Blue Tattoo

Finished up my TMNT piece today. The picture is a little bit before we finished, I forgot to grab a finished shot. Waiting on my artist to send me the video he took. 

@Dan @Hogrider
 
Can I ask why you think that? They’ve all been done at reputable places with artists I’ve vetted before hand. I know what I think matters the most, and I like them, but I don’t understand why you think they’re ‘crap’ 
Here are some better photos of them fresh, I don’t know if that makes any difference. I guess it’s just a little disheartening to hear.

I did reply to this but for some reason it didn’t work....
so excuse me if for some reason I’ve posted this story twice. 
 
a similar thing happened to me, but with my grandad. He unfortunately had a stroke and lost his marbles - previously a very proud man (an architect) and wasn’t overly fond of tattoos however.. I got a fairy tattooed on my shoulder about 10 years ago representing my grandparents because I went fairy hunting with them as a young child and it was such a special, magical time in my childhood that I wanted to keep a reminder.. anyhow. After he had his first stroke (unfortunately he had numerous) I showed him, he had tears in his eyes and stroked her gently and told me how beautiful she was. It really upset me but in a good way, because I knew at that moment it meant something to him too. 
 
I also have “tomorrow’s another day” tattooed on my collarbone because it’s a saying my dad told me growing up (he suffered with depression, as did I growing up) so it was a constant reminder to try and remember that although today may be shit... tomorrow will hopefully be better. 

I think it looks nice and it means a lot to you. I can understand the uneasiness you feel because people don't bring it up in conversation like "Oh wow, that's new! When did you get that? What does it mean?" etc...But like others have said it was for you and only you. F*** everybody else.
And to be honest, I haven't really asked too many people about their own tattoos. One time when I did it turned out to be a sore subject. My neighbor regrets his tattoo and encouraged me to NEVER get ink done. It's too permanent. Lol
When I got my freshest tattoo I posted it on Facebook and got all sorts of comments, but in real life not so much. Particularly with my own immediate family where tattoos are generally frowned upon. Meh. It was difficult to swallow at first (because I think we all want to be accepted) but when it gets right down to it the ink is something personal. As long as you like it, that's all that should matter. I think it's too easy to get trapped into thinking others need to be impressed, especially if you're prone to social anxiety. *cough* me *cough* Lol

Did you get it for yourself or for other people? Doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It's a nice tattoo. Enjoy it and get more tattoos.

Right! Especially when they go on and on about deeper meanings... people don't seem to realize that there don't HAVE to be these super deep meanings behind tattoos, haha! 
I haven't posted my first tattoo anywhere yet, no! But here's a picture of it: 

It's not even that special or anything. Frankly, in terms of technique and placement and the like, I like the second one more. But the whole geometric/ornamental generally does pretty well with people I've found. I think for most it's just the right amount of, say, elegance and coolness while not necessarily being too out there yet. 
It's also two years old by now so the lines definitely aren't what they used to be LOL, and especially with how admittedly poorly I protect it from sun it could very much benefit from a touch-up but I do still like it.... especially for a first tattoo which I, for all intents and purposes, wasn't nearly informed enough on.
People will always ask why the orca, and while there is a story behind this one I'm not about to tell any stranger that. "You see, it all started 15 years ago, when my father........"  😂 I just tell them it's my favorite animal, which isn't a lie, but even then they'll go on about "but why?" 
Also, I'd have many a person ask what animal it is. I've heard whale, dolphin (not entirely wrong) and even shark. 😂😂
At least with your piece it's very clear what it is! Maybe that also has something to do with the whole getting people to comment on it... when it isn't entirely clear, people might be more predisposed to ask/comment. 
At any rate, I would definitely not consider folks not commenting on your tattoo as proof of them not liking it. I really don't think it works that way! Your tattoo is awesome and you should be proud of it! 🙂
(That, and of course the placement of the tattoo does matter a lot too, haha). 

it's a cool tattoo,
and I don't give a F*** what other people say or think about my tattoos.
if somebody wants to talk about tattoos,then I like to do that,if nobody says anything about my tattoos,then that's fine too.

That's the way I beach it, too! 
For sure sweat it out. I'm in SW Florida, and back in the 70's and 80's didn't bother with sunscreen.  I'm paying for it now. 

So great news for myself. I have my consult with an amazing tattoo artist here in Portland. I am getting a full shoulder to wrist sleeve. This tattoo will contain a hanya, 1 koi, big dragon, with cherry blossoms and wind bars to complete. Full
Color. My question is, I have no idea how long to expect this tattoo to take. I know I will find out Friday a ball park time, but I'm too excited. More importantly, I want to know if the full thing can be lines in one setting. So this question is for people that have had a sleeve done at the same time and not just pieces together over years. I'm thinking 15 hours or so?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@66pens87, it's hard to say how long a sleeve would take to complete. There are many factors. How fast is the artist? How well do you sit? How well do you heal? How many breaks do you and your artist take during sessions? How large are you? The larger the arm, the longer it will take as there's more coverage to fill. A lot of artist don't like quoting time because of all the varying factors. As long as you show up for your appointments, you should be good. After your first session or two, you'll probably get a gauge on some of the above and you'll probably be able to figure a ball park time.
 
Have fun starting a new tattoo!

Saw this design years ago, and it was a must have at first sight.  The problem was that the artist is about 8000 miles from where I’m at.   I’ve traveled for tattoos, but not that far!  I caught a break though, as the artist was guesting in the USA, and I was fortunate to get a spot.  The tattoo came to me.  I didn’t even get on a plane.  How lucky is that?  I’ve been saving this forearm panel for years for this piece, without even knowing how I was going to end up getting it ever.  But it worked out in the end.   (The link below the photo is a video. The tattoo is a really wide design, so it wraps in my desired body placement and the video shows the wrapped sections)
Artist is: Manh Huynh from Vietnam. 
 


 Video link:

I'm really happy with it, came out even better than expected. I went to my usual place and didn't disappoint
The dots in the face are just my hair btw
 
Here's the tattoo...
 
 

Looking good!

He probably tries to sell vegeburgers at a cattle rancher’s barbecue.

Finally finished my ribs. 3 hour session last week, I kept looking at the bottle of numbing crème, but held out. My artist offered it a couple of times, but I said I wanted to “earn” it.
I’ll post a pic when it heals.
I have two sessions left and my body suit will be complete. I’ve been chipping away at it for 12 years. I can’t believe it’s almost done.

Sorry its a bad picture, and we were not done with the session yet but i started added to my Ninja Turtles piece on my upper arm. Im toying with the idea of turning this arm into a 90s cartoons sleeve. 

I'm not sure how anything is worse than a bad artist, but with all of the tattoo shops out there, I don't now why anyone would tolerate either. If you can't find a good artist in a good shop, you're not looking very hard.

Good artist is paramount. Once your tattoo is done the shop will only be a memory. 

I think the artist is the main priority. The shop is irrelevant really as long as it’s functional and safe. The artist is what will make or break the tattoo. 

I get that about staying private.   
I may work up to a sleeve,but for now I'm going to go where it takes me.
I know nobody can see them, it's just me.  I still love it.

I get that about staying private.   
I may work up to a sleeve,but for now I'm going to go where it takes me.
I know nobody can see them, it's just me.  I still love it.

looks normal to me,  those little wrinkles can last a while, put away the magnifying glass.

66 here. 
Also, the farther away from your heart usually means longer healing. My ankles and feet took several weeks. 

I'm going on 60, I started late.