Ploverlock

Today at my appointment I asked the artists if they had reservations tattooing larger folks, as I had read on another tattoo forum that some artists have a problem with it. They seemed genuinely surprised that it was even a thing. I mentioned I'd heard about the difficulty getting a good stretch thing and they were like "no... we're professionals, it's fine..."

I teach writing for a living. Reading that poster has my marking-hand twitching.

This would not work with my kindergarten daughter who knows all about our tattoos. In fact she loves to go to the shop we like because every time we go in she gets to feed the koi fish and they give her a press on tattoo. We have had multiple conversations about how our tattoos are with needles under our skin, hurt, and are forever. She said she wants to wait until she is 50 but I guess we will see.

I work as a care giver at a group home for people with downs syndrome and similar handicaps. One of the inhabitants has a father who must be close to 80 years of age. EVERY time he comes to visit and I am there to greet him he will comment on my tattoos. Every. Time. He is probably senile and not aware of this.
Last time was different though.. he usually opens up with saying "those are hard to get rid of..", like it is a question. I usually just say Yes, and smile at him. Then he asks me if it hurts, I tell him Not anymore, and smile some more. But this time he also said that he had tried (to get tattooed), on his hand, but that it had faded over time. And then he told me that (my tattoos) where prydsamma, which is a swedish word that translates to "something thats proper and enhances the beauty of a thing/someone".
I was flattered for the first time. I didn't know that he liked my tattoos, just that he would always comment on them.

I think the newer female client base that has been brought up on "Ink" shows has a perception now of what a tattoo shop should be like based on television and anything raunchier than playboy would probably turn them off!
Would that matter to me.....hell no!
But why give any client a reason not to come into your shop?

I'm a fat woman covered in tattoos. I think if you want to get tattooed do it. Who cares what other people think anyway? My friend, and tattoo artist Kristel Oreto and I have started a page dedicated to fat women with tattoos. We are just as awesome as any other woman with tattoos.
Not to mention, I think my tattoos make me so much more comfortable with my body. Or at least I feel better about myself. :)

You will look no more "ridiculous" with tattoos than anyone else! Get tattooed, get what you want, fuck the world. I don't tattoo so I can't answer your questions about working with skin and placement but I can't imagine it's that much of an obstacle.
@Shawn Porter posted a video a while back on his OV blog, an awesome awesome Dave Lum video, where his shop helper -- a woman -- was talking about how she hated her legs and her butt. How she was self conscious and never thought she'd get tattooed there, but once she did get some coverage on those areas, she loved them. Maybe the only big folks you're seeing with a significant amount of work have some not-so-great tattoos.. or maybe you're just freaking out cause you've only got one so far. But if you've got the itch, you've gotta scratch it, and everyone else can go to hell. Truly.
Apologies if this was too strongly worded.. I had the night off, some beers were consumed. The only people I don't like with a lot of tattoos are dickheads regardless of their tattoos.

Mine is really simple. I shout from my station to my colleagues station 'I've had a cancellation/no-show too. Do me a tattoo NOW!' Then I spend the next hour pissing and moaning, accusing him of specifically trying to hurt me, saying how I'm sure I don't hurt my customers this bad, asking what have I ever done to him to deserve this terrible treatment, and swearing profusely. I then go back to work and moan to my customers about how much I hate being tattooed, which really helps them suffer the pain I'm sure!
Tattooers make the worst customers.
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I'm a newbie too. I like your octopus concept and choice of artist. My idea is similar, but I want the octopus outline shape to be recognizable/standard. The octopus pattern is where I want my artist to get creative. I asked him to have the octopus hold a starfish with a cool unique pattern and have the octopus mimic that pattern in it's body and legs. Kind of cool since in real life octopi mimic what they touch.
Here is an update on my whale shark tattoo. Finished this past Sunday. Tail is a little wonky in position and looks because it's covering a big old surgery scar.

Got my first tattoo wednesday, by Dotwork Damian at Blue Dragon, Brighton. Took around 6 hours. I'm incredibly happy with it, and will be extending it :)

Hello! I've been following this forum for a good long time and enjoyed reading the threads. I also decided to jump in after 27 years and got a tattoo of a crane while on a trip in Japan from Gakkin at Harizanmai in Kyoto. The tattoo itself took around 4 hours outside of the drawing I think. It was interesting and a good bit painful to say the least, though it wasn't too bad until it got near the end when my skin was just sore. Funny enough, it wasn't the needles that was the most painful at that time, it was the wiping the skin every now and then which felt worse. All worth it in the end! Gakkin did a wonderful job and I absolutely love my tattoo.
Here's the picture of my tattoo

Everyone there were wonderful. If I had enough money again, I would go back to Gakkin to get another tattoo. :) Red-crowned cranes are one of my favourite birds ever, I even got to actually see them in the wild when I went to Hokkaido at the beginning of this trip.

Hello! I've been following this forum for a good long time and enjoyed reading the threads. I also decided to jump in after 27 years and got a tattoo of a crane while on a trip in Japan from Gakkin at Harizanmai in Kyoto. The tattoo itself took around 4 hours outside of the drawing I think. It was interesting and a good bit painful to say the least, though it wasn't too bad until it got near the end when my skin was just sore. Funny enough, it wasn't the needles that was the most painful at that time, it was the wiping the skin every now and then which felt worse. All worth it in the end! Gakkin did a wonderful job and I absolutely love my tattoo.
Here's the picture of my tattoo

Hello! I've been following this forum for a good long time and enjoyed reading the threads. I also decided to jump in after 27 years and got a tattoo of a crane while on a trip in Japan from Gakkin at Harizanmai in Kyoto. The tattoo itself took around 4 hours outside of the drawing I think. It was interesting and a good bit painful to say the least, though it wasn't too bad until it got near the end when my skin was just sore. Funny enough, it wasn't the needles that was the most painful at that time, it was the wiping the skin every now and then which felt worse. All worth it in the end! Gakkin did a wonderful job and I absolutely love my tattoo.
Here's the picture of my tattoo

Hello! I've been following this forum for a good long time and enjoyed reading the threads. I also decided to jump in after 27 years and got a tattoo of a crane while on a trip in Japan from Gakkin at Harizanmai in Kyoto. The tattoo itself took around 4 hours outside of the drawing I think. It was interesting and a good bit painful to say the least, though it wasn't too bad until it got near the end when my skin was just sore. Funny enough, it wasn't the needles that was the most painful at that time, it was the wiping the skin every now and then which felt worse. All worth it in the end! Gakkin did a wonderful job and I absolutely love my tattoo.
Here's the picture of my tattoo