taaarro

Just got tattooed by Charlie Roberts in Tokyo:)

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Something a tattooer told me that I wish I'd known from the start: get the big pieces first.

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

What an interesting read this thread is. Another issue if you travel internationally for tattoos is exchange rates and different local costs of things. I had a relatively young, but very popular European tattooer visiting Japan quote me a price that was twice the cost of equivalently sized tattoos I'd gotten from older, 'legendary' tattooers in the US. I felt sort of offended and decided I didn't really want a tattoo from the person, but it did occur to me that it has to do with the cost of living in Europe.

I'm glad to see a thread about money come up on here, and stay on track with reasonable questions and reasonable answers. We have always avoided the topic, but it is a big part of getting tattooed, and new people come here to educate themselves on all aspects of tattooing. I think we have avoided it for so long because we didn't want it to turn into a big gossip thread about what specific tattooers charge. I personally have never asked ahead of time about the price, but I do think it is a good idea. Especially if you are new to getting tattooed. The ones of us that have been getting tattooed for a decade or more usually have some idea of what we might get charged. Even though we don't talk about it on open public forums we do share this type of information privately. When you are travelling across the country or across the world to get tattooed by someone you have never met before it is a huge help to have friends that have been tattooed by them. They let you know what to expect when you get there. Where to get a good pre-tattoo meal and post-tattoo drink, where the closest ATM is, how fast or slow the tattooer is, and what to expect on the money side. If you don't have friends like that as a resource then you need to talk about the price beforehand no matter how uncomfortable it makes you. I honestly believe that most really good tattooers are very fair with their pricing. That has been my experience over the last twelve years, but I also know that there are a few famous tattooers out there that charge ridiculous prices, and a couple of my friends found out the hard way. It sucks when that happens because it can really sour a person on getting tattooed.

Thanks man! When this is all said and done and nicely healed I'm going to try to get some good pictures of it because these iPhone photos don't quite cut it. I love the rocks and waterfall too, though you don't get much of them on a front on (back on?) picture like this. They add a sort of prettiness to the toughness of two fierce animals battling to the death. My favourite tattoos are the ones that are simultaneously tough and beautiful and I think this tattoo achieves that. There are really a lot of super cool things about the tattoo, like how the water ties together with the water on my arm (again not visible when I'm covering my junk in the shop) and how the waves carry over from one leg to the other. I am stoked that this is on me because otherwise I'd have to be jealous of the person with this tattoo.

The backpiece is done (for now at least) and i couldn't be more happy with it. Unfortunately i managed to pick up a chest infection which put a bit of a dampener on my trip to Oslo but there's no taking the smile off my face right now.

Pretty much all the colour is fresh as well as a couple of the darker parts of the skull so it'll look a lot different once everything has settled down i'm sure. I don't mind admitting i barely made it through this session, definitely the hardest one i've had (certainly not helped by illness) but i'm so fucking glad we got to the end.
By the legendary Marius Meyer.
Now we await the healing process.... Also that left arm is looking pretty damn bare isn't it... fuck.

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

This is why I love leaving deposits. Makes me feel like I'm paying less for my tattoo at the end of the day.

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche

Surfing Mahakala (WIP–lines and shading done) on rib by the inimitable Eddy Deutsche