Hogrider

a man took time out his day to tell me I "was ruined! Tattoos are for sailors and prostitutes!" . He was so angry.

Probably another good Christian spreading God's love.

Thanks, that's awesome. I was thinking about a wolf on one side of my leg and a panther on the other.

Is there any iconic wolf traditional tattoo design equivalent to the crawling panther (sorry if I'm not using the correct terminology). I will of course consult with my artist when the time comes, but I like to do my homework beforehand.

Thanks!

By Jason McAfee at Temple Tattoo in Oakland, CA.

Outstanding!! I wish I was in Oakland. :-(

You see some weekend warrior pull up on a Harley with no tattoos but the their jacket has a big tattoo style rose and their tank has a skull or some tribal design. I am always shocked at the amount of little things I notice in a day that have been influenced by tattoos or tattoo design.

There are always wannabes that don't wanna pay the price. They like playing dress-up. :-)

So you can see the career shifts that can happen. He warned me of this all time and gave real life examples.

Good point. I've gone back and forth

20's - played in rock band, tattoos were no problem

30's - sold insurance to high-dollar clients, tattoos were a problem

40's - computer developer, tattoos were no problem

50's - technical manager meeting with clients, tattoos could be a problem

I never got tattoos until I hit my 50's, but in my checkered career, sometimes it would have been an issue, sometimes not so much. I decided that I'll wear long sleeves when needed, but I'm at the end of my career. If I was 20 I don't know if I'd want to be in the position of potentially wearing long sleeves for the next 50 years.

You just don't know. The only think I wouldn't do in my 20's (knowing what I know now) is get a tattoo that couldn't be covered up.

Jesse Tseronis at Sakura Tattoo in Winchester, VA.

I seriously considered giving up my dream of having a dragon after the American movie got so much attention. (Noomi Rapace's tattoo was better in the Swedish version......)

I never do, or don't do, something based on a movie. Chances are in a few years no one will remember it anyway (unless it's star wars of course). So don't get a Wooki and you'll be OK.

Your fat. Don't wear makeup, don't dress nicely, don't have fun, don't leave the house ... period. Just stand in a corner and perform self flagellation.

Or, you can just live your life.

Risk / Reward? How about a pinup of a smoking hot 15 year old :-)

Tattoos don't sit on top of the skin, so I'm not sure how a cream would work. Also, why would people endure the cost and pain of laser removal if they could just rub a little cream on their skin to remove a tattoo?

There is no free lunch, if it sounds too good to be true it is, there is a sucker born every minute, etc., etc., etc.

I love the "your body is a temple" logic against tattoos.

Leviticus 19:28 You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

The pagans would mark themselves so that the newly dead would not recognize them. The Jews were not supposed to do this because it was a pagan practice. I guess if someone is following every other command in the bible, there is no reason not to follow this. Most Christians just follow the commands they want and then justify why they don't have to follow the others.

The Bible does say you should not mark your skin. Next time tell them it also says "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned," "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." and "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?"

These hypocrites only read the part of the bible that allows them to be judgmental blowhards.

As to the stares, I'm 6'2" 195 with hair halfway down my back. I stare back :-)

You play, you pay.

Exactly. It's like these wannabe gang-bangers that run around with do rags, backwards hats, gold teeth, pants down below their asses with their underwear hanging out and then cry when someone crosses the street to avoid them.

Duh! You want to look like a gansta wannabe, don't expect to get treated like Mr. Rogers.

I think one of the things that struck me was that there was no personal note to me; no "hey, we really dig OV and would like to see (artists) name featured on your blog!".

It was just a "here are lowrez photos for web and high rez for print".

I don't think there is anything wrong with using a publicist, but this approach is unprofessional and disrespectful to both you and their client. There is a lot of tradition behind the tattooing profession and even when you are trying new things, you have to respect that tradition. This is just amateur hour and the person doing it should be ashamed and embarrassed.

*looks around*

Is this a real thread?

Sorry, not everybody is born knowing everything.

I would imagine that most tattooers who are worth their weight don't actively need a publicist getting them exposure.

You don't think that Kat Von D got where she is just on the strength of her work, do you?

I decided to coordinate a chest piece Hannya mask to a japanese sleeve I'm working on. Jesse Tseronis at Sakura Tattoo in Winchester, va. After this he worked on shading on the sleeve for another hour or so. We start adding color next appointment.

Thanks for all the feedback.

I'm not a tattoo artist (and don't aspire to be one), but I've done enough reading to understand that there is an accepted way to become one and there is little love for those that don't follow the traditional path. I do not understand these types of threads started by scratchers who think they are going to get some sympathy or empathy on a forum like this.

Sorry bud, but you know the right way to become a tattoo artist, don't expect people here to support short-cuts.

Sounds close enough to full sleeves to me.

The fact that I'm obsessing over 1/2 inch or so should tell you I'm not completely in my right mind :-)

thanks for the responses. It's about 1/2 inch above my wrist bone. my obsessive compulsive nature has stuck again :-)

note to Miley - increase security - exponentially.

Is there a standard place where the sleeve ends? I wanted to be able to cover my sleeve with a dress shirt, and my artist stopped it exactly where I asked, but now that I've lived with it for a while I'm thinking it might look better a little longer. I'm probably over-thinking this (like I always do). So I'm asking the experts, where does the sleeve end?

Thanks!

I don't feel like you were attacking me and if anyone brought negativity to the forum it was me. In re-reading my posts, I think I was too harsh, but unfortunately I can't delete the posts. I need to learn to think a little harder before I post something. Not that Ami cares what some guy on the internet says about him, but I feel bad that I came off like I did and can only offer an apology about that. I won't try to fix it as I'll likely just continue to make things worst. It's too bad they can't have a show about tattooing without all the made up drama. To someone who has been a part of the tattooing culture for a very long time, the daily mechanics of giving and getting a tattoo may seem old hat, but to someone relatively new to tattoos, it's very interesting.