Tattoos

[kissxthestarz]

No tattoos for me, I don't think I'd be able to withstand the pain (and I hate needles).

 

I also don't like the thought of putting something on my body that I'll never be able to change my mind about. And that might get yucky and faded as I grow older~

it actually doesn't hurt as bad as it seems. depends on the location of the tattoo. my FIRST (and only so far) tattoos i got on my wrists like on the inside where all the veins are. i was scared and thought it was going to hurt sooo bad, and that i'd start crying, especially since the skin there is so thin and sensitive but it seriously didn't hurt. it just kind of felt like an uncomfortable scratching feeling, and only when he first started. lots of people who hate needles get tattoos b/c it's not like a syringe needle, you don't even see the thing so you could pretend it's a pen lol and usually, (hopefully) the majority of people don't get tattoos just for the hell of it. a tattoo is best when it really means something, and the person, yes, must be 100% committed. i know people who have the stupidest stuff tattooed on them and they are going to be the ones who will regret it. on the other hand i've seen some really beautiful ones with a story behind them. people with tattoos like that don't ever change their mind about it. as for the fading, that's why most places offer free touch ups.

In the past I hadn't really put much thought into getting a tattoo, for various reasons, but then my dad got two tattoos, my mom got one fairly large one, and my friends started getting small but fashionable and meaningful tattoos.  All of these people I would have never thought the "tattoo type", but hey, things change!

 

Now that I've been more exposed to how to get a tattoo, why to choose a design, and how to take care of it, I'm slightly more open to getting one in the future. I'm thinking something small, maybe accenting or somehow hiding my birthmark above my bottom that I'm slight embarrassed of. One thing I'm cautious about is getting it infected somehow, since even with top care my past piercings have become infected or otherwise painful, despite the piercers reassuring me that if I followed the instructions, nothing would go wrong.

i feel you. i'm glad i'm not alone and that someone else is in the same situation. i have a little mole/birthmark that i'm embarrassed about as well and i've been thinking of getting a tattoo over it... but it would be embarrassing to get it done b/c i'm embarrassed by it lol it's little, but it's dead center below my belly button, like, where my jeans button. Maybe if it wasn't RIGHT IN THE FREAKIN' MIDDLE it wouldn't be so weird but anyway, idk if it can even be tattooed over b/c it's slightly raised and i just can't see a needle going in and out of it a billion times a second being good for it lol. as your risk of infection, it may just be the piercings. my b/fs sister was allergic to piercings, all different locations and all different metals, her body just rejected them all. now she has 3 tattoos and hasn't had a problem with any of them. maybe it could be because tattoos heal, and piercings never "heal" unless you take the jewelry out and let the hole close... idk. speak to someone else about it, do some research online. sounds like the piercers weren't very knowledgeable... i wouldn't ever go there again lol.

[Lila]

Thank you for loving this :] I wanted a unicorn tattoo so badly, but the ones I found were so cheesy. So I got a unicorn skeleton. A tiny part of me believes there is a real one buried somewhere

Tattoo shops almost always have terrible examples for tattoos...and there is a unicorn skeleton somewhere in this world!

[Kireena05]

Yay for tattoos

 

I have one, and am planning on many more, once I find a new artist (just moved )

 

I got my first one when I was 21. I really thought about it for a while, which is always a good idea, this is something that's going to last forever.

This is mine

 

The Horde symbol (from World of Warcraft)

Yea... I'm a total nerd

 

And when someone doesn't know what WoW is, I tell them what it mean (to me) "Strength of Will" :3

 

 

[Crikey!]

Tattoo shops almost always have terrible examples for tattoos...and there is a unicorn skeleton somewhere in this world!

Oh, it wasn't just shops...every unicorn I drew or looked up or anything just felt so cheesy I was also thinking of taking the black unicorn from Fantasia and giving it bat wings. Maybe next time!

[Lila]

Oh, it wasn't just shops...every unicorn I drew or looked up or anything just felt so cheesy I was also thinking of taking the black unicorn from Fantasia and giving it bat wings. Maybe next time!

Ohmygosh...that would've been awesome.e

[Husky51]

I went all through my life without getting a tattoo until in Nov 2003 I went on a 'tiger cruise' on the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier. My son was stationed on board and when they came back from the Persian Gulf they stopped in Pearl harbor, Hawaii. My son paid for myself and his brother (18YO) to fly to Honolulu for three days while we went scuba diving and sightseeing. We also decided to get a tattoo. It was a kinda 'father/sons' bonding thing. We all get the same words tattooed on our left shoulders in scroll. "Tiger Cruise Nov 2003.

 

The tiger cruise was for friends and families of the ships crew and air squadrons on board. There were 1300 tigers on this cruise, many of them children from the age of 12 and up. We sailed from Pearl Harbor to San Diego (5 days) and there were planes taking off and landing each day as well as other shows and things going on. This was interesting to me as the ship I was on in the US Navy was only 245 feet long. You could have placed 4 of them end-to-end on the flight deck of the Nimitz and still had 100 feet to spare. The Nimitz was HUGE!!!

 

Anyway, I was 57 when I got my first tattoo. I now have a 'Totoro' on the left forearm and a 'kodama' on the right forearm and a ships patch from my first ship on the upper right arm with the crossed cannons below signifying my Gunnersmate rating. I still want to get a 'Sumomo' from the anime "Chi' on the upper left.

[kauzlina]

I got my first tattoo when I was 23. I had wanted one since I was eight years old and saw the one my dad has on his chest. I would have got one right at 18, but it took me forever to decide on something that would become a part of me forever. I finaly decided on getting the Triforce/Eagle design from Zelda on my right shoulder. Then two years ago I had a celtic knot dragon put just a little above my heart. I'd like to get a half sleeve so that I can still cover it up with a T-shirt or polo for work.

 

I'm thinking of getting either the simba design from The Lion King or the Unicorn from The Last Unicorn.

[SPQR]

I've never seriously thought about getting a tattoo before, since I'd have to wait another year to legally get one, but I've toyed with the idea. I would maybe like to get one on my lower back, or maybe my upper arm.

 

I've also done some reading about 'UV tattoos', which are basically these 'invisible' tattoos that only show up in UV light. That might be cool, I could get some tribal-ish patterns somewhere, kind of like this: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs41/f/2009/044..._mullen1200.jpg

 

Anyone heard about these/ had one done?

[pbdog]

Don't tatoos, you know, hurt?

[Lila]

I've never seriously thought about getting a tattoo before, since I'd have to wait another year to legally get one, but I've toyed with the idea. I would maybe like to get one on my lower back, or maybe my upper arm.

 

I've also done some reading about 'UV tattoos', which are basically these 'invisible' tattoos that only show up in UV light. That might be cool, I could get some tribal-ish patterns somewhere, kind of like this: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs41/f/2009/044..._mullen1200.jpg

 

Anyone heard about these/ had one done?

I've seen these but I hear it's really bad if you're allergic to the ink they use. I want one though.

[~AllTimeLow~]

I've always kind of wanted a tattoo, but just a small one on my back somewhere. I'm only in my mid-teens, and my mom said they look horrible if you have them huge and all over, but I'm not sure. If I did get one it would be something like a star or flower. That be cool. And if it's on my back, it doesn't "offend" anyone.

 

I don't know if it'll ever happen though, my parents are so against it. I also wanna pierce my right ear cartilage, but they said "No."

[Moeru]

I've never seriously thought about getting a tattoo before, since I'd have to wait another year to legally get one, but I've toyed with the idea. I would maybe like to get one on my lower back, or maybe my upper arm.

 

I've also done some reading about 'UV tattoos', which are basically these 'invisible' tattoos that only show up in UV light. That might be cool, I could get some tribal-ish patterns somewhere, kind of like this: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs41/f/2009/044..._mullen1200.jpg

 

Anyone heard about these/ had one done?

I work in a tattoo shop in Japan.

My boss's opinion on UV tattoos is that the ink used, while "safe for tattoo use" (so is almost any ink, honestly, depending on how sensitive your skin is), is really irritating to the skin so the body expels it quickly.

The particles of dye in the ink are probably larger than usual, so even while the tattoo is being done, the ink "slips out" of the tattoo, and the tattoo peels deeper than is usual, as the body rejects much of the UV ink.

The result of this is a patchy, cloudy looking tattoo that fades very, very quickly (within a few months). If you get thin linework done, because that's a smaller area it doesn't fade as quickly. But if you wanted a broad area (such as a tribal), it would disappear much much faster than a proper tattoo.

 

Tattoo shops almost always have terrible examples for tattoos...!

Unfortunately this is too often true of shops in the US. As always you get what you pay for. Many of those shops are run by people who are not artists, but can trace a stencil, which they purchase from bulk catalogs (flash designs).

 

I think this is about the same as getting dental work done at the barber shop.

 

Yes, technique can be taught. Yes, it's not "hard" to work a tattoo machine, the way it's not "hard" to hold a hammer and chisel. But there is a hell of a lot of difference between me hacking away at a piece of stone with a hammer and chisel, and a master sculptor with 50 years of experience doing it.

 

Artistic ability cannot be taught. Artistic drive cannot be taught. If you aren't going to a shop where they do all-custom tattoos, where they know the tradition and the superstition and the spiritual power and connection of tattooing, you're basically going to K-Mart. And you'll end up with cheap aluminum crap.

 

I was an Illustration major before I moved to Japan and got this apprenticeship in the shop here. I've been working here for 2 years and am just barely starting to understand the way tattooing should be done. If you haven't seen the work of Genko, check it out here: GENKO TATTOOone of the young geniuses in Japan's tattoo industry. If you don't know Yellow Blaze, Yokohama Shige , prepare to be amazed, and by the way he has a 2-year waiting list.

 

If you're curious about my own shop, here's the link to that too. Ryuji Tattoo and there's a button at the top to make it English.

 

Tattoo is a hyper-personal, intensely spiritual art form in the right hands. In the wrong hands it's like a bad manicure at Wal-Mart. Choose your artist wisely. Travel for it if you must. Never settle for bad craftsmanship!

[nekodiscord]

I have one tattoo, my first, that was what i paid for. I am happy with it and it is nice, although I know it could have been better and I have plans to go to a new artist to get it retouched so it looks better. It was a bit of a impulsive tattoo that broke the rules I have been taught but I thought it was a good step into the world of tattoos. A wise friend of mine told me if I wanted a tattoo to find or draw up a design and sit on it for at least two years, if in all that time I still wanted it, the tattoo would be a good idea I would not regret later on. Right now, my dream tattoo that Ive been holding onto for about six years is a large back piece of my own design. I'm afraid to let just anyone tattoo it because of the level of detail and perfection I have in mind for my tattoo, that and the cost and hours of work it would take to tattoo it aren't helping me get it anytime soon. But I'm holding on to the idea and the plan for someday as well as a few smaller ones.

[katkrazy101]

My dad and mom are covered head to foot in tattoos. My dad is actually famous for it, Smutty Smiff/Smith? From the rock-cats, stray cats, and 13 cats And, my mom is going in today to get a new tattoo, and it is kind of a cloudy, mystical backround with a saying in the middle and my moms lucky things, all around it, in the clouds and stuff. Like, 11:11 and stuff

 

You know the girl from LA ink? I went fishing with her yesterday! It was so much fun! Somehow, my mom knows her... She is super cool, and has the awesomest make up

Edited August 12, 2011 by katkrazy101

[Lila]

LA Ink? Like Kat Von D? o.o

[Kaiea]

I love tattoos, well most of them. I have 1 right now and I'm saving up the money for my next.

 

I have a cute little purple dragon on my chest, left side http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/Kyt...attoo02copy.jpg

 

I want to get something on my lower back...a dragon or tribal design dragon wings...or something like that. I'd also love to get a back piece done, but that's going to cost a lot of money.

 

firegirl, pain is relative. What you may find painful, someone else may not. I didn't think getting my tattoo was painful, but it tickled and felt like he was going up my neck. He wasn't, but it was just the vibrations from the needles. I couldn't get one across my leg (across shinbone) because I think it'd be too painful for me. However my youngest brother got a tiger on one leg and a dragon (I think) on the other, across the bone. Said it felt like a jackhammer on his leg, but it wasn't bad. Of course, this is the same brother that was in the army, has shin splints (sp?), and has spilled boiling grease on his hand...oh and lit alcohol on fire on his hand. Yeah, not going across the leg bone for me. Nice little ankle tatt will do.

[Dragon Tamer Akira]

O.O; I'm too afraid to get a tattoo. >w< I don't like pain for one and also, I am very indecisive D:

[Kaiea]

Well, Dragon Tamer, it is a tough choice because it is "forever" *unless you want the high price and discomfort/pain for getting it removed* however if you pick something you love, and have always loved (myself its dragons. I've loved dragons since I can remember), and can find a picture you wouldn't mind having on you, then its an easy choice.

 

Or you can be like me, my best friend, my mom, and my dad and get as many tattoos as you want (while still being reasonable. Not like the extremists)

 

[HawktalonOfRiverClan]

I put temporary tattoos on my arms every summer, but there is no way I am EVER getting a real one.

[philpot123]

I'm excited to get one. I want a very personal design, something that means something to me that I preferably design myself. I'll probably get either a large chest piece or back piece.

[Juvenor]

I love tattoos, I've been waiting to get three small ones for years, so when I have the money for it I'll definitely be getting one of them!

 

I want some swallows on the side of my wrist, the phrase "open mind for a different view" on my shoulderblade and the deathly hallows sign, somewhere.

[Viktorya]

Hm... I think tattoos can look nice on others, but I don't really have a desire to have any of my own. Well, with one exception... I would love a QR code that actually scanned (so it would have to be somewhere that was relatively flat and didn't move around a lot, I would think? I feel like that would be really hard to do but it would be awesome haha)

Not saying what's in the code though ;P

[Draco Knight]

I have five tattoos. Technically, six...but the red Cardinal on my left foot covers a really crappy tattoo I got when I was 18.

 

 

Right ankle

Left ankle

Left foot

Right foot

 

The fifth is a humming bird on my...ah...breast. Which for obvious reasons I can't show.

 

 

I'm not going to get another tattoo for quite a few years, but I think I'll end up getting two or three around the same time. A paw print with a 'G' under it, something to symbolize vet school, and a realistic gray fox.

 

My beloved dog, my furute career, and the pet I'm getting in a few months.

[lulubelle00]

I don't have a tattoo myself...yet, but everyone else is loaded with them.

My mum has a friend who got a unicorn and rainbow on their stomach when they were 16...It is most certainly not a pretty sight now.

[xxtyraxx]

I recently got Adapt & Overcome tattooed beneath my breast. It actually didn't hurt all that much, though the tattoo artist commented on how well I took it.

It was fairly silly because when I went to make my appointment I was asked to write down what I wanted and I think I spent a good fifteen minutes wondering if I spelled everything correctly. When I got home I looked it up just to check Even though there really aren't that many ways you can misspell Adapt & Overcome.