Fala

It's not the end of the world.
There has been lots of solid advice offered to you here. The most practical solution is just leave it the fuck alone and let the experience breathe. You're trying to make something work that's been through two iterations already. Get some other tattoos in the meantime and have fun. Maybe one day this star will be left in the dust of an epic sleeve coverup?
Just remember...at the end of the day, *it's just a tattoo* and a small one at that, not the end of the world man. Don't sweat it.

@Matthew Thomas, I think everyone here is giving fairly solid advice. I understand that some if it isn't what you want to hear, but sometimes there is only so many options. I tell people the news they don't want to hear all the time and it's not to crush their dreams but to be realistic about what can be done. My objective is to make it look like it's not a coverup at all.
I didn't read the entire thread so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already or how in depth your own knowledge of blasting over is; the new tattoo to cover the old one will almost definitely be substantially larger than the original one in order for it not look like a murky blob in the middle of an otherwise well done tattoo(most of the time that is, obviously everything is case by case). Only black ink can cover black ink. In order for there to still have contrast of light vs dark (we don't want just a solid black splat with a little color or light shading around it) the new one needs to have more room to hide the old one. Good example: we can't adequately hide a stamp with a matchbook. There simply isn't enough room. Hiding a stamp in a flash card, well that is certainly opening up the options of what can be done to make it look like it was never there.
With how much black is in your star (and red in this case) it's gonna be a pretty big tattoo. Which is awesome. My only point here in my post is to bring this up and if it's been mentioned already then it's my fault for not reading every post and spending so much time typing in a damn screen. Lately Siri has been making me sound drunk or uneducated.

You just had David Flores and Stewart Robson (tattooers) and several folks who have varying amounts of coverage and tattoo-getting (that's a word, right?) experience give you great advice. I get your frustration, I'm a perfectionist too, but such is life - nothing is perfect, we can take the experience we've had, learn from it and move on with the lessons learned such that the same mistakes do not happen again.
Go get another tattoo, take your mind/focus off of this one for a bit.

This might not be the place for you...
Last Sparrow Tattoo: Get tattoos that make you feel warm in the pants

You just had David Flores and Stewart Robson (tattooers) and several folks who have varying amounts of coverage and tattoo-getting (that's a word, right?) experience give you great advice. I get your frustration, I'm a perfectionist too, but such is life - nothing is perfect, we can take the experience we've had, learn from it and move on with the lessons learned such that the same mistakes do not happen again.
Go get another tattoo, take your mind/focus off of this one for a bit.

Haven't posted in quite some time but i've just booked an(other) appointment with Frank Carter on monday to fill in some space i have on my right forearm. Probably gonna be something knifey, which makes me happy. Bonus happy points because monday is my 30th birthday, i've always thought the best presents are the ones you buy yourself!

It's not unusual for a professional to charge for advice and opinions. Especially if that advice can save you money or make your life more pleasant in the long run. Quotes for various jobs are often free when they lead to more, higher paying work. Many professions are purely advice based too.
Leave it alone. An extra-thick black arm to the star does not make it look better. If you're planning on getting more tattoos near it, if they are of a high quality, eventually you won't notice the wonky star.

Have you seen pictures of the skull octopus Yoni Zilber did on the author China Mieville? There are plenty of pictures of it around on the internet and it's rad. You're going to get a great tattoo.

Here is a photo of my second "bro tat", this one shared with my Mom! Done 3 weeks ago, by Arno at PSC tattoo in Montreal. It's her first tattoo, at 64 and she didn't even flinch;)

Thanks! I'm going to be almost 40 when I go back! That seems so crazy, to be a...what..44 year old new teacher? I'm assuming it's a 4 year degree. Oof da. I read in Dear Abby years ago, a woman wanted to go back to school to be a Dr. and was upset that by the time she'd be done w/her 8 years of school , she'd be 50 (or whatever), and the reply was "Wouldn't you be 50 anyway?" I'm trying to keep that in mind, haha!

Hey, good to hear from you! Hope everything works itself out in your favor.
I still feel like I say stupid shit all of the time, ha
There is a lot of egotism in tattooing in general, it's one of the things about all of it that bums me out the most. I think everyone, myself included, falls into that pit from time to time. Sometimes we get so obsessed over the impression and impact of the art that we don't distance our selves from it and our everyone's-got-one opinions fly out, and words turn into vomit, etc.
Thanks for that reminder though :) One of my favorite things about this place is that everyone is really mellow, really nice, and usually has no problem checking themselves. It's rare, especially on the soapbox of anonymity known as the internet.

I think your coworker is just missing the "nuance" section of her brain. Wanting to be tattooed does not mean it feels comfortable to invite comments on them in every single social and professional situation. We all feel differently about how much we show and conceal. That's ok.

I can say this from me personally. I really don't mind answer the same questions we all had in the beginning of getting tattooed. We've all been there. Yes there is repeat questions, because honestly most people share similar fears or doubts. I know sometimes I (or us as a whole) come off a bit rough when we say "go ask the artist(s)" but realistically I feel that, us "internet strangers" would not be giving the most accurate advice. There is only some much information we know or can share without just basing guesses on personal experiences, which really would be just throwing out opinions. Things like "how long will it take", "How much time was that", "Can this image/idea be done", really are best left up to the actual artist doing the tattoo. I know personally I cannot give a quote for price/time, or tell you what can be done. This I feel applies as well to just about all other LST members (unless they happen to the be artist you are getting tattooed by!).
I'd say my biggest "rules" I like to enforce on LST as a moderator are as follows:
1. Be nice!
2. Do not ever talk money!
Treat this place as if it was a gathering of friends. Friends don't talk disrespectfully to each other, and I have yet to really start talking money with my friends, outside of the casual "if I won the lottery" conversation.

We have all been in @finegentleman shoes at one point or another. Deciding on an artist to do your first tattoo is no easy task considering the choices of talented artists that are out there especially in NYC. With that being said I wouldn't choose an artist solely based on whether or not their estimation is lower than the others the same way I wouldn't rule out an artist based on their hourly rate. This is because when you ask for an estimation all that it is; is a "ballpark" estimation. There are a ton of factors that go into the time it takes to complete a sleeve that people have already mentioned so I'd say it 's next to impossible for an artist to judge exactly how long it is going to take. Also, if you take their estimate on time literally you're only setting yourself up for disappointment when you surpass their estimated time by a few more hours and then you may be pissed that it's taking longer then they originally said when it wasn't done on purpose. In the end though if you're serious you are going to have to start having some consultations with the artists to discuss your ideas and have your questions answered.

I've been thinking about this question/thread - if you are serious about learning how long the two pieces took, how about you try to track down who did the tattoos, and get in touch either with the artist or the owner? There are also some blogs out there for full bodysuits, backpieces, etc that give information about how many hours and sittings the work took, the progression, etc.

My first response was, "as long as it took to get the job done." I don't understand the underlying point of the question, as @Graeme said.

Pointless question.

Aw man, everyone is getting such great stuff lately. I haven't been tattooed this year yet. I think tomorrow I will be making an appointment with some friends to get one existing piece touched up and another finished. Way overdue for that, so there's something to look forward to.
Anyway I think most of you have seen this on the 'gram, but here it is again

So true and exactly what I did. What was surprising for me was even with good artists there were some tattoos in their portfolio that really did not look good to me. It was usually a certain subject. Women's faces for example. Some artists seem to have a knack for it while others struggle.

I'll hook you up for your back @gougetheeyes! No problem :) The shitty sleep is the worst!

Going to check out the shop is super important. I visited quite a few shops before I even thought about booking a consultation for my first tattoo even though I knew which artist I wanted to tattoo me. It helped to cement my decision and allowed me to dive into the experience knowing without a doubt that I was working with the right artist and shop for me. I waited months for a consultation, then months again for my first appointment. Waiting wasn't a problem because I had more than enough time to save up what I needed to for the tattoo I really wanted, from a great artist, got the tattoo I wanted (and feel like I am not quite good enough to deserve.) It was a great learning experience, that I'm still thankful for - especially since I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! I didn't find out what my artist's hourly rate was until after our consultation was finished - while cost is certainly a factor, it isn't everything and shouldn't be the primary factor in your decision making. Nor should the wait list, you'll have the tattoo on you for the rest of your life, what is four months compared to forty years or more?
With choosing an artist, I looked at countless portfolios until I found the artist whose portfolio I kept returning to, because it had that "special something" that I was looking for.

Going to check out the shop is super important. I visited quite a few shops before I even thought about booking a consultation for my first tattoo even though I knew which artist I wanted to tattoo me. It helped to cement my decision and allowed me to dive into the experience knowing without a doubt that I was working with the right artist and shop for me. I waited months for a consultation, then months again for my first appointment. Waiting wasn't a problem because I had more than enough time to save up what I needed to for the tattoo I really wanted, from a great artist, got the tattoo I wanted (and feel like I am not quite good enough to deserve.) It was a great learning experience, that I'm still thankful for - especially since I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! I didn't find out what my artist's hourly rate was until after our consultation was finished - while cost is certainly a factor, it isn't everything and shouldn't be the primary factor in your decision making. Nor should the wait list, you'll have the tattoo on you for the rest of your life, what is four months compared to forty years or more?
With choosing an artist, I looked at countless portfolios until I found the artist whose portfolio I kept returning to, because it had that "special something" that I was looking for.

I decided to make this...the TattooDo(ge)

I suggest checking both schedules for Shun Ho and Horimitsu and emailing either right away if you are serious. I think Brian Kaneko is currently at NY Adorned but probably fully booked for the guest spot and show. Good luck, LOVE Horitoshi Family work!

A friend of mine got a huge Koi back piece and arowana calf sleeve from Dan at Inkman. Both solid pieces with great colors. And yes, someone here already mentioned that Dan was part of the original Invisible crew and went on to have his own shop that's much more low key.
As members with some experience, we can only lay out the information in front of you. Whatever your circumstances may be, the decision is ultimately yours on which artist you go with. With all the big names mentioned in NYC, don't forget that there are also many fantastic guest artists that come in and visit. The NYC Tattoo Convention is coming up in March and there are going to be a nice selection of guest artists in town for the con and doing guest spots at a bunch of the local shops.