# Got any tatt's



## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

For years I've thought of getting a tattoo...A raven/crow with words underneath it..have you any tattoo's with meaning or just there because they look good?


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## FleshEater (Feb 16, 2014)

All of mine have meaning, no matter how stupid some are. Regardless of what you decide, the tattoo will have meaning, acting as a road map of your life. You can always go back to who you were when you got it. 

I have 3 neck tattoos. 2 full sleeves, left hand covered, and a stomach tattoo. I remember all of them; the music I was into, what I was feeling then, the pain, everything.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

any pic dude?


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## The Tourist (Feb 16, 2014)

Surprisingly, I do not have a single one.  Most of the younger guys I know that ride have an entire arm done.

During the 1970s I built custom bikes for auto shows.  Who had the money to do both?


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

bikes an tatts seem to go well together..all part of the look...saying that I've never been to any bike gatherings..but a few scooter rallies...cheers dude.


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## T.S.Bowman (Feb 16, 2014)

I have just one on my upper right arm. I got it on my 31st birthday.

I have another in mind to go on my left arm from elbow to wrist.


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## FleshEater (Feb 16, 2014)

escorial said:


> any pic dude?



Not really, but I posted pics (as Flesheater) in an exercise thread on another forum: http://the-mortuary.com/showthread.php?t=32773


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## bazz cargo (Feb 16, 2014)

I have no tatts, but a cool selection of scars, sadly they don't photograph all that well.


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## Potty (Feb 16, 2014)

Me and the other half want to get a tattoo of a dragon each. Mine blue hers red. When we're apart the tattoos will look like singular dragons but when put side by side it will look like their necks are entwined. 

Haven't done it yet as we can't come up with a design that could work like this.


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## FleshEater (Feb 16, 2014)

A few tips...

Do not "shop" for an artist, looking for a great deal.

Go to different shops and checkout their portfolios. Look at line detail, shading, sizing, and placement.

Talk to the artist. How long have they been tattooing is the most important question. 20 years or more is a good sign.

Let the artist give you suggestions. Sometimes our ideas are good, but suck when considering the medium. An experienced artist will always be able to take your idea and make it 100 times better.

Do a consultation to workout placement and design. Don't walk in there and be like, "Let's go."

I don't have to do this anymore because I trust my artist. We've sat through a lot of 8 hour sessions together and have got to know one another. Basically, I call him up and tell him what I want, and then he sets the date. It's a great experience, but something that takes a long time to develop. That and it's an almost 2 hour drive to get there...so consultations suck. 

Next two tattoos will be my newest son's name and birthdate, and a Fight Club quote.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

T.S.Bpwman..Often people never stop at just the one it seems,

BC...I'm thinking of the scene in Jaws when there showing there scars off..which one is closest to you?

Potty..very clever design that...hope you both do it.

FleshEater sounds like good advice from experience you have had...thanks man.


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## Pidgeon84 (Feb 16, 2014)

That third eye that is my avatar, I have that on my right shoulder. Heres a pic of me getting said tattoo:


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## Gumby (Feb 16, 2014)

Don't have any tatts and never will, (despite my avatar ) yet I have this fascination with watching the tatt shows, like 'bad ink', etc. I can't help but be awed by the beautiful work.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

pidgeon84..I don't know whether to laugh or cry at your expression...excellent man.

Gumby..watched a few Miami Inks and always enjoyed the reasons behind the tattoo's.


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## SarahStrange (Feb 16, 2014)

I Love tattoos. They're addictive. I got my first when I was 16. This one is actually a coverup of my first. It was truly hideous. But the coverup is quite gorgeous. If it means something to you, enough that you want it on your body for forever, get it. They hurt, but they're worth it.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

Fab pick sarahstrange..if you don't mind me askin..how much a tattoo that size cost?..I don't want a small one hidden away I was thinking of something that size.


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## Bruno Spatola (Feb 16, 2014)

My sister has my name on her wrist, and my date of birth on her other wrist. My mum has an all-seeing eye on her ass; don't ask me how I know that.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

Often they are an expression of love tattoo's...I'm thinking of one more about who I'am rather then who I love but that could be my next one..cheers BS


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## SarahStrange (Feb 16, 2014)

I'm actually not sure. That one was my 18th birthday present. If I had to guess, I'd say it was in the $300- $350 range. That may seem like a lot, but it was worth the quality. And it _is_ a realllllyyy good quality tattoo. I guess I'm biased. I love my artist. He's fantastic at what he does.


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## Apple Ice (Feb 16, 2014)

A lot of my friends have horrific tattoos and it's gone some way to put me off. I'm not totally opposed to them though and think I probably will get one one day. It would have to be of art and pretty to look at for myself. I hate it when people push their tattoos in my face and they may was well have gotten a dog turd permanently imprinted on themselves for how it looks. Then I have to act and say it looks nice so it doesn't hurt their feelings. Mine field of a social situation. That's not all the time though, a lot are nice


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

Yeah sarahstrange like anything..you have to pay for quality

Apple Ice...some bad tatto's out there...it's a big desicion letting someone give you a tattoo..there  is alot to think about..cheers man.


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## Pluralized (Feb 16, 2014)

I got one when I was seventeen. My only regret is not having more. 
It's this thing: View attachment 5260


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

I'm trying to think what that says to me Pluralised..notice TM after words..is it a brand or club you belong to?


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## Tiamat (Feb 16, 2014)

So far, I only have one.  Truth be told, it's certainly not the best-looking tattoo.  It's through no fault of the artist, though.  It's the fault of the stubborn, know-nothing twenty-two year old that decided on said tattoo and didn't have the good sense to discuss it with the artist first.  But I keep it as a reminder that that's who I was.


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## Potty (Feb 16, 2014)

I've officially seen you in your bra. May that thought stay with you forever.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

I guess Tiamat it seems that giving the artist input can have a critical impact on your overall perception of what you may be looking for..Like FleshEater says very important to consider their POV..cheers kidda


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## Tiamat (Feb 16, 2014)

Potty said:


> I've officially seen you in your bra. May that thought stay with you forever.


The important thing is: You've not seen me without my bra, and that thought is good enough consolation for me.


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## Pluralized (Feb 16, 2014)

Pidgeon84 said:


> That third eye that is my avatar, I have that on my right shoulder. Heres a pic of me getting said tattoo:


Yeah, but have you ever taken your bike off any "sweet jumps?"


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## Pidgeon84 (Feb 16, 2014)

Pluralized said:


> Yeah, but have you ever taken your bike off any "sweet jumps?"



What does that even mean? View attachment 5263


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## Pluralized (Feb 16, 2014)

[video=youtube_share;oYdps2cQkic]http://youtu.be/oYdps2cQkic[/video]


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## Pidgeon84 (Feb 16, 2014)

Oh haha I get that sometimes. Napoleon Dynamite and before the hair I got called McLovin a lot.


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## escorial (Feb 16, 2014)

Been looking on internet for a few idea's about ravens tattoo's and quite alot are images with woman using the bird.....not an easy choice to make is it!!!


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## Pluralized (Feb 16, 2014)

View attachment 5264

Don't know where you're looking, but I found a ton of really cool ideas on the interwebs. Have you considered thinking up the elements that are important to you and presenting them to a tattoo artist whose work you like? FleshEater makes some excellent points too, about how to approach finding a good artist. You don't want to find out they are subpar after the work's done. Co-worker of mine has some really crappy-looking ink on his arms, and he's stuck with it. Good luck man - it's a very personal thing, so take your time and make sure you like what you've chosen.


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## T.S.Bowman (Feb 16, 2014)

escorial said:


> T.S.Bpwman..Often people never stop at just the one it seems,



Definitely true. But keep in mind it's been 13 years since I had my first one done.


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## FleshEater (Feb 17, 2014)

Pluralized said:


> View attachment 5264
> 
> Don't know where you're looking, but I found a ton of really cool ideas on the interwebs. Have you considered thinking up the elements that are important to you and presenting them to a tattoo artist whose work you like? FleshEater makes some excellent points too, about how to approach finding a good artist. You don't want to find out they are subpar after the work's done. Co-worker of mine has some really crappy-looking ink on his arms, and he's stuck with it. Good luck man - it's a very personal thing, so take your time and make sure you like what you've chosen.



That is absolutely beautiful! However, because of the way it looks, I would not pay any less than $3,000-$4,500 to have that put on me. What does that mean? It means you're paying an artist $500 an hour for high quality work. Someone like Mike DeVries or Joshua Carlton. 

When picking art, match it up with the right artist. There are American Traditional, Japanese, Realists, Portrait artists...make sure they are familiar with the style you want.


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## bluemidget (Feb 17, 2014)

I have a Raven on my left shoulder - The Raven is one of my favourite poems  I'm planning on getting a Chinese Dragon on my other shoulder (when I see a design I like)


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## escorial (Feb 17, 2014)

The raven is a powerful symbol bluemidget....what does it mean to you and your tattoo?


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## bluemidget (Feb 17, 2014)

Hi escorial, the Raven symbol means a lot to me mainly because of my girlfriend. When we first got together we were discussing our favourite films, writers, art etc and when poetry came up I mentioned that my favourite poem was Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. A bit further down the line, she bought me a spirit animal card along with a little raven ornament which sits on my desk  when I decided to get my tattoo there was no question it was going to be a raven


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## escorial (Feb 17, 2014)

Touching dude..I'm going with a raven..any chance of a picture of your raven!


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## Mr mitchell (Feb 17, 2014)

No, I haven't got an tattoo and in fact, I am not that interested of getting one.


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## bluemidget (Feb 17, 2014)

escorial - yeah I've got one on a camera at home... i'll dig it out and post later


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## bluemidget (Feb 18, 2014)




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## escorial (Feb 18, 2014)

That's a bute man....kindda exactelyy what I'm going for..brill.


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## bluemidget (Feb 18, 2014)

cheers dude


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## Riptide (Feb 18, 2014)

I want a four leaf clover on my thumb, so I can give a thumbs up and say, "Good Luck." Of course that'll fade too easily, or so I've been told, so I'll probably opt for getting it on my ankle instead


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## alanmt (Feb 18, 2014)

Back when it was first done.


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

what SPQR mean dude?


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## bazz cargo (Mar 1, 2014)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

cheers BC...be interesting to know why alanmt went for this!


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## Kevin (Mar 1, 2014)

Sporaticus... great movie.


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

ha..so was ding dong.


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## Kevin (Mar 1, 2014)

ah...the big monkey, right?


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

yep...what else kev..ha!!


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## alanmt (Mar 1, 2014)

Hey Escorial.  Ancient Rome inspires a lot of my fantasy and historical fiction writing, and I just think it was a fascinating place.


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

Someone asked John Lennon why he decided to live in NY and he replied that if he lived in antiquity I would have lived in Rome....inspiring choice man.


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## squidtender (Mar 1, 2014)

Pot leaf peace sign. Got it from a bunch of bikers back in my . . . bad boy . . . days.


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## escorial (Mar 1, 2014)

what was the message you wanted to portray from your tattoo squidtender?


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## Pidgeon84 (Mar 1, 2014)

escorial said:


> what was the message you wanted to portray from your tattoo squidtender?



That pot makes him peaceful View attachment 5295


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## Teak (Mar 6, 2014)

I've got a couple. A bear on my chest, a snake on my forearm, question mark on my right wrist (upside down, oops), and a hyena on my upper right arm.


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## Pidgeon84 (Mar 6, 2014)

Teak said:


> I've got a couple. A bear on my chest, a snake on my forearm, question mark on my right wrist (upside down, oops), and a hyena on my upper right arm.



So I take it you're a fan of animals...


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## Teak (Mar 6, 2014)

Yup! Been obsessed with animals and biology for as long as I can remember. Plan on having a small business of snake breeding at some point.


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## Pidgeon84 (Mar 6, 2014)

Teak said:


> Yup! Been obsessed with animals and biology for as long as I can remember. Plan on having a small business of snake breeding at some point.



Very cool!


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## Ariel (Mar 8, 2014)

If I were to get a tattoo it would be a list of names all in a column down my back.  I don't have enough skin for memorial tattoos for everyone I've lost so a list would have to work.

I've never wanted a lot of tattoos though I find well-done tattoos beautiful.


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## escorial (Mar 18, 2014)

that would be a list of massive significance to you amsawtell...kinda sad in many ways...stay safe kidda


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## John_O (Mar 28, 2014)

I have 45 tattoos .Every one of them are tattoos of animals.


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## A_Jones (Mar 28, 2014)

I have been asked to draw tattoos but i am always leery.  People get way too attatched to an idea in their head and I never deliver it just right.

If I had a tattoo it would most likely be one of my own designs or some text from a great book.   I liked the idea of two small fairy wings between my shoulder blades too.

but I hate pain.


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## Pidgeon84 (Mar 28, 2014)

I've got a couple I want done:

Behemoth logo (They're Polish, hence the Eagle).






Electric Wizard






Exploding TARDIS


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## LaVieBoheme (Apr 1, 2014)

I don't have one (yet) but I'm wanting one soon. Just deciding what I want for sure!


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## xolarflare (Apr 3, 2014)

I have Du Hast Mich along with a dragonfly on my chest and Nichole on my left wrist.


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## stormageddon (Apr 3, 2014)

Pidgeon! I have an exploding TARDIS poster on my wall~

As for tattoos, I would like to get a fire-breathing chicken on my inner right forearm. I have the design, but not the pain threshold v.v not to put up with the tattoo, but rather my dear mother's reaction were she ever to discover it.


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## squidtender (Apr 25, 2015)

Just got back from a week in Vegas and picked up this guy while I was there. Six hours of chair time all at once. My longest to date.


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## JamesR (Apr 26, 2015)

Two, one on my right wrist and the other on my left forearm. Both carry religious significance to me. Without being preachy, the wrist one is particularly meaningful to me since it carries a history with my people. In Egypt we've been doing this for about 1,000 years, either through ink or branding. The purpose is to stand out from our neighbors and maintain our Coptic and religious identity amidst persecution. Over the years, it has come to adopt much symbolism. The ink is always blue or green to commemorate a time when the Arabs after the invasion of Egypt used to persecute us by making us wear heavy chains around our necks for our religion that often left blueish-green bruises, the de facto position of the wrist (opposed to the forehead like in Ethiopia) was upheld because due to the veins, it cannot be removed by primitive means without killing the person due to blood loss. It's a longtime insurance policy against the cultural genocide that often follows the displacement and orphaning of children due to constant war and discrimination. It's a way of remembering who we are in case we ever get adopted by a family of a different faith, or in a more disturbing way due to the advent of terrorism, if we are ever kidnapped and/or forced into marriages by those who wish to convert us. The three points represent the Trinity of Christian theology and together the four threes symbolize the twelve disciples of Jesus mentioned in the Christian gospel. The IC XC NIKA is a Greek Christogram. I combined it with my Coptic cross to signify pan-Orthodox unity regardless of ethnic origin.


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## Loveabull (Apr 26, 2015)

See when I was in high school there was not yet branding, or piercing more than ears, or gauging or any number of painful things people have come up with. Tattoos weren't mainstream yet. A tattoo gave you your badass credentials. I thought Janis Joplin was so cool that at 17 I got hearts and flowers around my wrist...hers was more elaborate but not bad. Let's see a Thumper cartoon, two different cat images, hubby's initials, a piece done from a photo of my girl dog on my shoulder. By day mild mannered senior citizen...except for the wrist one usually under a bunch of bracelets none are visible. But I know they are there. That's the most important thing, something that has meaning for you alone.
The dog one was a cover up of a flying rabbit. The dog is actually a deep brown . Sometime I have to get that darkened n' touched up. Most tats fade and need touching up eventually.


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## Loveabull (May 4, 2015)

The next one-rather than a portrait I'm thinking of a right wrist tat with hearts n' flowers maybe a few music notes and "Callie". The most amazing man I've ever known, human, cat, or canine, he is the love of my life.


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## Darkkin (May 4, 2015)

Two celtic knots on my back.


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## Riptide (May 5, 2015)

I have:  on my ribs.


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## Bevo (May 5, 2015)

Pidgeon, do you like The Polish band of the same name?

I have a few, bass clef on a wrist, spinning motivational star on the other wrist, BMX superman seat grab upper back, Dave Mustain with a Flying V, Girl from Heavy Metal lower back, Metal mosh pit guy belly, Arabic writing upper chest for lost daughter.
Oh, the Mettalica star upper arm and some tribal both upper arms.

Guess that more than a few...

I had most of mine done in Vancouver in exchange for helping set up a Tattoo shop, hindsight but no regrets is that quality over price is important. She was new and is amazing now but lessons learned.
Everything I have I love yet forget I have them as discovered at a bike race when I took my shirt off, what's on your back? Not sure, I didn't crash or get bitten, is it bleeding? No dude, the tat of the girl!


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## pgbthewriter (May 6, 2015)

No tatts for me yet, until I get my mental health issues sorted I am not game to get one.


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## Loveabull (May 9, 2015)

Eeeeeks, looking at that close up of Sophie...it looks like she's covering a wild boar. Definitely need to get that darkened. The original image was a flying rabbit. I feel your pain squidtender, I've been putting off the touch-up due to how long it takes to do. The original was four hours...six and I'd need tranks, damn this ADHD. Oh and for the info of those still considering the idea...it really doesn't hurt like you'd think.

It's more a scratchy feeling. Like a paper clip end being rubbed over and over. Modern tattoo needles are really fast, you don't feel a pricky sensation. Afterwards it feels like a mild sunburn for a few days. A big piece can feel like a moderate sunburn but Neosporin helps a lot. But overall a root canal is way more painful across the board than getting a tattoo.


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