing bracelets as you read this but I mention this fact here in this tattoo just in case I am not currently wearing any bracelets and you were wondering if I would except a bracelet as a symbolic gesture of friendship."

Starting my chest with Jason Phillips at FTW this week.

@MsRad hasn't posted on here in a while due to school business. Anyways, she got engaged today! Congrats!

My name is Charlie I tattoo in the UK, been going for a couple of years now, so relatively new to the tattoo scene with still so much to learn. Not judgemental, just here for a good time and to see whats going on out there/possibly meet some new people! Looking to travel a bit towards the end of this year/start of next year. I use instagram at the moment for a lot of my work (username: wulfbaron), or if you don't have that: https://www.behance.net/wulfbaron Cheers!

These just jokes homey. Bottom line is this. No one here can create the idea for you or tell you what you need to get. The main words of wisdom I can convey is "let go." Tattoos are made by other human beings. They are rarely ever perfect and rarely ever exactly what you thought they would be. But VERY often, they are even better. Just find a tattooer who makes really nice tattoos, in a style you really like, convey some of your thoughts, and trust that they will give you something you're proud of.

Got this lil guy on my wrist a few weeks ago. This dragonfly was a memorial tattoo to remember my mother who passed away on July 3, 2014. Made by Shawn O'Connor (Timber Tattoo, Nelson BC) while he was back in Edmonton visiting at his old shop (Ink Machine). I really love getting tattoo from Shawn. http://shawnoconnorca.blogspot.ca/. Check him out if you want to take a trip into the BC Kootenays. He really takes the time to optimize placement, which is especially important for me now that I am really filling up. Some of the brightest colours in my tattoos are from him. Fits very nicely, the colours are healing very vibrant, especially the blues!

I never understand posts like these. If you don't have an idea yourself of what you want to get, even if it's something as vague as going into a shop and picking something appealing off the wall, maybe it's time to put a bit of thought into it yourself instead of looking to be handed answers. To think that people managed to get tattoos before there was the internet...

Been on a wait list coming up on 2 years for a tattooer in my city. Received an email invitation to come down to his studio and get traced out measured up for my backpiece! This tattooer is super low-key, off the radar, underground but is known as THE best, most precision tattooer in town. This man has kept the mystery in tattooing for me since the beginning. He did my first tattoo, my first big tattoo and did my sleeve in his private studio. So it will be a big milestone coming up for have him make a back tattoo. (Sorry folks, I'm withholding his name until the project is underway, don't want to jinx anything!). Really looking forward to the experience and excited as the backpiece will tie in all my existing tattoos as a full bodysuit over the course of the upcoming winter. Tattoo season is upon us!!!

me and my girl made a daycation to the netherlands on saturday and i got this from jelle on my left food (Instagram). we also had some frikandel speciaal with fries, stroopwaffels and vla.

Next day after Victors pieces :) Thigh piece, around 14 hours over 2 days and it was brutal, my leg is swollen double the size lol 15 hour drive tomorrow, yay!

I started running via Couch to 5k back in 2007. It totally works! I felt bad at the beginning, not being able to run more than 30 seconds at a time without feeling totally overwhelmed, but in 2012, I ran a marathon. I always recommend Couch to 5k to anyone who tells me they want to get into running. I think it's the perfect way to start, because you can start as slow as you need (for example, intervals of 30 seconds running, 3 minutes walking). I also picked up cycling a year or so ago as some cross-training. My latest obsession -- as of this summer -- is rock climbing. I've never done anything to work or strengthen my upper body, mostly because I LOATHE the gym, and I LOATHE the idea of picking up weights and doing "reps" -- seems so boring to me. But rock climbing is actually an amazing full-body workout, and it's fun! I'm totally geeking out about it right now :)

Bruce Wayne and Luke Skywalker both human skulls.

@polliwog a couple of friends have had great success with the Couch to 5km program for building up their fitness. Couch to 5k - C25K Running Program I used to run a lot in my 20's (approx 30 - 40km a week) however due to some back issues it's no longer an option for me and I really miss it.

To clarify... Example of a person with tattoos- a few Pinterest designs, maybe a few other things they might get after they learn a little bit more about tattooing, but think of tattoos as not much more than personal decoration at best, or a fashion accessory at worst. More of a fast-food mindset. Example of a tattooed person- someone who, whether a tattooer or not, wants to know about tattooing a little bit, wants to know what makes a good tattoo (Beyond someone telling them "This person is good." They want to understand it themselves). May have goals of a full bodysuit, may only want half sleeves, but they care. I said neither was better than the other, but when you talk about marketing things towards people into tattoos, you're not saying the same thing marketing towards the average tattoo client. Most of the millions of viewers they get are of the former category, not the latter. Which is fine. Most of the people I have the pleasure of tattooing are people with tattoos, not tattooed people. I treat them exactly the same, if not a bit nicer, hoping they come away with a bit of education, and perhaps appreciation of tattoos beyond an iPhone screen. EDIT: Small addition... you wouldn't say the guy in front of you in line at Olive Garden is the same type of customer as a gourmand, or that frat douche hammering Natty Ices is the same as a trained sommelier.

keep it up polliwog - my only advice is try and mix some other fitness activities in - easy to hurt yourself with running in regards to too much too soon - mixing in some bike, hike,etc is good way to keep things fresh and avoid overuse injuries

I've been out of shape for my entire adult life and have just started running. Well, running with a lot of walking in between. It's been pretty difficult, though I can feel myself making a tiny bit of progress every time I go out and have managed to avoid hurting myself. If anyone here has been in the same boat, is it always this much of a slog? At least it's good for your mood, and it's a beautiful time of year in Massachusetts to start running. Also, I'm just going to leave this here: Police respond to report of gun, Northampton man tells officers only 'guns' present are his biceps | masslive.com

Poking my head up from lurking again to post here, because I'm excited. After my last appointment fell through (artist cancelled visit to the states), I tried to get a booking in with Greg Whitehead at Scapegoat, closer to home. Took 3-4 months (and a dropped ball by his previous assistant), but now I'm booked for Sept. 18th. He's been doing more traditional stuff lately. I'm not exactly sure what we're doing! Mermaid or fish and birds and flowers? Dunno, don't care. Gonna be a good time. :)

People work they way they work, but what I like about focusing on one area is that you end up sending most of the time getting hit with a shader which is a lot more pleasant, relatively speaking, than four or so hours of lining.

This exhibit opened my eyes even wider as to have breathtaking Japanese tattooing is. This exhibit also really put me onto Brian Kaneko. His work is phenomenal.

First session, the next one we are going to salvage the owl if possible. Kemer at Superfly Tattoo, Leon Mexico.

Thought I would share some machine ideas with you guys. I like building single coil machines so here are a few designs. The first one is an antique looking standard sprung machine. I love building knarly old looking stuff. The second is an adjustable compression spring design that I came up with that works really well. The third is a design that took me a while to get the right setup but I finally got it. Really lite weight due to no sideplate and these things are badass. Larry

I have a tip - you don't need a solid idea, you just need an idea. When you have a tattooer whose work you like, hamstringing them with your narrow artistic direction will not allow them to be an artist or fully use their talent/style. Why don't you just tell your tattooer what kind of placement and that you want colorful realistic moths (a couple pictures), possibly overlapping. People have a real hard time letting go of the process - you picked a tattooer because you like their style - let them use it. My best tattoos are a result from me finding the right artist and letting go; all the old ones I had, which I got all control- ly over are now covered. Edit - I just saw there is a similar post in the General Tattoo Discussion area - go read that thread http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/5829-need-advice-next-tattoo.html

There is nothing elitist about what I said above. You're looking for something that all of us look for when thinking about tattoos we're going to get in the future: we all want that moment when we stumble across some reference or come across an idea that transcends being something just cool to look at and becomes something that we want on our skin forever. Nobody can help you with that. You need to find that thing that moves you.

The best advice any of can give you is a good artist recommendation. The rest is up to you and the artist.

Maybe? How many shops have you visited? How many artists have you consulted with?

I'm pretty sure @Meredith Davis is here just to promote a new tattoo care product without actually paying to advertise on LST... Just sayin'.

What is this styleforum now? But seriously, you can go the Army-Navy/thrift store/ebay route. If you want the real deal, it's Sterlingwear, Schott, or Fidelity, which is what I have. (Not quilted on the inside which is good for Cali.) They come in suit sizes (i.e. 42, 40, etc.) -- very trim, no tailor necessary. Real Melton wool is very rough. J. Crew & Ralph Lauren make a more refined version, but pricier.

@smiling.politely is a long-term poster and tattooer who brings a lot of insight, intelligence, first-hand knowledge and experience to this forum and is dedicating his life to both getting and giving people good tattoos, and everything he said above is correct. Who are you again?

Just like Iron Chef isn't made for chefs, Cops isn't made for police officers, and Cake Boss isn't made for bakers, all of the mainstream tattoo reality shows aren't made for tattooers or tattooed people. They are made for mainstream reality show fans. I'm also making a distinction between people with tattoos and "tattooed people," as pretentious or exclusionary as that may seem.

My artist came to town and was able to finish my raven a couple of nights ago. I can finally move on to finishing my forearm goat tattoo, now. By Samantha Mancino, Clubhouse Tattoo, Oakland, CA.

I say follow his advice. There are quite a few members on here who prefer dry-healing.

Got some new small stuff from Matt (Dr. Claw) at Diamond Club. First knuckle piece and inside finger. Very small and simple. Its for my wife and my anniversary. Oh and inside the finger was rough apparently you have to break through the pad. And you definitely know when you break through. Having done a very small piece inside, puts my palm, tattoos on hold for a while. Gonna have to prepare for those

Session two on my back. Mercifully we stuck to lining and shading the background on my upper back. Next time I think we're hitting the lower back, ass, and thighs, which I'm sure is going to be a lot of fun. Can't wait.

@ThatGuy, your back piece is really amazing, I'm surprised you don't just walk around with your top off anyway ;)

I work on one area at a time. When I get burned out on one spot, I move to another. No particular rhyme or reason to it.

Really excited with this fresh one on my knee, Tattooed by Norbert at Hunter and Fox in Sydney.

Thought I would throw in this little tatty from Kirk Jones.

@KBeee. Of course we can stop, sort of. We just choose not to eh ? ?

I'm gonna submit the smallest tattoo to win the monthly contest (ok, not really, that back, gahhhh)! RAT HEADS GET NOTHIN' BUT CHEESE Y'ALL, done by Cody Miller at Blackheart. Photo pilfered from his Instagram.

@Mick Weder I can't speak about your mate, but I feel the people I've gotten the most incredulity about the money I spend on tattoos are exactly the same people who will drop thousands of dollars on a fucking 4K TV or whatever so they can watch Extreme Couponing or whatever heap of fucking shit in razor sharp definition on a screen the size of their wall, because new technology! I've never spent any money I don't have on tattoos, and I don't feel any guilt for the money I've spent on them.

I had a mate a while back now bust my balls because of the extent I have myself tattooed, saying he could never justify the amount of $ spent for such a selfish interest. It kinda blew me away a bit, & the only reason I engaged the conversation is because we grew up together. A) you don't know how much I spend, you only guesstimate going by average "shop hours" B) I don't go out pissing my money against the wall C) my family are provided for, kids are schooled, clothed, fed, dance, swimming, martial arts, piano, violin, orchestra, swimming ...the list goes on...all paid for. Isn't it fucked how people feel they have the right to call you out on your priorities when all they see is what they see sitting in front of them. It's like another dude I know said riding a motorcycle is a selfish mode of transport. Like, WTF? How can that be selfish when my 11 & 9 year olds and Mrs love riding with me. I think we only feel guilty sometimes because it's pushed upon us by fuckers who should be looking in their own back yard before commenting on ours.

#1) Everything REALLY DOES look better with GOOD tattoos. (Even douchebags wearing Ed Hardy shirts...:rolleyes:). Whatever you're self conscious about ain't no thang when you've got a bad ass tattoo. Why would it be? You're too busy being stoked about the awesome tattoo. IMHO. #2) Keep watching, @growltiger, because it's not anywhere near finished yet! :) And if you wanna talk backpiece stuff feel free to PM me for anything! #3) It really is. Like I said, I've spent a lot of time (years) changing scripts in my head and weeding out the shaming stuff - btw totally get rid of anything that has advertising and/or commercials in it...anyway - I visited a friend who I had not seen for 3 years recently, and some of the first words out of her mouth were about how heavy she was and her weight - in response to a question that had nothing to do with anything at all about her or her weight! Because I don't have that particular shame-script running through my head any longer I was sort of shocked and surprised - and then really sad, because it sucks to have that awful, shameful, guilty, not-good-enough feeling running through your entire being at all times, and a lot of PEOPLE (all of us, regardless of gender) have that subconsciously ruling our lives. Just behind all of our other thoughts. And I felt sad for my incredibly talented and awesome friend who after three years, it was the one of the first things she wanted to communicate to me :(. FWIW, when I was younger, I realized that when I saw a woman who was clearly confident and also fat or somehow unattractive, my thoughts went along the lines of "who does she think she is? she's fat! she can't do/wear/say that!". I became afraid to go into public for awhile, because if *I* was thinking that then what were people thinking about ME? Literally would not go in public unless I had to for work or groceries. I began to wonder why I had such a sharp reaction, and such a negative one, at that? And what kind of asshole thinks that!! So I actively reversed my initial instinct and began admiring confidence in all who had it. (Why am I writing all of this? This is embarrassing/painful to admit, geez ) I think that there was something in me that was jealous of them for having confidence when I couldn't - if that makes sense? Like how could you be confident if I am not? (How dare you!) I think society gets mad when people go off script. I didn't like the way those thoughts made me feel, the way that negativity would sort of take over and poison me. A quick aside: Can I be honest, in the middle of this writing, and say that I am feeling a little bit of shame at ever having had such poisonous feelings...and feeling very grateful that I was able to literally change my mind....but wow, how petty and shortsighted and young. Life is a work in progress, always. Anyway - I traced a lot of my anxiety, guilt, fear, shame, and poisonous negativity to some of those thoughts I was describing (and of course many other thoughts and patterns in my life) - and I realized that I didn't have to accept my part of the deal. Just because society or some jerk or my mom or WHOEVER offered me this deal (i.e. be 'fat'! = feel shame, you're worthless!) didn't mean I had to participate. My thoughts are kind of falling apart here, but I think I'm trying to say - remove yourself from the equation. It takes some time to shed what we've been fed our entire lives, and you have to actively identify what is making you feel bad and then actively change it. Listen to your body. Do you feel bad? Knots in your stomach? Headaches? Active guilt/shame? Identify what triggers those feelings...dig deep if you have to...and then remove yourself from the thoughts/people/environments that are causing it. Ugh, word vomit, in the end just go get a big, awesome tattoo. I think that encapsulates what I'm trying to say...

https://www.facebook.com/ben.wheldonthompson.3?fref=ts check this shit out theres some tribal attempts at portraits of of peoples kids and all sorts of shit here. what the actual f*ck

I think it went more like "Hey! That's on you?!?! I saw that on Instagram!!!" LOL!!

"hey look at this guy's skin, its like instagram but instead of on my phone its right here in front of me."

I agree with this 100%, and just so you know, I just refer to y'all as nerds. Myself included.