daveborjes

I don't think that i have ever seen any photos from Bob's New York shop (apartment). I wonder why he spelled it Spotlite then, and changed it to Spotlight in Los Angeles. No matter how you spell it I am excited to be getting tattooed by Bob in a couple of weeks.

'Nuff said

Aaron Coleman (not sure if these have been posted before or not?)
Immaculate Tattoo - Home

I started with 'homemade machines' and sharpening my needles on matchbooks. All I knew at the time was single needle and black ink, I was totally clueless to anything else. When I met real tattooers and learned to make real needles I was instantly hooked, there was no turning back. I rarely use single needle these days, I want my tattoos to last as long the person I make them on, but I am very proud to know how to wield a single needle when need be. I believe Chicano style comes purely from where you came from as a tattooer and how you learned. Some try and copy it, some actually do an amazing job at creating it as well, but in my opinion the only people who can tattoo that true Chicano style are the people who lived it.
ps - Ben Grillo tattooed my foot yesterday, he busted out the single needle, ouch.

notice the same letters in this "tattoo font"

Dude... You load up pictures of your homemade tattoos and ask for critique in your profile text. Maybe you should have included a disclaimer that negative (or honest if you will) feedback will result in namecalling and physical threats.
Why the banhammer hasn't been dusted off yet is beyond me. That Bubbleberry guy was annoying as fuck, but atleast he didn't threaten to punch people in the face.
With that mindset I'm sure you'll come a long way.

Forget emails dude (if time and distance permit), find a shop or tattooer you're into and just go talk to them. If you can loosen up your budget a bit that'd also be a plus just to be safe. Don't forget, like any other service it's also good form to tip. Lastly, I'll stick to other "advice" I've given before, to just get more tattoos. But make sure they're nicer ones that you're happier with.

Love the Rock of Ages design. Got one on my forarm! Here is one I did the other day

bomcconaghie

Grime just posted this Oni Vs. Panther pic on the Black Claw facebook page and I can't stop staring at it.
Check out his facebook page here: BlackClaw | Facebook

Hey @Blank, eagles and panthers are classic, classic designs. Sounds like you're on the right track since you mentioned getting a USMC tattoo in the other thread. Best advice is to find a shop/tattooer you're into and have a chat with them. Eagle vs panther tattoo? Two separate tattoos maybe? One giant, killer eagle chest piece?
Where're you at? I bet some folks on here could point you in the right direction.

tilt at new life tattoo in champaign, il

Tattoos are something you should get when you are young and carefree. There will be a time when you don't have all this free time or extra money to spend on tattoos, so if you are fortunate enough to be able to get tattooed regularly do it. Dan Higgs, Chris Conn, Scott Harrison have "quit tattooing", Ed Hardy isn't taking appointments, Pinky Yun, Mike Malone, Eric Maaske, Mike Brown are not with us anymore. I kick myself for not getting tattooed by some of these people when I had the chance. (especially Malone as I got tattooed at his shop just a few short months after). Now I am not saying there isn't plenty of people left to get tattooed by, my point is you never know when it will be too late.
Yeah you probably don't want to finish before 30, so yeah maybe take a break from booking out tattoos every month and maybe just travel, don't stop getting tattooed, just don't plan it for awhile. Take trips with no expectation of getting tattooed and if you stumble upon a good shop or opportunity to get tattooed by someone cool, then do it.
I had a conversation with a couple of tattooers I really look up to yesterday and one of them pointed out it's hard to be the old grizzled guy with gnarly tattoos if you keep getting new tattoos and also will I really want to get tattooed by the 25 year old hot shot, when i am in my fifties, shoot I don't want to do that know for the most part (no offense 25 year old hot shots).

My horse from Zach Nelligan and my boyfriend's bat lady from Civ. We got them at the Salt Lake convention this weekend!

LIVE FOR METAL, DIE FOR GHOUL.

I was 15 I think; I was coming back from my HS Graduation and asked my folks if I could get a tattoo as a present. They said yes and we stopped at a shop in Savannah, Georgia where I got tattooed by a scary biker chick named Darnell.
My mom lied and said I was 16 since that was the minimum age Darnell would tattoo.
I had doodled this little sun that ended up looking nothing like what she tattooed on me. I'll look for pictures (it's since been covered up by Josh Hoffman) but man... it was AWFUL. She did it with a single needle, but some of the lines blew out so much that they were easily 1/8" wider than other parts of the tattoo.
I was nervous, so she gave me booze to sip. Then tattooed my brother with the same needle setup because "you two are family".

tattooed on my calf by Mike Schweigert on my 18th birthday at Electric Tattoo, Bradley Beach NJ

My first tattoo story isn't anywhere as amazing as the gentleman I tattooed yesterday. This is his first tattoo , done 32 years ago by Capt. Jack Collidge in New Jersey and it's still amazing today.

1. yes it is more difficult, especially if the original tattoo is black or another dark colour. The tattooer you end up choosing will be able to advise you on the cover-up-ability of the tattoo you have.
2. It sounds like the guy you're referring to is an asshole. Designing custom artwork for clients is one of the main parts of being a tattooer. It's not totally out of control to ask for a deposit on large artwork (for example a back piece). This is so that when you never come back they won't have wasted their week designing your large scale tattoo. Any tattooer worth a shit should have zero problem designing your tattoo. If they aren't super busy it's not unreasonable for them to have a drawing to show you within a week or so. Like I said they may want a deposit of usually $40-60 which should go towards to the total cost of the tattoo. I do not recommend having a non-tattooer design your tattoo. They don't know what will work and what won't, especially with a cover up.
3. Generally tattoos on arms and legs cost less than having the same design done of the chest, stomach or ribs. This is because it ends up taking longer due to the tricky area and generally the pain level is a lot higher and causes the client to want more breaks. Sounds like you're thinking of your shoulder though so it should be a fairly easy area to tattoo. As far as a realistic eagle vs. and old school one, both can be done quickly, and both can be dragged out into super long sessions. It's really hard to say without looking at an actual drawing, but you are correct, the bigger and more detail, the longer and more expensive.
4. At the shops I am familiar with, $200 with get you about a palm sized tattoo, maybe a little larger. What you are describing would fit into that budget or close to it, that is assuming you don't have gigantic biceps and the tattoo getting covered is fairly small. Keep in mind when covering a tattoo you will have to get a much larger one over top. So look at your tattoo and then imagine one 2-3 times the size to cover it.
My advise since you live in California is to check out the LST Preferred Professionals list. There are sooooo many amazing, and I really mean amazing, tattooers in Cali. Pick out some that you like and go visit their shop, chat with whoever's there about the tattoo you want and see what they think. Ask them for a quote and be up front about your budget so they know what you're working with. There will be a moment when you go into a shop and realize that 'this is the place' and 'that's the tattooer'.
Here's a link to the Preferred Vendor list I mentioned : http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/member-referrals/43-lst-preferred-tattoo-professionals.html
Also I'm sure that the guys who run the site would always be happy to help you out, they can be found at BlackHeart Tattoo in San Francisco

Shopping on price is a massive mistake IMHO.
Tattooing is like anything else you buy and quality comes at a price.
My advice for what its worth. Look at the gallery, there's some great tattoos on there. Find an idea or design you like. Find a good artist. Im sure there are some great tattoo shops in San Diego (I'm from the UK so I can't recomend any). Get a quote pay a deposit and set a date. If you need to save some money set a date months away and start saving.

I couldn't stick to the same tattooer or tattooers as I'm a complete tattoo slut.

By Stuart G. Cripwell Spider Murphys Tattoo :: Welcome
Who else gets the feeling that this bad boy will hold?

I need to get a photo of this healed, but this was done on me by Kris Magnotti from NY Adorned, probably my favourite piece.