LittleKitty

A lot of people walk in to shops with different kinds of baggage relating to their body. Some people are conscious about scars, some don’t want a little fat showing when getting tattooed, some are self-conscious about their skin color and others are feel that they’re too skinny, among other things. You may find that going to an artist to have an area on your body that you feel vulnerable about worked on may boost your self-confidence. It may, and probably will, change your perspective on that body part.
Artists have seen an array of people with a variety of vulnerabilities and issues. Many have “seen it all”, as they saying goes.
I have personally had scars tattooed over, on my chest. They are from surgeries due to skin cancer, and I had always felt self-conscious of them since I got them, For me, it was important that my scars were camouflaged within the tattoo. My artist did just that, and now it’s a part of my body that I absolutely LOVE showing off.
What’s the worst that can happen from going and chatting with someone? You may end up with a piece that you can’t wait to show off, or you may decide to not go through with it. At the very least, you can express your fears and desires to someone, which could hopefully lead to some healing.

When I joined Last Sparrow years back I was an Apprentice at a shop. I survived that lol but my Mentor did not he passed away, after that I opened my own shop. It is doing really well. Why I have not be login it is that I have been redirected to spam sights when trying to find Last Sparrow. I thought the sight was dead. The main reason I am back is because I have beed painting a lot lately and was wondering what you guys use on and what works for you - paper, paint, markers, ect.
Tommy Phillips
Noble Street Tattoo

When you're wife tells you that even so much as thinking about a head tattoo idea is grounds for divorce.

You plan vacations and choose destinations around getting tattooed.
 

When you have more tattoos than your artist (I'm not there yet).

you decide to do a backpiece and take extra jobs to pay for it over the span of a couple years, oof

I just had the first session of a new one done yesterday.She said the same thing she says every time "I didn't know it was going to be so big".

sounds logical to me, that skin on the back thigh is pretty tender,and they do stay sore and tender for a while sometimes,
depends on the artist's method who did it and where it is on the body, and you are basically sitting on it a lot.
keep it clean and put Aveeno on it a couple times  a day.

I personally love the little peek you get at the collar of your shirt; it would prompt me to ask more about what’s on the rest of your chest.
 
I would hold off on a couple of months, maybe even a year, before settling into a decision about what you want to do. I know I personally had a small adjustment period when I went from not see my tattoos to having one that peeks out of my collar and one smack dab in the middle of my forearm. 
 
Also, it sounds like you may feel more “complete” and settled into the tattoo once you have the surrounding pieces you mentioned.

I personally love the little peek you get at the collar of your shirt; it would prompt me to ask more about what’s on the rest of your chest.
 
I would hold off on a couple of months, maybe even a year, before settling into a decision about what you want to do. I know I personally had a small adjustment period when I went from not see my tattoos to having one that peeks out of my collar and one smack dab in the middle of my forearm. 
 
Also, it sounds like you may feel more “complete” and settled into the tattoo once you have the surrounding pieces you mentioned.

+1
You don't know what it looks like until it heals.

Just relax and do your usual aftercare and let it heal. You couldn't change anything now either way. But those lines probably won't get any thiner anymore. The skin on the ankle is know to tend to blowouts, so probably not the best placement for such a small and filigree tattoo.

this looks absolutely normal for the healing process, and yes, that's what it's going to look like. no tattoo ever looks exactly like it did when it was just applied. I think you need to adjust your expectations for what tattoos can look like.
enjoy it, it looks nice!

Original was my first tattoo from 20 years ago. Met with my artist to see what would work. He took several photos, did an outline tracing and committed to drawing what might work. The old dragon was 20 years old and tired.  Got it on a business trip in Chicago at the Jade Dragon Tattoo Parlor. At the time a group of young, enthusiastic managers went downtown to see the iconic tattoo shop. 6 of us left with new ink. Many years later, I wanted something new, fresh and keeping with the dragon theme. 
My artist carefully explained what colors would work, what design would work and the size of the new piece to effectively cover the old work. Little did I know this was going to be a journey, a process and commitment of many months. Once I saw the stencil and the pc screen illustrating the color choices. I decided to take the plunge.
First session was about four-five hours for outline work.
Second session was the beginning of shading. (4-5 hours)
Third Session more color. ( five hours)
Fourth Session-almost done ( Was coming down with the flu and getting cold chills and shaking thinking I was getting cold) close to 4 hours..
Have been back for two touch up sessions and have the last one scheduled this week. If you notice the yellow areas in the whiskers and scales between the horns, a little more color saturation is needed to prevent the old image from showing through. 
Comments-Cover work can be very complex. Its a blend of design, choosing the appropriate colors that will cover light and dark and going larger to find a design that will obscure the old work. It may never be completely invisible, however the focus of the new work will draw the eye away from the previous work. Detailed shading and design is never one and done. Plan on more than visit to get the deep color saturation you desire and to cover the old areas. I waited 30 days in between sessions to allow my skin to heal and allow my artist to see what really needed to be done next. Learned a lot about what after care products I prefer. When doing a lot of shading work, some products with lidocaine do make a difference. While you might not experience the same level of relief on line work. When shading and the pores get opened up..there is a difference.  At my age-(56) five hours is longest I can sit. Four hours is much easier. Having a cool artist that understands you and the end goal are very important. I wont be doing any more cover work but I plan on lots more ink. Have had a couple more new pieces since this piece was almost done. 
Hope this helps those thinking about cover work. My artist explained he would much rather work on a 20 year old piece than one done six months ago.
Just one old guys experience.
 
 

That will be no small project. Take the time to meet with an artist who understands and does good cover work. The artist can explain which colors will work and how much larger the cover piece will need to be to allow proper blending, shading and design. Plan on multiple sessions. 
 

I hardly ever back down from a challenge. 😜
The owl piece was from just 2 days ago. It’s wrapped up in tegaderm now. We have another session to go. (Bryan Neal at American Tattoo in Knoxville, MD)
The heart is in my R inner forearm. My grandpa had almost the exact one in the same location. (Tony “Trustworthy” at Jack Brown’s Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg, MD)

Settled close to a year I think? Neither of us could remember off the top of our heads.

Trial and error? Listen to your body’s cues. If it’s unclmfortable to wear the straps normally, then go back to the alternative.

Just had 4 hours on my sleeve Gavin did an awesome job reworking the lower half. Hopefully finishing all the black next time. Normally I eat and nap after instead I've been at a kids party still wrapped up. Thinking of doing shunga in my armpits because I've got the space. 

please dont solicit...........................................................................ya doof

Wow, that’s gorgeous.

I hear you! My shoulder tattoo was much larger but a lot easier to cope with than my arm. It only got painful towards the end. 
My husband got a portrait of our dog 

That’s pretty.
It always amazes me to see and hear about the different pain tolerances and levels according to different people.
For example, the tattoo on the top of my foot was a cake walk, but so many people have issues there.
What did your husband get?

I had this done yesterday. Picture is a bit wonky; it's harder than you'd think to get a decent photo of your own arm!
It hurt a LOT more than I was expecting. Was really painful from start to finish (3 hours). My husband was tattoo'd at the same time, in the same location on his inner forearm and he sat like a rock, not a peep from him 

Hey all.
My name is Kitty. I’ve been lurking the site for a couple of months, and I decided to finally take the plunge and join y’all.
I found the forum when I was researching Tegaderm for healing tattoos, but I stayed because of the helpfulness and passion of the people here.
I have a few tattoos, but just finished the first session of my Harry Potter owl piece on my chest yesterday. Oy! What a pain!!! But it was sooo worth it!
I’m looking forward to getting to know all of ya.