Oh, Hey! 200 Posts! Woohoo!
I’d get a dolphin tattoo.
My brother came back from Guam with a tattoo of 3 stylized dolphins on the side of his right calf; apparently native divers regard that particular tatto as a good luck charm, and wards off sharks.
I just think it looks sharp!
VB
Tempus is fugiting all over the place! Carpe that diem!
Actually, no responsible artist will tattoo you if you are drunk. The first reason is that the alcohol thins your blood, and you’ll bleed excessively. Second, the artist simply does not want to have to deal with a drunk.
Also, all of the shops i’ve been to say that they will not do hate tattoos (like neo-nazi things), nor will they do gang tattoos. Some won’t even tattoo your head or hands.
It’s worth the risk of burning, to have a second chance…
That’s interesting. I never really thought about it (obviously!) but I assume those sort of things are self-done or done in prison, etc. When I was “shopping” for tattoos I noticed one of the parlors in these parts sort of specialized in working over gang and hate-type tattoos into less offensive images. One that I remember was a guy who had something down the inside of each forarm in large gothic letters (don’t remember what it said, but was VERY prominant.) They were worked over into a long, sleek black panther on one arm and I think a long Chinese dragon going up the other.
I have to say, that even if you’re not considering a tattoo you may want to take in a shop sometime to see their art books, some of the designs are truly amazing. (The most remarkable I saw was a photo of a guy that had a bigger-than-life photo of Jimi Hendrix tattooed over his entire back – now THAT’s a lot of blackwork!)
“Open up! It’s the pigs!”
oh, surgoshan, i hope that didn’t sound like i was scolding. i meant to be only informative & encouraging to anyone who was wavering because of the big bad pain thing.
as for getting one done while drunk, no can do in arizona. it’s illegal here to work on anyone who appears to be high from anything, a law i would guess is in other states, too.
&, doob, please don’t scare them again with the thinning blood thing! jeez. yeah, alcohol would thin the blood some (not a lot actually), but people don’t generally bleed when they get tattooed. if you are getting some really solid, dark places worked on, the artist may have to go over the area a few times (most will use 4-needle or 6-needle equipment for that) & there may be a drop of blood because of the abrasion. but it’s excess ink they are constantly wiping off, not blood.
& techchick, people don’t much wrinkle in places that don’t get any sun. & if you ask, most artists will recommend you get a tat in a place that stays covered so as to keep the colors strong. blurry green old tats are stuff you usually see on guys’ forearms.
as for the kind of work that’s out there, i could post some sites where there’s stuff that would knock your sox off, but i understand we aren’t supposed to post commercial stuff?
Special, why does it always feel like i’m butting heads with you when you reply to my posts? Also, I feel like I’ve been talked down to by my parents. Try to be a tad more diplomatic in your answers, ok?
From the tattoo and piercing FAQ:
You can find it here: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bodyart/tattoo-faq/part1/
Trust me, when I got home there was some blood on the bandage. Not a lot, but there was some. It’s still an abrasion, and surface capilaries will be ruptured (friends with thick dark pieces also reported a little blood). Mine, while it did bleed some did NOT scab, and it still looks as it did the day I got it. I think by telling people there will be nothing but a “drop of blood” you are putting a false sense of security into their minds. If someone who read that, got a large black piece, and saw blood on their bandage (more than a “drop”), i’m pretty sure they would panic and think there was something wrong.
It’s worth the risk of burning, to have a second chance…
It’s been at least 4 years since my last one. Haven’t gotten one recently mostly due to lack of fundage. I’m going to get the sun on my leg enhanced - it’s a bit plain (on purpose when I first got it). I have a
celtic piece on my lower back.
Like previous posts, no real pain. Some discomfort on tender or nervy areas or over bone. No big shakes.
I want one for a representation of my son so I’m thinking of a row of little (I mean really little) foot prints either around my right bicep below the deltoid or just below the head of the gastrocs on my calf.
I still want a large band around my mid-thigh area, but haven’t been able to design it well enough and haven’t met the person who can do it for me either.
My wife is talking about getting one, and she was sure she never would when we first met. She’s also considering a little tiny stud in her nose. I think maybe she’s hittig a mid-life thing (hate to call it a crisis). Is 39 mid-life?
Special, yours sounds incredible. It’s so cool to see pieces like yours that are very involved (and have evolved), and that, I’m sure, have real meaning.
Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.
– a Celtic motto
I’m with Doob on this one. I was asked flat out if I had been drinking or if I took aspirin or anything that would thin my blood before I got my tat done. I asked what I could take for pain afterward and was once again told NOT to take aspirin.
As for bleeding…I have a VERY large blackwork tat on my back. (Doob’s seen it, so you know what I’m talking about, Doob.) When I took off the bandage, there was a LOT of blood. It was all over my bra strap too - it had soaked through the bandage. Did it keep bleeding? No. But it did bleed when I got it, and so did the tats of the other two people I had with me. I knew mine would bleed, so I was prepared for it. I think it’s fairly common, and to say you won’t see ANY means people may be unneccesarily scared.
Finally, pain…I will admit mine hurt. But mine had a lot of shading, which is a larger needle. And it took 2.5 hours, so by the end I was just tired.
Just my personal experiences.
I would get a dragon on my right shoulderblade. But I wouldn’t get one, because I have a needle phobia.
My sister has a rose on her back, and it looks very cool. She says it doesn’t hurt much at all, perhaps as much as pinpricks.
That guy must be awfully large!
A friend of mine was tattooed when drunk. I don’t know if she managed to hide it or whatever. I guess that she wasn’t THAT drunk, but it was still illegal, and considering she was 18 at the time, the tattooist probably shouldn’t have done it.
~Harborina
I’d get the little one from Fantasy Island.
Falcon – you’re a freckled red head. Of course you bled from a tattoo. There just seems to be something about us freckled red heads that cause us to bleed more than others.
About a third of my tattoos bled a lot, and the others really didn’t bleed at all, just that “drop or so.” I learned the best times for me to go in and get inked, and that solved most of it. Only one of my husband’s tattoos really bled, and that was a very wide heavy blackwork Celtic knot on his arm.
The thing of it is, if you’re prone to bleeding heavily, you’re probably going to bleed. If a cat can take a healthy swipe at your ankle and it doesn’t ooze red, you’re probably not going to bleed.
Hey, techchick, about the aging thing – I worked in a nursing home for years. Inked skin, for some reason, tends to age better. It’s an illusion, of course, but the coloured skin doesn’t look nearly as wrinkled or age-spotted. It DOES matter where the ink is – a belly, especially if you’re chubby, is going to look worse than an ankle, arm, or back.
(dons asbestos underwear before becoming a smartass)
I figure it’ll be fantastic entertainment to rediscover all this artwork on my skin every morning when I’m locked in a home with Alzheimer’s. “WHAT? Where did THAT come from? YOU did this to me, didn’t you!!!”
Suze - “I love my ink” - anne
I just haven’t been the same since that house fell on my sister.
i sincerely apologize, doob, if i said something to make you feel that way; however, i see no reason to unnecessarilly scare people. of all my tat work–& i have a couple square feet of it by now–i had only one or two spots the size of a pencil erasor that bled, & all of mine is solid work. also, i have had sessions last as long as 4 hrs. & i am a very fair-skinned natural blonde.
but everyone is different. everyone will react individually to the ‘pain’. everyone will react individually to the potential to bleed. however, i have known far more people who never shed more than a drop, if at all, & found the pain little more than that very, very annoying thing.
btw, another apology: i was thinking of alcohol in terms of volume of liquid added to the system (& how it makes you act somewhat irrationally) rather than in how you react chemically. i don’t think i knew it was a chemical thinner akin to aspirin. thank you.
please, do call me on anything i say that might be too strongly stated. i know how to do humble.
Well, now, this is an interesting coincidence, because it just so happens that I got my first tattoo Friday night. It’s a big Mirror of Venus female symbol on my upper left arm. My arm is still a little sore from it. I would have gotten it a long time ago, but I didn’t have the money until now. The only problem is that it may jeopardize my career as a professional plasma donor, but what the hell. If I were to get another one, I might do something in the “biotech” vein mentioned above.
And as regards the “hate group” tattoos, the place I went to had a big book full of designs, and in the back there were some swastikas and things like that, so I don’t know. I suppose it’s up to the individual artist, and they could refuse to do it, but the fact that they were there at all suggests that somebody there is okay with it.
An infinite number of rednecks in an infinite number of pickup trucks shooting an infinite number of shotguns at an infinite number of road signs will eventually produce all the world’s great works of literature in Braille.
Did anyone once get a tattoo of their lover’s name & later get a new lover? What did you do about THAT old tattoo?
I’d get two faces on my butt, one on each cheek, kissing each other in the middle.
Either my initials on my bicep, or a picture of Leona Helmsley and Joey Butafucco dancing the lambada. Sorry that one comes from George Carlin.
“The idea of a walk-in closet sounds frightening. If I’m ever sittin’ at home and a closet walks in, I’m gettin’ outta there.” ~George Carlin
my tattoo I got when I turned 18, the colour is still vibrant at 21, it didn’t bleed at all, it did scab, it didn’t really hurt–was like a cat scratch(and I HATE needles).
It’s on my right shoulder blade, a snake eating it’s tail–urborous(sp) symoblizes birth, death and rebirth-cycles of all life.Is the symbol of the gods-the snake and eagle of heaven in Celtic mythology after their fight to rule heaven, the 2 became intertwined. Mine doesn’t have the traditional feathers on it.
My advice to those how are getting one, make sure that it means something to you-my friend has a maple leaf and the other a butterfly.
always check the parlour out before you get an appointment with an artist.
speak to an artist before you have it done, have them explain the entire proceedure, in a reputable parlour this is required. Get to know the artist!
in Ontario same as most states, it is illegal for artists to tattoo while someone is under the influence of alcohol.
price will vary according to the size of the tattoo, how long it will take to finish.
6)Do NOT sunbath for a week, and even then put lots of sunscreen on it!
I’m getting my 2nd tat in about 3 weeks, on my lower back–Celtic influence, heart shaped viney looking blackwork
Many parlours I have heard say to put polysporen on a healing tattoo, but my artist game me this awesome cream to put on it 3x a day…guess it’s up to the artist.
If any one can tell me where to find Eric who used to work as an artist for Tataramma Tatoo Shop in Toronto, I would be excstatic! I don’t want another artist.
I am a fire whose flames lick and spit at the boundless sky forever desiring wonderous consummation
-me