Lance

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

15 hours in a chair? Good luck! You would be a far stronger person than I. Ha ha!

Had my left armpit done in May or something like that. Mind you I was a bit under the weather, but it sucked getting tattooed. Great tattooer. Great tattoo. But no more tattoos while sick for me. It wasn't so much the pain of being tattooed. What got to me was the position we had to put my arm in to stretch the skin and make it easy for the tattooer to work. My arm was raised over my head and cranked towards myback. It's odd to describe but the lack of blood flow almost made it feel like severe ice burn flowing all along my arm, down to my hand and pinky and ring finger. I needed multiple breaks to get feeling back in my arm. Session lasted for 4 hours or so. I was a bit embarrassed about it as I've never had to ask for a break before because of pain.
That said it healed awesomely and totally dig it. I have an appointment coming up next month for the other side. I'm hoping I do much better this time around though.

@polliwog, if you're still a couple years out from starting, and you begin saving now, I think you'll have a good start financially. Discipline is key though. Skip a night out here or there, grand vacation ideas may become pleasant staycations, make food instead of eating out. All that junk. It's doable. Difficult at times, really difficult even, but doable. I had to change my mindset and ask myself what I really wanted. For years I wanted a tattoo but always lamented not having funds for anything. one day I realized I was actually wasting a lot of money on things that while entertaining or seemingly needed were non-essential. Also start mulling over a design now. You may find the perfect design tomorrow, or you may find yourself going through a few ideas. You may even think you found a great one, then change your mind a month or 2 later. Over time one will stick but you've plenty of time. Also some artists have long wait lists so depending on who you want to do it, you may actually have to wait a while anyway. Might as well get in with who you want rather than settle for second choices. Good luck! Back pieces are AWESOME!!!

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

Retailer wise, Gomineko is a book seller that focusses on tattoo references. She's an excellent resource for purchasing books but depending on where you are at, it can take several months for books to arrive and there are no notifications of shipping/tracking. Also she is more expensive than other resources. Some people love her due to her inventory, while others not so much due to the price, lag or non-delivery.    If you are fortunate enough live near a Kinokuniya book store, their books in their tattoo/woodblock section can range from decent to pretty good. They're a Japanese book retailer and have a few shops across the US. They sell the same books as Gomineko but are cheaper. They can also order books for you if you know exactly what you are looking for.   That said, actual material wise, for general symbolism,"Bushido" and "Tattoos of the Floating World" by Takahiro Kitamura are excellent resources. I don't know the name of it but it looks like Horibenny just came out with a new book that at glance appears to be decent for introductory info on motifs too. Check out Amazon for all.   For myths, study the source material. Read books on Japanese mythology and books on Woodblock print artists. There will often be descriptions about the scenes in woodblock prints. That can often give you enough information to research further about a subject on your own.    Regarding mythology, read the "Kojiki" and the "Taiheiki". Both are translated in english and chronicle stories of the origin of/early Japan and medieval Japan. Another book I've found is called "Japanese Mythology" by Michael Ashkenazi. These books tell stories about deities and ancient heroes that are often subjects in Japanese motifs. I wish I had read the "Kojiki" sooner. Not regretting what I have but I feel I may have chosen different subjects if I had. Things I had written off earlier, I gained new appreciation for after reading more about them.   There are tons of information out there. I feel it's much easier to learn about now, than it was even a few years ago. Hope this helps. 

Healed up real nice! It's an awesome collaboration. I can't remember if you have anything on your torso already or if you had mentioned it previously but do you have further plans for the front?
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Healed up real nice! It's an awesome collaboration. I can't remember if you have anything on your torso already or if you had mentioned it previously but do you have further plans for the front?

Yeah, I'm traveling, so I'll be there the whole weekend. An LST meet up would be cool!

Yup, I'll be there. No tattoos planned at the Convention, but I have an appointment with Jill Bonny the Friday afternoon before it begins. That should scratch an itch. I'm hoping to pick up a print or two while I'm there though. 

Well, my 2nd session with Garver went down this past Friday.
This pic was taken right when it was done.
Best part is, he asked if I was interested in sleeving out my arm.  I obviously agreed and more sessions are to come.  Going to connect my Back to the Future portraits with some other elements.

Please tell me you're going to Jason Kundell!

Thanks sir for the reply. I figured those would all be take. Into consideration. I have a traditional American sleeve but pieces it together over 10 months. First time I have used this guy but I guess he is a big deal here in Portland. I am a big guy with big arms, I never take breaks (don't smoke and eat on the fly) so we shall see. Gonna be interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

Agree with @Lance - I really love what Chris Brand is doing with the Japanese/Chinese / LA crossover.  If I wanted to get a tattoo like what you want Gareth98, I'd go to Chris.  He travels enough, so you might be able to make it work.

@Gareth98
With regards to the design, I'm kind of meh. It's not bad, but not very exciting either. Seen much better.    With regards to the concept of mixing styles, why not? A similar post was made in the past and I noted I'd seen images on IG in the past that have mixed Japanese backgrounds with another culture's myths. Someone else posted a sleeve a bit back that had traditional motifs with a Japanese cloud background. It was cool to me.  So saying that I don't see a big issue with the idea that an artist can make it work proper. Will it be traditional? Maybe not. Do you want it to be? Maybe. Maybe not. The key thing is finding an artist that can make it work though. Valerie Vargas seemed to make it work on I think it was an Athena sleeve and same goes with Chris Brand's Suikoden pieces. That's essentially Japanese (and Chinese) meets East LA culture and he's rocking it. Those people had skill to make it work. Many do not so hopefully you have found someone who can.   The artist seemed to go a different route than you originally wanted though. If you're not a fan, skip the idea and the middle man. I agree with others that you should work with a tattoo artist. And perhaps run with your original thoughts if that was what you wanted.  

@Gareth98
With regards to the design, I'm kind of meh. It's not bad, but not very exciting either. Seen much better.    With regards to the concept of mixing styles, why not? A similar post was made in the past and I noted I'd seen images on IG in the past that have mixed Japanese backgrounds with another culture's myths. Someone else posted a sleeve a bit back that had traditional motifs with a Japanese cloud background. It was cool to me.  So saying that I don't see a big issue with the idea that an artist can make it work proper. Will it be traditional? Maybe not. Do you want it to be? Maybe. Maybe not. The key thing is finding an artist that can make it work though. Valerie Vargas seemed to make it work on I think it was an Athena sleeve and same goes with Chris Brand's Suikoden pieces. That's essentially Japanese (and Chinese) meets East LA culture and he's rocking it. Those people had skill to make it work. Many do not so hopefully you have found someone who can.   The artist seemed to go a different route than you originally wanted though. If you're not a fan, skip the idea and the middle man. I agree with others that you should work with a tattoo artist. And perhaps run with your original thoughts if that was what you wanted.  

@Gareth98
With regards to the design, I'm kind of meh. It's not bad, but not very exciting either. Seen much better.    With regards to the concept of mixing styles, why not? A similar post was made in the past and I noted I'd seen images on IG in the past that have mixed Japanese backgrounds with another culture's myths. Someone else posted a sleeve a bit back that had traditional motifs with a Japanese cloud background. It was cool to me.  So saying that I don't see a big issue with the idea that an artist can make it work proper. Will it be traditional? Maybe not. Do you want it to be? Maybe. Maybe not. The key thing is finding an artist that can make it work though. Valerie Vargas seemed to make it work on I think it was an Athena sleeve and same goes with Chris Brand's Suikoden pieces. That's essentially Japanese (and Chinese) meets East LA culture and he's rocking it. Those people had skill to make it work. Many do not so hopefully you have found someone who can.   The artist seemed to go a different route than you originally wanted though. If you're not a fan, skip the idea and the middle man. I agree with others that you should work with a tattoo artist. And perhaps run with your original thoughts if that was what you wanted.  

@Gareth98
With regards to the design, I'm kind of meh. It's not bad, but not very exciting either. Seen much better.    With regards to the concept of mixing styles, why not? A similar post was made in the past and I noted I'd seen images on IG in the past that have mixed Japanese backgrounds with another culture's myths. Someone else posted a sleeve a bit back that had traditional motifs with a Japanese cloud background. It was cool to me.  So saying that I don't see a big issue with the idea that an artist can make it work proper. Will it be traditional? Maybe not. Do you want it to be? Maybe. Maybe not. The key thing is finding an artist that can make it work though. Valerie Vargas seemed to make it work on I think it was an Athena sleeve and same goes with Chris Brand's Suikoden pieces. That's essentially Japanese (and Chinese) meets East LA culture and he's rocking it. Those people had skill to make it work. Many do not so hopefully you have found someone who can.   The artist seemed to go a different route than you originally wanted though. If you're not a fan, skip the idea and the middle man. I agree with others that you should work with a tattoo artist. And perhaps run with your original thoughts if that was what you wanted.  

IMO it really does not matter,a full sleeve is an ongoing long term project,don't make a choice now,the thing you should consider is if you do  will this  work with what you want  to continue on with  later ? do you have a common theme you want to do ? plan ahead !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  if I could do one thing over again,I would have thought farther into the future.

confirmed with Shige at Diamond Club to finish up my stomach. bittersweet ending... 

i went from doing my best not to book anything since my last appointment on February 1st.
Welp, Mark Mahoney is coming to Jersey and I couldn't pass that up.
Also, I inquired for a 2nd tattoo with Garver and was proposed to take over a possible cancellation.
All within 10 days, so much for having no more debt lol.
/positive rant
 

THIS!!!!!!!
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And THIS too!!!!!!!
Or dragon sleeve and ho-o sleeve?
I didn't ask for it but Horitomo gave me a a double yin yang - ish pair of Monmon cat tattoos on my feet. Each cat sleeping in the opposite direction of ones other with tattooed snakes doing the flip flop swirl. I just wanted a tattoo from him, it was his design choice. Genius! Which also brings up talking about the idea with an artist. They'll do you right.

The artist will likely stencil it on as mentioned. Tip for you though, check to make sure it's reading properly before they start. They likely won't know Amharic so they won't recognize something missing or backwards or any number of things. They're not translators so don't expect them to catch inconsistencies. That will be your job before they start. Enjoy getting your first tattoo!