Jimbo

I agree with @Badtaste ... I would much rather tattoo some of these hipster tattoos than silhouetted birds, infinity symbols and lots of other Pinterest specials :) dinosaurs on unicycles, owls, and animals dressed as people? Yes please ^_^ while they may be trendy, they're still infinitely better than rib paragraphs and tribal armbands :)

Man I'm old! I don't know what a hipster is, I remember whip shading flash with a ball point pen and I know that "helvetica" is an old type face that has no serifs.

Courteousness is key. It shouldn't matter who you are, how many tattoos you have, what you're getting, etc., you should be treated with courtesy. There are so many great tattoo artists out there that I can't be bothered by getting tattooed by someone who is rude or is a dick.
It's also bad business sense. A couple of years ago my wife @Pugilist emailed a very good local tattoo artist about getting a tattoo (for what it's worth, it wasn't the easiest tattoo request) but instead of just saying that he wasn't interested in doing it, he sent a really assholey reply...though, curiously enough, he didn't actually say he didn't want to do it. It was probably good in the long run that he did that because that got her looking into travelling for tattoos, which led her to Stephanie Tamez at Saved who is completely amazing both as a tattooer and as a human being, and who is now doing a full back piece on her. There's a few thousand dollars that the first guy potentially deprived himself of.
Obviously, that courteousness goes both ways. To me, that means appreciating the fact that tattooers are often busy and might not respond to my emails as quickly as I'd ideally like, that appointments often run late, that when they suggest something it's often to make a better tattoo, and so on and so forth.

I started on here about a year and a half ago, I would not like to see this site crumble. It seems to me that lately, less and less knowledgable people are commenting,posting etc. It also seems that thier are more lurkers with "I know some shit" attitudes. those that fit this profile should understand that you are ruining this site. This site was started in hope of an intelligent place where some could learn about the nuances of this craft. Stating amateur attitudes on here does not help.Having gotten three tattoos does not make you an authority.

Over 35 yrs. of smoking, sometimes 2 packs a day. I quit on 9-19-2012 (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) with the help of auroculotherapy (ear zap). I haven't smoked since but I have gained about 20lbs.! I now view myself as a non-smoker not a quiter.

Over 35 yrs. of smoking, sometimes 2 packs a day. I quit on 9-19-2012 (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) with the help of auroculotherapy (ear zap). I haven't smoked since but I have gained about 20lbs.! I now view myself as a non-smoker not a quiter.

Man I'm old! I don't know what a hipster is, I remember whip shading flash with a ball point pen and I know that "helvetica" is an old type face that has no serifs.

it's not the cassettes, it's whats on them that sounds horrible.

Came home last night after burgers and beers, poured a glass of whiskey and turned on the TV. Flipped around and saw the show, caught it about 5 minutes after it started, watched the thing and laughed my ass off. Pretty funny stuff and yeah, it's a TV show, so it's gonna be.. just like a TV show. The best part was the names. HEATHER SIN, B-TATS, AL FLICTION.. Al Fliction is barely clever.. by like the narrowest of margins.. AL FLICTION!!

A guaranteed way to tell if your artist is excited about your tattoo is to ask them to tattoo some one else's flash . I got a Mike Malone piece from Ian Flower and he said " I'll even tattoo it with my Malone machine for no extra charge " ha ha.

A nice design - so hopefully the artist is up to it.
Honestly - myself, I wouldn't recommend anyone start with their 1st tattoo on their forearm - especially where the person in question is so far from knowing what kind of profession you're going to be in 17 years (a lifetime) from now.

Once you break stride, hard to get it back sometimes. Late in a long session, short 30-second breathers are good though.
Rob
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The way it was told to me was the 1st session is all the lining, shading which is mainly black and darker colors. Those can wipe into the lighter colors especially if its bleeding pretty good. When I had my forearm koi done last year, my forearm was really swelled up after the coloring was done.
I've sat for as long as 3 hours for the outline and shading. After being hit 6 zillion times with the liner, I'm done at the 3 hour mark. That for me is the toughest. I can cruise through the coloring session in comparison. Smaller pieces that can be done in one shot are nice, in & out complete & wrapped up in 2 hours. And I'm functional after.
Tattoo day... I make sure I get enough sleep the night before. Eat a little something before you go. I like to drink soda when I'm in the chair, the sugar helps me with that light-headed feeling. Anyone that can sit for 4 hours or more, great if you can do it. I'd have to be plenty stoked to sit that long.