spookysproul

If I'd gotten almost ANY of what I'd wanted SO bad when I was 14, I would be so sad about it now. However, my tattoos that I regret all came after I was 21, so I'm not sure an age limit would do much good. Unless we go with the 35 age limit suggested above.

I just heard from Dave about a week or so ago and he said a friend just opened a shop in Stockton about 45 minutes from him...and they were treating him very well there! I am guessing this is the shop you saw him at!
Who is Dave Gibson huh???
I had to chuckle a little but I can understand how some people might not know who he is now!
Dave gave me a list about 8 years ago.....I asked him for a list of tattoo artists that had 40+ years in the craft that did solid work and he gave me a list of world class artists! I have been chipping away at that list ever since adding as many of these people's work to my body as I can! I owe Dave.....he really is partially responsible for a lot of the wonderful tattoo artists I have met over the last 8 years!
Debra Yarian and Debbie Lenz were on that list and I was tattooed by both of those ladies two weeks ago during my trip to Ohio.....
Yeah.....you met a legend in the craft!
He seemed like he was going to retire and stop tattooing.....I've been on him about not stopping....and I was stoked when he said he was working a day a week again in that shop!
Definitely go get something from him while it is still an option!
And please tell him I said hello if you would! :)
Here are a couple acetates Dave sent me a while back!

I think the higher you raise the age, then more people under-age will find ways of getting it anyway and with higher risk. People are getting tattooed by their "friends" for cheap or free already, if the age restriction on tattoos is higher than 18 then kids will still seek out tattoos but without the option of clean, professional shop.
I think alcohol is a prime example. Teenagers in high school and college are like pre-adults and want to drink and have a good time. If it's not legal, they will still get it somewhere and usually over-do it without proper education aside from "don't do it".

I just got my first palm tattoo, an homage to the incredible motion picture Dark City.
Yes, it's supposed to look wobbly, lop-sided and uneven.
edit - sorry for how ginormous the image is. I'm less competent than anticipated.

Given the tattoos that I see 21 year olds getting, I'm going to say 35.

@spookysproul, it's funny how images/graphics can stick in our heads and spark a memory. Before even reading your post I saw the image and the first thing that popped into my mind was "Dark City". Damn fine movie :-)

I just got my first palm tattoo, an homage to the incredible motion picture Dark City.
Yes, it's supposed to look wobbly, lop-sided and uneven.
edit - sorry for how ginormous the image is. I'm less competent than anticipated.

just stumbled upon this, pretty amazing

Just wanted to throw a recent experience in there to throw some perspective from a non-tattooed person (not me).
I was at the doctor since I just totalled my car late last week. The nurse doing my normal blood pressure, height, etc, kept staring at my tattoos. It was not subtle at all. After awhile I made a joke along the lines of "my face is up here", and she got embarrassed. This broke the ice, so she asked me where I got them and that she was actually looking to get something soon but she always see stuff that looks terrible on her friends. She pointed to the lady on my arm and said "How do they make the colors look so amazing". I just told her go to a good shop, after which I told her where I go and would go. I then understood she was just amazed after seeing her first well done tattoo up close. She actually wrote down all the information I told her on a Rx notepad!

I don't even notice the stares anymore!
I always tell people that you made a conscious decision to be "different" than the rest of
society so you have no reason to complain!
It's how I have felt since my first tattoo....so I don't complain or generally be ignorant back!
Someone touches me....whole new game plan!
Men I tell them to get the fuck off of me very loudly........women I just grab there boob! ;)

I don't mind when someone approaches me to ask questions about where I got my tattoos done, as I definitely enjoy being able to direct people to the one decent shop our town has instead of one of the dozen other scratcher-level shops around. Most of the time I don't mind the stray compliments either, although I find it really funny when people tell me "I really like your tattoo," and then look at me like I pulled their pants down when I ask, "Which one?" I just really fucking hate when people approach me (especially drunk people at bars) with the sole intent of showing me their shitty tattoo that their buddy did, or one faded rose the size of a quarter on their bicep, or "this one that turns those two moles into a smiley face, get it?" Some of the random things people say really blow me away too...I was buying a card for the lady's birthday at the Hallmark store the other day, and as she rang me up, the clerk saw my forearms and remarked, "I'll bet they had to shave your arm to do that, didn't they." People are fucking weird.

OK until I take a pics of the other tats let me see if I can upload a piece I got from Lupo Horiokami when he guested at Idle Hand - I pulled it off his instagram.

This thread is weird.

I have script inside both wrists; the first wrist is upside down ("facing me," if you will) and the second wrist is the correct way. If absolutely nothing else, the amount of people I've had ask me what it says instead of just being able to read it numbers into the hundreds at this point.
As was mentioned before, that's a very visible location, so be prepared to go from having no discussions with people about what very well much have a deep and personal meaning for you to having a veritable cavalcade of people who enjoy watching sensationalized TV shows ask you about "the story" behind your tattoo.
I'm not saying don't do it, just be aware that your interactions with the general public will now include those.

So pretty much the whole "Ill take ANY advice you have or suggestions! Lay it on me. Should I get it on my wrist?" was just bs.
The advice to not get it facing you is the common wisdom here. If you don't want to take that advice, of course you don't have to, but you're the one who asked.

Devo by Sleepy Dave @ Anthem in Gainesville, FL

Misfits "Die Die My Darling" tattoo by some guy named Carl, 1987-ish. At least four years too late to be getting a Misfits tattoo, yet somehow a tattoo that is older than the majority of the band's fans, go figure.

Cromags / Prince now thats an lp I want to hear

Honestly, this is what's gonna happen if you take that drawing into a shop: they're gonna look at your drawing, hand it back to you, grab the exact same line drawing from the back, and slap it on you. Amund Dietzel is a highly-regarded old timer and an influence to many tattooers working today. I'm gonna go on a limb and say you probably got that design from These Old Blue Arms? The original design exists, it's great as it is, and it works. Which isn't to discourage you from drawing and painting flash if you enjoy doing so, cause it's a lot of fun! Just like.. let the tattooer design your pieces. Everyone I know who has gotten their own drawings on them (including myself) regrets it. And that's not necessarily because the drawing is bad but because it's so personal, you are likely to grow out of it. As practicing artists, skills evolve.

I guess I'd say, why reinvent the wheel...
https://www.google.com/search?q=sailor+jerry+anchor&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=42RXUoDqIo6GiQLYvID4BA&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=960&bih=456&dpr=1.5
or https://www.google.com/search?q=amund+dietzel+anchor&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1HxXUoz-EIqniAKXuIHQCg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=960&bih=455&dpr=1.5#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zU8PtIw--z20-M%3A%3BAfontbIsfIzp7M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bigtattooplanet.com%252Fforums%252Fattachments%252Fapprenticeships-advice-new-tattooing%252F16594d1340354784-critique-me-2012-dietzel-anchor.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bigtattooplanet.com%252Fforums%252Fapprenticeships-advice-new-tattooing%252F22032-critique-me-2012-a-85%3B1280%3B1280
That is to say, I'd get the one you are referencing, rather than re-drawing it.

It's up to yourself.I mix and match . You like the work get it done . How many time can you go through a forum and see the words "discuss it with the artist" that should be a lst drinking game or something.

Ha! I knew a guy who - during the heigh of the Kanji craze - decided he wanted some, so he brought in the menu from Lee's Chinese and got "paper wrapped chicken" on his wrist.

Ha! I knew a guy who - during the heigh of the Kanji craze - decided he wanted some, so he brought in the menu from Lee's Chinese and got "paper wrapped chicken" on his wrist.

I am imagining someone trying to argue that they deserve a discount because they already paid for a design.

Gloves? Cliff Raven didn't even wear pants.

Why does one tattoo with gloves on?