Rad Kelham

Often the rest of the tattoo will be sealed and peeling and the crater still oozing and open. I tend to stick with aquaphor or ointment rather than switching to lotion, as ointment is OK on dry peeling skin (that's what it is made for), but lotion is no bueno in an open wound. Also, they usually always happen in blended color areas (multiple passes) or tiny areas where the artist snuck the corner of a mag into a tiny area.

I have a question: how do you usually heal these craters? I've gotten them before and I don't really know what to do with them. They usually just end up becoming weird scabs and I lose ink. Is that just the typical thing that happens or is there something that can be done during the healing process?

Ultimately they are the tattooers fault, and there is nothing that you can do other than washing them daily. Doesn't mean your tattooer is a bad tattooer...I've gotten these from the best in the industry. Tattooing damages skin, especially with multiple pass pieces. Sometimes the craters heal fine and other times you need a touch up.

@bongsau thanks for the offer but I had a sincere change of mind after clicking send on that last post. Butt, so what you're saying is that yours goes significantly deeper than the bodysuit posted in this thread? And I went to your post in the backpiece thread but the photo link was broken. Is it on the artist's Instagram?

Actually I change my mind. Forget it.

I got my underside fully filled in February.

Mine goes deep i.e. <1" radius around the asshole, no white skin with my legs together or apart. I think it looks better if you go as deep as you and the tattooer feel comfortable with. Because it enhances the natural shadow of the body (booty).

It is very intense. The spot where the ass meets the thigh under the cheek is one of the most painful spots albeit one of the most thrilling sits you can have. Both in terms of physical pain and the mental block of spreading your ass for another person to perform the work in the area. You really need to embrace the vulnerability of the session to get through it. And once your ass and crack is tattooed you will have exponentially increased your no-shame quotient! I could care less now if my tattooed ass is hanging out of my shorts! Kiss my black ass!

I was told the skin is very different to work on in this sensitive area. The shading appears to be cross-hatched and I do recall multiple passes, likely because of the type of skin, swelling/sensitivity, hair follicles, etc.

I was face down with my ass in the air, like the sexy-wife-pose lol. Thigh hanging off the table at some points to give my guy some more room to work. I got electric shocked a few times too haha.

I've got my session-report in the Full Back Piece Experience thread (Crazy Tattoo Stories).

In summary, bring a towel or wooden spoon to bite down on.

Can we get a photo with your hoop cropped out?

Has anyone gone to the gym with this on?

Although I've never used this, I'd say sweating under one is definitely no good. Take those few days off of the gym.

https://youtu.be/WqlvBzgw3EQ At the time this vert skating was mind blowing.

Ten years old from Dave C. A few skateboard related removal sessions since getting it.

Seattle fun a few months ago:

Horitoshi family has you pull your knees up to your chest to really get that stretch and get in there when the time comes. Cannonball style!

On your side or on your back? Just trying to get this visual.

Although I see your point @Mark Bee, I still stand by those comments. I wouldn't walk up to a stranger and say that, but on a tattoo forum amongst cognoscenti, it's fair and honest. Now you've edited your comment and mine has no context. Basically he said I was being a dick to people with traditional tattoos - which was fair game.

It's apparently not that easy if your drawings are anything to go by.

Still doesn't mean I have to like it, dickhead. Don't have to be a great artist to have an opinion on art. I'm only a few months into drawing. You think you are the king of this place and I can't figure out why. How about saying something intelligent rather than publicly insulting people?

Bob Tyrrell's son.

Japanese tattooing has stood the the test of time because it was way ahead of its time when compared to traditional.

Traditional has stood the test of time because its quick, easy, and cheap, and that's what Americans like.

To quote Billi Vegas, "Traditional is antiquated for a reason"

For me I think background is key. Take Yallzee, if any of you know of him from Instagram. He is covered in small tattoos, however it looks like a great suit because it is all tied together well. A bunch of traditional tattoos fail miserably at this, especially when connected by a bunch of stars and dots.

@clttattooing well said. I took the Red Cross BBP certification for tattooers a few months ago, and I must say it was pretty uninformative and incomplete. I'd go as far as to say this course could be passed by a 13 year old on a school night. What do you think about it?

@sighthound I agree with you, and I personally have a mix of big and small tattoos...however mostly big. I've always got them in terms of full arm, full arm, full back, etc, using smaller pieces here and there to connect the awkward spots. Heck I even have a bunch of small finger tattoos, as I like that that aesthetic.

And this has become a huge digression from the greggletron arm I initially commented on - which I like.

However I see so many people getting only small tattoos, and all over the place. This type of collection has always bothered me and I've always considered those people either totally clueless to tattooing or posers.

Anyway people will keep getting what they want, and I'll keep being grumpy about some of them. Pretty soon I'll be putting these small tattoos on people that I would never in hell get on myself.

So it goes.

This is why they make chocolate AND vanilla ice cream.

Well clearly chocolate is better. Everyone knows that ;-)

Some people's tattoo worlds seem really small... (In my own world, there are lots of cool different ways to get tattooed.)

Bigger IS better - that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it! That's why guys like James Tex, Filip Leu, Horiyoshi, Steve Moore are at the top. Bigger pieces are the natural progression. The small stuff is nice too and is best for most people. But the holy grail is the big stuff. No perfect traditional banger will have the visual impact of a neck to knee backpiece nor the power of all the work that went into making it. The commitment, time, and effort that goes into those pieces is staggering. The Japanese have recognized this from the beginning, and that's why they were blowing the minds of the american masters 50 years ago, not the other way around. Their stuff was bigger and better. Then we caught up and are now backpedaling to simple traditional again. Everyone wants the instant gratification of a quick and easy piece and it's a goddamn tragedy.

@Cork and @introspect. Did they have to spread your cheeks apart to get in there?

@ironchef that's about how mine looks.

Looks good. I'd say go back to that same artist and have him design the rest of the sleeve and then outline it in one shot. That's the best way to have it flow.

Unrelated to the last post, here's today's session with Derek Noble on my ass and thigh.

I guess I just prefer big, full coverage, with strong attention to composition. Getting a ton of small tattoos in my mind looks impulsive and like the wearer is trying to look heavily tattooed without all the patience, pain, time and effort of getting big pieces. A new banger every paycheck instead of a 6 hour session once a month on a tattoo that takes a year to achieve. But that was a digression which doesn't apply to your sleeve.

Thanks for the thorough response. I'm actually getting a traditional piece from him with no background on my chin, as I've killed all my real estate with big tattoos :-(

I love Greg's work, although I must admit that I preferred his style before he switched to traditional. This arm is great. However, I've always been curious why some people prefer to have a bunch of one point tattoos rather than a full cohesive sleeve with a single focal image and background. Curious to hear your answer.

To those with bodysuits or who tattoo bodysuits. How deep into the ass crack and inner thighs is necessary? It's hard to find photos that show these dirty details. I think the reasonable answer is as far as you can see while standing naturally.

I have these areas in progress and am trying to figure out just how far to bring the background up/in. Neither myself nor tattooer are excited about this, but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess.

Photos welcome.