bongsau

Got tattooed in Vancouver by a bunch of Edmonton homies:
Sitting outside an Italian cafe on Commercial Drive and bump into Shawn "Deadly" Hedley who happened to also be in town and was hanging out next door at Unity Tattoo. So you wanna tattoo me right now? Sure let's do it bud. 
30 minutes later...

(goldfish is actually black & yellow).

Shawn Hedley is great. Has a really cool aggressive style in the way he tattoos yet still his tattoos heal nice and smooth.
Aftercare: walked all over Vancouver for 3 days straight with this thing rubbing on the inside hem of my jeans and drank a lot of beer. Head ringing, healing like a peach. Also got to see my other tatt-bros Teddy Kardos and King Len who were also in town and who have both tattooed me.
Aside from hanging with my little bro in Vancouver, the main event of the my mini-trip was to reconnect with my old bud Shawn O'Connor. Shawn lives in Nelson, BC and was coming out to tattoo for a few days at Fraser Street Tattoo. Shawn's done half a dozen tatts on me but we haven't sat together in 4 years since he moved away from Edmonton. We did this crouching tiger blastover, 2 hours on the bread basket ...

Fraser Street Tattoo had an awesome vibe and Shawn and I had a dope sesh. Saw my #1 tattbro Heidi who popped in to laugh at me. Got to meet Chad Woodley, have some show n tell in his shop and have some beers after. I'm already planning my next one to squinch in something from him next, he's a super nice guy and really skilled, I'd really like to experience his machine.

Got some good mileage on my tattoos and my vans shoes. Vancouver, you are alright ;)

Immaculate Concept is Steve Peace's shop in Calgary, AB. Steve puts on the Calgary and Edmonton tattoo conventions. He's a really experienced tattooist and been around the block, well-rounded, very nice guy. I think Immaculate is one of the bigger shops in Calgary. The Munk artist you've linked though is definately not my style of tattoo, so I don't have comments.
I don't know much about Calgary's tattoo scene...I'm from Edmonton, so anything Calgary related I am obligated to yell "Flames Suck" and take a cheap shot at their city lol (jokes, Calgary's a nice place). Lots of world-class tattoo makers in Alberta though, these would be my first choices if I were going for a full meal deal leg piece:
Calgary - Scott Veldhoen, Rick Wilson
Red Deer - Lucas Ford & Classic Tattoo
Canmore - OllieXXX
Edmonton - Champion (Shawn Hedley, Rich), Lucky Strike (Scott, Brent), Doing (Seve), Showdown.
do your research, talk to local people with tattoos that pop about where they got em, go check out the shops in person. Everyone is pretty friendly in this area. Good luck. PM me if you need more specific recommendations for Edmonton

Got tattooed in Vancouver by a bunch of Edmonton homies:
Sitting outside an Italian cafe on Commercial Drive and bump into Shawn "Deadly" Hedley who happened to also be in town and was hanging out next door at Unity Tattoo. So you wanna tattoo me right now? Sure let's do it bud. 
30 minutes later...

(goldfish is actually black & yellow).

Shawn Hedley is great. Has a really cool aggressive style in the way he tattoos yet still his tattoos heal nice and smooth.
Aftercare: walked all over Vancouver for 3 days straight with this thing rubbing on the inside hem of my jeans and drank a lot of beer. Head ringing, healing like a peach. Also got to see my other tatt-bros Teddy Kardos and King Len who were also in town and who have both tattooed me.
Aside from hanging with my little bro in Vancouver, the main event of the my mini-trip was to reconnect with my old bud Shawn O'Connor. Shawn lives in Nelson, BC and was coming out to tattoo for a few days at Fraser Street Tattoo. Shawn's done half a dozen tatts on me but we haven't sat together in 4 years since he moved away from Edmonton. We did this crouching tiger blastover, 2 hours on the bread basket ...

Fraser Street Tattoo had an awesome vibe and Shawn and I had a dope sesh. Saw my #1 tattbro Heidi who popped in to laugh at me. Got to meet Chad Woodley, have some show n tell in his shop and have some beers after. I'm already planning my next one to squinch in something from him next, he's a super nice guy and really skilled, I'd really like to experience his machine.

Got some good mileage on my tattoos and my vans shoes. Vancouver, you are alright ;)

I took a long time doing research before I got my first tattoo (years), and after I decided on an artist talked to several people he'd worked on, had to wait three months for my first appointment. I decided to get a sleeve and told him, Japanese style, everything else is up to you. Same with my back, it was originally going to be a Kapala skull, but I showed up the morning of the appointment and he said, "I'm not feeling a Kapala skull, how about an Oni?" The results are in my avatar.  I brought him a pic for second sleeve, but he just used some of the elements and for my leg I just said I want a Samuri and Tiger - all the details were left up to him. I'll occasionally make a suggestion, but for the most part, my input is very high level, just the image, all details left up to him.

Whatever works for you. I thought the original tiger was poorly done, hence the blob. I like your rework.  

If you like colored blobs, then by all means, you should keep on getting them! :-) They are very popular at the moment.

Before and after of the tiger. I know it's not perfect like a traditional style, but I wanted something different.  Something other than what was available in the 80s and 90s. o.o

This is my first time posting, but I have enjoyed reading all the great advice and info for a couple months now.  What an awesome group of people here!
I got my first tattoo in 1993. Tiger flash from the wall. I still loved it through the years, but it was definitely faded and too small for my now bigger body. I procrastinated redoing it because now I'm in my 40s and I was afraid I no longer had a pain tolerance. A couple of my nieces, who each have several tattoos, told me "just do it". So I did, and now I have a beautiful, bigger tiger with cherry blossoms. I found out that my pain tolerance hasn't changed. Yay me!
I went from 4" by 1.5" to 10" by 6".  I  soon realized that I couldn't let my bigger tattoo get lonely, so a few months later I got a bouquet of poppies, lavender and cornflowers on my inner forearm by a different artist.
Now I'm already daydreaming about what to put on my upper back. I have lots of empty space!

Immaculate Concept is Steve Peace's shop in Calgary, AB. Steve puts on the Calgary and Edmonton tattoo conventions. He's a really experienced tattooist and been around the block, well-rounded, very nice guy. I think Immaculate is one of the bigger shops in Calgary. The Munk artist you've linked though is definately not my style of tattoo, so I don't have comments.
I don't know much about Calgary's tattoo scene...I'm from Edmonton, so anything Calgary related I am obligated to yell "Flames Suck" and take a cheap shot at their city lol (jokes, Calgary's a nice place). Lots of world-class tattoo makers in Alberta though, these would be my first choices if I were going for a full meal deal leg piece:
Calgary - Scott Veldhoen, Rick Wilson
Red Deer - Lucas Ford & Classic Tattoo
Canmore - OllieXXX
Edmonton - Champion (Shawn Hedley, Rich), Lucky Strike (Scott, Brent), Doing (Seve), Showdown.
do your research, talk to local people with tattoos that pop about where they got em, go check out the shops in person. Everyone is pretty friendly in this area. Good luck. PM me if you need more specific recommendations for Edmonton

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

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

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

Getting tattooed from by a tattooer friend Shawn O'Connor originally from Edmonton, who now resides in Nelson during his guest spot at Fraser Street Tattoo in Vancouver. Some inter-provincial Canadian tattoo action on my 2nd layer, t-minus one week for me. 

Getting tattooed from by a tattooer friend Shawn O'Connor originally from Edmonton, who now resides in Nelson during his guest spot at Fraser Street Tattoo in Vancouver. Some inter-provincial Canadian tattoo action on my 2nd layer, t-minus one week for me. 

Getting tattooed from by a tattooer friend Shawn O'Connor originally from Edmonton, who now resides in Nelson during his guest spot at Fraser Street Tattoo in Vancouver. Some inter-provincial Canadian tattoo action on my 2nd layer, t-minus one week for me. 

The last tattoo i received, my tattooist and I were talking about Thom Devita and with every decision making for that particular tattoo we would laugh and ask out loud "what would Thom Devita do ?". He definately left a mark on the tattoo underground and subculture and will be remembered with greatness RIP

The last tattoo i received, my tattooist and I were talking about Thom Devita and with every decision making for that particular tattoo we would laugh and ask out loud "what would Thom Devita do ?". He definately left a mark on the tattoo underground and subculture and will be remembered with greatness RIP

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

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

right ! and when your wife tells you she is not so fond of hand and neck tattoos and you STILL get them !

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

The last tattoo i received, my tattooist and I were talking about Thom Devita and with every decision making for that particular tattoo we would laugh and ask out loud "what would Thom Devita do ?". He definately left a mark on the tattoo underground and subculture and will be remembered with greatness RIP

Watch Vice documentary about Thom if you haven't.
 
 

Today I learned one of the greats has passed. RIP Thom Devita.
 
 

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.
 
 

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