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Got this little guy friday. This is my favorite "person" Hurley. Done by Greg Ross.http://

Browsing around the board just now, I was struck by how often folks asking questions about tattoos they want to get or tattoos they have gotten end up getting similar responses, as their issues often correspond to a fairly narrow set that come up again and again. I thought it could be cool to have a thread where we list our generally accepted "tattoo advice" and wisdom in one centralized location. We could point people to it when appropriate. For example: 1. Thou shalt never haggle in a tattoo shop. 2. Thou shalt not try to force a tattooer to tattoo an exact replica of an image you've brought in. If you are going to a skilled tattooer, you will always be better off letting them turn your idea into an actual tattoo design that will work for this medium. 3. Thou shalt consult with your tattooer for questions re: design, sizing, placement, ideas, aftercare instructions and any touch-ups. 4. Thou shalt not stress about how your new tattoo looks until it is fully healed. 5. Thou shalt accept that flaking, scabbing, swelling, itching, and a whole bunch of other uncomfortable stuff is all totally normal when healing a tattoo. Thou shalt only be concerned if it doesn't get better after weeks, or if it smells or looks infected. Next?

As always, listen to your tattooer. But realistically a tattoo heals best with the less irritation and less sh*t that gets put on it. Re-wrapping at all is generally a no-no, especially no to the towel. As far as sleeping on it, the worst that happens is that you get stuck and have to take your sheet the next day into the shower with you. Maybe if you have a tendency to flip onto your back, propping some pillows around you to keep you from turning might work. Tattoos are pretty in-there from the get go so I wouldn't be too concerned.

I much prefer a drier heal - blotting dry with paper towels after a morning shower, making sure nothing dirty touches it and hardly any ointments or oils etc unless it feels overly raw or like it's gonna crack, even then, just a one-off microscopic amount of Bepanthen to take the edge off. The guys at my shop firmly believe the skin needs to breathe as much as possible to heal quickly... a layer of ointment, a layer of oil and a layer of sweaty plastic doesn't exactly sound breathable. Keeping the original wrap on until the next morning seems like a very long time too - I take mine off after a couple of hours or whenever I get home after a victory beer or two! Then again I don't have any large scale work and I'm hardly a tattoo veteran (going in for my 5th hand-ish sized piece on Sat). You should just fully trust your artist and follow his/her aftercare instructions. Maybe if sleep is a big concern you could discuss Saniderm/Tegaderm type products with your artist too.

@littlefox1970 that looks like it was painful as hell... you must've been in quite the meditative state! i'm interested to see how it heals.

Just got the Hannya done yesterday by Myke Chambers! I love it.

I personally don't know a lot about tattooing and tattooists in China. I don't remember much discussion here about it, but if you're not familiar with tattooing yourself I'd encourage you to to use the history on this forum to learn as much as you can about how to spot good work, competent tattooing and talented artistry. From there you'd be able to see what's available in your area and who is doing progressive work.

@littlefox1970 Sorry for the misunderstanding - but my quote of the word professional was for the OP. I don't have any problem with white on black. Often is the best course of action and it can look great, obviously.

Got an appointment with Erik Rieth when he's here in late March at War Horse Tattoo in Berkeley. Thinking something panther-related.

Hummm...I always thought that you should never re-wrap a tattoo? I've also never known anyone to use Dove. I've always used a gentle antibacterial soap like Dial Gold. Me, I stick to unscented lotions like Lubriderm and Aveeno until I'm healed then go for the coconut oil. My biggest concern for you is the re-wrapping part. I'll let others chime in but that doesn't seem like it would allow your tattoo to breathe to heal. My two cents. Good luck!

I'm very sorry for your loss. I think your tattoo looks great, and the size is perfect for your arm. I get the impression you feel it doesn't do your mum justice? Nothing will ever truly compare to her, after all, she was your mum :) but how about seeing your (lovely) tattoo as a starting point? Did your mum have any particular hobbies or interests, or things/people/pets that meant a lot to her? how about maybe incorporating some ideas into a sleeve and build those around your original tattoo. You could also have fun with it too, by adding little things that just you and your family would understand, but if anyone asked you could explain and then talk about the things your mum loved and enjoyed. If you take your time, I'm sure you could find a fantastic artist who could gradually bring it all together for you. I have been down the laser route, it was painful, bloody, sore and expensive, I also have a bit of scaring, and its still not gone :( I too went in head first and spent two weeks crying and obsessing over my first tattoo (mine is a genuine disaster zone , unlike yours!) I then spent the next ten years constantly wearing long sleeved shirts, even in the summer. That was it for me, longsleeves4life!... until last Wednesday when I went to a brilliant artist and he made a start on what will be a full sleeve tribute to my pets! and something will be done with that mess on my arm but I'm not sure what yet ;) It's a long story as to why I got out of my tattoo rut, but the point is, your tattoo is actually good!!! it really is, I think to laser it would be a waste, get planning on some ideas to go with it, enjoy seeing it all come together, have fun with it, research artists and turn it into everything you want it to be.

Photo-realistic Bob Ross portrait the size of a carvery dinner plate on your belly with an inspirational quote. “There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend”

I've come to learn, if you're a perfectionist then tattooing may not be the hobby for you :D

@Cameron Jose Cute frog. Had this done today by Grant Gebbie, owner of Cuba Street Tattoo in Wellington NZ - @ggtattooer on IG. Very stoked. Bought my girlfriend a birthday present too... a Cheeky Thigh-Leopard she fell in love with last time we were at the shop together, rarely seen this side of the Pacific. Done by Joe @jj_doom. Shame you can't see his other paw here 'cause it looks like he's 'holding' her kneecap on both sides, cool placement.

You are grieving dude, be gentle on yourself. You ended up with a solidly made tattoo as a tribute to your Mum. It's not stupid. Sounds like you got a case of the post-tattoo blues and apprehensive about how big it ended up. It fits the forearm. And it's pretty minimal, not really what I'd call a BIG tattoo haha. Wear long-sleeve shirts in public if it causes nuff anxiety. You will be a-ok :)

hey @Youngjason... seems like your mind is made up, so our opinions on the situation aren't really changing much. but all is not lost! there are plenty of threads on LST that can help you out. search around and find some answers. here's a few threads you can start to pull. use the search function. keep pullin the sweater. best of luck!

Mmmhmm, that sounds awesome, Sesa! I'm not familiar with Gaiman, but Burton has a wonderfully eccentric artistic style - love it! I agree, much to be said about taking our time before committing ... Our bodies are prime real estate deserving nothing less than the best ... and there is, at the end of the day, only so much of it. :) Thanks! Well, everyone has their different reasons for getting tattooed ... I am really excited by the idea of having my own drawings in my own style by my own hand impressed on my own body. Gee, I sound like an egomaniac! lol. Generally I like the character styles from Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland, and though I am indeed using those characters they are being rendered by my own hand (no tracing) in my own style. Thick, crisp outlines, bold color contrasting bold black, illustrative with realistic depth, no canvas showing ... I'm just hoping that with no tattoo experience I will be able to pull it off in a way that will make me happy - and be true to my style. I look forward to seeing the ideas you come up with for your next piece. :) Here's a kitty tattoo I found recently that I have fallen in love with...might just be a springboard for my leg ... love super chill bling bling kitty and the steampunk style combination ... and love steampunk airships too. My real estate is going quickly! :)

I think most tattoos get the most attention from their owners. Generally speaking, we are the only ones that unmercifully scour the details ... so if what you notice makes you happy, then I think that's what really matters! :) The stunning blue eyes suggestion actually comes from my own project at present. I'm working on my Alice in Wonderland sleeve right now and am particularly focused on the Cheshire cat (he's next). Still not quite sure how I will approach the color for it, to be honest, since I'm facing the same dilemma as you - a gray blue tabby with prominent eyes. Luckily, exercising the imagination in the planning stages is half the fun ... :) You spoke of a new tattoo ... have you gotten the idea ironed out yet?

Here are pics of the first session. Only went about 3 hours. Got a late start because of icy road. One more session of outline and then on to color and sharing. I'm very happy. Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

Got this tribute to my hometown (this gazebo sits prominently in the town square) from Dave Wah at the Austin Convention this weekend.

Made another Oslo trip last week to start a cover up on my lower stomach. While i was there i picked up a namakubi from Nicholas at Blue Arms. The cover up is ongoing and i don't mind admitting i'm very apprehensive about the next session! This was not a fun tattoo to get although Marius did his best to keep my spirits up and a visit from LST's own Mr @Iwar definitely kept me distracted from the significant pain!

Super glad I found this topic! I just got this piece done last Wednesday. I healed with tegederm for the first 5 days. Just wanted to get everyone's opinions on how it's healing! This is my first color piece so it's a little different for me. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I recently got this cute eagle filler by Ruby Quilter at Sang Bleu. It's a different style to my other tattoos but fits perfectly in the gap.

I thought at first you were showing us the scratch as the filler and was like "that's a nice filler" :D

Some weeds from the roadsides of America, they always make me giddy when I see a big bunch growing in a ditch. I don't think my artist was stoked to do more damn flowers.

Got my first leg tattoo by Victor J Webster @ East River Tattoo in NYC yesterday. It's his interpretation of the Bakunawa, the Philippine mythical dragon which devours the moon and causes lunar eclipses.

This was done last night by Gina at Studio 69 tattoo... on my ribs. Came close to tapping out. The mark on the upper left is a drain from my heart surgery.

Another addition to my tattoo leg quilt ...

got this last friday. By Alix Ge

New addition to my "bird collection". Done by Pavla (Poppy Tattoo) during her guest spot in Prague. The photo is hers. Concerning the watercolor tattoos and their ability to hold, I can now compare the 2 year old tattoo with this new one because they are placed right next to each other. The older one still looks great and vivid. But I have very pale skin, and I almost never sunbathe.

Third session on this demon samurai by Nikko at the Bay Area Tattoo Convention

There is so much in there that is interesting to look at that I can barely take it in. I keep seeing things I didn't see earlier every time I look at it. And getting your nips done makes you a hero in my book.

Finally finished the collab with Shige and Gogue last night. Did the lower burgundy chrysanthemum and my nipple, along with a few small touch ups. https://www.instagram.com/p/BMBcOruDBeN/

My wife and I got "matching" heart tattoos from Aaron Is (during a guest spot at Precisely Veiled Tattoo in Killeen, TX).

Got this one shot done by Chad Koeplinger today! The chest was way more painful than I thought it would be!

@iowagirl GIRL. I am in love your bird and blossoms!!

I posted an update in the Initiation forum, but realized it isn't as widely seen. Here is a condensed version: Session 3 on the dragon sleeve is done. I went in thinking we would color it in and I'd be done or nearly done. Nope! 5.25 hours of green and red. In the ditch. Ouch. April: May: Last week: I'm very happy with it so far, but dying to get the final touches of detail into the dragon. I count 120 cherry blossom pedals all the way around. Given that 2 min each average is four hours, I'm doubting we will even finish next time.

Session two with Horitomo! Almost done with the lining and am looking forward to the shading.

This is so killer! You get the best stuff. Fucking awesome. Carry on!

Got in a short session with Jess Yen on my in progress back piece https://www.instagram.com/p/BIbWbdxjxB3/

Just got my first tebori from Bunshin Horitoshi. Tosi is a great guy! Highly recommended. I went with something classic and simple for my first japanese tattoo

The best thing you can do is what I did - wait until you are old to get your tattoos and that way you'll probably be dead before they begin to fade! That's my plan and I'm sticking too it. I also don't have to wait to see what they look like when I get old. I can just look in the mirror! :)

Thou shalt not receive the holding of hands, especially in regards to queries relating to: how to go about getting tattooed, how to contact a tattooer, how your new tattoo looks, how your imaginary tattoo looks photoshopped on a stock photo of an arm with that tattoo, and thou certainly shalt not receive a single response when thinking, maybe, out loud on the Internet about possibly -- one day -- starting on your imagined quarter-length sleeve (outside of arm only) and inquiring about the pros and cons. Thou shalt be shown the proverbial door and given the holy hand grenade.