Graeme

@sourpussoctopus Fantastic. I love those.

I think it's fine, and there have been children at the conventions I've been to. My son is almost five months old so he hasn't been to any yet, but we're totally going to bring him along to conventions. He's been to the shop a few times so far. Kids are fascinated by tattoos, so I'm sure there will be enough there to keep them interested for a while.

Stay in Alaska and see Deb Yarian in Eagle River. You're going to be hard-pressed to find a working tattooer anywhere who has roots in traditional Americana like she does. She was mentored by Paul Rogers.

That tattoo is so fucking cool. Thanks for telling us what you wanted too, because when I see tattoos like that I always wonder what the client asked for.

Welcome fellow Graeme!

I don't know how close to Chicago you are but if you're interested in traditional Americana you should check out Great Lakes Tattoo. Tim Beck in Peoria is another excellent choice.

Welcome Crafty! I'm sorry for your loss. As far as your question goes, I love the idea of using your father's remains in your tattoo. For the specific questions about how to use the ash, I think your best bet is to find a tattooer and talk to him or her in person about it. I don't think it would be a taboo subject, but then again, if the tattooer isn't into the idea, they aren't the right person for the job anyway. Needles and Sins has a couple of posts about tattoos with cremation ash in them. I don't know if you've seen them yet, but if not, you might find them interesting. Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog | Cremation Ashes Memorial Tattoo Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog | Hand-Poked Cremation Ashes Tattoo As far as going about getting a memorial tattoo and the placement for it, the same rules apply as for getting any other tattoo. Do your research and find a quality artist. I'm sure somebody here can chime in with some solid recommendations in your area. For placement, arm and chest are both great. It depends on what you're comfortable with and what the design is. Good luck.

I've looked at your Instagram. Why don't you have any tattoos?

Apologies for the offence. Is this better? Don't get tattooed specifically by @Ponto Tattoo because he doesn't have the conviction to actually have tattoos, but yet wants to take your money to put a garbage Pinterest tattoo on you. Please refer to the linked-to thread as to why he is a parasite.

Welcome and great tattoos!

Looking at his Instagram he doesn't have any tattoos himself. Don't get tattooed by somebody like that. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/915-tattooers-little-no-tattoos.html

Welcome. When I was getting my back done there were nights after sessions when I slept on my back because I don't like sleeping on my side or front and things turned out fine. The only issue I encountered was my shirt sticking to the fresh tattoo but jumping in the shower and soaking the shirt until it would come off without pulling on the fresh tattoo did the trick. Go with what's most comfortable for you.

I don't get asked these questions. I recommend you start giving off unfriendlier vibes.

If you can keep up on new music you aren't getting tattooed enough. I think the only 2015 release I bought and listened to this year was Monolord's Vaenir which is solid.

Welcome Anthony. Don't cut your arm off because you have options! Your best bet is to visit good shops in person to discuss your options. My first thought is to go Japanese for a coverup because you can hide a lot in background elements like rocks or wind, and subjects like dragons or snakes flow well with the body and so can twist and turn and work with what you have there. I don't know about in San Antonio but in Austin there are some great people doing Japanese tattoos. Chris Trevino at Perfection Tattoo does some of the best tattoos in the United States. I've seen plenty of his older work (ie tattoos he did around fifteen years ago) and they are still bold, bright and look new. Katja Ramirez at Rock of Ages is another solid bet for Japanese. I would suggest checking out that shop regardless because everybody there is world class and looking at portfolios might give you ideas. Thomas Hooper who works there did one of my arms when he still lived in New York and I recommend him if you're into his thing. I'd also recommend checking out Scott Ellis at Triple Crown Tattoo because he does excellent tattoos, and again, check out the portfolios of the other people in that shop because there are some great tattooers working there. I am sure other people will chime in with recommendations but this should give you a start. Good luck and I hope you find a solution that's going to make you happy.

In short, no. Look, we all have intentions when getting tattoos, but once the tattoo is there you've externalized whatever interior process made you want to get that tattoo and it's now out there in the world and it will ultimately surpass your intentions. I like what Robert Ryan said in his TAM interview: "The client is now tattooed. He spent a moment of his life, in what many seem to be a very abstract setting, to leave with a permanent badge that will bring fourth conversation, insight, judgment, alignment, attraction and repulsion for the extent of their lives."

Tattoos aren't a reminder to the self, they are a statement to the world. Let that guide your decision.

@Mr Purple You may hear hand and neck tattoos referred to as "job stoppers". Think carefully about that. There can be social, professional, personal consequences to being tattooed, and especially so when those tattoos are difficult to cover with clothing. Going on personal experience alone, I have seen people with hand and neck tattoos come into my work for job interviews. I have never seen one of them get hired. The tattoos may be an issue when going up for a promotion at work (I know there was one former (?) poster here wrote once about how she was deemed "not management material" despite being otherwise qualified for the position because of her tattoos) , they may be an issue when talking to a bank manager for a home or business loan. They may draw police attention. I don't think there's a single tattooed person who hasn't had any family tensions because of his or her tattoos. For these sorts of reasons, a lot of tattooers will refuse to tattoo these spots unless the person has already committed him or herself to living as a tattooed person.

A question: have your friends found a tattooer who is willing to tattoo their fingers? Are your friends heavily tattooed themselves? I ask because I have seen plenty of good tattooers decline doing finger tattoos on people who aren't already heavily tattooed. I'm sure they could find somebody to do them regardless, but they might not find somebody good to do them. Tattoos are permanent either way.

I saw the lining happening on that gorilla and rose and the answer is that @mtlsam is one tough dude.

@marley mission I normally like what you post. Your posts are intelligent, well-considered, and come from experience, and I especially like your attitude about how tattoos are permanent parts of our bodies, for better or for worse, and that we should live with them instead of seeking to cover them up, laser them, or otherwise modify them. But this time I can't stand by nodding my head in agreement with you. A self-loathing pizza monster? He's made of pizza, what is there to loathe? Furthermore, you live in New Jersey where even the worst pizza is going to be pretty good by most people's standards. So again, why the self-loathing? Did you get a tattoo of a gluten-free vegan slice? Because if so, my friend, you got a bum tattoo.

The only one I know of is Avi Vanunu at Psycho Tattoo. I remember Hooper put some work on a guy with some Avi Vanunu tattoos a few years ago and the tattoos (the pictures of them, at least) were amazing. I believe Yoni Zilber got his start there. - - - Updated - - - The only one I know of is Avi Vanunu at Psycho Tattoo. I remember Hooper put some work on a guy with some Avi Vanunu tattoos a few years ago and the tattoos (the pictures of them, at least) were amazing. I believe Yoni Zilber got his start there.

For what it's worth, I saw a video interview with Bob Roberts somewhere and he said that you can usually get tattooed by him with a couple of weeks notice. I don't have any first hand experience with him, so take that as you will, because the internet, but I wouldn't assume that it's necessarily difficult to get tattooed at these shops. Never hurts to call and see.

Welcome Steve. My concern with the picture you posted above is less to do with the lines, though certainly a lot of the detail especially with the dotted line segments will be lost over time, and more to do with pictures like that being inherently misleading. The tattoo looks wonderful in a picture, but the body is rarely static and something that really depends on this precision is going to be deformed constantly by regular arm motion, never mind the effects of weight loss and gain, age and skin slackening, etc. if your heart is really set on something like that, by all means go for it and find the best artist you can to do it, but don't go into it with the unrealistic expectation that the tattoo will always look like that. With that said, I think that with the right artist, and the willingness to follow the artist's advice especially regarding size and placement, you could end up with a great tattoo. Thomas Hooper did one of my arms and I brought him a whole confused mess of ideas, including some of Kepler's drawings, and while he didn't give me exactly what I asked for, he took the essence of what I brought him and really gave me the tattoo that I wanted, and I still have moments when I am kind of taken aback at what he did. I don't want to get into what my tattoo means, because it ultimately means that Thomas does incredible tattoos and I wanted one from him, but I kind of wanted a science and myth theme (hence the Kepler reference) and one of the elements of the sleeve is a nautilus shell on my forearm. Now, the tendency for spirals to exist in nature isn't the most unique observation, but this summer I was reading an article about the search for dark matter and the article was illustrated with photographic collages including those famous photos of neutrino paths, which are of course spirals, and totally correspond to the spiralling of the tattoo on my forearm. And that just struck me as a neat and kind of profound moment. So what I'm saying is seek out Thomas Hooper and bring your ideas to him because he will give you something that far surpasses your expectations. And don't worry about wanting to keep most of your tattoos out of everyday line of sight: this still leaves something as large as a full back as an option.

PM me. :)