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Brought a drawing to Sacred Tattoo today with plans for getting a walk-in, after meeting the shop owner a week or so back. Niño was kind enough to redraw my doodle an this is what we came up with. Great way to celebrate the last few months of living in Oakland. Pic lifted from Nino's Instagram. Also, I visited Umami Mart and saw @CABS and that Felix and lady head in person. Great to meet you, Chris. Thanks for the directions to The Trappist!

Here are a few. the whole half sleeve is by Mark Stewart. The arrow through the chest is by Tim Gillman. Don't have a lot of pics available of my other stuff.

March 10th I will be headed to Saved Tattoo for my consultation with Virginia Elwood. March 14th I will go back and get my chest piece started. I am getting both of my grandfathers' Navy portraits on either side of my upper chest/shoulder area, a battleship in the middle with two flying fish under my pecs. Maybe a rose in the middle of my sternum, and rope with knots "framing" the rest of the area on top. Basically letting her run with colors and design. I'm hoping she can do all the line work and a good first pass on the portraits in my first sitting. I don't know about her speed so we shall see. I have been planning on this for at least 20 years, that I can recall, so I am nervous and excited with anticipation. I trust she will kill it.

Hello, I have been a lurker of this website for some time now and decided to join as a member. I have approximately 40 hours of tattoo work on myself. Notable artists I've had work from are Mark Stewart, Tim Gillman, and Paul Sorcigli. I am scheduled to get my chest piece started on March 14th, from Virginia Elwood. I love bright and bold traditional tattoos and reading about the history of tattooing.

Had my first session with Rob yesterday. Probably the nicest tattooer I have met. Everyone at the shop was a blast, and even as beat up as I felt for a relatively short (4.5 hours) session, I can't wait to go back. We started off with the general wolf that I had wanted for years. Then after looking at some of the awesome norse pieces he had done recently we started spit balling ideas with Fenrir and a skull from one of the deer eating from Yggdrasil. There is a sizeable cover up at the top, and we start down towards the back of legs in the next session probably :)

I think an overall tattoo journal would be damn cool... even for little fillers! "I went in and got a walk in filler today because I had this going on. I got it from this person at this shop. they were playing this music and we talked about this." some of this information could be life changing and we don't even realize it... it just makes its way directly to our subconscious and starts to float throughout us. exactly! I would lean toward mine being just for myself and perhaps a select few others, but I definitely enjoy reading those who choose to share. I just went thru your blog and I'm looking forward to following. the "days away" column in the spreadsheet is awesome. the budgeting column is scary and I don't want to think about! I vote that you keep writing more than "see picture" because I think the related thoughts and memories are key to you reading and reliving later.

This is Mike Crash's blog from his munewari with Horizakura: Munewari Minutes I think his backpiece was documented here: Meta-Ken

I must have read the body suit to fit blog a dozen times counting down to my outline day. I am super psyched for you @BrianH. I feel like you've been talking about this for ages. I can't speak for everyone, but after he lays the stencil on you and hits you with the sharpies you get this crazy sense of the scope of the project and how truly awesome it is. When I know I'm headed in for a brutal session I run through the posts of all the people on here that are complete/near complete and I get inspired all over again.

Final days of waiting and I need some tattoo related stuff to read while i'm at work (pretending to work) any recommendations on blogs? I've already re-read the Body Suit to Fit blog.

Come guys, this thread is from exactly a year ago. Ake11 was a necromancer in his past life.

Finally get to post in this thread!! Screen capped right off Instagram. Karl Lark/Bert Grimm? lady head flip by Jason Phillips at FTW in Oakland, CA. Ribs are brutal. But I'm stoked on the end result. Felix by Adrian Sanchez at FTW in Oakland, CA for their 14 Year Anniversary Party. I've always wanted a Felix tattoo. It fit perfectly in the spot.

yeah... I definitely caught that and can guestimate Mike's actual range. budgeting is smart as shit.

Although, with the way forum notifications work, the OP might get an email and he can come back and enlighten us on his decision. @SlowMoe

Evolution of a Backpiece Koi Tattoo on Keith Alexander - - - Updated - - - I decided to document my experience in a blog: The Back Piece: An Uncomfortable Journey Can't guarantee that I'll stick to it because sometimes my low motivation for writing will result in a lot of "here is a picture. look at it!"

I can't recall the name of the blog off hand but a woman who had her back done by Stephanie Tamez kept a blog of it. Should be easy enough to find on google. There was another one I found a while ago from a guy who got, I think, a big koi from O'Donnell and ended up being killed a few years later in a bike wreck.

If you're ever in Oakland, I got you. I'm just trying my best to get on that Chad Koeplinger/Matty Matheson/Chris Grosso level of eating good.

hello all, I am sorta new to this site, I thought I'd done this before but either way I am here now. my name is Scott Althen, I'm from Savannah, GA where I am also currently located working at Black Orchid Tattoo. I've been tattooing for the last 10 years here in Savannah , and a couple years bouncing around the Tri-State area at, just to name a few, True Blue in Queens, Jersey City Tattoo, and Mercury Tattoo. I do hope I can add something to the conversations on this site and meet some new peoples.

I always wanna visit @CABS just for the food he's posting on 'gram.

Starting my back with Alex Binnie in May (snake and maple leaves, possibly with japanese calligraphy). My experience so far is speaking to him briefly about what I'd like (just before getting tattooed by Duncan), then going back a month later so he could draw a rough idea on my back, etc.

Thanks a million, everyone. You've been beyond helpful and may have saved me from a lifetime of regret. You have my most heartfelt gratitude :D

...but that's what I doooooooo! It's easier to kick it around here with tattooed people. It isn't like, a serious stress in my real life, but it is fun to talk about on the internet. Look how many pretty lady arms we got out of it :D

Ahh, gotcha! So then maybe what we are really talking about is placement and design. Placement is where/how the design settles into the flow of the body. To me it is one of the more subtle hallmarks of REALLY good tattoo design. I don't know how to explain seeing good placement in a forum post but I CAN stress to you how very important it is. Maybe what your eye is registering as "masculine" is clunky tattoo design and placement? And wanting something "feminine" has something to do with more harmonious body/tattoo flow? Idk...shot in the dark...

drove down to portland to get this. underrated tattooer.

hey friends! Short little session on Saturday with Scott at Sugar shack, I was feeling quite sick so we only did a bit, background down the left side and gave the tiger some stripes. Really wished I could have gone longer. Since finishing I havent been able eat much without puking. Its been a shitty couple days. Really hope to have a good long session next time, hopefully finish background down the ass and thighs.

Got some more work done on my Bakeneko by Josh Damnit at Classic Tattoo Upland, CA

I wonder about this myself, and it's been more present as a question since I've been working on my back. There's something about getting such a huge area of my body tattooed in a relatively short period of time that makes running out of space seem like a very real possibility. I still have a lot of space left, and I've found that I find more and more gaps on the spaces I previously thought were filled, but I need to be thoughtful about what I do get and not just get tattooed for the sake of getting tattooed. That said, I'm finding that more and more for me that getting tattooed is only partially about the tattoos. I want to get stuff that looks great, that's going to age well, that has that intangible quality that gets me super excited, but it's also about a larger experience. I think when you say, @CABS, that you're sure that your taste in tattoos will change, I completely agree, but not just in terms of aesthetics. My tastes have changed somewhat since I started getting tattooed, and part of that is understanding that I can appreciate some tattoos and kinds of tattoos without necessarily wanting it on me, but I also want different things out of tattoos now than I did when I started. I feel really fortunate about how much getting tattooed has enriched my life: not only do I have some really beautiful tattoos, but I've also met some really great people, made friends, traveled, heard stories, learned about art, and so many other things, and that experience is as much a part of it as the physical tattoo is. A large part of that comes through getting tattooed pretty regularly and filling up those empty spaces. I don't think there is any single right or wrong way to get tattooed, and everybody wants something different from tattoos.

My tattoo artist sent me a progress of the drawing for my tattoo on feb 1st. He's going to add a deaths head moth in there somewhere, and some background filler between my other tattoos, going to be Full color. The plan is to do it in one sitting..

The real trick is to just get tattooed a lot. You'll figure out eventually what works for you.

I'm sorry. Did someone ask a question? I was in @OutOfIdeas happy place ;) But seriously...meditation will only get you so far if: 1) You have a heavy handed/inexperienced artist 2) You do not have a lifestyle/physiology conducive to happyfying neuroendocrine response under the physical duress of getting tattooed 3) You are one of those few people who inexplicably experiences A LOT of discomfort getting tattooed even though you are NOT a crybaby wussy pants (meaning most of the people crying vociferously about getting tattooed are usually also a crybaby wussy pants in every other area of their lives.) I have a good friend. He is very together, tough, cool, healthy, laid back and fun but no matter where the tattoo is or who is doing it, it is very painful. He is NOT a crybaby wussy pants. And in reference to 2...everyone is different. I found tattoos to be more unpleasant after I have been sick and get more unpleasant as my blood sugar drops (longer sessions). Hubbs avoids caffeine before and during. @xcom You could try exploring new habits the two weeks leading up to and day of a tattoo and see if it helps with your tattoo experience.

So black @bongsau Those parts where they just keep getting hit and hit and hit. You think to yourself "He has to almost be done with that little spot, right?"

I have a. Appointment on feb 1st. To get a traditional gypsy head, rose and skull on my back from Karl Williams from Dubuque Tattoo club! Getting excited to get another one, been almost a year since my last one!

My strategy is to play dead, like I'm being mauled by a tiny bear. So far it's working.

Wow, that snake and roses is so cool. Here's a little one I got yesterday from Kurt Melancon at a fun Sailor Jerry birthday event at Leviticus in Minneapolis. Obviously not on the same scope as some of these but it's a quality tattoo and fun to share.

Thumbs up on the Phoenix! Awesome imagery for what you're trying to convey. Yeah, and bigger. You want to see the detail on those features and flames. If you don't mind me saying, it seems like you are mixing emotional elements here. You want the Phoenix to symbolize all you've been through - rising from the ashes/accident, but you've mentioned commemorating an anniversary. Granted, it sounds like your guy is pretty awesome to have been there with you, but in my very insignificant opinion, the Phoenix is for you. Period. Regardless who was there to help you, you did this huge thing. I would not wrap anyone else up in that concept - keep the Phoenix for you. Now, if you want to commemorate the relationship and show your husband how important he is to you, maybe create another tattoo that incorporates something positive about what the two of you share, that is not related to pain and the accident. Perhaps something forward-looking to represent the new relationship that you share. Maybe you both get the same tattoo, etc. Congratulations on all you have accomplished!

Welcome Alessandra! I really like the idea of a phoenix tattoo as it has potent symbolism and is a strong, beautiful image. That said, three to six inches tall is too small to do much justice to the idea: when I think of the phoenix tattoos I've seen that I've really loved, what makes them really work is both the way that the shape of the phoenix, especially the tail feathers, flows with the body; I also love the different contrasting patterns in the body, wings, tail, and head. You need space to make that work. I'd also advise against incorporating initials into the tattoo, for the simple reason that I've never seen a tattoo improved by adding initials or anything like that. Tattoos are by themselves meaningful without needing to shoehorn in any additional meaning. Another new poster here is planning on getting tattooed at Carter's Tattoo Company in Bowling Green, KY and it looks like they do really nice tattoos there.

Haha! Good one. Mine does end rather abruptly, doesn't it? ;) (BTW - the broken tilted mast in the middle is the mast of a Japanese cargo ship (Nippo Maru) from WWII that was used in the war as a water carrier. Before the war it had apparently been used to transport bananas! Plunder would have been much more fun if it had been sake.) Although there was pretty cool artillery, a tank on the top deck and torpedoes in the holds. Yeah, it will be cool just having done the contest regardless. We can have our own contest with the following categories: Philly Tattoo Convention, Contest: Back piece, Division: LST, Class: Male. And the Winner is - @Cork! Philly Tattoo Convention, Contest: Back piece, Division: LST, Class: Female. And the Winner is - @SeeSea! Of course, unless some of our cohorts around here decide to join us. Then we'll have to create sub-classes such as Japanese, B&G, etc. Because you know, now in America, everyone has to get a trophy. - - - Updated - - - Here is the mast reference for my back, and stuff on the deck. Pretty weird to swim over that and into the holds to see torpedoes jumbled about. They told us, don't bang your gear around - everything is still live.

done by Chris O'Donnell at his private studio happy new year to all

Welllllllll....if it makes you happy get another one, right?! Went and saw Paul Dobleman at Spider Murphy's last week...please excuse the inflammation Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far!

I wish people would stop posting crappy tattoos on this forum.