Tattoo thoughts

[leadchipmunk]

I'd suggest making sure you know what you want and how you want it (which you seem to have done already), then working with an artist for the finishing. The artist will take his/her time with you if they are professional. If not, I would leave without saying another word. Position, cleanliness and price have all been discussed above, and I don't have much experience in that department since I do not have a tattoo.

One thing to remember though is as you age, or if you gain weight, skin will stretch and the tattoo will become blurry depending on its placement. I'm wanting to take the opposite approach, get a relatively detailed tattoo as I'm fat and when I lose weight and my skin shrinks down, I will have exquisite copy of Van Gogh's Starry Night in a 3 inch square... Mwahahaha

[Deanna]

I have had 4 kids, the boobs are not as perky as they once were, but I'd still totally get one there- it's sexy.

I've got 14 bumper stickers on this Ferrari!

I think it's more like pinstriping. Tattoos add to beauty.

Boobs are just as sexy after having children! I personally still love mine and I know other people who do as well.

[HorrorGeek]

My personal philosophy is to have a tattoo where *I* can see it. I have one on the inside of my ankle, which is hidden by most of my work outfits, but even during capri season, honestly, no one notices it there anyway. The second one is on the top of my foot, which covers almost the entire top. Not as easy to hide, but not distracting either, since you have to be looking at my feet to notice it.

The ankle one hurt, but nothing unbearable. The top of the foot was like no other pain I can describe. I nearly broke the arms off the chairs and I teared up a few times. The artist was really cool though and he kept me talking about useless pop culture stuff to distract me as much as possible.

There are days where I regret the top of my foot one - not the design, just the location. It just looks weird with certain really cute shoes.

In both cases, I brought in my designs (they are both extremely simple) and the artist did their work to shrink it and size it appropriately. It took them about a half hour to get the design the way they needed it to be on the trace paper, and then about 30 -45 minutes for each one (like I said - very simple).

I got my mother a tattoo for Mother's Day one year. She got one of their display designs on her left breast. She barely felt a thing, but she is well endowed, so there was really nothing for it to hurt.

As for choosing - ask around, or use Yelp or Google. People write reviews online and will tell you. Word of mouth is huge too, when it comes to tattoo places. Just stop someone with a visible tat and ask them where and if they recommend it.

[Wicked Pixie]

I think it's more like pinstriping. Tattoos add to beauty.

Boobs are just as sexy after having children! I personally still love mine and I know other people who do as well.

Totally this!

That's it, a pinstriping piece is now on the list!

[Morrigainz]

Haha pinstriping...love it...

I am concerned about the boobs going floppy and having to reach around and basically do origami out of my boob to be able to see it. So I'm not 100% sold on the under boob idea. But we'll see

[Deanna]

Ooh!! I just decided what my next tattoo will be a reward for. The leg piece was for 20 pounds of weight loss. The next will be for doing a pullup!

[andygates]

One thing to remember though is as you age, or if you gain weight, skin will stretch and the tattoo will become blurry depending on its placement.

...skin change is all part of the body-story; so's tattoo wear. That white slice through it? One hell of a road smash. The faded green forearm blob? Well, you can just about see the name of the ship even now; we all got those before the war...

Nobody gets to eighty with Twilight skin. Tats are more integrated than decals.

[leadchipmunk]

That's it, a pinstriping piece is now on the list!

I can't help but think of getting Tron based tattoo in UV ink now.

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[Wicked Pixie]

...skin change is all part of the body-story; so's tattoo wear. That white slice through it? One hell of a road smash. The faded green forearm blob? Well, you can just about see the name of the ship even now; we all got those before the war...

Nobody gets to eighty with Twilight skin. Tats are more integrated than decals.

YES YES YES!!! I love the way you put it!

[Guest Tigger]

I would also suggest printing a picture of a similar design and placing it on something so you will see it every day... and don't decide to get it until you've looked at the picture for a long time (like 3+ months at least). I've wanted a tattoo for awhile now, but I always got tired of the design after only like 5 months.

I set mine as my phone background so I see it multiple times a day and I still love it thus far

[Deanna]

...skin change is all part of the body-story; so's tattoo wear. That white slice through it? One hell of a road smash. The faded green forearm blob? Well, you can just about see the name of the ship even now; we all got those before the war...

Nobody gets to eighty with Twilight skin. Tats are more integrated than decals.

Exactly!

I always love imagining stories behind tattoos on older people. Some day when I'm 150 year old (yes I'm going to live that long) and sitting in a nursing home I'm going to look at the tattoo on my arm and say "I got that to remember my youth. My favorite book a the library and how me and my older sister would rush right to the shelf they kept it on." and the one on my leg I'll say "That Doctor Who tattoo is to remember my Dad who taught me to love SciFi. When I was a kid we'd sit in front of the tv together on Sunday nights to watch the show. I'd usually fall asleep cuddled up next to him."

[AuroraNorth]

The best advice I got on considering a tattoo is:

1. Make sure it has meaning to you. Don't just grab a piece of flash off the TA's wall.

2. Put the design on paper and attach it to your mirror so you see it everyday for a month. That way you'll know if you're going to get sick of it.

3. If it's an impulse, make sure you know exactly what you're getting and look at it WITH YOUR GLASSES ON. Otherwise, what you think is a butterfly might just turn out to be a winged male organ. (True story- not mine, thank heavens.)

[Fogo]

For the design part, I wasn't thinking anything super intricate, but I see your point about not being able to make it tiny...and that's ok. I'm just not sure I want it huge. (Especially since my husband is not on board with it, but that's another story..haha).

Here are 2 that I liked...

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The big question is though… will "Graphics Factory" still mean that much to you several years from now?

[CapN_Tommy_Sunshine]

Mir, I have a great shop that I have been going to for years. My current artist there is awesome. On one of them, I basically said I wanted an old school rocket ship and let him come up with the rest. It turned out wonderful. I can show you his work at the Michigan meet up.

As for tattoo advice in general: good tattoos aren't cheap, and cheap tattoos aren't good. It's definitely worth paying a few extra bucks for quality (and don't forget to factor in a tip!).

[Morrigainz]

Cool, I am definitely interested to see

Husband is still not convinced. Apparently he thinks they are ugly. This is news to me.

[humanperson832]

good tattoos aren't cheap, and cheap tattoos aren't good. It's definitely worth paying a few extra bucks for quality (and don't forget to factor in a tip!).

#1 tip I tell people. Folks see my tattoos and talk about how they want to get one, and how they have a friend who will give them a really good deal. Or such and such shop is running a special. And I just shake my head. Permanent artwork on your body is NOT something you want to skimp on. (Which isn't to say there aren't overpriced artists out there -- I'm sure Kat Von D's rate is astronomical simply because of her profile.)

Save up. Find someone whose tattoos you like (clean lines, beautiful design, seamless shading, etc.), ask them who their artist is. Go see that artist, talk about what you want, get an estimate, see how you like the look/feel of the shop. I'm not getting any more tattoos, but if I did, these are all things I would do (again).

[shiggles]

I've got a question relating to this.

I've been wanting to get one for a while and have kind of decided what I want. It's a word, or a concept really. I keep switching my mind whether or not I want the Japanese character version or the English equivalent. I'm leaning towards the Japanese characters though.

Now there's plenty of places on the net where I can get the characters themselves in different styles. Is this something I can print out and take to the tattoo artist or would they have something of their own.

I don't speak or read Japanese and I doubt the artist would either, so I wouldn't want them to chance something even little if it makes the meaning change like adding a teeny swirl somewhere or something.

[msuroo]

I've got a question relating to this.

I've been wanting to get one for a while and have kind of decided what I want. It's a word, or a concept really. I keep switching my mind whether or not I want the Japanese character version or the English equivalent. I'm leaning towards the Japanese characters though.

Now there's plenty of places on the net where I can get the characters themselves in different styles. Is this something I can print out and take to the tattoo artist or would they have something of their own.

I don't speak or read Japanese and I doubt the artist would either, so I wouldn't want them to chance something even little if it makes the meaning change like adding a teeny swirl somewhere or something.

Step 1: Bring Japanese characters to tattoo artist

Step 2: Have artist give you their drawing of said characters in their style

Step 3: Show drawing to someone who speaks/reads Japanese

Step 4: ???

Step 5: Profit!

[cline]

Cool, I am definitely interested to see

Husband is still not convinced. Apparently he thinks they are ugly. This is news to me.

Old crabby me: it ain't his body. My husband wasn't keen but I didn't care. If he turned out to be so shallow he couldn't live w my test, eff him. Turns out when all was said and done, he didn't really care. Lol

[cline]

Step 1: Bring Japanese characters to tattoo artist

Step 2: Have artist give you their drawing of said characters in their style

Step 3: Show drawing to someone who speaks/reads Japanese

Step 4: ???

Step 5: Profit!

This. I have a Chinese friend who says a lot of Chinese tats are wrong.

I rec the English.

[RaeVynn]

Somewhere online I saw a site that had "Kanji" tattoos, what people told they meant, and what they really meant.

Yeah, unless you run it by a native for actual meaning, stick with what you know.

[Guest Tigger]

I used to take Japanese classes at college (last year). I'm still good with the teachers and I have friends who are pretty darn proficient in it. If you post up a picture or give me the word/phrase/concept I might be able to get it to them?

[Ian]

All great advice so far. I haven't seen anyone else say it, but if you're worried about the pain get some lidocaine cream. I have really sensitive skin in general, so I always use it.

[Fink]

I have plenty, and Ive never regretted any of them. I usually draw something up and take it to my tattoo artists were it takes it and cleans it up and adds his touches. The end result is amazing and I highly recommend doing it this way. Just do your research when choosing a tattoo shop, some just make there money off walk ins picking pictures off the wall. I have 2 very very good tattoo artists that I recommend if you want. Also avoid the ribs. I have a piece on my ribs and it was the worst pain ever

[Eurydice]

My daughter has a bunch of tattoos and she's always after me to go get one with her as a bonding experience. Now I really want one, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I want. I did see a woman at the gym with the most gorgeous vinework all up and down her upper arm like a very sparse half-sleeve; that would be awesome.

TL;DR: where do you guys get your tattoo ideas?