AverageJer

I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji.
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I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji.
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I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji.
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I did! Kind of. I made it to Three Tides in Tokyo where I had a wonder experience all around and ended up with a nice little dragon head by Ganji.
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Give it some time, it looks fine and I don't see any reason to be concerned about it. There's a tremendous amount of variation in how tattoos heal. Speaking from personal experience, and just going on tattoos on my arms, so similar spots in terms of blood circulation and so on, I've had tattoos almost completely peeled in as short as five days after being tattooed to as long as two and a half to three weeks. There's nothing that looks bad about your tattoo.

Thanks very much :D
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Awesome. Great shop with awesome atmosphere, the dudes there are super warm and friendly- I hope you make it :D

Awesome. I'm going to be there in a few weeks and am hoping to stop by and see if I can get a walk in. I don't have much time, and the friends I'm going with aren't really into tattoos, but I'm going to try if I can. Maybe I'll have a submission later in the month.

Picked up this lil' thigh giblet while on vacation in Japan in 2013 from the (then) Hiroshi Hirakawa at Three Tides Tattoo, Osaka

Throw me L side in. Crocodile (from my Croc fighting days :)) & my ugly looking bat. Tattooer CP, Australia.
@polliwog. I love that Eagle. F_uck_ing rad.

If you want to get a tattoo for the sake of getting a first tattoo without spending a ton of money I suggest getting something small that is still good quality. Also, if you are into tattoos don't get something small in a space that will someday be perfect for a bigger, better tattoo. What I mean by this is I recommend against getting a small tattoo on your shoulder because someday you might be in a better position to save up for something awesome on your shoulder. Am I making any sense?
Pick a local shop or artist that you like and go talk to them. Tell them your budget and get some ideas. And have fun! Don't forget to enjoy the whole process.

A good small-to-medium tattoo isn't necessarily *that* expensive, either. It's maybe a few months of not doing a money-waster like buying coffee on the go, or whatever else it is that you can identify and turn into savings. (If you are already budgeted to the nth degree, or unemployed, please ignore my presumption.)

If you want to get a tattoo for the sake of getting a first tattoo without spending a ton of money I suggest getting something small that is still good quality. Also, if you are into tattoos don't get something small in a space that will someday be perfect for a bigger, better tattoo. What I mean by this is I recommend against getting a small tattoo on your shoulder because someday you might be in a better position to save up for something awesome on your shoulder. Am I making any sense?
Pick a local shop or artist that you like and go talk to them. Tell them your budget and get some ideas. And have fun! Don't forget to enjoy the whole process.

If you want to get a tattoo for the sake of getting a first tattoo without spending a ton of money I suggest getting something small that is still good quality. Also, if you are into tattoos don't get something small in a space that will someday be perfect for a bigger, better tattoo. What I mean by this is I recommend against getting a small tattoo on your shoulder because someday you might be in a better position to save up for something awesome on your shoulder. Am I making any sense?
Pick a local shop or artist that you like and go talk to them. Tell them your budget and get some ideas. And have fun! Don't forget to enjoy the whole process.

If you want to get a tattoo for the sake of getting a first tattoo without spending a ton of money I suggest getting something small that is still good quality. Also, if you are into tattoos don't get something small in a space that will someday be perfect for a bigger, better tattoo. What I mean by this is I recommend against getting a small tattoo on your shoulder because someday you might be in a better position to save up for something awesome on your shoulder. Am I making any sense?
Pick a local shop or artist that you like and go talk to them. Tell them your budget and get some ideas. And have fun! Don't forget to enjoy the whole process.

If you want to get a tattoo for the sake of getting a first tattoo without spending a ton of money I suggest getting something small that is still good quality. Also, if you are into tattoos don't get something small in a space that will someday be perfect for a bigger, better tattoo. What I mean by this is I recommend against getting a small tattoo on your shoulder because someday you might be in a better position to save up for something awesome on your shoulder. Am I making any sense?
Pick a local shop or artist that you like and go talk to them. Tell them your budget and get some ideas. And have fun! Don't forget to enjoy the whole process.

Hiya, Cadena - from a fellow Texan (sort of).
I won't recommend ideas as much as advise you to become familiar with the various styles of tattoo artwork. Educate yourself to what is possible in this media (almost anything) and locate the artists whose style also speaks to you (many started off as street artists). You can eventually decide upon and bring subject matter and references. The trick is locating the best artist to pull off your vision.

Thank you! Yeah I really like color tattoos, I'm not particular in that way. But I think when you start to get many not too large tattoos and they're all in different color schemes you end up looking like a explosion in a paint factory. Not that there is anything wrong with that, some people pull it off , but being of my particular kind I would find it impossible to dress and end up only dressing in black clothes. Also I would probably be like "man.. I really wish this blue was a little bit more teal" after like 10 years. I don't know, I can only speculate on what it would be like. Black and gray on skin looks so nice. To each it's own I guess.

Squid stance and all the glory of being a foreigner busting out kung fu steez in front of the famous Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sports Institute (where Jet Li trained):

Hello and welcome to LST!
Pfff.... Your English is great, and you know it! ;)
First off I would advise you to poke around this site for a while. Check out the gallery section, watch a couple interviews, work your way through a chunk of the http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/15-latest-tattoo-lowdown.html thread and get inspired! I'm sure you'll eventually find something that strikes you.
When you stumble across a tattoo that you like, then look up the person who did it. Chances are you'll like more of that person's work as well. Finding the right tattooer is just as important, if not more so, than picking the right design. If you tell us where you live I'm sure the community here will be more than happy to suggest some great tattooers in your area.
In my humble opinion there's also no need to force a meaning/story/"reflection of one's personality"-type deal into a tattoo design. A lot of first timers may feel a little anxious because of the permanence aspect of getting tattooed, and they think that linking it with some personal meaning will help take some of that pressure of (at least that was the case for me back in the day. Lots of thought went into the design, none in the execution).
If the idea works, then great, but if not there's no shame in getting a tattoo simply because you like tattoos. I suspect that a zipper design or a lightsaber might get old real fast, but who knows? Maybe if the right person did it, I'd have to swallow those words. I have definitely seen a lot of cool Star Wars tattoos over the years. This awesome Seth Wood piece suddenly sprung to mind:

But anyways, I really hope you post it up once you get it done. If I were you I'd keep that scar, and just surround it with good tattoos. This is of course unless it holds some kind of negative association for you.
And remember, the internet is great and all, but nothing can ever replace or equate to a good old-fashioned consultation :)
Good luck!
Is this where I'm supposed to write "or just get a crawling panther...."?

Tattooed Porcelain Dolls Offer An Alternative Way Of Viewing The Feminine Body

Couple more. Inside thigh. Front knees.

Awesome thread. It's cool to see all the well done leg tattoos. It also reminds me that I have a lot more space on mine. Here is a shitty iphone pic I just took. I also have a stickishly drawn family portrait on the outside of my ankle with male/female guardian lions on the front and back of the ankle. Additionally I have several tattoos high up on my hip but I will spare you all from that. Yikes! Time to get planning the next leg tattoo I guess.
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I realized that besides for instagram photos in the Latest Tattoo Lowdown-thread, I haven't uploaded any proper hi-res healed pictures of any one the tattoos I've gotten since I first registered here 3 years ago. I'll make sure to get to that. Anyway, here's my twiggy pale legs at their current state:


Left leg, top to bottom:
Rose - Eli Quinters
Judas wearing devil mask - Iain Mullen
Heart factory-thing - Rudy Fritsch
Dietzel masked girl - Joel Albertsson
ACE-script - design by my friend, tattoo by Iain Mullen
Swampy horned skull - my friend Isabel
Crocodile bird - Joel Madberg SOOS
Man with birdcage head - my friend Isabel
Ancient aliens UFO with wings and bird claw - Iain Mullen
Gorilla in tower holding skull - Deno
Crossed bones RMA - my friend Isabel
Återkomst - some scratcher named Jens (traded for a small photo)
Badly healed heel tattoo - Iain Mullen
Upside down skull - my design, tattoo by Iain Mullen
Right leg, top to bottom:
Shaman and hyena - James McKenna
Rock of ages, upside down cross - Peter Lagergren
Girl sleeping in moon - Jaclyn Réhe
Human cuddled in egg shape - my friend Isabel
Whispering devil + indian symbol and three moons - Iain Mullen
Baboon head - Matty D'Arienzo
Saraswati/indian looking head - Adde Ramstedt
Behive - Knibbe Pallius
Upside down eye of providence and snake - Ville Prinsen
Big angry snake head - Deno
Cat reaper - Joel Madberg SOOS
Funky tiger coming out of flower - Cezilia Hjelt
Equaly badly healed heel tattoo - Iain Mullen (both to be redone in a few months)
Bum dreaming "C.R.E.A.M." - Frej Lind
Hårda Tider-band logo on toe - my friend Isabel
Edit: Oh wow, long post. Thought they were thin enough to go side by side in pairs. Well.. enjoy

I'll add my sorry sticks to the thread.
Visible tattoos:
Hot Stuff and the ankle cuff are by Nathan Draper.
The hot air balloon and the cat are by Chad Koeplinger.
The pyramid (Higgs flash) is by Glennie Whittal
The skull, clown, and boxer are by Tim Pausinger.
Not visible is a space torch I picked up from Mario Desa at Great Lakes, a hand of glory by Chad, and some more work by Tim.
This September I have a session with R.H. Wells to fill in some more of my legs at the Montreal convention. Who knows, maybe I'll find a few more fillers before the end of the summer.

Awesome thread. It's cool to see all the well done leg tattoos. It also reminds me that I have a lot more space on mine. Here is a shitty iphone pic I just took. I also have a stickishly drawn family portrait on the outside of my ankle with male/female guardian lions on the front and back of the ankle. Additionally I have several tattoos high up on my hip but I will spare you all from that. Yikes! Time to get planning the next leg tattoo I guess.
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