Tattoo ponderages

[Feek]

As I said in a different thread, I've been thinking about a tattoo for many years and it's only due to not having found a design I'm comfortable with that I've never done it.

Well I've now found a design I like.

Unfortunately I can't yet find a good high resolution version of it so I'm just going to keep trying but here's the basic low-res version.



I'm thinking about the upper arm, undecided as to left or right yet. Although I don't know a huge amount about tattoos, I think that the colours in that would work well, the greenish background and solid black centre.

What do our resident tattoo people think, would tattoo ink work for that? Are the colours reasonable?

The other choice is a solid version of it, but I don't think that would work so well.



Comments?

[Dymetrie]

French freak

[Blackstar]

Comments: Now you have found the image you like, be sure as hell you do like it. I.e Don't run off and get it done, it is never going to come off when it is on. I've had the image i got my wings made up from for over a year and i knew that they were what i wanted.
Then once you are sure that is what you want your next task is to find a tattooist you feel comfortable with, who has the skills (ask to see a portfolio and see if you like their work, some people are better at different styles) you need.
Also it is important to find out about their working practices, in my studio Barry always asks me to watch him take the new needle out of the sterile packages and set up. Everything from sticking on his glubs, clingfilming up the surfaces to putting the "thingy" (not allowed to call it a gun because 'guns destroy things') into a little sterile bag then changing his glubs again before he starts.They should also have a certificate from environmental health and some basic first aid training.
Your image should be find, nearly all tattooists are utterly amazing artists and can make up a larger scale and will be happy to discuss things with you such as colour and position. I think that the greeny colour with the marbling would look really nice personally.
When you do have it done, bepanthen (kind of nappy rash cream found in Boots in the baby section £6.99 for a big tube) is the best healing cream. Don't whatever you do use vasaline (stops air getting to what is effectively a graze). Also preparation h and savalon are not as good for some people but still are acceptable.
I could go on and on about things like this, as a few of you know but thats my 20p.

[Kell_ee001]

Originally Posted by Blackstar

Also preparation h ... not advisable.

Really? How come?

[karbon]

Originally Posted by Blackstar

Also preparation h and savalon are not advisable.
I could go on and on about things like this, as a few of you know but thats my 20p.

lies and nonsense and slander.

prep H is fine though i think it's lanolin based? so if you're alergic to that it won't really be so good
and savlon won't help you heal but it will keep you infection free and moisturised and is alot softer than bepanthen.

Originally Posted by Takhisis

I'd suggest getting the solid black bit done first and then wait before getting the background. For one thing after looking after Mics dragons, black leaks a lot so you will quite possibly have to go for at least 1 touch up session after its healed.

it shouldn't bleed outside the lines that are drawn if it does it's been done far too deep and is sitting in the lower layers of skin that it shouldn't be touching. the filled bits may get a bit patchy due to scabbing cleaning etc, but any good artist SHOULD touch you up

I agree with Paula in that you should never put vasaline on a tat - if you thing of it as an open wound, if you put vasaline over it, it causes a barrier which prevents the skin from healing properly so it heals where it can, when it can, so you'd end up with patchiness, soreness and probably a poor looking tattoo.

i'll echo this again. vaseline stops your skin breathing. it needs to breathe to heal.


the stonework should be quite hard to do properly, i'd make an effort to find an artist who's done it in the past and can show you pictures. 90% of people will shade it so it ends up looking like marble, and i don't think that's what you're wanting is it?


[/tattoo nazi]

[Tak]

Originally Posted by karbon

it shouldn't bleed outside the lines that are drawn if it does it's been done far too deep and is sitting in the lower layers of skin that it shouldn't be touching. the filled bits may get a bit patchy due to scabbing cleaning etc, but any good artist SHOULD touch you up

I didn't mean bleed outside of the lines, I literally did mean leak - both my back and Mics dragons produced basically black sweat.

Another example of the different tattooists/tattooees ways of looking after them; I've always been told not to let the tattoos scab up which is why the cling film for 3 days.
There are so many schools of thought and so many "examples" of good and bad practises that it can get quite confusing for someone just asking for advice.

(and I wouldn't mind my tattooist touching me up )

[karbon]

Originally Posted by Takhisis

I didn't mean bleed outside of the lines, I literally did mean leak - both my back and Mics dragons produced basically black sweat.

Another example of the different tattooists/tattooees ways of looking after them; I've always been told not to let the tattoos scab up which is why the cling film for 3 days.
There are so many schools of thought and so many "examples" of good and bad practises that it can get quite confusing for someone just asking for advice.

(and I wouldn't mind my tattooist touching me up )

ah yes, i know what you mean. that's just the ink that's not embeded between the layers of skin and the blood that's been pushed back in with it.

a tattoo is essentialy a big graze, it will always scab to some degree, though if it's done at a proper depth it should be minimal.

i tend to cover it with clingfilm for an hour or so, go home, clean it up and put some bepanthen on it. then more bep for a week or so.

[Blackstar]

Maybe i should have said not as good

Nice to see you have snuck back onto the nets Rikki.

[Blackstar]

No idea about the technicalities just been told that it isn't as good for healing. It isn't hypoallergenic like the nappy rash cream and although it does sooth and cool the burning the ointment contains pariffin which blocks air getting to the surface of the skin. Not sure on the gel stuff though.

[Kell_ee001]

Have to admit I haven't heard of the cream not being advisable, although just doing a bit of a search online brings up lots of points both for and against so I guess it's really down to personal opinion.