knucklehead211

Would you get me a panther? Thanks! ;)

@marley mission holly shit balls! Dude dry heal for a day and now is pealing like crazy!
Thanks!!!!

Yeah, can't recommend anything other than what @marley mission said - let it dry heal. We haven't started color on my sock yet, but the heavy shading definitely stayed flaky/scabby for a while on mine. Just washed twice a day with dove bar soap and after a week I started using the lotion.

Everybody's doing awesome stuff! Congrats to all you guys.
I was just trucking along until a week ago. My job is basically a floater style position, but I heard a spot may open up at one of my favorite sites to work and that they had plans to put me in. It also pays way better than what I make currently, so that's a plus! My girlfriend also found a little guy in need of a new home, so last weekend we went out to meet him - a ten month old english bulldog/pitbull. As soon as he saw us he came wiggling up to give us some of those bulldog specialty kisses, and we knew he was coming home. Was rough with the established home dog until we started picking up toys and treats to avoid fights, but so far things have been better each day! On top of that, another appointment of calf sleeve work on Saturday with Nathan at Exile 2! Hopefully we will finish it out, but no guarantees. We still have about a quarter to shade and then all of the color to do. Fingers crossed!

Everybody's doing awesome stuff! Congrats to all you guys.
I was just trucking along until a week ago. My job is basically a floater style position, but I heard a spot may open up at one of my favorite sites to work and that they had plans to put me in. It also pays way better than what I make currently, so that's a plus! My girlfriend also found a little guy in need of a new home, so last weekend we went out to meet him - a ten month old english bulldog/pitbull. As soon as he saw us he came wiggling up to give us some of those bulldog specialty kisses, and we knew he was coming home. Was rough with the established home dog until we started picking up toys and treats to avoid fights, but so far things have been better each day! On top of that, another appointment of calf sleeve work on Saturday with Nathan at Exile 2! Hopefully we will finish it out, but no guarantees. We still have about a quarter to shade and then all of the color to do. Fingers crossed!

Absolutely love traditional. My snake and family crest tattoos are both reminiscent of traditional style, and looking at my tattooer's arms just evokes an immense amount of nostalgia...he looks like a walking road trip, pin up girls, neon signs, panthers, stars and dots filler, etc. It looks like classic Americana ripped right from a fifties ad. When I'm ready to do my forearms, I think I'll do traditional pieces, just so I can have a lot of little one shots to tie together.

Man, where do you get your ideas?! My favorite has to be the triceratops "whatever one.

last jar folks!
by jamie sawyer @ immortal ink in clinton nj

this isn't all those other trades. each industry self regulates as it sees fit.
@xcom if you're still here...the "sin" is in doing it. Asking is how you get to know something, nothing wrong with that... and your English doesn't have to be perfect for your questions and contributions to be worth something here.

If by that you mean you're done with this forum, I hope you'll reconsider. I think you make a positive contribution and I think the forum would be a poorer place without you. As far as your English is concerned, it had never occurred to me that you were anything other than a native speaker and I am one, and a grammar nazi/language snob to boot.
As far as owning tattoo machines is concerned, I see no difference between that and owning any of the other tools you list. If anyone says otherwise, then that's their opinion and they're entitled to it but that doesn't make them right.
As far as how to go about that, I would never expect an artist to give you one and I'd be very dubious of an artist that would agree to sell you one. I would certainly advise against ever asking for one or asking to buy one; I think that would permanently sour your relationship with the artist. Of course you could buy one off the internet but I doubt that would mean anything to you. I don't really see a way forward but keep your eyes open and you may one day get lucky.
Whatever happens, I do hope you'll stick around.

The only recommendations I will ever make for Canada:
1. Try the fries and gravy. It's really good.
2. Go to the biggest lake you can find and try to catch a Northern Pike. Those are some of the most fun fish to reel in. Last time I went I brought in a 42 incher so tough I thought I'd snagged a sunk tree and couldn't even hold him properly for a good picture.

While I think it would be cool if one was given - say, to a lifelong client who had just had a piece done that both parties found phenomenal, broke the mold, or time to retire the machine type good - as a commemoration, I would never ask for one, and would refuse profusely if offered. I mean, it's literally their tools of the trade.

I'll also point out that legs, at least for me, heal slower than my arms becuase they have worse circulation. It took about three weeks for mine to go through the peel-flake cycle, compared to a few days to a week for my arm. I extended my aftercare expectations, let it dry heal with twice daily washings for most of the first week, very light a&d at the end of that week, and lotion around the middle of the second week on. Just what's worked for me personally.

There's also the fact that panthers are classic American traditional, whereas the feather birds are a newer trend. Doesn't make it all right, it just is.

@bongsau doling out the advice of experience, thank you good sir. It is not going to be happening soon, but I figured what better time to ask for advice than when I have at least three other pieces on my brain? That was a good read, and exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks again man.

With respect to cohesiveness and advance planning, I did a reverse approach to my tattoo suit. I didn't get my first couple tattoos with the intent to do a bodysuit, I just got some tattoos and then continued to balance side-to-side to maintain my symmetry.
I had arms, legs, ribs, stomach, chest, neck/shoulders and thighs completed before I started my back, which is an opposite approach. That's just the way it worked out for me as my interest and excitement for tattooing grew. I got tattooed by 14 different guys over the years. I had one session in particular in 2009 (my chest, during my 100th hour) that the shop had a full house of heavyweights. Me working on full size chest piece and 3 other cats working on backs (waist up). Everyone hit the day rate, after 5 hours was no charge, and there was some magic in the shop that day. From that moment seeing backpieces in the flesh in progress, I knew that's where I was headed tattoo-wise but wasn't in a place in my life to commit to the time/money nor had I an idea for a subject I felt strongly enough that I could carry the weight of on my back. I was headed there all along in hindsight, just sometimes in life that direction you're headed does not reveal itself fully to you until you are ready to become aware of it.
I've been to China to further my kung fu training 3 times since 2008, the last 2 times (2011 and 2014) to train at Shaolin. The first trip is when I finally knew I wanted a monk on my back, similar to the murals etched in the walls of the temple and the design on the back of the training vest the monks wear. I connected with the tattooer and the correspondence for the back began in 2012. In the meantime I worked on some other spots like the tiger in my belly, some thigh tattoos, collar/neck while I patiently waited for the green-go-light. Because of my existing tattoos though, there were certain spots I wanted to complete first in sequence to frame and layer my works the way I desired. There was some other life-shit that went down in the meantime, namely my Sifu - my kung fu master - passing away suddenly and one of his dying wishes was that we take the students again to Shaolin and continue our relationship with the temple. That's an intense story on it's own and it just heightened the desire, cemented the idea for my Shaolin tribute. It wasn't something I picked out of a comic book and was like yeah that's cool -there's nothing wrong with that!-but I wanted something ~heavy~, you know what I'm sayin? I know what I'm sayin!
So ffwd to my first back session. Seeing all the crazy stuff and bright colours I have going on all down the front and arms/legs, my tattooer designed my backpiece to be simple, bold and black (as fuck) to balance it out, align the horizon lines and gravity of the water in my tattoos, really attract the focus, make the tattoo powerful and tie everything together. Because I had my ribs done prior, it made my back canvas a bit narrower to work with, which is why I ended up with 1 monk in a kung fu pose instead of the original idea of 2 monks in combat. It all ties together, maybe not as clean as a bodysuit from japan, but nevertheless ties together my stories and experiences, 14 tattooers and 69(?) sessions. And whether you are tie-ing pieces from one artist or many, a full body tattoo has people mesmerized and going "what in the fuck" because it is not a common sight to see in public. It's going to look cohesive because it's YOU!
And I am very happy I waited. It has made the experience more exciting, I'm more tuned into what's going with the tattoo-process and most important of all it has made it all more meaningful to me.
so @knucklehead211 to answer your inquiries and add some other points:
1. how to prepare? MANIFEST the idea of tattooing your back. the subject/theme/motif will come to you in time.
2. acne? i can't comment on that, see a dermatologist and deal with your issue now in preparation.
3. Do from shoulders to at least below the belt and onto the bum. No biker backpieces (jokes)! You don't need to do your front either.
4. Don't sweat the cohesiveness, as I wrote about above.
5. Let the tattooer make it fit your body, an experienced tattooer will.
6. Don't rush! See #5, I know a lot of dumb-dumb friends who I pointed in the right direction and vouched for to get proper tattoo, but people these days get very impulsive and gratified, so they rush out and get some half-baked poor tattoo because they can't wait a month or a year.
7. Know what you want and be able to articulate it. Keep it simple. Manifest the idea until the idea is solid enough and you are 101% behind it.
8. Start saving now so when it's go time, you've got money in the bank to keep up with the progress i.e. weeks between sessions not months.
9. Get inspired! And I don't mean scrolling instagram every hour or even LST. I mean get inspired by the real world. Go to the library, research old wood block prints and illustrations, go to the museum when the samurai armour exhibit is in town. Spend time in the mountains and rivers, go to the gardens in your city. Travel. Go to the art gallery.
10. Try and get the piece started in the fall so it will be worked on/healing in the winter, done by summer.
11. Plan long-term, plan in advance and be patient.
12. Have fun and enjoy the whole process.
There is a reason why not everybody wears a backpiece and even fewer have finished backpieces. It is a big commitment.
It took 2 full years of correspondence to make mine happen. The most rewarding things in life are the things you work for and wait for.
cheers

I'm Mr Baron from East London :) Nice to meet you x

Read the whole thread and it touches on many things that I've thought about over the course of getting tattooed. Let me try to add something that's not all ready been formulated five times.
1. Tattoos now are like jeans. At first when jeans became a mainstream phenomenon jeans itself was the trend, and wearing jeans was hip. Then it went in waves, with different type of models that were "in", often making the previous model hopelessly "out". I'd say this went on until quite recently when really tight jeans for men became mainstream. Now it's not about a type of model anymore, but different brands and smaller nuances that decides if a pair of jeans are in or not, (good or not). I see tattoos going the same way. People are doing both old and new styles, and even if certain motifs at time/geographic context can be considered in the mainstream as more cool than others, no style of tattoos is really "the only thing" or is totally forgotten and shunned. This is from my perspective of course, someone not hanging out on this forum and keeping track of 200+ tattooers would possibly have a different analysis.
2. Being accused of following trends. I feel that the more tattoos you get, the more people you know/random folks on the street will accept that you are not following trends. Trends are in a way somewhat cheap, you can't invest in them too much if you are to be ready to throw it away for spring and jump on the next new thing. With something as permanent as tattoos, big portions of your skin all ready covered, you'd have to slightly retarded to put so much into a trend. I think most people can see that in general anyone who is so dedicated is doing it for herself/himself and not to "fit in". I also think that a small percentage of people really are slightly retarded and will go to such lengths.
3. The old ideas of earning your tattoos, I believe that they are there for good reasons. Not only because of the very real social and possible economic problems that a "job stopper" tattoo can make you face, but also to separate those in it for the love of the art from those who are more about being a tattooed individual. Generally the later group will be more likely to follow trends.
4. In this time tattoos are still a radical thing. One very tangible example is that certain types of tattoos/placements will stop you from getting certain types of jobs. People will have all sorts of ideas about you when they see your tattos. In some circles you will not be welcomed, and this includes some of the most influential parts of society. This is something you will have to relate to if you have visible tattoos. Some people jump on tattoos like a trend not thinking anymore of it, and in a way I guess that's always been a factor, but even these people will still have to face the resistance inside of society against their behavior. Just like every woman, every person of darker skin colour, different sexuality or any kind of handicap (for example) eventually will feel the problem that the mainstream of society has with her/his person, so will most tattooed people sooner or later feel unjustly treated in some way. It is very interesting that people can arrive in this (permanent) position from following trends.
(Excuse my academic language, I enjoy writing like this. The last part was a bit more ideological. Personally, I think subcultures and counter-cultures are a very important channel for change in society. I believe that being at odds with what is "normal" or "correct" often forces people to think about their own position, their choices, the life they want to live, and what needs to be changed in order for them to not feel constrained by social/economic/ideological forces. Tattoo culture and associated subcultures, in my opinion, has this potential for radical awakening. Depending of course on how far you go and the resistance you encounter)

I'll be honest, if someone sees my ink and tries to start talking about tattoos based on the fact that the have a feather turning into birds, I'm probably not gonna take them very seriously. But that's just me personally. We all get the ink we deserve!

@RoryQ and @jen7, I realize it's a bit harsh. It probably comes from the area I live mixed with the work I did up until about a year ago - very affluent community with a hipster undertone at the retail store I worked at. I saw more than one person hear our company's very open tattoo policy, only to immediately go and get the most random tattoo on a very noticeable spot (behind the ear, neck, forearms and hands). And that would be all they got during the three years I worked there. I almost felt bad, because they were making their career path harder outside of this company. But that's beside the point! All I'm saying is working within that kind of community, I saw a lot of trendy tattoos that were never expanded upon, sleeved out etc. That's why I'm with you guys on this forum! I'm not hating on trendiness, I'm just more interested in a community where more people are going for full coverage. Apologies for any offense taken.

So I started my day at 3 in the afternoon. Week two of working 56 hrs. First thing I see is two missed calls and two new messages. Message one: "hey this is blah at exile 2, your artist can't do the 28th, but he's free the 21st, call back". Message two: "hey this is blah with blah security, call us back". So I call the shop and tell them I'll make it work, then try to get ahold of my scheduler and of course he's taking a three day weekend. Put a pin in it, call the other chick back and she wants me to take another eight hours, HA, good effing luck! I'm juggling all this in my brain as I get on the highway, get a call back from another site supervisor and right as I pick up, truck starts dying. So I'm sitting there with this longwinded guy going on in my ear about the schedule with my hazard lights on and guys coming within an inch of me on the shoulder. Finally pull into a starbucks, get off the phone, call AAA and I figure wtf. I DESERVE a venti white chocolate mocha. So I go in, and as I come out I fell in my pockets. Where. The hell. A tr e my keys. Look in the window;doors locked, keys in the cupholder. Thank god my back window latch is busted, I had to squeeze through that to get them. Long story short - if you wake up at three with missed calls, don't answer!

Go ahead, but make sure u have backup flowers and chocolate.

+1 on this. It works! :D

Pics after first wash!

Is that trendy enough for ya?