9Years

Get the tattoo finished and it will look just fine!

SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD. Tim rules.

Achilles-Spider, El Monga, 2014. Photo taken (awkwardly) today.

Joel Long is a killer recommendation! You should also check out Ismael Johnson at scrimshaw tattoo in Ft. Collins.

Woah! Awesome!! Thanks so much everyone!

Yes! Best tattoo subject matter ever! 1) Winged snake drawn-on by Jeff Rassier, Blackheart tattoo finished Jan 2015 2) Snake and torch by El Monga, guesting at Spider Murphy's summer 2013.

'Derm is great and I've had a lot of success with it in the past. However, since application is an issue, I wouldn't recommend it in this context. I'm 7 sessions deep in my backpiece and haven't had any issues sleeping on the fresh tattoo doing the following: 1) Wash tattoo the before bed after the appt. 2) Re-wrap using saran wrap and medical tape 3) Wear a loose T-shirt overtop 4) Carefully remove in the morning (soak T-shirt in shower and remove there if your wrap-job didn't hold up and some of the tattoo is sticking to the shirt). 5) Wash tattoo and go about your day After the first night I haven't had much issue with a lot of plasma weeping. Sleeping was pretty "normal" after that. Not saying it's "pillow-soft-comfortable", but it's about as normal as can be the first few days post tattoo. Also, with my backpiece the sessions are almost always more heavily biased to one side of my body than the other, so I've gotten away with sleeping on my less tattooed side, pretty comfortably. Good luck!

Thanks, he's a total nut...the humane society where we got him thinks he's blue heeler and border collie mix, so his tendency to be an obsessive-maniac isn't pictured here

1) Paul Dolbleman, Spider Murphy's 2013, Dietzel design. 2) Herb Auerbach, California Electric 2013. Both photos taken today. My hound wanted to be in the pic.

@exume Oh man! Saw that on the 'gram...soooooooo cool! I've gotta ask; how did you guys arrive at this design? What was the magic phrase that unlocked this???

That Thomas Hooper skull is MEGA... @SStu You've got my vote! Two entries from me: 1) 7 headed cobra and skull by Uncle Allan, about 2 years healed in this pic. 2) Tiger and wind-skull by Tim Lehi, healed a few months in this photo.

Woah!!!!! Awesome topic.

A deserving winner!

Sooooo hard to pick just one!

@GlaryMilberg LOVE that locust! Dan's yokai are the coolest.

Way to bring the contest back in style, everyone!

Give that man the trophy...too cool!!!!! @bongsau @Rob I love the way that head sits on the arm! Cool design. great submissions so far, everyone!

One day...he's on my list. I swear almost everything I see from him totally floors me. I live in California, so the travel will likely be a bit more than $55 ;)

Wow! The depth in that tattoo is unreal!

YES! Here's mine from Theo Mindell, Spider Murphy's tattoo, healed:

@Kracov I know that: "Man mildly inconvenienced due to voluntary, likely to be ostracizing, cosmetic choice" isn't as fun a headline but come on... This is not a civil rights instance. Or at least it shouldn't be. Equating this circumstance to the terrible divisions and hate people faced (and still do in many parts of the world) is "embarrassing". Lumping things like this in with legitimate cases of discrimination trivializes the injustices those people are facing. And, since you side-stepped it in your other response: Who's rights are being violated if you are required by law to provide a service or labor for someone against your will because of a cosmetic life choice they made? Do others have a right to your labor simply because they ask? Rights have to go both ways if they are rights.

Man, Marius is soooooooooo goood. If I lived remotely close to Norway it'd be game-over for me...

@Kracov Have you ever wondered why most private businesses have a prominently displayed sign reading "we reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE"? Hint: there is a word for forcing someone to provide goods, services and labor against their will...

@sophistre So good!!!!!!!! And post-tattoo steak is always the best.