Kimmie

Day 11 and I appear to be in the home stretch but the itchiness has been unreal. I literally prefer the feeling of being tattooed.

@SeeSea, my forms have always included spelling. Whenever I've done important testing, identifiers (names, ID number, etc) have always had to be bubbled in. I wonder if consciously putting every letter, number, punctuation, space, etc. like that would help. The client and artist could even both do it and compare notes, then discuss if there's discrepancies.

I look forward to seeing the final product! Do you know what color scheme you might end up with?

I agree with both! Also, I feel as though a smoke trail behind the birds would make it less readable. Regardless, congrats on your first tattoo and welcome to the forum!

If I may add, Thou shalt not ask a question if thou only want confirmation of thy opinion.

@SeeSea you seem to have such a cool, active life.

Day four now and the blasted itching and peeling has begun. I'm afraid to mess it up when applying ointments an and every once in a while I find a stray hair or fiber and getting it off stresses me out.

What explanation, if any, did you decide on for the web and teardrop?

And it doesn't matter, because you're not wearing it forever. But if you were, like you said, you'd check it 100 times and be damn sure.

You don't get bored just zoning out?

At the risk of sounding like the grammar police, you're*

Nowadays, I think a lot of clients have shifted from wanting a tattoo right on the spot to wanting something custom, so shop styles are shifting with them. I would like to think there's an understanding with those shows that clients aren't everyday walk ins off the street. They're coming in for an appointment that combines the consult and tattooing because their concept has already been discussed and prepared for. Reality shows are popular because they're entertaining, not realistic.

I don't see how Brittany/Brittney is another discussion. There's no room for artistic interpretation with any script. A SPECIFIC name/word/saying is important to the client so they should be able to write down exactly what they want. You also only listed English words. If artists aren't expected to be translators, why should they be dictionaries and grammar textbooks? It'd be ideal for artists to spot errors, but clients shouldn't make them in the first place.

I was told to take my wrap off 1-2 hours after getting it and immediately begin the wash/ointment regimen. I asked my artist if I should rewrap it the following night because I wanted to go out to celebrate my friends' birthdays and he said just to cover it with clothes. I stayed in to be safe and have let it breathe for the most part. When it's in risk of touching something (like a blanket or pants) I lightly wrap a clean bandanna around it. That way it's protected from any stray fibers or germs without suffocating. It also protects my stuff from bleeding ink and sticky ointments. I'm actually surprised there aren't cloth bandages for that specific purpose and have been wondering if there would be enough of a market if I produced some.

I'm on day two of healing my seven hour thigh piece. Most of it required several passes for saturation, depth and detail but my artist was incredibly gentle. So far I've had little to no swelling or redness but the first wash sucked and blankets have been a pain. I'm anxiously awaiting the itching and scabbing to begin.