writerAZ

I need more animal tattoos. Or faceless tattoos, if that makes any sense.

I decided it's nothing but animals for me. My back piece has three. The rest of me will fit 8-10 more.

Starting laser hair removal next week. I know - gross - but I figure I gotta get the back bush whacked if I'm going to commit to a backpiece. Is this a normal thing?

I did the laser thing before mine. I'm not particularly hairy, but I was planning for a Buddha back piece (ended up changing that) and didn't want him to sport a five o'clock shadow. Multiple laser sessions should be spaced out by six weeks or thereabouts because of hair growth cycles, so plan accordingly.

dropped the schemes or dropped the drawers?

Ha. The drawers. Just drop 'em, hop on the table, and you're good to go.

All of these elaborate schemes. Am I the only guy who just dropped 'em?

next time suggest neon sunglasses.

Yeah I usually don't give design advice outside shop, for some reason it just feels more comfortable critiquing an idea in a tattoo shop, I just tell them they should come in and we can talk about it, and I feel if I can get people in the door and show them how cool a tattoo can be, there's more of a chance of leading them away from a bad idea. Still always shocked at what people think are good ideas for tattoos.

Yeah, I told the guy that I really liked the buffalo head. It's a strong tattoo. When I asked him about filler--he's got pretty much the rest of his arm covered--I thought we were going to talk about stars and such. Didn't see that suit and tie thing coming.

I wasn't just called a tattoo snob per se, but a coworker took umbrage when I implored him to not add a suit and floppy tie to the very cool buffalo head he recently had done on his shoulder. He disagreed that doing so would A) completely sap the power of the image and/or B) come off as clever for cleverness' sake.

I told him, "It's your dermis." I was trying to give us both a conversational out, but that escalated things and he responded sarcastically with: "I'm glad you're okay with me getting the tattoos I want."

Ha! Oh, well. I'll keep my mouth shut next time.

I don't have the process figured out, either. I completely changed my back piece concept six weeks before my first session. This, after Jay Cavna and I had planned on something else for over a year. After Jay finished my back, I asked him if he was happy with the change. Turns out we both were.

I got my ROA backpiece finished today and noticed I've felt kinda blue, blah, meh, ever since I got home. It's not that I regret the tattoo, or there's anything wrong with it. To the contrary it's awesome. It turned out as good as I ever hoped it would. But finishing the backpiece is kinda like climbing Mt. Everest for me. Like a "how do I top this?" feeling.

I'm sure it'll go away by morning. I already have plans for getting an eagle on my chest for my birthday.

I can relate. I've been a bit bummed out since finishing my back a week or so ago. Like you, no regrets or anything. Just feels weird having an endeavor so big in different respects--time, pain, money, et al.--come to a screeching halt. I should probably do like you and get the next thing going, but I want to enjoy having something finished on me for a while. I guess some people are never happy. Ha!

Congratulations @writerAZ , that thing is tight! This stuff is the reason I come here.

Thanks, @jacobhh. Glad I can contribute a little something to all the great stuff here.

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@writerAZ always glad to see when you post -- especially with this! Really incredible..

@gougetheeyes -- Thanks, man. Grew tired of posting progress, so I just waited until it was finished.

You need to update your blog more often. Good stuff on that. I like your writing.

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@writerAZ, that is beyond amazing. Congratulations--you definitely earned that one.

@hogg -- Thanks much. That's high praise, given what's on your back. I'm just fortunate that things came together for me to get this.

After 14 sessions spanning 15 months, I'm thrilled to say that my back piece--courtesy of Jay Cavna--is finished. It's a rooster/boar/snake battle royale with peonies. We just wrapped it up a few hours ago. I couldn't be happier with it and am blown away by Jay's skill and commitment to his work.

Here's the pic.

I love those cat paintings. I bought prints of the cat with koi backpiece and the tebori cats paintings and I need to frame and hang those.

I'm waiting for delivery of those same prints. Gonna frame them to hang in my new office. I'm not even a cat person (except for the Jay Cavna tiger I plan to get next), but there's something special about those paintings.

I love how many times he makes it a point to say he has "no rules." Invariably, that's a sign someone's trying way too hard.

If you don't like pain, by all means, go for a backpiece. Total cakewalk. :)

Of the dozen sessions I've had on my back, the bookends were the worst--the first because it ran long and the last because my mental and physical state was shit. The ten in between don't stick out as being all that bad. Not to say I wasn't angry at the conclusion of a few. I tend to get irritated the longer I'm prodded with needles.

My big snake is going to be in my battle royale on my back- now I just have to decide who's going to do it.

Do this. I love the big snake on my back as part of my battle royale--just a super great animal to have in that spot.

I'm healing up from session 11 on my back, courtesy of Jay Cavna. Been waiting a year now to get that boar's head colored in and finally it happened. The end's in sight; should have the whole thing wrapped up by Xmas time.

I like it, I do it. You dont like it, you dont do it.

This, I agree with.

I dont know...it just all seems overly dramatic.

What I find dramatic is people making a huge deal out of back piece aftercare. It doesn't take a village.

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And for the record, this is a silly debate. Just go get good back piece tattoos, everybody.

Personally I love the help my wife gives when I am healing my back. I could do it alone, but fuck that I like this better.

No, fuck enduring the tattoo equivalent of running a marathon only to have someone hold your hand for the last furlough.

Maybe that's just me, though.

But my husband and I have definitely often joked that a back piece is really not something to embark on as a single person; one's partner is pretty damn key in caring for the thing. Don't know how people do it alone!

I dunno about this. I revoked aftercare privileges from my wife after her first smear of A&D betrayed a complete lack of sympathy. Single people, get that back piece and then revel in your self reliance.

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I bought one of these to care for my back piece when my girlfriend wasn't around to help...

Lotion Applicator Back Brush - Bed Bath & Beyond

God, no.

Big ole' battle royale!

Nice. What animals?

Interesting update: I just had my annual review with my boss. He said he'd actually like to see expose more of my tattoos as work, as I'm a "creative" (copywriter) and he wants me to feel as comfortable as possible. I mentioned that I keep mostly covered because a lot of the folks in our company are fairly uptight, but he said, "Fuck them."

Nice boss quote. Consider yourself lucky, @hogg.

I'm a copywriter on a 25+ person creative team and not one of us has visible tattoos. Most regard my in-progress back piece as a novelty. A handful dig it. Not sure what the reception will be if and when I start on my sleeve/chest plate combo. I think my 10+ years here would outweigh any negative perceptions, but you never know. May have to just roll down my shirt sleeves when the time comes. Not fun when it's 110 in the shade.

I love Jason's tattooing. It is some of the toughest out there.

I approved this Jason Brooks endorsement.

Just got tattooed by another great artist, Jay Cavna, on 8-16. Going back on 9-27 for session eleven. Gotta finish my back before the end of the year.

Then you can have a "three -quarter" or in Japanese vernacular a "7/10s".

7/10s is what escaped my memory when commenting on the other active sleeve thread. Should've consulted my copy of Bushido. Pretty sure now that 7/10s is what I'll be going for in the not-too-distant future. (Gotta finish my back first.)

Put on a long sleeve shirt and then put both hands behind your head, same as you might do when relaxing in a chair and throwing ideas around with your boss.

Ah, the we're-just-two-smart-business-guys-kicking-around-some-ideas pose. A favorite, for sure.

Sounds close enough to full sleeves to me.

RE: Fight Club clip

"I make and I sell soap, the yardstick of civilization."

Great line.