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Tattoo Appreciation Soc. Tattoo Thread

This is the Tattoo Appreciation Society's
Tattoo Thread


You can join the society here



This thread is for serious discussion of all things tattoos only

It's the thread to post any pictures, discuss any tattoo designs or anything about tattoos you have or want




If you're looking for a thread to chat with other members of the society, head over to the Tattoo Appreciation Society's Chat Thread; here

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Smithy's First Tattoo Guide



Before:

Taking your time is one of the most important things when deciding on getting a tattoo. It will be with you for the rest of your life so it really isn't something you should rush into.

First things first. You're thinking about getting a tattoo so you should have at least some idea of what kind of tattoo you want. From here, you should start researching the style further: do some Googling, check out some blogs, forums, buy some tattoo magazines, to get inspiration and ideas about what you'd like to get.

Start researching tattoo artists and studios. Obviously price and location are going to be important factors, but do not limit yourself to the closest studio to you just for the convenience, and don't just go to the cheapest you can find. A good start would be to search on Google Maps, see what studios pop up within the area you'd be willing to travel, then browse through their websites. Check out the artists portfolio / gallery. If you like what you see then get in touch with the studio to arrange a consultation. Many studios offer flash work (pre-drawn tattoo images) but it's almost always better to have a custom design made just for you. Also note: all tattoos hurt, so try not to base your decision on size / pain.. It's better to suffer a little longer for something that you'll love than worry about it hurting and get something you'll always wish was bigger. Also think very carefully about the visibility of your tattoo. It's an unfortunate but well-known fact that tattoos are often looked down on in the work place so be very careful about getting it on your hands, neck or anywhere else that you couldn't easily cover for work.

When you're happy with what is designed, it's time to get tattooed.

During:

Yes, it will hurt. But it will always be bearable. If it was that bad, you wouldn't see so many people with them! Some areas hurt more than others, such as directly over bones (elbow, spine) and certain fleshy areas can be more sensitive that others.

I can only really tell you how I prepare from experience.. Do not drink alcohol for 24 hours before getting a tattoo. This is, in my opinion, a safe time frame. Alcohol thins your blood which can cause bleeding that makes it harder for the ink to stay in your skin, so that one drink the night before really isn't worth it. I'm told caffeine and such from coffee and energy drinks can do similar so I'd be tempted to avoid those too..

Secondly, get a good nights sleep. It's likely that you might be a bit nervous before your first tattoo, and it will definitely help to be well rested beforehand. Get some food in you too; breakfast or lunch, even a couple rounds of toast or a sandwich an hour or so before will help. Most importantly, I think, you want to keep your blood sugar level high, so a bottle of Lucozade or similar is recommended.

After that, just try to relax. Tensing your body up won't help anyone, so keep calm and take deep, long breaths. Typically, the first 10-15 minutes are the worst, especially if it's your first time, but soon after your body's Endorphins kick in and you will get somewhat used to the pain. It can also help to listen to some music, read a book, or even chat to the tattooist to keep your mind off it.

As it has already been mentioned, try to wear clothing that allows for easy access to the area that is being tattooed, and don't wear your fanciest clobber, it's pretty likely that you'll get ink or blood flick onto it. All you need to do really is be clean, as hygiene goes further than fashion.

Your artist will shave the area with a disposable razor, then apply a spray that will allow the tattoo stencil to print onto your skin. At this point you can see where and how the design will be positioned, and can ask for any changes to be made before beginning. Quite often (especially with larger designs) the tattooist will 'freehand' part of the design, for example, so the design flows better with the shape of your body.

Your tattooist will have his station already setup so after applying (usually) a Vaseline-line cream to the area, he/she will begin to tattoo. Typically, the outline is done first with a single needle machine. It's generally accepted that this part hurts the most, but it does vary greatly. Depending on the actual design, after this will come shading, which is done with a needle that splits into multiple smaller ones, and then colour is usually added. Depending on the size / detail of the tattoo and how long the session is to last, all of this may be done at once, or you may requite several 'sessions'.

When the tattoo or session is finished, the artist will clean the area and you'll be able to check out the work in the mirror. He/she will then wrap the tattoo (usually in cling film).

After:

Now, the aftercare. This is a very important part and you will likely hear many different methods and bits of advice, so I'll just give my routine that has worked perfectly for me after 18 hours of tattooing.

When you get home, gently remove the clingfilm and dispose of it. Now if you've had a large piece like a sleeve or something on your back, it's best to get in the shower for this..

You want to very gently wash the tattoo with a mild antibacterial soap. Wet it with your hands and carefully lather it to remove any blood / goo from the tattoo and surrounding area. DO NOT scrub the tattoo with any type of sponge / cloth, and avoid running the water directly over the tattoo. Also do not submerge the tattoo in water for at least a couple of weeks.

Now gently pat (not rub) the tattoo dry with a fresh clean towel or cloth (avoid anything fluffy) and put it straight in the wash afterwards (hygiene!).

You now need to apply something to help heal the tattoo. Personally, I use Bepanthen. It's a happy rash cream, but is extremely popular for healing tattoos. Apply a thin layer to the tattoo with your fingers.. It's quite thick so a little can go a long way.

I keep it on over night although it can make a mess of you bed sheets so that's your call.. but you basically want to repeat the gentle wash and cream twice a day for 3-4 days. After the soreness has gone away I generally stop applying the cream and allow the tattoo to dry and 'breathe'. It shouldn't have really scabbed up as the Bepanthen tends to prevent that, but it will dry out somewhat and begin to flake / peel. It's important that you do not pick or scratch the tattoo at all during this process as it is still healing and still needs taking care of.

Generally speaking, the tattoo should be pretty much fully healed in a fortnight. I have never had any issues following that routine. After that, you can admire your lovely healed tattoo!

Now tattoos do fade over time, and one of the main causes for this is UV rays, aka sunlight. It's always advisable to protect your tattoo in the sun and never allow the area to get burnt if you want to preserve the appearance of your tattoo.
Many daily moisturisers these days are SPF15 which is often all you need, but for heavy sunlight and holidays you'll need something much stronger.

General Advice:

Don't rush. Do plenty of research. If you don't know what tattoo you want, you probably don't really want one.

Don't go cheap. Be prepared to pay out a little more for a really good artist and also be prepared to travel a little. Convenience doesn't beat quality.

Think about the future. Consider carefully the location of the tattoo; public tattoos (hand, neck, FACE, and even lower arm) can affect your job prospects. Also think long and hard about getting a name tattooed on you, specifically a partners name.. Tattoos are permanent, relationships aren't!


If you want any advice at all, feel more than free to post here and we'll be happy to help. It's also worth picking up some copies of tattoo magazine such as Skin Deep and Total Tattoo for inspiration. Also some blogs like http://fyeahtattoos.com/ and http://tattoosnob.com/ are great for ideas. Peace x
Smithy's Tattoo Blog - 01/07/11


I'm going to try to do this blog as often as I can. It might be a few times a week, it might only be once a week.. It depends on what comes up as I only want to post the best content. Anyway, this will mostly just be 'reblogs', if you like, of stuff / people that I currently follow that I feel might be of interest to people viewing or posting in this thread.

As this is the first one, it's only really testing the water, but it could become something decent :smile:

Starting off with Conventions, and a big one at that. Tattoo Jam is the UK's biggest and (arguably) best tattoo convention!



The 411:

What? Tattoo Jam is a tattoo convention. There are many conventions held throughout the year and indeed all over the world. The main feature of these conventions is for tattoo artists to showcase their work. Of course, this also gives you the chance to get tattooed by a vast array of super-talented artists, some from the other side of the world. Tattoo Jam currently has over 300 artists signed up to work over the 3/4 day event. But that's only part of the show. There's countless more things going on over the course of the event, such as live bands, entertainment shows, shops and merchandise, workshops, seminars, art displays etc etc.. If you like tattoos then there'll be no shortage of things for you to see and do.



Who? As mentioned, over 300 highly-talented artists are currently confirmed to be working the convention, with many more to come. There are also bands, entertainers, comedians.



Where? Doncaster Racecourse! It's a great venue that offers good access by all means of transport.



When? 5th-7th August 2011.

So if you're serious about tattoos or even just mildly curious with a weekend to spare, I thoroughly encourage you to check this one out, you won't be disappointed.



For more info be sure to check out www.tattoojam.com
Smithy's Tattoo Blog - 01/07/11 (Part 2)


Studio Feature - Modern Body Art, Birmingham, UK.


Firstly, an introduction to Modern Body Art, the studio that does my tattoos and piercings. They have a great team of talented artists as well as regular guest spots by international artists, most recently Ivana, who does some beautiful colour work:



I think the lack of a noticeable outline really gives a 'painted on' look..


Now some work from Jo Harrison who co-owns the studio. Jo regularly tours so she can be hard to get hold of for studio work. But it's worth the wait...





Matt Hunt co-owns the studio with Jo. He's responsible for my full sleeve. He does a lot of Japanese / Asian work, but is very versatile:






Andy Crytalz specialises in 'dotwork' and symmetry tattoos. Very intricate work with amazing results!






Tom Devine does a variety of styles, all very good mind..






Mark Barnett does some amazing black and grey work, especially portraits..






Rachel McCarthy will be doing my next tattoo (a woman and rose in you're interested :wink: ) her work is very nice..






And finally, their apprentice-come-tattooist, Glenn Patrick:





All in all a great studio and I urge anyone in Birmingham or the West Midlands looking for some high quality work to pay them a visit :smile:

Info:

Name: Modern Body Art.

Location: Corporation Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK.

Tel: 0121 236 0753

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://modernbodyart.co.uk/

Artists: Jo Harrison, Matt Hunt, Andy Crytalz, Tom Devine, Mark Barnett, Rachel McCarty, Glenn Patrick plus guest artists.

Services offered: Tattoos, piercings, laser tattoo removal, cosmetic tattoos.

Type of tattoos: Basically all styles of work undertaken. Specialise in custom work.

Rates: Various, I know Matt currently charges £80/ph and Rachel £70/ph.




Hope you enjoyed that write up, I'll try to do features on more studios in the near future :pingu:
(edited 12 years ago)
I'm going to try to get an appointment with this guy this month. He does some cool stuff:
















Reply 5
A selection of the Tattoo Appreciation Society's members' tattoos:

RachelWest:

Spoiler



cdsmith1990:

Spoiler



ironandwine:

Spoiler



silverbolt:

Spoiler



clementinemary:

Spoiler



truthandtragedy:

Spoiler



dorkish:

Spoiler



ibelongtoslytherin:

Spoiler



Griffin23:

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tufc:

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Will7291:

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NW86:

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Jace Falco:

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Ecosse_14

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Binkles:

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ukr-nffc:

Spoiler

Reply 6
(pasted from the chat thread as i didn't realize you had a 'proper' discussion thread)

Hey, iv been thinking about getting a tattoo but was wondering if its even an option if you have eczema?
Two main issues: Would scratching a healed tattoo do alot of damage?
And would using skin thinning steroid creams do damage?

I could try and choose an area thats not too bad, though those areas are in limited supply :/
Original post by Lerone
(pasted from the chat thread as i didn't realize you had a 'proper' discussion thread)

Hey, iv been thinking about getting a tattoo but was wondering if its even an option if you have eczema?
Two main issues: Would scratching a healed tattoo do alot of damage?
And would using skin thinning steroid creams do damage?

I could try and choose an area thats not too bad, though those areas are in limited supply :/


Hi Lerone,

My best mate actually has bad eczema, specifically on his outer arms, and he hasn't had any issues having tattoos with it yet (he has a sleeve in progress of various separate pieces).

If the tattoo is fully healed then scratching it would generally be OK, however if you're scratching bad eczema you could risk scarring which could mark the tattoo.

In regards to those creams, I really don't know to be honest, that might be something you'd need to ask your artist.
Original post by Lerone
(pasted from the chat thread as i didn't realize you had a 'proper' discussion thread)

Hey, iv been thinking about getting a tattoo but was wondering if its even an option if you have eczema?
Two main issues: Would scratching a healed tattoo do alot of damage?
And would using skin thinning steroid creams do damage?

I could try and choose an area thats not too bad, though those areas are in limited supply :/


1) I used to have eczema, and when I initially went in to discuss my design, I was told I'd have to get rid of the eczema before they could tattoo on it; probably because it's sore/broken/etc. I ended up going to my doctor's, who prescribed me something much stronger than normal moisturiser which got rid of it :smile: If your eczema is permanent though, like nothing will budge it, I'd reccomend getting a tattooist's opinion on whether or not he/she is up for inking over it, and maybe start thinking about placing it in a different area, as annoying as that probably is :frown:

2) After your tattoo has healed, I still wouldn't reccomend scratching it that much to start off with, and just apply moisturiser if it gets itchy. I should imagine, though don't take only my word for it (my tattoo is still in the healing process), that scratching it after it's been healed for a good few months isn't going to do major damage to it.

3) I'm afraid I have no idea, and can only suggest you ring/email a tattooist this question and the others, to get a professional's opinion.

Sorry I can't be of much more help!! :smile:
A little addition to my previous feature on Modern Body Art, here are a few videos they've made..

Jo Harrison tattooing a Daruma and a Peony Flower:



Matt Hunt tattooing a Masquerade Lady:



..and another Lady:




:smile:
I'm very much a fan of mehandi, dot-work and maori tattoo styles.

Here are some examples of my favourite tattoos in no particular order....enjoy!














:^_^:

EDIT: Just found some more pretty ones...







(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by chainedheart
I'm very much a fan of mehandi, dot-work and maori tattoo styles.

Here are some examples of my favourite tattoos in no particular order....enjoy!

Spoiler


:^_^:

Some of those are really nice! I especially like the one on the fore-arms and hands. I like the style, but I tend to like quite symmetric designs - maybe that's why I like the hands one.
Original post by LtCommanderData
Some of those are really nice! I especially like the one on the fore-arms and hands. I like the style, but I tend to like quite symmetric designs - maybe that's why I like the hands one.


Hey thanks glad you like 'em! :awesome:
I'm thinking of getting a b&w schematic of

Spoiler



on the r. hand side of my abdo. Like a boss.

(although it would be mirrored the other way)
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
I'm thinking of getting a b&w schematic of

Spoiler



on the r. hand side of my abdo. Like a boss.

(although it would be mirrored the other way)

That's cool! How big would it be?
Original post by LtCommanderData
That's cool! How big would it be?


~5-6 inches maybe?
Although I might wait actually as I'm bulking atm. It would probably distort.

Can't really get it anywhere visable due to dress code regs.
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
~5-6 inches maybe?


Sounds good. I'm entirely in favour of science fiction inspired tattoos. I highly doubt I'll die without any Star Trek tattoos, although I don't have any specific plans for one right now.

There's so much cool machinery from the Star Wars universe. I really like the aesthetics of big machines :tongue:
Original post by LtCommanderData
Sounds good. I'm entirely in favour of science fiction inspired tattoos. I highly doubt I'll die without any Star Trek tattoos, although I don't have any specific plans for one right now.

There's so much cool machinery from the Star Wars universe. I really like the aesthetics of big machines :tongue:


Did you ever have one of those star wars visual dictionaries? Loved the schematics of the lightsabres and stuff.

Original post by GodspeedGehenna
Did you ever have one of those star wars visual dictionaries? Loved the schematics of the lightsabres and stuff.



No, that's awesome though! I love technical drawings of that type of thing. I may get this book with the money I'm going to earn this summer:



Original post by GodspeedGehenna
Although I might wait actually as I'm bulking atm. It would probably distort.

That is something worth considering. The tattoo I'm going to get soon is going to have three big circles in it - circles are tough because it doesn't take much change in the skin before it's not a perfect circle any more. I don't think it'll be a big problem with what I'm getting, but it did pass through my mind.

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