finegentleman

.@mrubendall | I had the pleasure of doing this piece below the great @horiyoshi_3 San and o... | Webstagram

This is a good one too for what it's worth.
Crystal Morey Gets Fast and Furious With Bunshin Saikian Horimasa (VIDEO) | TAM Blog
My feeling is to not get too hung up on it. If you were getting a full bodysuit by one artist you might want to stick with the same flower/season for one cohesive look. Mixing cherry blossoms with peonies is pretty common, I think. I have chrysanthemum and maple with a koi on one arm and cherry blossoms with a dragon on the other from two different artists.
If the scene is the koi climbing the waterfall to become a dragon I've read it's supposed to be maple. This site is also a wealth of information:
Dragons, Dragon Art, and Dragon Lore in Japan, Buddhism & Shintoism Photo Dictionary
At the end of the day, if you want a traditional Japanese-style tattoo you go to an artist who specializes in that, and he or she would know all that stuff.

A panther head could cover that pretty well.

Hannya inside a peony!

you're damn right he should fix this for free

Hi there, I saw your query and figured I would join the forum in order to assist you. Apologies, I have yet to introduce myself as per your forum rules.
I believe that first photograph you have posted is a custom job of the dragon on the left, in this IMAGE.
It can be found in this BOOK.

Anyone know where I can find more of his work?
I'm specifically looking for the finished version of this tattoo he worked on:
http://distilleryimage2.s3.amazonaws.com/f8cdb5f01f3f11e292a022000a1e8849_7.jpg
Here's another one of his tattoos I like:
http://distilleryimage7.s3.amazonaws.com/73f964dc4a7211e38f17127ac3642ee8_8.jpg

You get one life. Enjoy it, stop worrying about other people's lives and try not to be a socially brainwashed robot on a hidden law on how you should live. There is no rule book!

We have all been in @finegentleman shoes at one point or another. Deciding on an artist to do your first tattoo is no easy task considering the choices of talented artists that are out there especially in NYC. With that being said I wouldn't choose an artist solely based on whether or not their estimation is lower than the others the same way I wouldn't rule out an artist based on their hourly rate. This is because when you ask for an estimation all that it is; is a "ballpark" estimation. There are a ton of factors that go into the time it takes to complete a sleeve that people have already mentioned so I'd say it 's next to impossible for an artist to judge exactly how long it is going to take. Also, if you take their estimate on time literally you're only setting yourself up for disappointment when you surpass their estimated time by a few more hours and then you may be pissed that it's taking longer then they originally said when it wasn't done on purpose. In the end though if you're serious you are going to have to start having some consultations with the artists to discuss your ideas and have your questions answered.

BTW @finegentleman if you feel your question hasn't been sufficiently answered check out the Clark North site's FAQ. Tons of other useful info on there since you seem to be interested in Japanese style tattoos. I'll let you Google it yourself.

I've been thinking about this question/thread - if you are serious about learning how long the two pieces took, how about you try to track down who did the tattoos, and get in touch either with the artist or the owner? There are also some blogs out there for full bodysuits, backpieces, etc that give information about how many hours and sittings the work took, the progression, etc.

@finegentleman You should email Luca Ortis, who did the first tattoo you linked to.
He's a nice guy and a very professional and businesslike tattooer.
If you're serious about getting a tattoo like this, most tattooers wouldn't mind a few newbie questions. We all have to start somewhere.
If you're asking so you can have fuel for a chat session with your buddies, keep asking strangers on the internet. Maybe they'll start arguing amongst themselves - that'll be fun for about zero seconds.

Agreed with @BrianH. There are many factors which can determine the amount of time a tattoo was done in. How well can a Client sit. How big a Client is. How fast the Artist is. What environment were they tattooed in. I don't know how many times I've heard a potential client walk into the shop I go to and ask this. The Artists and Shop Guys I know always tell them it's hard to say because a lot of it is not determined by the Artist but the Client. When getting my first tattoo, I asked the same thing. It's a popular question for people with little or no tattoos. If it's a money thing, all people need to know is have enough cash for each session and they're good. If it's because they have a low pain tolerance, setup shorter sessions and it'll work out.

How tall are those people? Did they sit still or need breaks every 5 minutes? Too many factors to accurately estimate how many hours. I would randomly guess atleast 15-20 hours.
Go to a tattoo shop and talk to a tattooer. They are much better at answering these questions.
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Going to check out the shop is super important. I visited quite a few shops before I even thought about booking a consultation for my first tattoo even though I knew which artist I wanted to tattoo me. It helped to cement my decision and allowed me to dive into the experience knowing without a doubt that I was working with the right artist and shop for me. I waited months for a consultation, then months again for my first appointment. Waiting wasn't a problem because I had more than enough time to save up what I needed to for the tattoo I really wanted, from a great artist, got the tattoo I wanted (and feel like I am not quite good enough to deserve.) It was a great learning experience, that I'm still thankful for - especially since I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! I didn't find out what my artist's hourly rate was until after our consultation was finished - while cost is certainly a factor, it isn't everything and shouldn't be the primary factor in your decision making. Nor should the wait list, you'll have the tattoo on you for the rest of your life, what is four months compared to forty years or more?
With choosing an artist, I looked at countless portfolios until I found the artist whose portfolio I kept returning to, because it had that "special something" that I was looking for.

This isn't the line work, but I'm a novice at getting tattooed, also. The first thing that stood out to me in the portfolio that you posted there was the shading - it looks really patchy once you spend time looking at expertly colored tattoos. Just one place to start training your eye.

well I have.. Price is something that you shouldn't go by. Not knowing Dan so i can't judge his work and speed but. Form what I know some of the higher priced tattooers are super fast and efficient. While the price maybe less with another artist they might take longer and at the end the price will be the same.
Example say an artist takes 40hrs to complete a full sleeve and charges less. Another artist take only 30 and charges more.
Listen RG his tattoos are amazing! No one on this site will say anything but good things about him and his tattoos.
Call the shop and set up a consolation and voice your concerns about your budget and check out in person the tattooers work. Do that with a couple artist .

Will do.

Dan does some amazing dragons like this :
https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/t1/37935_415221504300_4348124_n.jpg?lvh=1
I'm considering having him design a dragon for me instead of the koi.

Great work! As good as any.