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done by steve bryne at rock of ages in austin tx.

Each person's journey towards getting a tattoo is different. Some people may get a piece of flash on a whim, some are serious collectors, others go for a whole body suit from one artist, etc etc. Like what others have said, we can't tell you what to tattoo on yourself. You will learn that through self discovery and exposing yourself to different types of art (most importantly, tattoo art). Education of the different styles (American/Japanese traditional, new school, neo traditional, etc) is important if you want to be more than just a tattoo spectator. It's not essential; you don't have to know how your car works or what the parts are called to take it to a Mechanic. You will just run more of a risk of getting ripped off or getting something you didn't want. What we CAN do, is point you in the direction of some awesome shops/artists.

I really like this comment, and if this hasn't happened for you yet, don't worry and keep looking, whether it's at tattoos, other types of art or whatever reference moves you. And then let your artist take it from there. There really is no rush. I think I might know how you're feeling in that some spots might bother you more than others (even if, like me, you are largely blank) - for instance, I feel a little weird with the back of only one calf done. Sometimes I feel a pressure to work on that area next. But I'm going to sit on it for a while and get other tattoos elsewhere.

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!

My pug the day I got it done, first tattoo :)

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

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!

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.

Second session today with my buddy Iain Mullen on his collaboration with Rudy Fritsch. Beyond happy with how this is progressing. We did the lines with two machines almost 2 months ago and I had gotten used to seeing it that way. Now with some of the black in I am amazed by seeing it come to new life again.

Also, if you're thinking of getting something Star Wars themed one day, I hope you've checked out this thread. Tattooers designed these; they look better than some vaguely tattooable picture you could find through Google and it takes the pressure off of you to find the perfect image, though you could bring in printed references. Hope this helps.

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.

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.

Ok, so my sleeve is almost done... I sat with Mat Clarke of Midnight Moon Tattoo last Friday for about 4 hours...whatcha think??

Go talk to a tattooer about it.

Getting tattooed by Adde Ramstedt tomorrow. Tibet style dagger on the lower arm. Been wanting to make this tattoo for 2 years so I'm stoked it's happening finally

@smiling.politely is on point. Tattooers can be pretty busy people (I don't know the person you are going to, but, for the sake of argument). A lot of the time they are not able to draw up your design until a day or two, or even the day of. Again, echoing what I said earlier, you might need to let go a tad. I'm very early in my career but I still typically don't work on a drawing until its time to do it, because its hard to spread energy around.

It would depend on how that tattooer works. Personally, if I have an appointment booked, I try my best to get it ready, with or without a deposit (although after lots of no shows, I recently began requiring it for folks I don't know). That being said, contact them sometime this week, ask if there's any progress, and whether or not there is, go ahead and book an appointment. Most tattooers seem to work better with some kind of deadline, even if it means they prep it the day before or day of, rather than getting lost in the stack of other drawings and/or outside projects they may have.

Something that Morpheus said to Neo and can easily be applied here, "But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it."

The newb doesn't know what he wants aaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahaa. WE ARE SO FUCKING LOCAL Y'ALL.

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."

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!!!

You are in Tampa correct? Visit these guys: http://www.redletter1.com/ Chris Reed at Red Letter 1: Jeff Srsic at Red Letter 1:

Starting my chest with Jason Phillips at FTW this week.

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.

Ok I'm just going to write something short about my back piece in progress since I am healing after the second session now and feel psyched about it. Since I first started getting tattoos I knew that I would want to get a back piece. I figured I'd wait and let the idea evolve over time, save up enough money and start doing it on my 30:th year. Two years ago I got tattooed by Iain Mullen for the first time and since we've done something like 6-7 tattoos and they are among my favorites. We also became friends and I usually stop by the shop at least once a week to hang out and talk with him and the other guys. As time passed I decided to give him my back when the time was right. However last autumn I went down to Italy and got tattooed by Rudy Fritsch at his shop and felt like he'd make me an amazing back piece instead… Eventually I told Iain that I wanted the two of them to collaborate. I was a bit uncertain if he would be up for it but the next day when I came in to pay for a tattoo he told me that it was on (!) About two months later it was time for the first session. Up until this date I had not seen the sketch or been allowed to make any wishes about what the tattoo was going to be. I put my trust in them and I am very happy that I did. The first session was two hours with both of them working simultaneously on me. Rudy starting low on the left side and Iain up on my right shoulder. I found being laid face down on a massage bed, having only the floor to look at and no visual way of telling when or where the pain was going to hit… this was the most psychological challenging thing with the whole session. I've gotten some pretty rough spots done before but this was the worst two hours I've had to endure when it comes to tattoos. Two machines are not twice as bad but still a lot worse than one. I'm happy that they both work quick but it also meant a lot of brutality when it comes to long lines being nailed into my ribs in fast succession. I tried to zone out and focus on the breathing but that only made time slow down more, I could not think of anything else. Second session was this thursday, I sat up on a gym bench and me and Iain were talking the whole time through and it was such a walk in the park compared to the first one. I feel good about having had that experience anyway, it was special.

Not every cool design or style makes a good tattoo. - - - Updated - - - the land of entitlement in the age of narcissism. I got tattooed as a "fuck you" to society. It's still why I do it. No matter how many folks try to water it down.

He was the exact same way at the Richmond Convention last year.

That's pretty steep, but I might still go on the Sunday. I've never been to a convention before and figured it might be worth it if I could pick up a print from someone. Didn't plan well enough to allow for getting tattooed; I just hope Mr. Coleman is back next year.

I think and old style lantern drawing moths would be cool And yet still feminine... I agree though tell the artist your bullet points and be pleasantly surprised with their awesomeness. That's one of my favorite parts of being tattooed

Apples...oranges....meh ! ;) Best wishes !

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

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

@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.

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.

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

Well, I have been planning this tattoo since I was about 15. Almost 20 years later it is coming to fruition. I decided to let the apprentice at our shop start out doing the black since it would give him some skin time and I knew he was capable of saturating the black properly. I had finished up for the day so we started around 7 at night. We didn't finish up until 4 in the morning. It was AGONIZING, every last minute of it. I didn't sit the greatest, but I wasn't a terror either. I knew that letting our apprentice dig in, I was gonna' be in for a little extra chair time and maybe a little extra points on the pain scale. My back is a little larger than I actually envisioned it in my mind, also. I guess I am a pretty broad guy. At one point I was drooling all over my iPhone as I tried watch Dexter in and out of envisioning myself strapped to his table. I am gonna' try to get it hammered out in 2 or 3 more 8 to 12 hour sessions. Knowing that I actually bossed up and rode through it made it that much more cool to me. Finally getting started on this after 20 years of planning was pretty damn satisfying. I am lucky that I don't have to pay for any of it and that financial concerns for new work are non-existent. Cool beans.

My first tebori by Horitoshi 1--just finished and still a bit bloody

For one, it looks like you might be putting too much aftercare on it - you don't need it this slicked up all the time. Are you soaking it or letting it get really wet for long periods of time? The lighter areas may be moist scabs and the color will settle after the skin and scabs completely go away. Tattoo Gu isn't causing this - it's fine although not a preferred method around here. On the other hand, the areas around the blue look more inflamed than around the black. Some people around here have reported a sensitivity to some blues. Maybe that is your case, or you could be looking at an infection. Send the pics to your artist and have him look at it them. If you are worried about an infection, see a doc.

I doubt you'll answer this.... can you share some photos of your designs and the final tattooed result?

Most people just google the image they want,save them on their phone and bring them to the artist who redraws them in their own style.

Well, if you can handle menstrual cramps for 2 days, you can handle a couple of hours of tattooing... It's just an excuse, if you really love tattoos and tattooing, you'll deal with it. Otherwise, the whole kinda sorta not really watching from the sidelines thing comes back at you.

Exactly how I got tattooed by Bert Krak at Frith Street last year. It was great doing it that way. Also, I'm booked in to be tattooed by Bert Krak and Freddy Corbin in London (Frith Street & convention) in September.

Got this dagger from Steve Byrne this past Friday at the Pagoda convention. Super stoked on how it came out and the convention was great! It was very cool to see such great tattoo artists and people all in one place. If I didn't leave when I did I probably would of walked out of the convention broke and with a few more tattoos.

tony hundahl drew this reaper on my thigh tonight @ pagoda. he asked what i wanted to do so i just showed him a spot and let him do whatever he wanted.

Finally finished this backpiece by Valerie Vargas at FST :)

So Chad finished my back recently. Here it is.

Here are some photos from my sittings at Midnight Moon. I just sat for the 3rd time last Tuesday. Mat and I decided to increase the size of the sleeve to 3/4 to add more water and large lotus flower. The lotus flowers represent my three daughters, my wife, and the final one, my mother.

Good to know. I'll figure on going only if I can book an appointment with someone.

It's this blatant upstart attitude that earns you no respect, although please...don't beg, a dog does that when it loses all self respect. I see what we have here though, another art collector rather than an enthusiast. At one point, I might have been interested in the type of tattoos you have...the experiences you've had in street front shops...the understanding you have gained from this old time traditional culture...the networks you have established, the people who make this culture such a tight knit community based on respect, but I'm kinda guessing now you haven't. I have this feeling you have gained zero insight into how a traditional tattoo goes far deeper for some than just a picture, it's significant nature far beyond the lines you perceive as imperfection...mmm, but I'm not See, we don't need to convince you of fuck all. You haven't earned it. You bumbled your own way into this, all on your own. Well done.