lmactans

Got this on Tuesday, and I love it! On the upper shoulder/collarbone area. I'll post a better picture once it has healed.

My parents were both cool with it, I'd discussed it with them beforehand, to lessen the shock. I was, however, worried about my grandmother's reaction, since I'm very close with her. Ever since my dad was a kid, she's been saying that she'd disown anyone who got a tattoo, but I felt like it would be best to be up front about the whole thing with her, and slowly introduced her to the idea. After seeing it, she flinched and yelled "Why would you ever get one of those!" then, after a few seconds said "It's beautiful though". We spent an hour that day looking at tattoos on the internet, with her critiquing them. She said most of the same stuff you guys do, lots of black, solid, steady outlines, one main subject per tattoo, nothing too busy, etc. It was actually pretty cool!

Gonna get my black widow done on my right shoulder next week!

My first tattoo, done on Wednesday! Very happy with it, and I'm getting a black widow done on the other arm in about a month!

As I mentioned in my intro thread, I've always been fascinated by tattooing, even going so far as to experiment on myself when I was a child. Pokemon was huge in my childhood (and still is, if we're being completely honest). I also got into anime and video games pretty hardcore, which has thankfully dimmed down into a casual interest. But my biggest passion as a child, and indeed now, is wildlife, and exotic pets. I started working with snakes when I was four, and now I have ten snakes, four lizards, two frogs, eighteen spiders, and a centipede, which is a subject for a different thread.

There is a huge overlap between the tattoo/piercing community and the reptile/amphibian/invert community. Many, if not most, people in the reptile community have multiple tattoos and piercings, and I distinctly remember a reptile show being held the same weekend as a tattoo show, and most of the people at the reptile show were running back and forth between locations. I think both shows got a lot of extra business like this!

Having said that, I grew up around lots of people with tattoos, and my parents never made anything of it. Most of them were super nice, and were more than happy to indulge my interests. I suppose this has contributed a lot to my interest and positive view of tattooed people and the community.

I've got an appointment next Wednesday to get a zebra shark done on my upper arm! It's gonna be done in plain black, and in this style by this guy at a local shop. I really love the work that all the artists there do, and Greg's new school stuff is totally awesome, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the style myself.

I'm so excited! But there are a few concerns I have. I'm not worried about the pain, but I do have some blood sugar problems (the doctor says it's okay to get tattooed though), and I have some pretty serious chronic stomach problems that cause me to shudder and spasm on occasion. But, I do always have enough notice to warn the artist, and these problems are 24/7 for me, so I'm used to them. I can typically resist them too. I plan on bringing a sugary drink and possibly some snacks, and eating/drinking about an hour to an hour and a half before my appointment, and that usually prevents any blood sugar problems, but what do you guys think I should do about the movement thing? I feel pretty comfortable that the artist will work with me, and I know that I can at least minimize the amount of spasming that happens. I suppose I'm mostly concerned about it being annoying or freaking them out. Any way that you guys can think of to make this easier on the artist?

Hey, I'm Erin, and I've been looking into getting my first tattoo for about a year now. When I was about ten, I did some obviously ill fated experiments with body modification, so now I'm particularly committed to finding something I love and will look good for a long time. I'm from north Alabama, and there are several artists in the area that I really like, but I would like to hear any recommendations you guys have. It would be best if they were in the northern half of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, or in Tennessee, but I can go farther if I find something I really fall in love with.

As far as what styles I like, I'm still a newbie, but I have a preference for strong, bold colors and linework (lots of black lol), and somewhat simple designs. The subject matter I'm looking into getting is sharks, snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc.

So far, I really like this community. You guys seem to be some of the more accepting people that I've come across on the internet, and it's refreshing knowing that I won't get too much flak for my oddities.

Looking forward to my time here!