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Sorry it's been a while since I've been here. Looking at other people's tattoos makes me want more, and my wallet can't afford it. I recently changed jobs, and to celebrate I got this. This was done by the same tattooer that did my other pieces (Papa Joe in Boise, ID). My back is nearly complete. This is a pic of the fresh tattoo.

classic dietzel snake head by Todd Tattoer (at Merci-Bonsoir in Lyon - France) You can't see the tongue, but there's one! :)

When my feet were fresh....

First session on this ROA tattoo done by Grez at King's Ave in NYC, still red and swollen. More pics next month after it's finished.

7th of next month I take the wife to an antique tractor and engine show plus strawberry festival (same place), then I go to Vivid Tattoo and Sarah will do the final touch-up on all that she has done on my left arm. Then I'm finished. Really. No, I mean it, no more ink! Nada. Don't you believe me?

If it's a one shot tattoo, I figure the cost is the cost--might be loosely related to an hourly rate, but it might not. I think of hourly rates as being applicable more to multi-session tattoos. If you love the tattoo but didn't love the experience, you still came out ahead.

There you go, fixed your post for you. Got pictures of the new tattoo? We'd love to see them.

Just finished Jack and i couldn't be happier with it! So excited! Done by Zaed from Radical Ink in Bucharest.

Gunner likes donuts. We have a local donut shop that makes doggie donuts which are a basic cake donut drizzled with peanut butter and topped with a Milk Bone.

Well done, @Dan Sometimes, I bring chocolates (wrapped, of course) for the crew. You are right about it making a difference. Enjoy your vacation!

we are leaving for Maui for 2 weeks on Monday May 2nd, we fly Alaska Air on a 737-800 which has a crew of 4 plus the 2 pilots,Alaska has great onboard service IMO btw, the crew is always so good, we always fly first class and they treat us like royalty there. we always like to tip them and acknowledge their hard work somehow,this trip we got the crew all Subway gift cards and the pilots Starbucks cards,enough for the return flight too. they always are so surprised and appreciative of these thank you things we love to do.that's the real payoff for us,we have a lot of fun doing this. everybody seems to forget this part of the service industry.so we try and do this little stuff that means a lot to them.

I was at a college party one night, hanging out with friends. Suddenly some dude walked up to me and said "you look stupid" and walked off. Later that night the same guy started telling me about how tattoos now a days are looked at the same as being black in the 1920's, After that, I told him to get lost and walked away. He then proceeded to tell me (almost yelling BTW) that "my parents didn't raise me like that, blah, blah, blah." at this point I was ready to leave. The last thing I said to the guy before leaving was that "my parents taught me to treat everyone with respect, I guess we were raised different." Plainskins Say The Darndest Things.....

I got this on Saturday by JF Bourbon (Bait and Schlang in Montreal) at the Vancouver convention. Sorry for the shitty photo..

Had my next appointment with Dan at the Pearl. More outlining - this time elbow and ditch. Honestly once he hit the elbow I think my nerves went on vacation and the rest of the sitting felt like licking kittens! Dragon section was drawn on with no stencils. Next session scales and shading.

UPDATE: Well, today was the day! What a long, but great day! It began a little before 11:00am. I was the first one in the shop with Scott (most of the day, there were 10-15 people there, and at one point six artists were tattooing simultaneously). He had been working on a few designs based on the sleeve length I wanted. Over the week between today and our consultation, I had decided to ask him to put the dragon's head somewhere on my arm instead of with the head in the more traditional chest area. I was a little worried to be asking for this, as Scott has a relatively new sleeve with the head in the center, and the last thing I wanted was for him to think I was trying to copy his own tattoo. Luckily, when I got there, he informed me that the last several dragons he had done had the head on the chest, and he was dying to do something new. Perfect! His sketches had just what I wanted. It was a really good sign. However, getting it right took some time. Using thin paint brushes, he created the design over four separate layers. The dragon's head had to be moved several times, and the unique swirl of the dragon we decided on what difficult to get right without looking like the head was plopped onto the center of the body... but Scott is a perfectionist, and after a lot of erasing and revising, and then relining, and revising, etc... we were finally done with a design ready to be inked at 2:40. With only a few short breaks, it took a lot longer than I expected. But the result is something that works specifically with my body as opposed to just slapping a template onto my arm. I love it. Here is a quick snap of Scott somewhere between layer 2 and 3 of sketching on me: I haven't had a tattoo in nearly 20 years, so I had no idea what to expect from the pain, especially over so many areas. Tattooing in the ditch was no treat, but not as bad as I had come to expect from reading. The outside of the elbow lived up to expectations. But the worst was around my collarbone, where any wincing or tightening of my face would risk pulling the skin under his needle. And there was one spot on my chest where I could clearly feel the vibration on my pec, but the pain was in my neck. I could have sworn at the time he was tattooing my upper-middle neck. Long story short (yeah, right), we finished up the linework a little after 5:00pm. I am absolutely thrilled with the result... and was getting tons of compliments on it by the many artists and clients in the shop throughout the day. Here is a front shot: It is a little difficult to see from this angle and with only linework, but the dragon's body actually goes out the back of the head and swirls up and around the shoulders through the clouds and comes out belly showing under his head before turning again towards the end of the sleeve. It makes a little more sense visually if you can see the back. I also have the dragon clutching a pearl with his talons on the back on the sleeve and will actually be filling the pearl with a significant flower logo in the next session. Overall, a fantastic day. I couldn't be happier that Scott got all the elements I wanted into the design, was able to keep it very traditional, but also with a great deal of uniqueness built just for me. If any readers are in Austin, Triple Crown Tattoo on Chicon Street (right around the corner from Franklin's BBQ!) is a must-visit.

"What's one more?" is something Mrs. T says when it comes to taking care of another kid or rescue animal, so we'll test that out with our new adoption, "Finn". He was rescued 10 weeks ago from being euthanized by a new group called Houston Pets Alive. Most dogs get adopted pretty quick, but not this one. He's not exactly the most handsome little guy, but he is super sweet and we knew no one else was likely to give him a forever home. We think he looks pretty cool. He has warmed up and loves his new dog and people family. It is obvious to us that he was abused in the past, but we will be patient in returning him to a more secure and happy dog. Mowhawk? Check 1920's raccoon coat for the full Wayne Coyne effect? Check Finn was warmly welcomed to the pack by Andy (right).

This is sort of how I look at it. Additionally, like @bongsau said, if you go back and repeat, you may get a "rounded down" rate. Of course, you may not and that's something you have to be prepared for. If you're happy with the tattoo and enjoy it, then I wouldn't lose sleep over it. It may seem like a lot now, but $200 is nothing compared to loving a tattoo forever.

Thanks for the heads up guys - there was a link to an image that was hosted on tattoodonkey.com in that thread which apparently is flagged for virus activity - I have removed that image link. Let me know if that hasn't solved the problem.

So nice to have Tapatalk function's on my favorite tattoo board! Thanks for the hard work!

who knows brutha - dont be such a slacker next time :)

a SJ ALOHA monkey is on my list of classics i need on me - - - Updated - - - a SJ ALOHA monkey is on my list of classics i need on me

Just got published for the second time. This time a 70 page chapter on Fluid Power in this http://www.amazon.com/Machinerys-Handbook-30th-Large-Print/dp/083113092X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461191643&sr=1-2&keywords=machinery%27s+handbook

i love this thread! this is our boy ninja, 7 year old purebred Siamese. he has heart disease and chronic heart failure but he is stable and doing really well! he's a beauty :)

some black and grey biomech type stuff is what i have in mind for my armpits. but they wont be for a long time if ever.

What about hipster girls that have one word or a tiny circle tattooed on them? That would be some creative torture.

My punk rock pin-up and geisha girl can torture me any day; I'd avoid the cobra & dagger and Edgar Allan Poe, though (who knows what horrors Poe could come up with?!)

^I don't see anythig wrong with this. It seems like now that you've had a conversation about it, there's more understanding. He doesn't need to like your tattoos, only accept them. My fiance has quirks that I strongly dislike (like taking off his socks with his shoes and leaving dirty socks all over the living room, yeah...) but at the end of the day his strengths outweigh his faults. You should always value the things you love about the person (In your case it seems like your BF is very caring) and not worry about the imperfections, because surprise! Every one has them, and NO ONE is perfect or perfect for you, but that doesn't mean you can't create a life together. My fiance has no tattoos and no plans to get any, and he isn't crazy excited about mine, but he ACCEPTS them and me, which is all that matters at the end of the day. When we met I had one hidden rib tattoo and 5 years later I have a bunch, but it hasn't changed anything. Once getting tattooed affects your relationship, then it's a warning sign, but I sense there are other things going on and you getting tattooed is just a catalyst.

^ I feel like my last post came out wrong. We have a kind of sarcastic way of communicating a lot of the time, the "dumb shit" remark was said laughingly. By "dumb shit" he means whatever "unladylike" things I want, and that was clarified at the time. He really is incredibly nice, to a fault almost. With everything else, he's a pushover, this is one of the only things he feels strongly about. I only mention our limits matching up to show that maybe we were actually on the same page all along, and just not understanding each other because we assumed something different about each other (alas, communication). Once he heard from me that there were things I would never do and get, I think that put him much more at ease. I would love to get to the point where we're both excited about things I want to get (and maybe even both getting tattooed, haha), and maybe that will never happen, but I think he will at the very least be tolerant of it. He came to my last appointment right after he got off work and was there to support me, but as soon as I mentioned getting another I got the whole "You already have 2, do you need more?" lecture, and have been getting it ever since from him. Him actually participating in my brainstorming (and not just moping and trying to convince me not to do it) was a big step for him. And so far, it does seem like once I actually get something, he's fine with it...it's the planning stage that seems to get to him the most. We're having a tough time right now in general because of a lot of changes in both of our lives, and I think the tattoo disagreements have just pushed everything over the edge and got us both kind of riled up. He did very clearly say during our talk that it's my body and I can do what I want, and he won't love me any less.

Dumb shit? If Mr. Muscles called my tattoos "dumb shit," or "almost did," he'd be on the next thing smoking out of my life. Do you see where he's twisting his opinions into yours? It doesn't matter if they match up. He doesn't get to push you around. He's not going to change, and if he doesn't have the communication skills to talk to you or the trust to assume you wouldn't make major body changes without talking to him, he's not a nice person. You deserve someone who accepts what you want to do with your body in the future. It shouldn't be a "hoping and praying he'll still accept me" deal. You're better than that. When he can say, "It's your body, and I love you and respect your decisions no matter what," then you'll know he's the right man. Until then, you need to reconsider. Sounds like he's toying with your feelings and wants to control you. If you were selfishly tattooing without considering his feelings and discussion, then I'd be jumping on you. He sounds immature and mean-spirited.

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry this thread kinda got derailed into an episode of Dr. Phil, haha. We had a talk about it and I think we've been able to reach a compromise based on his standards of beauty (he almost literally said, "put as much dumb shit as you want on your limbs, but just be a little more careful about what goes on your torso," which was kind of my line of thinking anyway). His "off limits" areas corresponded with my own "off limits" areas, proving yet again that communication is key. He was afraid I would start getting my face tattooed or something crazy, I think it had somehow never occurred to him that I had self control. I think with some more exposure to the whole culture of it, he will probably grow more tolerant of it. I've managed to get him into Ink Master, that's a small step in the right direction. :p I've caught him admiring my newest one on a couple occasions, and I had my first one before I met him and he doesn't even seem to notice it. I think he accepts them both as just part of me now, and will probably adapt to any newer pieces in the same way...if not, I'll deal with that when it happens. I was actually able to bounce ideas off him last night for a future piece without him acting like I said I was getting a body part amputated, that was nice. And I mentioned wanting to get a traditional style bearded lady at some point, and he started out appalled but then actually dared me to find someone to make her pretty, haha.

As far as support and the things Synesthesia is talking about...if he's not really in your corner, then you might want to think Why. Does he feel he's more important? His wants/needs/feelings/ideas/opinions are superior or more important than yours? I know there are times when SO's don't agree w/everything, JD and I don't, but it's BIG stuff that hurts a relationship, if there isn't agreement, or compromise of some sort. Body modification, in my eyes, is right up there with politics and religion, in the emotions it can bring to the surface. Some people, for whatever reason, just have such strong reactions/objections to the idea of tattoos. To me, it's like if I was a huge PETA fanatic, and JD a hunter. You can have someone who doesn't care for tattoos be w/someone who does and has several, if the non-caring partner doesn't have such a guttural reaction to them. I'm not trying to be like dumb him, he doesn't like tattoos, he's the devil. Just, to think about things, talk w/him.

I have a family wedding coming up later in the month, it will be a tattoo show as well. All of my nieces & nephews, a couple of my cousins, brothers are inked. So sleeves and pants will be rolled up, shirts opened at some point. There will also be a tattoo artist there. It should be interesting. My cousin, she's 60, just had a lot of recent work done. We had compared ink at my step mother's wake a couple of years back. Rob

This would not work with my kindergarten daughter who knows all about our tattoos. In fact she loves to go to the shop we like because every time we go in she gets to feed the koi fish and they give her a press on tattoo. We have had multiple conversations about how our tattoos are with needles under our skin, hurt, and are forever. She said she wants to wait until she is 50 but I guess we will see.

You are really young...you have plenty of time to date different people and find the right guy, you don't have to tie yourself down with someone who doesn't share your interests. It's not easy to break off a relationship at any age, even when you know it isn't right, you still have the things you liked about the person to begin with. But I agree, if there's something that you are really interested in like this, and he hates it, it's going to be a problem down the road. If you stop getting them for him, you will have resentment. If you keep getting them and he keeps badgering you to stop, you will both have resentment. Life is hard enough without getting a bunch of flack from the person who is supposed to love you.

Delayed response...I think its slightly different because this is a permanent alteration. It's more like if I had a limb amputated and he had to adapt to that. I think he'll be able to accept it to some degree and we'll see how he feels about any future work when I get to that point; he's either going to learn to like it, or end up hating it and that's his issue. I'm working hard on overcoming how other people will judge me for tattoos I might want, and I have to admit, he's making things more difficult when he should be making them easier for me. I don't want to derail this thread any more than I already have and turn it into a big sob story, but I am having some doubts about us lately for reasons along those lines. I used to feel like he was supportive of me, but lately it seems like we just can't understand each other. I'm finally able to pursue my interests in tattoos, and I feel like he's not really in my corner.

While my last was only two days old, a lady manager who was curious and the 'touchy feely' type abruptly grabbed my arm and twisted to get a better look. She complimented me by I still asked her had she lost her mind. Personally I'd rather deal with the stereotypical plain skin questions but putting hands on me and basically trying to force my hand in displaying my tattoo crossed the line IMO. A close friend still works there in her department said she was taken aback at my response. Seriously..

The only thing that really irks me is when people ask any iteration of the tired question, "won't you regret that when you are older?" implying that they know how I am going to feel 40-50 years from now, if I even manage to live that long. I got my first tattoo the day I turned 18 and I still like it. After a lot of thought about designs, and finally having enough disposable income to get more, it was nine years before I got my second tattoo. Plenty of time to evaluate whether I wanted more or not. Since smart phones have made replying with a photo easier, I keep this handy to answer any form of the question I mentioned.

You might cringe at what I'm about to say, but I found that after getting tattooed, I've become less inhibited. If people ask, I have no problems dropping trow to show them the work I have. Of course it wouldn't be in the middle of the aisle at the local Walmart or Best Buy. But if its at the tattoo shop, at my home or someone else's home, full monty is no problem, hahaha

True that part, but I especially hate it when people actually try to pull up my shirt to see my back or pull it up to show someone else my tattoos. Sometimes, I'm not even part of the group conversation when someone's tried to lift up my shirt. Then they get pissed off at me when I whirl around glaring. WTF!

I don't think the main intention there was to show you his tattoos...

I can't say a word at work either. I'm towards the tail end of my career anyway and I've been very much under the tattoo radar. I avoid company off-work social functions in the warmer months like the plague. The best closet-tattoo-freak ever was this strict and stern teacher we had in grade school. He came in wearing a 3-piece suit and ran his class room like a concentration camp. On lunch duty, there was no talking by anyone. I later learn many years later that this guy was very heavily inked from his years in the Navy and drank like the proverbial fish every night. Rob

Bless my mum though the things she says are golden, every te I return home with a new tattoo even a tiny one like the Fly I got last week... "Oh no another one, when're you guna stop?" Perhaps I'll stop when I stop working in a tattoo shop <3 Mumas rule

The only time it really bothers me when people talk shit about tattoos/people's tattoos is the situations when I can't say anything back. This really only happens around coworkers. My favorite being "that poor shmuck will never have a job as good as ours with all that shit drawn on him". I thought to myself, if only they knew... The "never get a job" comments seemed to be the ones that bother me the most, whether directed at me or not. My career is practically my life and to say such things is such a stupid comment that is very ill-informed. This being backed up by the fact that one of the most successful people I know regularly gets tattooed at the same shop as me. I think this misconception will continue as use "closet tattooed folk" never really show any tattoos around coworkers/bosses so the myth will continue.

My mother, who believes I only have one tattoo from undergrad, was openly rude to a young girl at a book store, asked her how she intended to get a real job, this store would be gone in five years, etc. I said nothing at the moment, but when we got in the car, I went in, apologized, told her my career and showed her my tattoos under the guise of getting something from the bookstore bakery. I hadn't eaten in 24+ hours which is common with my shift/food choices. When I went to the next store,l with her, some girl had a sparrow on her arm. And Mom just has to look at her and say, "Jesus Christ! Isn't that cute?" At this point, I lose my temper and say, "You were Queen Mormon until one of your kids comes out as gay. You said yourself.times are changing. Maybe you need to change on this, too." Then I had to hear how I act like a ten year old. Yeah. I'm the one pointing and going, "Ewww, gross!" and I'm immature. Okay.

"Why have you got roses tattooed on you, isn't that a bit gay?" One of my most recent favourites.

A coworker once asked me: "aren't you afraid of what will happen in hell?" I asked for some clarification on this and he said " I was taught that what you have tattooed on you will be what you're tortured by in hell". At the time I had only an anchor and a flaming lantern, which I guess you could come up with some pretty inventive torture ideas with. I know some Christians are quite against tattoos, but that's some superstitious craziness right there (and I'm a christian!).

Can't make this shit up. Two recent conversations from the bar. Number One! Me: What're you up to tonight? Girl: Well I supposed to get tattooed but my tattoo artists rejected me! Me: What?! What happened? Girl: (Pulls out a piece of paper with a crazy long math/physics equation and begins to unfold to show me.) Well, I was supposed to get this on my finger, but-- Me: (Bursts out laughing) Yeah, that ain't going on your finger... Girl: He laughed at me, too! Me: Yeah. Sorry to laugh, it's just so long you won't be able to get it that small and still see what it is. What about on your arm, or wrapping around your wrist? Girl: Yeah, that's what he suggested, too. Especially because it's my only tattoo or whatever. But I'm a programmer and I want to look at it while I'm working at the keyboard. He also suggested that I shouldn't get it in white. Me: White.. ink? Girl: Yeah. Because it's for me. And I don't want anyone else to just be able to see it like that. Me: Sounds like maybe you should think about it some more.. After that initial talk we had a pretty cool conversation about the equation and the dual reality somethingorother it pertains to. She was a super smart person in that realm for sure. I left her with the suggestion of getting a cat in a box as a much cooler design (part of this theory about a cat being in a box with the lid closed and there being two realities..) but she was pretty set on the equation. Number Two! The set up here.. it was late, this chick was at the bar for a while so obviously a little drunk. Girl: Hey, you get your tattoos here? Me: Yeah, mostly, at this point kind of all over. Girl: Where should I go? Me: Hard to go wrong in this neighborhood, Three kings, Eight of Swords, Adorned, Saved... Girl: Are they open? Me: When...? Girl: Now. Me: It's almost two in the morning -- no shops are open right now. Girl: Really? None?? Me: You could go into the city and check out West 4th St. but I really encourage you to not do that. Girl: So.. there are no tattoo shops open in Brooklyn right now is what you're telling me. Me: That's what I'm telling you. Girl: (Takes her drinks that I made her and begins to walk away.) Fuck this borough. And I thought that would be the end of it! She came back and wanted to talk some more. Girl: So, it says XXSHOPXX is right off of XXSTREETXX -- is that close by? Me: It's not far but I'm telling you it's not open. Why don't you just wait? Girl: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. My friend over there is only in town tonight and we won't be in the same city again for like maybe a couple years. Me: Well that might work better, you can both get great tattoos in your respective cities and they'll probably be way better than trying to get it in at like 2 AM. You could get something awesome! Girl: Nope, you don't get what I'm saying. Me: (Past the point of patience and I can't walk away because I'm making them another round of drinks.) It sounds like you probably shouldn't get tattooed. It sounds like a bad idea is what I think you're saying. Girl: Well aren't they all? Me: I'm sorry..? Girl: All of this (pointing to my arms) -- you can't tell me any of this is actually a good idea. Me: Did you really just say that? Girl: Well, I mean, come on.. when you're 90. They're going to look like shit. Me: No, they're going to look awesome and I'm going to be an awesome 90 yr old with tattoos that I didn't get at fucking two in the morning. This is going to be your last round, I'll have the server bring your check over and you can still make it over to West 4th, the cab ride shouldn't be much more than $20! Girl: Whatever. Me: Have a good night! Good luck! Hope I'm not sounding like too much of an asshole.. My bar persona is always ten thousand times nicer than my real life demeanor but this second girl really pushed it. I'll put up with a lot of idiots and I know how to handle plenty of bullshit but when you outright insult me in my own bar..? You're done. I hope she went and got tattooed.. everyone gets the tattoo they deserve!

"So you must watch Ink Master/ Miami Ink/ or other tattoo TV show, right?!" "You have tattoos by more than one artist?! How does that make the artists feel? Are they angry?"

I am having a Japanese style dragon done on my shoulder onto my chest. I'm having it done by Kore Flatmo. my first appointment is on Oct. 26. This is my first tattoo, and I can't wait.

Hey Folks, Thanks for this thread. Instead of it being a big ole bitchfest, it really has given me a good outlook, stuff to remember when I feel like I have to write a six paragraph bible verse the size of a postage stamp. I tattoo whatever walks through the door, and sometimes it is taxing to my soul, but what is more taxing is the thought of not tattooing.