oboogie

@Kracov, I highly recommend sharing your ideas with a tattoo artist and let them create something for you.

@Kracov, I highly recommend sharing your ideas with a tattoo artist and let them create something for you.

Finished!!!!
If anyone ever asks you for tattoo advice: "get enough sleep" needs to be at the top of the list. I've barely slept but a couple hours each of the last three nights.... and I could barely make it through the final 4 hours of tattooing needed to complete my sleeve. After about an hour, everything just hurt bad, and I had very little tolerance for pain this time around.
Here's a pic of the final sleeve. Some of the oranges are really yellow but inflamed... and there is actually no red in the swirling spiral on the back of the arm -- just red from the work.
Going back in a month for some touch-up work (not a lot of green held in the dragon's head first time around) and I will post healed photos in a few weeks.
 

Hi there, 
I think what Marley means is that this forum isn't one where people seek advice on the making tattoos side of things. It's a collector's forum.
I'll give you my quick word of advice, it's not a bit of internet validation that will get you into anything. Show your images to the tattooers who are surrounding you, maybe they will help you, maybe not.

Hi There, and welcome to LST.
Please take a moment to re-read your welcome email and the LST guidelines:
http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/guidelines/
Do not start threads asking about specific tattooing equipment or techniques, LST is not here to teach anyone how to tattoo. Ask your own tattooer, the next time you are getting tattooed. Maybe they'll answer you, maybe they won't. Do not start threads regarding closely guarded trade secrets - this will keep LST a much more welcoming place for everyone, tattooers and enthusiasts alike. Do not start threads asking questions about "breaking into the business" of tattooing. Cheers

My first tattoo was a trail of seven butterflies going from the front of my right hip up and around my side. I was 19 and at the time the first two sat in my undies line and the last one closer toward my back. 4 kids and 12 years on, they sit very differently ? poor things have been through a fair bit! In the past I wanted to either rework them or add to them, but now I'm too sentimental and like them all stretched and sad looking ?

This is a cover up of my first tattoo, which was shit. (I got in 1996 when I was in college with little to no thought, and I was half in the bag.), so it is really my second tattoo. It was covered up in 2011, and I haven't stopped since. Now I've lost count.

 

Amy Winehouse as traditional pin-up

hi Kristina   and welcome ! can we see a pic of your Eeyore  ?

You have to build up a post count before you can start posts in other areas. By replying here, posting pics, offering comments on other posts you can build your count. I can't seem to find it in the rules, but I think 10 is the magic number.

Thank you so much guys for all the advice. Think I'm going to just either just live with it as it is (I don't hate at all just would prefer for it to be a bit more delicate) or laser to lighten and have a little more work done with a good artist. You've all definatly put me off the white! As you say pictures on the Internet are not a good gauge to use. 

@Vix35 have you seen this lady's white tattoo recently?  White does not last well on its own, and honestly in my opinion will eventually look like a scar or some sort of skin issue. 
If you dislike your tattoo and don't want to cover it with something MUCH larger, you can opt to have it lasered off. Expensive and painful. 
Or do what dan suggested.  A very good idea in my opinion  
 

Hi and welcome,do you mean you regret not having the whole tattoo done in white ? because if you had it would look like total crap by now,personally I would stay away from white other than used for highlights.
anyway,IMO any good artist could easily enhance and renew that tattoo by adding some to what's already there,re-hit the black a little,maybe add some small color  flowers and a little bit of feminine vines.
my wife has an ankle tattoo that didn't look just right and we went to a better artist and she added some cool little things to it and retouched the color and it looks great now. 

This. All day long: this.


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Please don't get that. Tattoo artists are professional artists who specialize in that medium, if you choose a decent one, they'll be able to design something that will look great and still get across whatever message you want.

In general, I discourage people from getting words on them, unless it's a bold font. Words tend not to age well, plus you're going to have a lot of people grabbing whatever body part you get them on and twisting you around to read them. It's bad enough when people want to see what an image is, they're extra nosey about reading words for some reason. I would encourage you to think of an image that represents what you want. Images usually look better as tattoos and you don't always have to be so literal about what you're trying to express. Whatever you do though, you don't have to draw what you want. Maybe find some examples of the style or elements you like and bring in the pictures to the artist to help steer them, but they can (or should) be able to handle the drawing portion.

Yeah, this has been coming up a lot. Calls for caps lock I think.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DESIGN YOUR OWN TATTOO.

YOU SHOULD NOT DESIGN YOUR OWN TATTOO.


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I do not have the experience to offer advice on the type of tree, but I offer my sincere condolences on your loss.
I will say, though, that going with an image that speaks to you makes more sense than any advice we can give. Certainly, find an artist who has the ability to transform your feelings into art. I had a similar experience with my last tattoo. As I looked at various designs, one kept pulling me back over and over - it was that one that I gave to my artist and then talked about how it could be changed to reflect my personal feelings. If you do that, it will have deep meaning to you....and that's who it needs to impact most, IMHO.

I didn't mention what my tattoo is, so I'll add it here. It's a drawing by the artist Keith Haring called "Barking Dog." He was a pop/graffiti artist from the 80s. He died of AIDS in 1990. I studied 20th century art in college and grad school, and I've been a fan of Keith's since I was a kid. I have two other drawings by him tattooed on me, too: a dancing man behind my left ear (from one of his larger drawings) and Funny Bunny on my right ankle. I also have a crown from graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was a contemporary of Haring.

Hi there, you've already posted a thread about your forearm roses which are quite nice. As was suggested there and here, go back to that artist and ask them. Or look at the many great tattoos that come up on instragram and get inspired. Then use words to tell your artist about what you saw. Let them do their thing with your idea.
Also, a compass tattoo becomes feminine when you put it on a female body. Perhaps mention that you like a lighter line weight instead of a bold line.

so maybe that's why it's deserted here lately ,why shouldn't we welcome all these newbies ? won't they eventually hopefully turn into regular smarter about tattooing members ? as they learn when we tactfully and in a friendly manner try and answer their questions instead of being snarky,rude,or ignoring them ? so we can pass on our vast veteran knowledge to these people that will like I said,come here and learn,we have all asked stupid questions at one time or another and I'll guess you did too when you first started getting tattooed.
anyway,for me,I don't believe there are stupid questions,there are just questions.
 
so that's my .02

There's little to no activity as it is. This would kill it dead.

Hope my jokes didn't come across as mean spirited, by the way--they were certainly meant in a spirit of silliness.  I'm in the middle of a difficult heal myself.
 

Im not sure what sort of tree you should get. Its really up to you, as it seems like this is a pretty personal thing for you.
As far as your experience goes, Im aware of a traditional symbol that might reflect what has happened to you. In Japanese iconography, the cherry blossom (sakura) is an image used to symbolize a life lost too early. Cherry blossoms are very beautiful, but also fragile. They only bloom for a few weeks before they are gone. They symbolize somethong that is very beautiful, but that only lasts so long; Life. They are often paired with images of samurai who give their life in battle and have their life snatched away from them too early. Cherry blossoms have been tattoo motifs for hundreds of years, and make beautiful tattoos.
 
Something to consider. Do some research, tho, as this is only my interpretation of Japanese motif.

I could have answered that question...but I was a history major in college.

This is a cover up of my first tattoo, which was shit. (I got in 1996 when I was in college with little to no thought, and I was half in the bag.), so it is really my second tattoo. It was covered up in 2011, and I haven't stopped since. Now I've lost count.