anomaly1964

Thanks to everyone who gave me good pointers in this thread. I have learned that we all look at tattoos differently and that I, indeed, am in the minority on this site, where art is more important than personal meaning (that is NOT a slam on the site)...
I do find it a bit funny that those who keep commenting the thread won't die, keep posting in it...
Wicked grin...

Personal meaning is not necessarily etched in the design.
That CR skull & flames BrianH posted early in the piece, go for something along those lines, slammed fkn solid in that forearm. Then you can say it was a matrix inspired tattoo. WHOA no one will know what the fuck ya talking about. Cool

All we care about is that you get a quality tattoo. That's all. WE DON'T CARE WHAT SPECIAL MEANING YOU PUT BEHIND IT OR HOW UNIQUE IT IS, THAT SHIT IS FOR TV SHOWS.

I try to be a smart ass as often as possible in real life too :)

Then show me something from The Matrix that would be special, cause I'm DYING to see something...

No...Brian, you gave some great advice, I guess I just had to work through what I really wanted...
I didn't mean to offend you...

Dude. All these ideas...you're killing us. Just go get tattooed. The more you get tattooed the less you worry about if each tattoo has some significance.

Yea, any image can represent anything you want it to - just go with something that you think is badass. If you like them all, get them all eventually.

Hmmm, if the art was cool...yeah.
My family is saying since I have a Batman tattoo on my arm already, go Matrix or Star Wars. They also seem to want me to stay away from full figures or faces, so something SYMBOLIC would work...

Go talk to a tattooer about it.

Smiling...thanks so much for such an insightful reply, I truly do appreciate it...
Bonus points for the Morpheus quote!
My next question is this. I left a $50 deposit for the guy who did the tattoo in this thread to start on a concept design for me with some Star Wars symbols, the guy did a great job on my first tattoo and the shop is reputable, Las Vegas Tattoo in Ybor City (Tampa) Florida. It's been about 7 days now and I have not heard back from him, how much longer do I give him before I contact him and ask how he is progressing...?
Thanks again.

@smiling.politely is on point. Tattooers can be pretty busy people (I don't know the person you are going to, but, for the sake of argument). A lot of the time they are not able to draw up your design until a day or two, or even the day of. Again, echoing what I said earlier, you might need to let go a tad. I'm very early in my career but I still typically don't work on a drawing until its time to do it, because its hard to spread energy around.

It would depend on how that tattooer works. Personally, if I have an appointment booked, I try my best to get it ready, with or without a deposit (although after lots of no shows, I recently began requiring it for folks I don't know). That being said, contact them sometime this week, ask if there's any progress, and whether or not there is, go ahead and book an appointment. Most tattooers seem to work better with some kind of deadline, even if it means they prep it the day before or day of, rather than getting lost in the stack of other drawings and/or outside projects they may have.

Each person's journey towards getting a tattoo is different. Some people may get a piece of flash on a whim, some are serious collectors, others go for a whole body suit from one artist, etc etc.
Like what others have said, we can't tell you what to tattoo on yourself. You will learn that through self discovery and exposing yourself to different types of art (most importantly, tattoo art). Education of the different styles (American/Japanese traditional, new school, neo traditional, etc) is important if you want to be more than just a tattoo spectator.
It's not essential; you don't have to know how your car works or what the parts are called to take it to a Mechanic.
You will just run more of a risk of getting ripped off or getting something you didn't want.
What we CAN do, is point you in the direction of some awesome shops/artists.

I really like this comment, and if this hasn't happened for you yet, don't worry and keep looking, whether it's at tattoos, other types of art or whatever reference moves you. And then let your artist take it from there. There really is no rush. I think I might know how you're feeling in that some spots might bother you more than others (even if, like me, you are largely blank) - for instance, I feel a little weird with the back of only one calf done. Sometimes I feel a pressure to work on that area next. But I'm going to sit on it for a while and get other tattoos elsewhere.

Feel bigger now? :)

Yes that is why I did exactly that. I apologize that my sense humor made you feel unwelcome.

its funny anomaly - but i have been a member of several enthusiast forums - running, biking, skating, paddling boarding, videogame, professional etc - you get the idea - and one thing never changes - there are always those who have the 'locals rule' mentality - and god forbid you don't agree with them or somehow cross the proverbial 'line of coolness' - then look out - classic internet bullying and trolling behavior - anonymity tends to bring this out in people - anyway - you did nothing wrong imo - good luck with figuring on a cool direction for your tattoo

This is the image I currently have on my inner right arm:

This is the area of my arm I want to get inked next:

I'm really into Batman, Star Wars, and the Matrix but having a really hard time finding an image that will fit well on my outer forearm.
I would really appreciate any suggestions you guys may have...
Thanks!

Face for sure