Reyeslv

That is an amazing piece you have going and I sympathize with the agony of the heel. Those tender areas take a good 2 weeks to be 100% and back to normal. I do love when you are in the shop and everyone is talking about their back-piece experience. How they are so glad that it's behind them. They talk about how getting a back piece just sucked. I can't remember how many times I heard "man I'm glad that's over".......

Lance outdid me, but Jill did my back, too.

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

Got this on Thursday.

That Chad Koeplinger and Jondix piece is nothing short of pure awesomeness.  Here's my favorite Skull by Stewart Robson while he was at Frith Street Tattoo. 

I don't see anyone beating that Chad K/Jondix back, but I'll submit one of my skulls for the fun of it. I like the themed contests, at the very least they can serve as a good source of inspiration for people looking to get a certain thing tattooed.
Anyways, here's my skull from Steve Byrne at ROA from a few years ago. Don't really have a healed photo, but found one that kinda works. It's loosely based off of a anti-bolshevik German propaganda poster I saw at the Harry Ransom center in Austin while I was in Austin earlier that day. 

 

Finished this just in time! Chad Koeplinger and Jondix.

This is a masterful quote. Reading it brought me back to the entire experience. Never a fan of that F--King Liner, I would hear the shader get disconnected and I thought "not again". It did get to the point where I would hear "sorry" after my tattooer realized he needed lines to complete.... But it's a great experience and I do miss it. Planning the appointments and watching the piece come together. It only happens once.....ENJOY @sophistre

If I can offer some more advice, depending on how often you're planning on working on your back, invest in a good pair of boots or shoes before you start, because you might find money getting pretty tight at some point during the process and things like replacing worn out shoes or clothes become far less of a priority.

Greg and I get along well, and I like everybody else in the shop, too. My visits are always really enjoyable even when the spot we're tattooing is rough for all of those reasons. RE: the other stuff I don't know what they tolerate, but since drinking anything would have me up to pee every 3 seconds for the next two hours, it's probably better that I don't, haha. :) (I would be a dirty liar if I told you I hadn't given the leftover percocet I have from surgery in November a passing thought, but I don't think I want to mess around with anything like that, either. For all I know it would make things worse, and I'd definitely feel crappier after it wore off, anyway.)
I've started to feel like that about all of my tattoos! Ever since finishing my arm, I guess. It's a strange way to feel when you're me and you know you have barely any coverage at all, but after the arm it was like 'oh, shit, one limb down already?' I have absolutely no regrets about my pacing whatsoever, but it's weird to be so aware of shrinking space, and the fact that eventually there will be no more room, or none left that I want to tattoo, anyway.
I definitely try to follow all of that lead-in advice. I've never had to do it that many times in a row for so long, so hopefully my self-discipline holds out for the duration.
I love that quote. I'm heavily relying on the truth of it. I don't know anything about getting my back tattooed, but I know for a fact that I will have all of the stoke.
(For me, I think the night of the day of my tattoo has turned into my worst day. That's when I get the tattoo flu. Bluuuuh.)
I've had a couple of appointments that went over 4 hours, but none (I think?) that went over 5. Maybe one that came close to it. I've found that I only get tattoo flu symptoms for the longer appointments, and it seems like anything over 4 hours is when my endorphins go away and things become something of a struggle (though for me it absolutely does start to hurt much more once that pain response starts to fade). I'm very lucky in that Greg is fast, but given the scale of this, I expect the first session might be my longest one ever...if I can hack it. If I tell him I have to tap out though, I don't think he'll make me feel bad about it. Hopefully after everything is lined, we can return to a saner schedule. I think mostly he wants to avoid trying to have to line everything up again if we don't finish. I am just guessing, though.

This is such good advice, and I try to do this, but I think I'm bad at it! Haha. I always tell myself to expect the worst, but I always go in there hoping it won't be so bad. :( At least this time I actually really do think it's going to be horrible. rofl.
I will take every bit of advice! That is also good advice, and I AM due for some new chucks, so I will take your advice and get some. ...maybe put in an order with Sephora, too.
You guys are lucky you don't have to worry about your Sephora budget. (Unless you do, in which case I high-five you in solidarity.)

This is a masterful quote. Reading it brought me back to the entire experience. Never a fan of that F--King Liner, I would hear the shader get disconnected and I thought "not again". It did get to the point where I would hear "sorry" after my tattooer realized he needed lines to complete.... But it's a great experience and I do miss it. Planning the appointments and watching the piece come together. It only happens once.....ENJOY @sophistre

Argh, I started to reply to these and my power went out! Good ol' PNW. I will get a reply up as soon as I return to the modern era. :/

I've only had one short lining session on my back, but I've had a few other gnarly-sits (a few 7+ hour sessions on ribs/full shin in one sitting etc).
When I know I've got a big-sit coming up I try to "stack the deck" in my favor with a 2 week anti ritual of: no caffeine, no sugar, no booze (in fact I'm in one of these phases now for a back session). All in my head? Probably. But I like the discipline leading up.
Small snacks (during) with some protein and fat make a difference for me too. And, most importantly, THE STOKE WILL PULL YOU THROUGH (someone on here said that about sitting multiple sessions/days in a row...can't remember who or the context or I'd give credit. Its one of my favorite quotes).
It's been my experience that the day after a big session is worse than getting the tattoo. Your mileage may vary ;) Good luck!

This is a masterful quote. Reading it brought me back to the entire experience. Never a fan of that F--King Liner, I would hear the shader get disconnected and I thought "not again". It did get to the point where I would hear "sorry" after my tattooer realized he needed lines to complete.... But it's a great experience and I do miss it. Planning the appointments and watching the piece come together. It only happens once.....ENJOY @sophistre

This is a masterful quote. Reading it brought me back to the entire experience. Never a fan of that F--King Liner, I would hear the shader get disconnected and I thought "not again". It did get to the point where I would hear "sorry" after my tattooer realized he needed lines to complete.... But it's a great experience and I do miss it. Planning the appointments and watching the piece come together. It only happens once.....ENJOY @sophistre

I don't have any specific advice, but the lining sessions were really challenging. The back, to me, was entering a whole new world of getting tattooed. It's not a difficult spot, it's a series of difficult spots that are challenging for different ways, and it wasn't until I came in on the morning of my appointment and saw the stencil that I realized exactly how big my back is. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck after that first session.
With that said, getting through those hard sessions is 90% mental. Be well-rested, well-nourished, and all that, but it comes down to gritting your teeth and just putting up with it and not fighting it. I would assume that because you have quite a few tattoos from Greg and because you're having him do your back that you get along well with him and that's important too: good conversation, jokes, funny stories, things that will distract you from the tattooing make a big difference.
Often during sessions I'd drink a beer maybe an hour or two in and I found a nice imperial stout or the like helped me to relax, but that depends on you and your tattooer being cool with it. I don't think there's any shame in getting a little bit of assistance in getting through the sessions (I've heard that muscle relaxants can help a lot to quell the body's instinct to tense up) but I don't think that tattoo sessions are a good time to experiment with that stuff either...but I don't think any of that stuff is necessary.
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I don't have any specific advice, but the lining sessions were really challenging. The back, to me, was entering a whole new world of getting tattooed. It's not a difficult spot, it's a series of difficult spots that are challenging for different ways, and it wasn't until I came in on the morning of my appointment and saw the stencil that I realized exactly how big my back is. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck after that first session.
With that said, getting through those hard sessions is 90% mental. Be well-rested, well-nourished, and all that, but it comes down to gritting your teeth and just putting up with it and not fighting it. I would assume that because you have quite a few tattoos from Greg and because you're having him do your back that you get along well with him and that's important too: good conversation, jokes, funny stories, things that will distract you from the tattooing make a big difference.
Often during sessions I'd drink a beer maybe an hour or two in and I found a nice imperial stout or the like helped me to relax, but that depends on you and your tattooer being cool with it. I don't think there's any shame in getting a little bit of assistance in getting through the sessions (I've heard that muscle relaxants can help a lot to quell the body's instinct to tense up) but I don't think that tattoo sessions are a good time to experiment with that stuff either...but I don't think any of that stuff is necessary.

Next year @Scott R! Next year!