The Tattoo Thread

finally got a reply to some questions of a local shop after emailing a few a week ago.

now i have to apparently at least draw up some sort of sketch of what i want. i can't draw a square.

do you really have to bring a sketch of what you want and if so how the hell does that work?

Absolutely not. You can describe it to the artist and they can draw it.
 
finally got a reply to some questions from a local shop after emailing a few a week ago.

now i have to apparently at least draw up some sort of sketch of what i want. i can't draw a square.

do you really have to bring a sketch of what you want and if so how the hell does that work?
YWIA

aaron-rodgers-pinup-tattoo-2.png
 
finally got a reply to some questions from a local shop after emailing a few a week ago.

now i have to apparently at least draw up some sort of sketch of what i want. i can't draw a square.

do you really have to bring a sketch of what you want and if so how the hell does that work?
When I got my only tattoo, I brought in the drawing that my friend had made that I wanted. I didn't know much about tattoos, so I discussed with the artist how it could be adjusted to best work for a tattoo, since obviously skin is different than paper. The artist then re-drafted the drawing to make it the best version of my friend's drawing for skin.

If your artist isn't going to draw for you, I would take that as a red flag. But maybe this was just a communication breakdown.
 
When I got my only tattoo, I brought in the drawing that my friend had made that I wanted. I didn't know much about tattoos, so I discussed with the artist how it could be adjusted to best work for a tattoo, since obviously skin is different than paper. The artist then re-drafted the drawing to make it the best version of my friend's drawing for skin.

If your artist isn't going to draw for you, I would take that as a red flag. But maybe this was just a communication breakdown.

it was a misinterpretation of the email on my part. guy seems to not be really strong with the emails and i read his initial message the wrong way.

we got it cleared up.

i've just got to present a concept & i've got that. i might pull up a picture or two to give him a better idea than i can explain with words.
 
it was a misinterpretation of the email on my part. guy seems to not be really strong with the emails and i read his initial message the wrong way.

we got it cleared up.

i've just got to present a concept & i've got that. i might pull up a picture or two to give him a better idea than i can explain with words.
That sounds good. Can't wait to see it.
 
I don't have much to say that others haven't said already furley but absolutely bring in some pictures. If there's anything you can do to help the person understand what you want, do it. And if the person doesn't seem to get it or if you have a bad vibe, walk away. I had what I thought was a generally straightforward concept for one of mine and scoured IG for weeks/months to find someone whose style I thought would work. I finally went in to have a consultation and he just didn't give two shits or seem at all interested. In Chicago, at least, there are a lot of very talented artists so it really wasn't that hard to find someone else. Be patient if you have to. If you find an artist that seems like a great fit but he/she is too busy, they should be able to give a recommendation for someone else. If they can't or won't, I would find that suspect. That may not be the case here but something to think about if you decide to get more (and more detailed/larger) pieces in the future.
 
finally scheduled for a consult on 7/17. got a recommendation from my barber who is looped in with a lot of local creative type people. i like what i've seen and heard from others on them so i'm going to check them out.
 
finally scheduled for a consult on 7/17. got a recommendation from my barber who is looped in with a lot of local creative type people. i like what i've seen and heard from others on them so i'm going to check them out.

How many barbed wire strips did you decide on?
 
on the books for 8/10

now the only question is font and placement. my thought was to have it inside of my wrist so i can read it from my perspective. it's a short phrase. tattoo guy suggested maybe going lengthwise up the inside of my forearm.

i found this for fonts to browse: https://www.1001fonts.com/tattoo-fonts.html

now to decide on placement. i'm 90% inside wrist, but considering inside forearm.
 
on the books for 8/10

now the only question is font and placement. my thought was to have it inside of my wrist so i can read it from my perspective. it's a short phrase. tattoo guy suggested maybe going lengthwise up the inside of my forearm.

i found this for fonts to browse: https://www.1001fonts.com/tattoo-fonts.html

now to decide on placement. i'm 90% inside wrist, but considering inside forearm.

Don't know what you do for work, but I'd advise forearm over inside wrist. It's always best to have the option to completely cover it.

I'm a lawyer, but I work in DC. If I had a tattoo on my inner wrist and worse long sleeves all the time, it probably wouldn't be a problem. However, if I had it on my forearm, I know it wouldn't be a problem. And it would still be visible anytime I wear short sleeves.
 
Don't know what you do for work, but I'd advise forearm over inside wrist. It's always best to have the option to completely cover it.

I'm a lawyer, but I work in DC. If I had a tattoo on my inner wrist and worse long sleeves all the time, it probably wouldn't be a problem. However, if I had it on my forearm, I know it wouldn't be a problem. And it would still be visible anytime I wear short sleeves.
Bigger is better, too, when it comes to tattoos. I would definitely defer to the tattoo guy’s judgment unless you think he just wants to pad hours and charge you more (speaking of lawyers… zing!). That said, if you think you would ever want a full sleeve, or even a 3/4 sleeve, I can see the value in keeping the space available. I got my first tattoo on my upper left arm and had some very mild second thoughts years later when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to get a whole sleeve. Granted, I didn’t even know I would have wanted a full sleeve on that arm when I got that tattoo so it’s kind of a moot point.
 
as of this day in July 2021 i don't think i'll ever get a full sleeve.

anything is possible, though. just don't know of anything i want badly enough to make a comprehensive piece out of that covers my entire arm right now.

a bridge to cross one day, maybe.
 
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