Kurgana

My lips. Hahaha. I tend to lick my lips a lot when I'm getting tattooed (nerves or coping with the pain, I guess—maybe both), and without the lip balm, my lips get really dry. :-)

I'm still wanting my tattoos to be relatively discreet, and I'm also a little hung up regarding coherence. My body is an extension of particles, but I am also a unitary being and I feel the need for there to be a unifying principle behind it all. My first was going to be my only one: I had this idea of the tattoo being 'my motto' or my personal symbol. However, I was in a bad place at the time and some years later I had another on the other ankle to provide a kind of answer to the first.

A few months ago someone that meant a lot to me passed away, and I really want to be physically marked by that - if that makes any sense! I also want something really beautiful and larger than my previous ones. I may have it done on my abdomen, however, so it remains discreet. The difficulty is that I feel like it needs to tie in with the other two and I'm not sure quite what that means. I don't want to repeat the exact motifs, and I'm not even sure whether it is unity of style that I am after...

I was considering remaining with the theme: so the first was a rose- bud, the second, an anklet of hearts and this third COULD be a swan which would make them all romantic. But...I'm feeling some tooth rot from the saccharine!

that's me 100%

@Tiresius I live in Sicily, Italy. Living on an island is sometimes a little frustrating. I'd love to collect tattoos from artists all over the world, but at least at this stage of my life it seems a little complicated. This is not to say that there are no talented local artists, but I guess I tend to gravitate towards styles that are not that well represented here. 
I totally see myself as pretty much covered in the future. Hopefully with work by multiple artists. It's probably not going to end up looking very cohesive, especially because I'm all for mixing different styles... But at least it will be interesting :)
 

@Tiresius I live in Sicily, Italy. Living on an island is sometimes a little frustrating. I'd love to collect tattoos from artists all over the world, but at least at this stage of my life it seems a little complicated. This is not to say that there are no talented local artists, but I guess I tend to gravitate towards styles that are not that well represented here. 
I totally see myself as pretty much covered in the future. Hopefully with work by multiple artists. It's probably not going to end up looking very cohesive, especially because I'm all for mixing different styles... But at least it will be interesting :)
 

@Kurgana NO! You kidding me? Not sure where you are from, but there are artists in the UK, the USA and Europe that have totally bowled me over. As well as those extemely vivid print-types I also LOVE the fine line work of Thieves of Tower and Dr Woo, and check these out, by Asley Malarkey.

https://www.tattoodo.com/a/2015/12/the-precious-black-and-grey-tattoos-of-ryan-ashley-malarkey/

There is a Pope mouse, and also an owl there that are fabulous!

But I admit to really loving the work at Fallen Heroes - at least the stuff in the online portfolios. Thys ended up being my first choice because of the detail and intensity of his work. However, I find La's stuff really appealing too - and certainly if one wants a fairy-tale quality to it, I think... My other crush is Bryan: for something realist. In fact, I asked when he was next available as I was thinking of two hands holding each other against a night sky/galaxy. However, he is only available in February! (My appointment with Thys is booked for May :o ) So...I'm going to see if La is available earlier and hopefully start with the tree.

I love that piece he did on that guy's back 20 years ago! Much of his own body though seems to have turned into a grey smudge.

This: https://www.facebook.com/curlytattoo66/

blastovers
when done correctly...awesome look

Ok, thanks. Guess it's just as well my tattoo appointment is in 10 months. Time for at least 3 or 4 laser sessions before.

I would not. The laser works the same way on your hair follicles that it works on tattoos...it interacts with the pigment.

I haven't read this whole thread - so apologies if someone gave the answer to this earlier, but can one do lazer hair removal on an area that has been tattooed? I'm just wondering whether it would be better to  lazer an area for a few months before having a tattoo there. I wouldn't mind waiting a few months afterwards to ensure its healed BEFORE doing lazer hair removal, but don't want to find out it is no longer an option when its too late!

@Tiresius I know! I'm trying to be mindful of not wasting any precious space for things that are not "important" to me though. I guess what is holding me back potentially even more than the budget is the relative lack of access to artists I like, it seems like you'll have no such problems.
I really like the work of most artists from the studio you linked, and yes, I also find La's work beautiful! I am not really qualified to judge technical aspects or how this sort of work will age, but I'd personally love to have a tattoo done by her. There are some great examples of tattoos that flow very nicely with the body in her portfolio (love, love, love the back tattoo with the lady's head where her hair morphs into a wolf).
Please post us some pics when you end up getting tattooed so that I can die of envy ;).
 
 

@Kurgana, it sounds lucky that you have budget restraints because it will slow you down. What happens when all your skin is filled in? lol ;)

I am thinking of trying to get an earlier appointment with someone else at the same studio, FallenHeroes. Her name is La and she specialises in 'illustrative' tattoos. I'm considering a faraway tree (Enid Blyton) that goes up my right thigh, over my hip and onto my side and stomach. (I'm a woman by the way - just happen like the name Tiresius!)

Though a lot of her work is watercolour I have seen just black from her too and really like the whimsical effect of her work. 

My first two were also flash, the third one was a mash-up of several elements from a band logo, the fourth was basically a design by me which was improved upon by the artist. At this point, I had found someone whose artistic talent I really admire and who clearly knows what he's doing. The last two tattoos were totally designed by the artists (the previous one and a new-to-me artist). As you see, there's a clear progression there. 
What was the key to letting go and letting them do their thing was realizing that I liked (all or most of) their previous work, and that I would hate it if my micro-managing compromised the end result. IMO, a good artist will know what he/she is doing, and their artwork will very rarely benefit from overly strict requirements by the client. This is not to say that you shouldn't tell them exactly what you want, just be ready to listen to their suggestions and keep an open mind. Maybe don't bring a sketch with you ;). Also, I've noticed that it really helps with the "fit" on your body if you can be fairly flexible with the exact position and let them go as big as they deem necessary.
The "bad" thing is that once you learn to just get along with it, it just gets easier and easier and the indecisions tend to disappear. Personally, this is a bad thing mainly for my bank account ;). I have lots of free space left, a ton of ideas (now that I don't need to have the finished tattoo perfectly planned out before approaching the artist), and a fairly flexible schedule so without any budget restraints I'd probably live in the tattoo studio... As it is, I've gotten "just" three 3-5 hour tattoos over the past six months...

And I think if one is immersed in tattoo culture, that might also seem the way to go. Because most of the people around me are somewhat anti-tattoo, I think I need to feel great resonance with the image and more certainty about it having a particular place on me. 
My first was flash and second was one I saw on the Internet. Designing one feels a bit difficult for that reason...
 

Lol. You've just described me. The good news is that tattoos might just cure you from that, once you find artist(s) whose work you are comfortable with. Or else you'll be spending the rest of your life second guessing yourself and/or in laser removal I guess :D.
I'm actually looking forward to my future tattoos since I'm now at a point where I'm starting to feel comfortable with just picking a loose subject matter/style and letting the artist run wild with that, rather than having to have the whole tattoo planned inside my head (or on paper) by the millimeter.

@Tiresius getting tattooed has cured me of a lot of that too, like @Kurgana says. Well, helped a lot anyway. 
It's not really my cup of tea, but this guy does a lot of stuff along the lines of the style you like. He uses what many people here would probably consider 'enough' black but it's absolutely not traditional https://www.instagram.com/thedavidcote/ 
 

Lol. You've just described me. The good news is that tattoos might just cure you from that, once you find artist(s) whose work you are comfortable with. Or else you'll be spending the rest of your life second guessing yourself and/or in laser removal I guess :D.
I'm actually looking forward to my future tattoos since I'm now at a point where I'm starting to feel comfortable with just picking a loose subject matter/style and letting the artist run wild with that, rather than having to have the whole tattoo planned inside my head (or on paper) by the millimeter.

Hey, 
my Ipad does the same, only thing is that it actually HASN'T logged off like it would seem on the main page; as soon as I click on anything (typically "forum", any thread or "unread content") it shows me as logged in. No idea what's going on, but it's probably just another one of the joys of Apple ownership.
The weirdest thing that has happened a couple of times is that instead of showing me as logged out initially, it appears as if I'm actually logged in as another user (different user names both times). Again it gets resolved by moving to another section of the page.

sometimes we forget that getting tattooed involves a little leap of faith in the outcome
a little bit of balls if you will
shit can happen
even with great tattooers
lines can blowout
some ink might dropout
you could scab and scar
fall off your skateboard
get bit by a dog
struck by lightening
so in the end - you do your research
get your tattoo
and move on with your life
time, skin, cash permitting
you do that shit again and again 

Lol. You've just described me. The good news is that tattoos might just cure you from that, once you find artist(s) whose work you are comfortable with. Or else you'll be spending the rest of your life second guessing yourself and/or in laser removal I guess :D.
I'm actually looking forward to my future tattoos since I'm now at a point where I'm starting to feel comfortable with just picking a loose subject matter/style and letting the artist run wild with that, rather than having to have the whole tattoo planned inside my head (or on paper) by the millimeter.

Lol. You've just described me. The good news is that tattoos might just cure you from that, once you find artist(s) whose work you are comfortable with. Or else you'll be spending the rest of your life second guessing yourself and/or in laser removal I guess :D.
I'm actually looking forward to my future tattoos since I'm now at a point where I'm starting to feel comfortable with just picking a loose subject matter/style and letting the artist run wild with that, rather than having to have the whole tattoo planned inside my head (or on paper) by the millimeter.

Sounds like you are not a constipated perfectionist! Too bad. If you ever need lessons in hesitation, procrastination or general paralyzingly uncertainty, look me up!