Tattoos.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Tattoos.

Well I've got two already, but I do want more. When I get more, I'd get something related to my kids. Maybe portraits of them (if I trusted the artist to do a good job) or else their names or something.

[DakAttack]

Re: Tattoos.

Swedish Fish.

[Kittyneko]

Re: Tattoos.

People use tattoo's to be able to show a part of themselves, their indentity, to other people. Like Bazaar Comments.

[Wise Donkey]

Re: Tattoos.

I have one, plans for a second, and desire for a third.

My first:

It is on my back between my shoulder blades, about 5" across, and it represents my belief in Karma and Balance in the world. Designed it myself.

My second will be on my right calf (which means I will need to get a third undecided tattoo on my left calf), and it will be something to commemorate my time in Iraq. The initial plan is the outline of the country of Iraq with an image of a hurricane over it, with the hurricane slightly smaller than the country outline, so it fits in it, yet the edges of the storm are outside the border. At the bottom in an undecided font will be "OIF 07-09". The outline of Iraq is pretty self-explanatory, the hurricane represents the Florida Army National Guard, whom I am a member of and deployed there with, and "OIF 07-09" is the Operation Iraqi Freedom rotation we deployed on.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Tattoos.

I have 10 tattoos. Most of my tattoos are of something that I love mixed with some symbolism. I personally love dragons. I even have dragon decorations in my living room (tastefully though lol). But each dragon holds a meaning to me. On my one calf I have a dragon holding a yellow and red rose. The roses symbolize my children. Another tattoo is of a dragon holding a skull in a globe. The skull symbolizes my disease and the dragon/me is keeping it contained.

I will admit that I did get a couple of "mistake" tattoos. LOL One was a scorpion that I let a drunk put on me. DO NOT LET ANYONE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANYTHING PUT A TATTOO ON YOUR BODY!! God.....it was a mess. So then I thought to make it look better I'd put something else by it and someone suggested a flower so I did it. It just made a bad thing even worse. LOL I also got talked into getting a tattoo with a man's name by it. He picked it out and the tattoo artist copied his signature next to it. DO NOT TATTOO ANYONE'S NAME ON YOUR BODY OR LET THEM PICK OUT YOUR TATTOO!........unless it can be easily covered up. LOL There are exceptions to this rule. Your mother, children, father, etc. are blood relation and people that you might want to hold close to you forever. Anyone non-blood related.......just don't do it! *shudders*

Getting a tattoo is a serious thing. I had some of mine done when I was younger and some about 17 years ago. I love my tattoos but I can say that there are times when I wish some of them weren't there now. Summertime is a hassle because people stare and it gets old fast. So most of the time I wear long sleeves and pants in the summer. It sucks.

Some things to remember:

1) You will age and your skin will sag! Consider where you are getting it placed, some parts of your body don't age as well as others......ladies especially!

2) If you like to go out in the sun a lot, colors DO fade. Ask the place you get your tattoos done about touch ups. My parlour does them for free but not everyone will. Also realize that putting sunscreen on your tattoo will help but isn't 100%. You should not go out in the sun with a fresh tattoo EVER.

3) You will always need a job and some jobs care about how you look. When I worked I wore long sleeves and pants ALL THE TIME. Some places won't even hire you if they see a visible tattoo and their uniform doesn't cover it. Think about where you are getting it!

4) Some people don't like tattoos.....A LOT. They will take one look at you and your tattoo and brand you an addict/troublemaker/lowlife/drunk/etc. Sad but true. Realize that and understand that you'll have to cope with that for a long time. If thats something that would really bother you then get the tattoo in a place people can only see if you want them to see it OR just don't get one.

5) RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! Ask people were they got their tattoo done. Look at the quality, especially if its the type you are interested in. If you don't really know that many people with one, then head to the local Harley shops and look at bulletin boards or ask people there about their tattoos. Sometimes there are motorcycle events in the area, attend one. You'll have fun and see LOTS of tattoos. Once you find a place, go check them out. Autoclaves are an absolute MUST HAVE. Thats the thing that sterilizes the needles and equipment. Use your eyes and see how clean the place is. Not clean, don't go there no matter how great someone elses tattoo was. Ask the artist if they have had any formal training. What you are looking for is if they went to and graduated from art school or took any art related courses. Someone who thinks they can just draw is probably someone you should stay away from. RESEARCH FIRST!

6) Realize that you might have to travel to get a great tattoo. I've planned a vacation around getting a tattoo. LOL I knew the guy that I wanted to do it with, asked for time off months in advance, called made my appt, and then went to the area he was in and got my tattoo. It was totally worth it!

7) DO NOT PICK ANYTHING OFF OF THE WALLS!! Using it as a reference for something you'd like is ok but getting the exact tattoo off the wall........good lord go get a temporary tattoo instead. >< You want something that is unique, something that embodies who you are. It should mean something to you and you should like it....A LOT. Do NOT get a particular tattoo to impress anyone except yourself. Getting a tattoo removed is F**KING PAINFUL! (Yes, even laser removal.) The best tattoos are ones that you have an idea for, take in some pictures or drawings of, the artist makes some adjustments to it, and you get a unique individual tattoo that no one else has.

8) I really recommend having a temp tattoo put where you want your tattoo and keep putting one there for a few weeks and see if you like that spot. Rule is, you can NOT wash it off for any reason either. If at anytime you'd like to take it off, then that is not a spot for a real tattoo.

9) Every tattoo artist specializes in something. Some do good portraits, some do good old school tattoos, some do good coverups, etc. Find someone that does what you want done and does it well. Don't settle for second best.

10) NEVER GET A TATTOO ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT!! (See above nightmare where b/f picked out the tattoo.) Plan it out, think about it alot, make an appointment so that you can think about it some more while you wait a few days, and just TAKE YOUR TIME. This is going to be on you for the rest of your life, what is taking a week or two more going to matter?

Remember, tattoos are forever. You can cover some up with another tattoo if you end up not liking them. (Research this, not all tattoo artists are good at coverups.) You can get them removed but its expensive and it HURTS!! So just think about it as being there forever. Can you look at that tattoo every day of your life and still be glad you got that particular tattoo in that particular spot?? If you have ANY doubts, don't do it.

And yes, getting them does hurt no matter what part of the body you get them on. Some spots hurt more than others, breasts hurt especially closer to the nipple and generally any area with very little padding such as ankles, wrists, backbone, collarbone, etc. Though there are some meaty places that are quite sensitive like underneath your upper arm, inside of thigh, etc. Some people have a higher tolerance to pain than others so you can't go by what someone else says to you. Personally, I've fallen asleep during long tattoo sessions or I read a book while having them done. I do very well with pain. Once I was having a 4 hour session getting one and a guy came in to have work done on his unfinished tattoo. His tattoo was half the size of mine and he just had the outline but he had to leave with only 1/2 of it colored in because he couldn't take the pain. (Yes, it was in the same spot as mine.) See, different people and different tolerances.

[Jarre]

Re: Tattoos.

I have considered having a tattoo but the only place (due to work ) to have one would be on my back, unfortuantely its my most sensitive part of my body and also what I have problems with at the moment.

The other place I considered was to have some wording tatood above my pube line. Wording something like...... "Warning, chocking hazard", with an arrow pointing down (then to cover me from being sued I would have underneath a little smaller "contains nuts" ) Just there visible above the banana hamock.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Tattoos.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Jarre

[DakAttack]

Re: Tattoos.

5) RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! Ask people were they got their tattoo done. Look at the quality, especially if its the type you are interested in. If you don't really know that many people with one, then head to the local Harley shops and look at bulletin boards or ask people there about their tattoos. Sometimes there are motorcycle events in the area, attend one. You'll have fun and see LOTS of tattoos. Once you find a place, go check them out. Autoclaves are an absolute MUST HAVE. Thats the thing that sterilizes the needles and equipment. Use your eyes and see how clean the place is. Not clean, don't go there no matter how great someone elses tattoo was. Ask the artist if they have had any formal training. What you are looking for is if they went to and graduated from art school or took any art related courses. Someone who thinks they can just draw is probably someone you should stay away from. RESEARCH FIRST!

QFT

I'm looking for an artist in my area that knows or is Chinese so he can look over work I'm interested in having done before it's permanently attached to me.

[Feba]

Re: Tattoos.

breasts hurt especially closer to the nipple

...personal experience much?

[Malevolent]

Re: Tattoos.

breasts hurt especially closer to the nipple

Eh i'd have to say "The ditch is a bitch" I'm talking about your elbow pit. Also on your bicep closer to the arm pit...the skin is so thin there and it makes getting the tattoo so more irritating.

One word of caution tho everyone is allergic to red ink (sorry i really didn't read if it was mentioned before). Just every reaction is different. I've had a Koi Fish tattoo on the under side of my bicep for a 2 years now and i still have reactions. After googling it it's a common occurance.

I'll take some pics now of mine and either edit my post or post again.

Edit: There;s also a celtic knot behind my arm.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Tattoos.

...personal experience much?

shhhh...

Eh i'd have to say "The ditch is a bitch" I'm talking about your elbow pit. Also on your bicep closer to the arm pit...the skin is so thin there and it makes getting the tattoo so more irritating.

Though there are some meaty places that are quite sensitive like underneath your upper arm...

[Malevolent]

Re: Tattoos.

Thanks TGM lol

[Telera]

Re: Tattoos.

I've been seriously considering getting something nice and symmetrical tattoo'd on me for a while now. On my back, lower spine, you know, that popular spot for girls to put a tattoo. Easily covered when I get old and wrinkly, and in a good spot for now, while I'm still not. :p

Probably some tribal-esque swirls/pattern. A butterfly of some sort. I'm not sure. Something pretty.

[Feba]

Re: Tattoos.

On my back, lower spine, you know, that popular spot for girls to put a tattoo.

like I mentioned earlier, tramp stamp. I'd recommend against it, it's name is well deserved. I've also heard that some tattoo removal experts think that they're going to have one of the highest rates of people wanting to remove them in the future; like Kanji tattoos.

I'd do it somewhere else, like an arm, or upper back, somewhere where it's still easy to show/not show if you want. Mostly opinion, though.

[MrMageo]

Re: Tattoos.

I got a maple leaf (red for canada) on my leg surounded by tribial. I sometimes I even forget I have it, then summer comes around and I get to see it every day. It needs a touch up now that I think of it.

Also got a 2500$ sleeve lined up but I need the extra funds first.