ry4n

Really love the cowgirl! I got some roses off Rich Hardy last weekend whilst he was back in the UK.

I got this Cowgirl head from Rich Hardy while he was doing a guest spot at Third Eye Tattoo about a month ago.

Don't know Takashi but that's not saying a whole lot. Only Taskash I knew was a whiskey drinking cook I used to work with.

@KBeee hey thanks i took up on your advice and ordered a couple books through UCSB's Interlibrary loan program! fuuuuuuuuuckyaaaaaaaaaa lets see how that goes. books should be gettng in within the week
anyone familiar with takashi matsuba? hes coming around SF in May and im tempted to make an appointment with him to get something from him. any thoughts on his work?

@KBeee hey thanks i took up on your advice and ordered a couple books through UCSB's Interlibrary loan program! fuuuuuuuuuckyaaaaaaaaaa lets see how that goes. books should be gettng in within the week
anyone familiar with takashi matsuba? hes coming around SF in May and im tempted to make an appointment with him to get something from him. any thoughts on his work?

@Killercook76 interesting. yeah tebori was just an idea im entertaining . seems like a fun experience, but i had no idea it took double the time. perhaps youre right in it not being ideal.
i do follow most those guys on IG, and boy do they have some neat stuff. ill keep an eye on them and their colleagues. i have a separate IG where i only follow artists, and have thus far racked up a couple hundred followings. thanks for sharing bud.
@beez yes! that makes me so excited to pop by their shop. i just stalked your profile. are the snapshots from DC's IG your ink? thats fucking rad. i love kevin and claws work, so its fantastic to hear such great things about their work environment and their personalities. ive looked at a couple of online portfolios of nearby shops (i.e. picture machine, freddy corbins place, state of grace) but none have caught my eye quite like DC has. a little bonus being that one of their sites icons is a lucky cat :rolleyes:
@Gregor woooah dude im actually going to seriously keep that in mind. theres some killer sketches of him on google. thanks. any other suggestions? gonna peruse some Japanese deities.
overall, thanks for the warm welcomes guys. my first tattoo was eh, sorta sporadic. i dont dislike it but it feels incomplete and looks rushed. im trying to figure out how to best compliment it with some good work, but feel kinda overwhelmed and lost. its great to come into this place where you guys are all so invested in what you wear. cant wait to learn a thing or two :)

Hi all
So I’m currently in the market for a half to a ¾ sleeve Japanese tattoo. Because I already have my forearm tattooed, I do want a sleeve that goes from the wrist up to the elbow/a little bit beyond. I want to leave the bicep/shoulder area as free real estate, maybe adding to it later (tebori possibly). Not sure if this is a common practice, as almost all half sleeves I see are shoulder to elbow.
This tattoo I have now feels incomplete and weak, so I do want something more badass/masculine. I’ve been toying around with different ideas of how to fill it in, but can’t seem to find visuals that I really dig. I have perused the Japanese/Chinese tattoo gallery, but I don’t want an oni mask, koi, or dragon, so that eliminates a good majority of what you guys shared. The idea of a samurai would be pretty bad ass, or maybe some sort of mythical creature/beast? Anyone know of a good place to look? Reference books are rather expensive, and I can't seem to find a site that has quality images.
I have decided that I want to go check out The Diamond Club in San Francisco, as I am a big fan of what their artist’s posts on their Instagrams. Anyone have any experience here? I’m from SF, but am at school in SoCal til December so I can’t meet for a consultation til then. Until then, I want to be as prepared as possible so when we meet I can best get across what I want to them. (step one being figuring out exactly what I want)
Stumbled across this forum, and figured since I don’t want to create a new thread elsewhere, this little thread could act as an open online journal. I am pretty damn tattoo noob, so my bad if I commit any tatoo faux pas.
Cheers guys.
Ryan

Hi Ry4n!
If you haven't already, check out the Fine Arts Library on your campus. If you are lucky, they may even have an Asian library or collection. And don't stop at your campus. Most colleges allow general admittance to their libraries and California is chock-a-block with institutes of higher learning. I have enjoyed several UC libraries this way (including Berkeley...they have some of Horiyoshi's books including 100 Demons...that was a really fantastic day:D ).
It's old school but still my favorite way to find inspiration. Take a day. Do a general search ("Japanese art" or whatever). Get an idea of where your subject is and walk the rows. Pull the books that seem interesting/have a lot of pictures and sit and flip. When you find something you like, photocopy or cell pic that bad boy.
There are things in university libraries that you will never come close to finding on the internets...magical things...:rolleyes:

Holy shit I just came up with a great Halloween costume. If you do have full sleeves, you could just put sheer stockings over them and pretend to have the fake sleeve things on.

@ry4n I saw on instagram today that Crystal Morey who does Gomineko Books is planning on doing a seminar in the Los Angeles area during the week of December 9. She published a book on Japanese mythological creatures and has given seminars on that, plus she has a pretty incredible knowledge of Japanese art and tattoos, so definitely check that out if you're around, and follow her on Instagram as well. You'll pick up a lot of ideas from her.

Get a raijin yassss !!!

Welcome as well. Diamond Club is a fine place to get tattooed. You have so many options in SF/Oakland.

Hi Ryan and welcome to LST! @beez is getting tattooed by Junii at Diamond Club, maybe she can share her experience?

Hi Ryan
I wouldn't go that route!! Usually it's from shoulder going down .. There are a few shops in Scal that are good!! I would definitely take the advice of an artist where ever you go. Eventually you are going to get a full sleeve I'm assuming??
I too was interested in Tebori but for me I don't see a point.. It's definitely cool and very interesting. It's just tebori I heard take a lot of time much more than a machine. Like almost double the time.. i think??
Ideas I usually look at different artist I respect for ideas. Of course there are artist like Mike Rubendall, Chris Odonnell, Horimoto, Henning, Garver etc. All the artist plus much more all have Instagram accounts.

@ry4n I have nothing but incredibly awesome things to say about Diamond Club. As you have noted, the work coming out of the shop is excellent. The environment in the shop is warm, friendly, happy, relaxed, and very comforting. I LOVE THEM!! Junii is amazing. I found the right match for me, that's for sure. I will start fan-girling if I talk about it too much. (although I may have inadvertently revealed my true nerd nature in another thread recently...so...guess that cat is out of the bag, hah!)
Matt (Dr. Claw) and Kevin are awesome tattooers and I like talking to them and seeing what they are working on whenever I am there. @petiloi got a cool piece by Matt @ Diamond Club and I think there is a pic somewhere in the threads?
Bill Salmon in the house regularly! How cool is that?! I love the vibe at DC. It's just right for me.
As @CultExciter mentioned, you have so many options in the SF/Oakland area that it bears checking them all out to see what feels right to you.
Honestly - I went by gut. I was checking out a number of shops and tattooers and my gut said "Wtf are you doing, stop looking" so I did. (that is the shortest way for me to encapsulate the years of digging and research before I made the leap and set an appointment).
@Graeme if you catch me in my more florid moments, I will go on about Diamond Club forever. ;p

Hi all
So I’m currently in the market for a half to a ¾ sleeve Japanese tattoo. Because I already have my forearm tattooed, I do want a sleeve that goes from the wrist up to the elbow/a little bit beyond. I want to leave the bicep/shoulder area as free real estate, maybe adding to it later (tebori possibly). Not sure if this is a common practice, as almost all half sleeves I see are shoulder to elbow.
This tattoo I have now feels incomplete and weak, so I do want something more badass/masculine. I’ve been toying around with different ideas of how to fill it in, but can’t seem to find visuals that I really dig. I have perused the Japanese/Chinese tattoo gallery, but I don’t want an oni mask, koi, or dragon, so that eliminates a good majority of what you guys shared. The idea of a samurai would be pretty bad ass, or maybe some sort of mythical creature/beast? Anyone know of a good place to look? Reference books are rather expensive, and I can't seem to find a site that has quality images.
I have decided that I want to go check out The Diamond Club in San Francisco, as I am a big fan of what their artist’s posts on their Instagrams. Anyone have any experience here? I’m from SF, but am at school in SoCal til December so I can’t meet for a consultation til then. Until then, I want to be as prepared as possible so when we meet I can best get across what I want to them. (step one being figuring out exactly what I want)
Stumbled across this forum, and figured since I don’t want to create a new thread elsewhere, this little thread could act as an open online journal. I am pretty damn tattoo noob, so my bad if I commit any tatoo faux pas.
Cheers guys.
Ryan

Mina Aoki gave me this gorgeous Asian-themed/geisha lady head today at Fun City Tattoo, NYC. This is the second of a projected three lovelies she is doing on my upper right arm (my southwestern/Mexican lady has already been posted here). I feel incredibly lucky to be able to wear her work and I cannot recommend her highly enough. A phenomenal artist and a lovely woman. Looking forward to next time!