marley mission

blowout? not a blowout? doesnt matter what you call it - your healed tattoo is what it is - I would leave it be - get more tatts - but maybe...look at a different shop and artist

@bongsau thats the winner right there - awesome

i dont know what you should put but have fun with it :)

i got some gaps on my arms too - ditches and elbows and some smaller spots

i'm gonna just keep chipping away

i myself like a little negative space in there

kinda dislike when people go stars and dots to 'sleeve it'

anyway - looks like you got some cool stuff already

enjoy the ride!

ok - I'm gonna be first to enter with my Robert Ryan Mandala Leopard which resides on my stomach - hopefully the leopard can qualify as its the closest thing to a panther that I have - no hard feelings if it doesnt meet the qualifications - done at Electric Tattoo in Asbury Park NJ - if you havent been tattooed by Robert or been to Electric - well...you're missing out - luckily I live only short drive from the shop - anyway - here you go...btw - this tattoo also made his awesome book - The Inborn Absolute :)

is the contest still happening?

I dont know if i like that design really

dont hate it but i dont like it either

i like the idea though of a chess / chess piece tattoo

i dont think location is too important though

get it where you want it

@Charles.M Charles my man I think you're just not getting what the spirit of the site is about 

the site is about tattoos man

and thats where you are coming up short

so show some tattoos (your own or your work)

or settle down and do some reading and listening on here

less short novel posts more quality

and please keep the world is against me stuff to yourself

nobody knows if you were or werent a victim but more importantly nobody cares

stick to tattoo topics and you'll be golden

27 minutes ago, Anne said:

Hell all. I looked around for appropriate place to ask this question. so here it is. I have been designing tattoos for long time, drawing has been my passion since i was very young. I have designed many for people. Only i have not been confident to actually stick someone repentantly and put my work on someone body. Even though  engoying my art on others is amazing and gratifying  .. i am serious on taking my talents to the next level. I feel who better to ask but more experienced tattoo enthuses about buying the kit/ guns. Could anyone be kind enough to lead me to a decent company /kit to start with. Thanks for anyone who helps me with some  solid advice to get me started on practice and getting a solid feel , until i am ready to mark someone permanently .

 

Thanks you for any advice.

Wrong thread / wrong site / good night

honestly with all your troubles you have described

i get why you are turned off to internet, social media, etc

but then...why are you here

also - stop with these long winded posts man

keep it short and simple

i think part of the issue here is you say waaaaay too much

@Charles.M jus playin - type away

3 hours ago, Charles.M said:

I know I am not a LST veteran, but this seems the appropriate place to respond after reading this thread. 

The search feature is not perfect on this site (none are), I have tried it and recommend it regardless because it is a good step for someone getting familiar with this forum and newbies trying to avoid the Department of Redundancy Department... post fails. It is time-consuming for someone new, to become a LST Forum Historian or avoid repeating something talked about in one of 13,409 organically moving along posts, which spiders out into multi-topics, regardless of the thread start. So miss-steps are expected, I am sure I have done a few. Talking about the old days with nostalgia is wonderful, but we are here today and have the benefit of the old posts to refer to. This forum is wonderfully here in the now.

I have haunted this site for years, but was uninterested in participating because of the apparent cliquish nature the forum used to have, as well as the infighting, name calling and expected banhammer if you did not tow the party line of the in crowd, which I may have been wrong in my perceptions, but it was the reason I personally stayed clear. Please know that I mean no disrespect when I say this, I may have been wrong in my perception completely.  I believe that this Forum is evolving organically into its new thing and we all have a part to play. 

So as a newbie to this forum (and not new to Tattoos), and keeping my response in context to this thread, I ask that the veterans maybe, refer people to specific and I mean specific (line and verse, not just over there somewhere), instances of older post which answer questions from some other authoritative voices, paraphrase, or take what you know and the opportunity to give a fresh perspective on the topic, forged from experience and maturity, both on this forum and in the Tattoo Scene. What you posted 2 years ago may not be what you would post today, when asked the same question.

I really value all the information here and spend hours reading, when I can, to gain insight and laughs, but, if you are a veteran with memory of where the gold is on here, that can be brought out of the depths of 13,409 posts, then why not take the opportunity to be the guide when you feel like it and dust off the goods, if you can find it yourselves. 

Also Grammarly has a free program which checks your grammar, and spelling, before you post, so there will be less editing, after the fact (control Z does not work when the program is running so watch out, FYI). Just drop your text in the website before you post and your content will likely read better, or install it in your browser. I am using it cause I am a visual artist, not a writer, so I am trying to have what I am spending time writing, get across the way I intended. Does not always work, but worth the effort.    

I would like to thank all the ones who have stuck to this forum for years, you deserve a hats-off for sticking it through and you now have the opportunity to steer this thing is a positive direction. Let your memory and experience be a resource, which will likely be unappreciated by newbies, but a few will turn into veterans some day with the right environment and your input.  

Maybe fresh eyes, can glean some insight or take us to places we never thought of going yet.

Anywho...Go LST Forum!  

Gonna have to put you on a word count limit Victor

and then you also have the application process to factor in - healing tattoos is no fun

my thoughts on hands - though mine arent done - are that its an area on your body that has been exposed to the elements probably as much as any other body part you have and that over the years that skin has been through alot - i relate this to how my lower arm tattoos are some of my toughest healing spots - i grew up at the beach and i think at 45 years old the skin on my lower arms is just 'beat' - definetly some of my hardest areas to heal - not to mention you are looking at these spots all day - you know the saying - 'can a watched tattoo heal'

your tattoo will not become more readable than it is now as it ages - in fact - the opposite will occur with time - hey its a tattoo - enjoy it for what it is

I've had dropout on tattoos and it usually had to do with location - my knee for instance - i'm not a huge fan of the touch up thing so my advice would be to accept the dropout as a part of this particular tattoos 'personality' 

of course you could also visit the artist and see what they advise - they might want to touch it up but like i said i wouldnt sweat it - particularly if the rest of the piece is to your liking - most often we look at our tattoos much closer than anyone else would ever care to

@Deepayso i dont think the lightness or darkness is what is effecting the readability of your tattoo - i was zooming in on it and i still have a tough time getting a sense for what it is - part of that is the placement but also design and application are factors - i'm not saying its a bad tattoo - not every tattoo needs to be readable from across the room - anyway - the idea of intentionally trying to lighten the tattoo is a crazy one - just live with it - enjoy it - and if you want future tattoos more readable go with bold traditional styles instead of black and grey

hardest thing is to pretend its not there for a month - but thats what my advice is - give a month - 6 weeks - see what you got then

the original tattoo has a bit of a muted look to it imo - not my style but whatever

good luck

(1) What is your perception of what last sparrow tattoo Forum is today? 

The forum? Too many garbage topics 

(2) why do you participate?

well I still enjoy it to a degree

(3) what have you gained from it?

so much - cant put a price on the things i've learned here

(4) what do you think will make it better? 

Well we could use some awesome folks returning and for the active folks - resist the urge to start shit topics - quality over quantity

as for the criticism of @Charles.M well he probably deserves it to a degree - he has made quite a few missteps here - and I'm not quite sure where I stand on some of his activity on here but whatever - LST is not life and life is not LST

@Charles.M you gotta throw down some of your tattoos - I know I have seen you mention in several threads that you got work from some top notch tattooers - would love to see em

@suburbanxcore i'm actually trying to incorporate "states" into my collecting - kinda got to thinking about it after getting tattooed by chad during his 50 state tour - well - 50 states might be a bit ambitious for me but I have set my goal at 10 - I have 5 so far - NJ, PA, NY, Mass, MD - i can do same day round trips for Del, RI, Conn, DC (should that count as a 'state' lol) - after that I will have to plan more - anyway - Delaware and Right Coast is def on the short list 

@suburbanxcore yeah maryland has many choices - I still want to see todd in Delaware but I know he is not there too much - I got tattooed by him up in mass end of the summer  

you're in maryland - go to tattoo paradise - they have several shops - I've been to the one in wheaton - nice shop - great artists - go there - i'd recommend nikki balls

Cool thread - lots of great examples in here of sleeve or arm tattoo ideas - i myself am a fan of what you see in that posting from @DavidR negative space in between those small to medium size pieces just works for me - i actually dislike when folks take a sleeve like seen in the posting and fill em with stars and dots - but to each his own - i can certainly appreciate a finely tattooed japanese sleev or these geometric style sleeves - not a fan of the 'blacked out' look

anyway... 

@Dan i wish this place was more than it is but it aint - lets be honest - now - if you remember the last month of the contest - there were only 4 tattoos entered - no categories mind you - and that was the reason that it was cancelled - because even then - when we had way more solid contributions and participation than we do now - even then - there wasnt enough interest in the contest to actually warrant continuing it - jus sayin

@Hoople my opinion brotha but I believe what is said in the tattoo shop should stay there

you did get a nice tattoo btw