Kurgana

This is how we beat the heat. Pool temp yesterday was 90 F without the heater turned on - all heated by the sun.
 

Wow guys, and I've been complaining about the heat here over the past couple of weeks (no beach/swimming either 'cause I got tattooed a month ago and the husband is going in next week - kids are not very pleased with us at the moment). I don't "do" over 35 c (95 f) and that's pretty much what we are likely to see till the end of August at least. Now I'm kind of happy I'm not where you live though! We do get some days each year at 105ish but happily not that many, it's certainly bad enough for me (it's humid here as well so not a nice feeling at all).

I'll chime in here, as a rabid fan of the -derm products. I've used them mostly the day AFTER, but last time on a whim I applied it right after the tattoo, before all the plasma leaky stuff had begun, "set it and forget it" style, and it was awesome. There was actually NO plasma at all, no collecting under the film (I have actually had that happen before) and it was much much easier to remove after 4 days when I applied it this way. So basically my entire healing process was no different than a mild sunburn. No real peeling, either. Kinda wild! This was a largish piece on my back and I could not get to it by myself at all, so it was simpler just to have it covered, then leave it be as long as possible. I was actually able to remove the film by myself, which I've never been able to do before. 
These people really oughtta pay me...

horizontal placement of a dagger would not really fit with the body on the rib cage, it will look like a bent blade in my opinion. vertical dagger would be better placement on a rib cage... but at 7cm (half the size of your pinky) horizontal/vertical won't matter, it will look extra small like a sticker on the ribs. take the plunge and go waaay bigger, at least 3x bigger.
 
 

I don't think there are any "rules" about placement of a dagger or knife.
Not sure about your experience with respect to the planning stage and realistic outcome of tattoos, but just in case you hadn't thought about it, you're not going to get much detail into a 7cm dagger.
 

go bigger

I'm pretty much in the large dagger category. :)

I don't think I ever posted mine in this thread. Done by Sam Warren in Lancaster, PA. Sam's a real nice guy and this turned out so awesome. I gave him the picture that inspired me and asked him to put the skeleton and horse in armor since he does neat armored stuff, and it turned out so much cooler than I ever expected. I've also got some thunder thighs so this thing is massive, hip to almost the side of my knee, and wraps around the front, side, and back of my thigh.


^ The front/side


^ The back

^ This picture was my inspiration, the cover of one of my favorite metal albums

I've gone back and forth on what to do on my other thigh, for a while I wanted to do something really opposite: colorful and cutesy (I have an idea for peach faced lovebirds). But now I'm kind of thinking I might want to do some realistic black and grey on that thigh. I kind of think the lovebird design I'm imagining might sit better on my calf.

And since I've already bombarded this thread with images, why not: here's peach faced lovebirds. Aren't they fucking adorable? I'm imagining them in a neo-trad/illustrative type style, super colorful.

It's been said ad infinitum but this is something to discuss with your artist who can advise on placement etc. but it definitely can be done
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I wish I could find it, but I read a post somewhere (maybe here) about someone who incorporated an old four leaf clover tattoo into their sleeve; I want to say it was a traditional Japanese style sleeve...? Not sure. But it worked out fine with him.

I think with a traditional/neo-traditional piecemeal approach, you can incorporate all those elements with some negative space or filler around them with no problem. You might need to retouch the older tattoo so it looks like it "belongs" there, but I think it could easily work. Something like this as far as placement, maybe in a different style if you want: 

Love your tattoos! Welcome back!

Look at a lot of bad tattoos. The internet is full of them, and, unfortunately, most of the tattoos you see out and about are going to be bad, lol.'
Once you have a keen eye for what is bad, you'll spot the exemplary work of the best artists a mile away. This is what worked for me, anyway.

Oh for sure.  The happenstance of tattooing is one of my favorite parts of it. 
Even if you do end up goofing and going to someone you're not super extra pleased with it, don't beat yourself up over it. Ultimately they're just tattoos and you can always get more down the line.

1st thing = don't be in a hurry. take time to educate yourself. this forum is excellent for that. so is Instagram.
2nd = learn about the different styles of art that are available
3rd = follow some of the artists that you enjoy, and absorb how they do what they do - and how they relate to others in their field
within a few weeks or months you should be getting a feel for what "quality" is, but ultimately what is pleasing to your educated eye is what will bring your lasting enjoyment.

instagram - to me - love it or hate it - is a game changer for evaluating what to expect from a tattooer
its not everything - but its huge
i like when artists post regular work
not everyone does this but when i can go a year or 2 deep into someones IG and i see hundreds of tattoos they did
well that says something
if you see a consistent body of work that pleases you then you can feel confident that you will probably be pleased with the outcome of your tattoo
like i said - its not everything but its a big thing in the current processes of choosing an artist
i personally love IG
i have mentioned to a few artists that i liken it to growing up and looking at the sports pages
following your favorite athlete
well - i dont follow sports these days like that
but i like going onto IG with a cup of coffee
and checking out the latest pieces of awesomeness that my favorite tattooers have posted
anyway
good luck in your search
i also am a big fan of the LST interview section
fun stuff and you'll get some good perspective on the world of tattooing 

so if you are staying the night before you fly,then just wash it several times (like you said you do) and use something on it(I use Palmers cocoa butter)and keep saran(cling) wrap taped on for the after and that night,will you have time to go back in the morning to the shop and have someone there help with the derm ?
 
that's how I do it anyway,for the first 10 to 12 hours after the tattoo I wash it good several times with a anti-microbial soap and apply a very light coat of cocoa butter and cling wrap,let all the liquid ooze out then I put on the derm,I do this often as I go to Hawaii every year and get a tattoo on the last day.

Congrats on your appointment with Chris! You win for the longest flight for a tattoo. Why don't you like Tegaderm/Saniderm? As long as you healed well when you used it before, this is the perfect use case scenario.

You got 2 arms :D

i usually just bring the body part thats getting tattooed

No one here was nasty to her, other than in the thread where she tried to say tattoos don't hurt and I admit I got a little hot headed about that, because it came off as show-offy and like she didn't have the experience to back it up. She came in here with this attitude that she was tougher than any of the rest of us with way less experience than most of us, and that rubbed me the wrong way. But I digress...
People tried to help her and with every turn, she acted like she already knew what she was doing and that begged the question of "why are you even here anyway then" on this and the Big Planet forum multiple times. The first post in response in this thread was just someone saying "hey, I don't like it, but great if you do." The harshest response in this thread was just people saying not to go back to that artist. Which is a solid recommendation, because this is a pretty poor tattoo. I think this girl has maybe some psychological issues or something where she thinks this is the best she deserves; she puts down other people as "snobs" for going to world renowned tattooers and is determined to stick with this guy. I also won't spoil where she lives, but it isn't exactly as small of a town as she makes it out to be, and she's VERY close to a lot of high quality artists. I hope she comes back someday because she could get some awesome tattoos with an attitude adjustment.

The funny thing about all this is, it isn't THAT bad of a tattoo. I've seen much worse. The issue here is usually people are humble about their shitty tattoos, and she still thinks it's great and we're all "haters."

@Graeme, is that you?
But seriously having read through both threads we were way nicer than the folks on that other forum. I would never tell a person I just met that they have a bad tattoo but if you go online and ask a bunch of strangers what they think of your tattoo... Well you may not like the answer you get. Obviously she didn't know but like@Synesthesia said if she had just posted in the lowdown thread the silence would be deafening but no one would have said squat.

The problem to me is she was so certain that she knew better on virtually everything she posted about. People warned her about the size; she ignored them. They warned her about the lack of detail; she ignored that, too.
It isn't like she's been super friendly or responsive to anything anyone has written. Her tone has been accusatory and quite rude. If she had been friendly, that would be another matter. But she hasn't. She came to a place full of people with knowledge of expertise, then ignored what everyone said and did it anyway. If she likes it, that is  genuinely all that matters. But I can't not say that is a shit tattoo. It isn't a subjective thing. Her skin is chewed up on top of the fact that it's not very good. I find it quite sad, really. And the response at Big Planet was way harsher than anyone here. Agree to disagree, I guess. I doubt she'll be back.

It's not hate, it's love. Love for good tattoos. I didn't know the difference when I first started my tattoo journey either. It pays to stick around here and really see the good stuff and the differences... If the guy has a good personality, that's great--maybe he'd be good in sales. For tattoos, there are people with good personalities who are also really good artists with technical skills.
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Charming. 

Update: I found a picture elsewhere on the internet. I won't post it out of respect for OP, but it's out there if you browse other forums. I am seriously confused how this person frequents (or should I say "frequented," since both forums are full of haters) two tattoo forums with people with hundreds of hours of tattooing, asked so many questions on both forums, and still came out with this. 

Also, bizarrely enough, OP's skin doesn't seem as dark as her other thread indicated it was. I think this picture is through a filter...or OP is completely delusional.