So, I’m soon going to embark on a mission to get my second tattoo, and I could use a little help.
My first tattoo was really easy. I was looking for a couple of specific kanji characters which were easy to find in the parlor’s books. All I had to do is point and say, “This one, and put it here,” and they were able to do it very easily. My next tattoo won’t be quite so simple, though (at least, I don’t think so).
I’m looking to commemorate the fact that I was able to conquer my very serious fear of flying a couple of years ago (see Post #1 and #44 of this thread if you’re really that curious) with a tattoo. I think I want it on my upper left arm (the other tattoo is on my upper right arm). My idea is to have the image of a Pitts S-2B (like this) in motion in the air, flying above clouds and/or a mountain range. And I don’t want it to look cartoony (that makes sense in my head, but I don’t know if that would make sense to an artist).
At any rate, I’m wondering how to go about this. I think I have enough friends with tattoos to find a reputable artist (my original tattoo was done in Maryland, so that’s not really an option). But what do I say? I assume I explain it to them as I have to you above, but then what? Will they sketch it out? If I don’t like how they’ve sketched it, are they going to get pissed off at me? Would I pay them a separate fee from the cost of the actual tattoo in order to have them sketch out a few ideas to let me choose from? I just don’t know how the process works.
I don’t know much about tattooing outside of the Missoula area, and the people with tattoos from there designed their own tattoos, and then went in and talked to the tattoo artists to make sure the design is tattoo friendly and could be done.
There’s a list of good tattoo artists, so if there’s any in your area you might want to check out their website.
Mostly you just need to find an artist and talk to them. You will need to make an appointment if they are even a little bit popular (and you want artists that other people like, trust me on this. No permanent commemorative tats by the apprentice.) Bring as many pictures as you can of the idea that is in your head, and usually they will sketch while you talk or say “gottcha” and draw a sketch for you to look at a little while later.
I really like the guys at a place in Studio City up in the Valley. They did some work on me an did my wife’s last piece too. They are very friendly (and VERY clean), but I think maybe a little out of the way for you.
PM me if you want their website so you can take a look at the work they do. If not, LA has TONS of really great artist. If you are willing to wait until the body art expo (which is in July I think) you can meet a whole bunch at once and compare their art.
I see that you’re in So. Cal., which does have plenty of fine tattoo artists. You can search online - many of these shops have websites with samples of their work. Yes, you can select an artist who works in the style you prefer, and commission a design before the needles come out. They’ll expect to be paid for the work they’ve done, but details like re-design and the fee structure will vary. Really good artists are expensive, and it can take a month or more to get an appointment, but guys like this are worth it.
By the way, NAF1138, I’m in Studio City/Sherman Oaks just about every other weekend visiting friends, so it isn’t out of the way in the least. Please do PM me with your recommendation!
Good tattoo artists are very serious about getting your tattoo right. No one worth working with is going to get angry if you nitpick the design to death.
I had some simple text added to my existing tat and the girl spent about a half hour working with me to get the text looking just right.
When I was selecting a tattooist to work on my back, I visited a lot of different tattooists. I would visit the shop and ask to see photos of his/her prior work, and discuss what I wanted. I would ask if they’d done anything similar, and what ideas they had for my design. One guy I dismissed as just not having the skill to do it, one was such an ass that I didn’t want him touching it. Not one person objected to my asking for photos or badgering them with questions. So do plenty of research, and make sure you know your guy has the skills. This will be a permanent part of your body, and you want it to look great.
Different artists tend to specialize in different areas. If you’re going for a black and grey photorealistic tat, don’t pick someone that mainly does tribal designs.
Once you’ve selected an artist, they absolutely will work with you on the design, and sketch it out for you. If you don’t like any aspect of it, they will have no problem redoing some or all of it. Of my 3 tats, only my leg was a one shot - it was a simple tattoo that didn’t need a lot of explanation or embellishment. The back piece, I explained what I wanted and got a very rough sketch so the guy could get an idea of the positions and placement on the back. I came back in a couple weeks to a finished sketch, but a few aspects of it weren’t exactly what I wanted, so he redrew some of it. Some things I left up to him, some things I was very specific about. It was a great experience, and the guy was very friendly and very professional.
Make sure you pay attention to what they tell you regarding care of your tat while it heals. Tattoos take 2 weeks to heal, and if you don’t care for it properly it won’t heal right and will look shitty. Keep it moist, no matter how much of a pain in the ass it is. The first week, I use A&D ointment aka diaper rash ointment (not the cream). Do not use neosporin (this is from my tattooist, who has been in the business for over 40 years). If you have to wear clothing over it, you might need to reapply it 5 times or more a day. It’s very very important to keep it moist, especially during the first week, so it doesn’t scab. Don’t wear your good shirts during this time, you will get permanent grease stains on them. For the second week, I got some good moisturizing lotion and applied that 4-5 times a day. Do not bandage your tattoo after the first day. Do NOT expose it to sunlight at all for about a month. Do NOT pick at it. I’ve seen some tats get seriously messed up because someone didn’t put enough ointment on it, the tat scabbed, and he picked the scab off.
This is very important. When my brother wanted a current tattoo updated with some Celtic knotwork, he went to Pat Fish in Santa Barbara, who is widely regarded as the best in the west for Celtic art. Feel free to interview artists, look at their portfolios, and find someone who is an expert in the kind of thing you want.
The tattoo artist I went to was really great… I told him what I wanted… and he had a computer that I was able to look up the kind of picture I was looking for, and then he sketched it more to my liking, he included the things I wanted, and the things I didn’t.
I find a lot of tattoo places do things like this because tattoos are very obviously permanent…
So if you go in with a concept, and a picture (maybe not) the artist should very well draw something up based on the circumstances you have explained, and what the tattoo itself means to you.
Thank you, Superfreaknduper, for reminding me that I needed to do something about this! This year has suddenly become very busy (see this thread for an idea), but my wife set aside some money at Christmas for me to do something about getting a tattoo, and I haven’t followed through yet.
