daveborjes

Always really liked this stormy piece by Chad Koeplinger. Not complete yet, and not on me:

Or you could go with a big Raijin (God of Thunder) like this one by Kiku (on one of my oldest friends):

What about clouds and lightning to represent..... clouds and lightning? :cool: If I were you I'd consult a tattooer and tell him/her that you want a tattoo with a thunderstorm theme. Simple as that. Most important thing is to find the right tattooer for the job if you ask me. Plenty of talent in Austin though, so that shouldn't be a problem for you.
Come to think of it, my fellow LSTer @Flo Ania has an awesome tattoo with clouds and lightning. Check it out:

Guys, this guy isn't worth arguing with.

That is not the nicest thing to say... People have different tastes. One person might be willing to pay $500 for a tattoo that someone else would not want if it was free. One person might place more value in getting any tattoo from one specific artist, while another person wants a specific meaningful tattoo but would be happy to get it from any qualified artist.

If I may... hand tattoos require someone who is skilled with this area of the body. I can think of a small number of tattoo artists who I'd trust with tattooing my hands. In other words, don't let just anyone tattoo you - doesn't matter what people say. If I listened to what people (non-trusted LSTers) said to me about "great artists", whooeee, I'd be a mess. This forum has a preference for Traditional and Japanese tattooing, be mindful of this whilst here.
Take your time to learn to identify what good linework and tattooing is - there is a huge difference between a fresh tattoo and a healed tattoo. You should be looking at a tattoo artist's portfolio and checking out what the healed tattoos look like. Healed tattoos, to me, indicate repeat business or that the person who got the tattoo wanted to show the tattoo artist how much they loved it.
Big tattoos can be girly too. Tattoos don't have to be small and with fine lines in order to be feminine. The smaller and more delicate the work, the more skilled the person doing it should be in my opinion. You (and others here) may feel differently, and that's fine. Squirming while getting tattooed can also result in messed up lines. Even so, no matter the tattoo, go to the best of the best.
Is going to Amsterdam an option for you? There are lots of great tattooers in Amsterdam.

Further to what @cltattooing said:
It's incredibly important to discuss price beforehand.
Many people have a specific budget and cannot afford more at that time, maybe ever.
We are professionals, offering a professional service. Payment is one aspect of that service.
Part of the consultation for any tattoo, be it a backpiece or a small walk-in design, is to discuss the price. Then you can decide if you will get the tattoo today, or at a later date.
If you are not told a price for your tattoo, you should ask. (at my shop we make sure that every client knows the maximum amount they will be expected to pay for their tattoo session, before they book an appointment or agree to get tattooed - sometimes it works out to be less)
Yes, we're also in London. Not mentioning the cost of goods and services is certainly not a cultural thing here.

I don't think it's awkward to ask that at all. Definitely good to just straight up ask the hourly and the amount of time expected, which imo is a bit more graceful than asking for a $ amount. If someone can't answer that for you, they are probably extremely stuck up or shady.
The "if you have to ask then you can't afford me" attitude is bullshit, tattooers need to understand that tattoos are a luxury and there are lots of other expenses in life that take priority to getting tattooed. Also how are you supposed to build a returning clientele if your clients leave feeling like their business wasn't handled with full transparency?

I was asked to give a budget for my recent chest tattoo (my most expensive to date), and it didn't bother me at all. The way I figure it, if I trust this person to permanently mark my body, I should choose someone I trust enough to be fair with pricing.

I doubt anyone will beat that tiger/cobra but Zuck it.

Here's my submission :)
Done by Josh Peters at High Tides Tattoo in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

Lone wolf?
Pick an artist, and talk to him or her about what might represent your ideas AND look good as a tattoo. Welcome!

More badassery for you. Starting to see the finish line on this one. By Dave C., PSC Tattoo.

Hello folks. So I will be working in Portland, Oregon May 30th through June 1st and am taking appointments for flash, custom work, and hand-poked tattoos. Would also love to meet some LST peoples while I'm in town. If you are interested in getting tattooed, shoot an email to [email protected]
Cheers!

Latest new label I heard last time I was there was "Lumbersexual". Had to laugh.

Will BBQ for tattoos!!
Beef chuck short ribs



15 pound packer:





lamb spare ribs:



pork spares:

All year round...
Mixture of pork shoulders, lamb leg and prime rib here. Low and slow for the former, reverse sear for the latter.

Not on me (I wish!) but I couldn't resist posting this here.
https://instagram.com/p/2XMZmTnXSj/

NO NO NO NO I was agreeing with your statement and I said to myself "I'm just another asshole with an opinion". As in ME and my asshole opinion.
I wasn't clear on my previous post. :) Only love for you homie @daveborjes

I'll throw my hat in again this month with this piece, all healed and new :)

Hi guys and gals.
I have been into tattoos for a while, and got my first one about 6-7 months ago. And now I can't stop thinking about my next one, sleeves, I am allways looking for artists and I think atleast 50% of the people I follow on Instagram are tattoo artists (I think the rest are miniature painters and bmxers, so I got a pretty weird mix).
My favourite styles are Traditional and Japanes traditional, but I appreciate all forms of tattoos as long as they are well made. At the moment I am trying to figure out how traditional and japanese will look togheter, and I am also trying to figure out where to get my next piece.
I am a 22 years old for those of you wondering and my name is Stian.
I can't think of anymore to write at the moment, but I am allways open for questions.
Regards
Stian.
Ps, sorry for any typos and weird sentences. English is not my native tongue.
My first tattoo. - Imgur
Here are my first tattoo, it was done by Mateusz Mazak when he was guesting where I live.

I'm just gonna toss this out there and then fuck off to eat crap hotel food and ogle my new Gilsdorf tattoo:
I've seen plenty of people who don't like traditional best come here and express their opinions without getting everybody's hackles up. Nobody cares what other people like.
People get riled up when someone starts making condescending remarks about how the thing they love is in some way inferior - especially since that's a completely subjective opinion that has zero to do with fact. Everybody gets that you think trad is 'inferior' and 'for posers' (the latter of which is weird to me, because wtf, American tattooing was born on one-shot military pieces, but okay). They just don't want to constantly hear about it.
And it's kinda pass-agg to say things like 'true masters of tattooing,' insulting all of the other bitchin artists who are, yes, doing traditional work.
Tl;dr: nobody cares that you don't hold traditional in the same esteem as other styles. Just stop being a dick about it! Then we can all go back to just appreciating the stuff we DO like.

You've watched some widely available documentaries and read some recently published easy to obtain books, you must be really good at research.

Actually, I don't think anyone has. You are shitting on a pretty important part of the tattoo world (and a tradition that yes, people on this board love, for good reason!) with little to no interest in understanding it, which does not bode well for your supposed future career as a tattooer. You have been doing this for weeks, including insulting people's actual tattoos on here. Your attitude is both misinformed and rude. It is not stimulating any kind of worthwhile critique. Please just try to add to the discussion like a civilized human being.
I am bummed that what was a positive and interesting thread turned into this shit show. I will say that when I first started getting tattooed, I didn't "get" traditional either. I didn't understand how beautiful its simplicity can be. Seeing the work of some amazing tattooers in person really opened my eyes (I had a real "a-ha!" moment the first time I saw Chad Koeplinger tattooing at the Montreal convention, when I still only had one tattoo). Now it's most of what I have. It is interesting how it takes a little bit of time and learning about tattoos to "get it", but I think the world of traditional is rich and diverse and like @cltattooing said, we are really lucky that there are some amazing folks out there right now doing cool things with this style.

I saw this on Instagram, it's on user tfjesse1046. Sailor Jerry put this on him in 1967. Readable and strong as fuck almost 50 years in.