writerAZ

Interesting, because mine is a battle royale that does go down to the back of my knees and when I looked at it the other day, I thought 'No way would I want to cram this into a smaller space.'

Interesting, because mine is a battle royale that does go down to the back of my knees and when I looked at it the other day, I thought 'No way would I want to cram this into a smaller space.'

@Kev I consider my back piece a 40th birthday present to myself, even though I started it a few months before the milestone arrived. The deciding part is tough--I was locked into one idea and then changed shortly before my first appointment. Glad I did, too.
@asradin My progress is a little slower than yours. Around 18 hours in so far and only at the half-way mark, if that. I'm enjoying the process so I don't mind taking longer. I love how each session brings out more of the entire tattoo, not just the area directly worked on. Very cool to see it all unfolding.

That's because your old mate makes his opinions based on the internet and tv shows, not the real world.
He obviously has never seen Oliver take walk-ins all day and totally nail every single tattoo drawing, regardless of style in less than 15 minutes. Then execute every tattoo, regardless of style, cleanly, quickly and accurately without rock star attitude.
Just to make this clear, Oliver manages to give walk-in customers what they want and make a great tattoo that he can be happy with and other tattooers will appreciate. Think about that for a minute... walk-in customers who don't give a shit who he is... and just want a tattoo they can like.... great tattoos... It's a rare talent among tattooers and even more rare among 'artists' who make tattoos.
Making great tattoos, making customers happy and having a great time while being so fucking cool to everyone else in the room and helping tattooers less experienced than him, yeah, fuck that guy. I'd hate for the guy who does my awesome tattoo to have a toothpick, like ewwww, gross, totally not cool.

First session complete, around 5 hours. Still have some outlining to do for the dragon claws and phoenix coming up from my thigh/bum onto lower back. Was surprised how much the kidney area hurt...as bad as ribs! Cant wait for next session.

Every cripple has his own way of walking. I watched the show and while I was neither scandalized or disgusted, uplifted or inspired, I definitely could have spent an hour of my life in a more productive and constructive manner.
If anyone wants to watch a genuinely inspiring, humility inducing, constructively critical and real-er than reality documentary, check out BBC Imagine's Grayson Perry-The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman.
I also watched a doc. on Netflix recently called Circo, about a small family run Mexican circus, and one called Buck about a horseman. There are so many good documentaries out there about real people living real lives doing something interesting, unusual or unique I wonder why anyone would bother their bollox watching, making or participating in a tattoo reality tv show.
Still, bless 'em, whatever gets them through the day.

Start my back piece tomorrow:cool::cool:....so excited!!!

Yes. And when you are talking about Traditional Japanese, you have to take in consideration all the seasons, different elements, Images, religions, Ukiyo-e, beliefs, etc etc. And how to mix them and what not to mix.

My personal problem with this stuff is that it doesn't deal with or derive from the basic motivations of humans or society.
All the long-lasting tattoo imagery addresses or springs from some basic element of humanity. Which is why they've lasted a long time.
My opinion is that this style of work (trash polka et al) is created with the main motivation to stand out from the crowd or be 'different'.
The drive to be original, different or special, is fundamentally flawed and certainly short-lived.
If tattoo designs derive from deep-rooted human drives and archetypes it's pretty much impossible for the concept to become dated. The execution is a different matter.
In my opinion all the best tattoo imagery comes from or symbolises basic human drives, or the needs of humans in society. Skulls, pin-ups, powerful animals, flowers, hearts, religious imagery, daggers etc, etc.
Most of the flash or portfolios (including tribal) in a decent tattoo shop will succinctly encompass the interesting bits of the human experience.
That's why the work posted in this thread rings hollow for me, regardless of the difficulty of the application.

Didn't know whether to get the backs of my legs covered as part of my back piece, but my artist didn't have a hard time talking me into it. Now, they're one of my favorite parts of the tatto and the whole idea make sense to me, aesthetically speaking. What's the thinking behind not getting that area done? I'm guessing style choices play a role in this (from what I gather, traditional American doesn't lend itself to that look as much as Japanese does), but I still see a lot of back pieces that end somewhere above the legs. Why the reluctance to hit the hammies?

Didn't know whether to get the backs of my legs covered as part of my back piece, but my artist didn't have a hard time talking me into it. Now, they're one of my favorite parts of the tatto and the whole idea make sense to me, aesthetically speaking. What's the thinking behind not getting that area done? I'm guessing style choices play a role in this (from what I gather, traditional American doesn't lend itself to that look as much as Japanese does), but I still see a lot of back pieces that end somewhere above the legs. Why the reluctance to hit the hammies?

Already have my first four appointments of the year booked--two in January, two in February. More shading on the back piece. Hopefully, some color soon.

If you do decide you want to use pain relieving ointment (which won't help at all with the sitting still/twitching thing, by the way) please check with your tattooer. Some don't mind, some don't like it. It changes the texture of the skin and sometimes we have to work slightly differently. On some skin types or areas, it can make the skin puffy or spongy, therefore more difficult to make clean lines, smooth shading and solid colour.
As with most things, it's better to ask your tattooer, either directly or by calling the shop.
...or you could ask faceless strangers (who won't be held accountable, should problems arise) on the internet...

Already have my first four appointments of the year booked--two in January, two in February. More shading on the back piece. Hopefully, some color soon.

"Becoming a hipster is kind of like joining a street gang, except there is no risk of violence and you have to pretend you have read 'Infinite Jest'".
Fook. "Infinite Jest" is pretty much my favorite book. *blush*

I do, and I know Jay Cavna, a guy who works out of Aaron's shop a couple Thursdays every month. I think Jay does great Japanese-style stuff. Here's a link to his Tucson, AZ shop: Sanctity Tattoo
I've been talking to him about a neck-to-knees back piece. Just finished getting my back hair lasered off in preparation for it. It's my first tattoo, and yeah, I'm scared to death.