I'm going to get a tattoo
- Started
- Last post
- 26 Responses
- lukus_W2
It's going to be on my forearm - it's going to be a botanical illustration in a plain colour (maybe navy blue).
Is there anything I should do to prepare for a tattoo / care for a tattoo afterwards?
Did any of you with tattoos wish you'd known about anything in advance .. ?
- newuser0
You're a designer, don't get someone else's art on your body.
I hope you drew it yourself.
- <<<i_monk
- bah. it's like designing your own logo, you'd never be happy with it and want to change something every time you look at itscarabin
- I'm selecting 18th / 19th century illustrations that I'll pass to the tattooist.lukus_W2
- I figure, choose the artist carefully based on their work - provide input and trust their judgement.lukus_W2
- I never want to design my own! I have seven and the best ones are where I've let goDaveO
- scarabin0
don't need to do anything to prepare, but afterward, keep some of this stuff on it. also, keep your arm outta the sun; even through a shirt direct sunlight will be painful and could fade your ink
- GM2780
When you leave your tattoo will be bandaged, when you leave you should leave the bandage for at least four hours, and can be left on for up to twelve hours. When you finally do remove the bandage, you should wash it thoroughly with a mild soap, (like ivory, no deodorant soaps) and warm water. Yes it will be a bit gunky and slimy but thats a mix of the a&d goop the artist will use to help the needle slide on your skin and your body healing. So dont freak out.
Do not scrub the tattoo, gently work up a good lather with the soap and water, and rinse. Wash two to three times per day until it starts to peel. After rinsing, apply a thin layer of ointment (Vitamin A&D, Bacitracin) three to four times per day for the next two days. After two days use a good quality hand cream (Curel, Kerry,
Lubriderm) for two weeks (until the skin peels off on its own). Do not use aloe. Keep it out of the sun and stay out of pools with chlorine in them. And under no circumstances pick at the scabs while its healing or you'll scar the shit out of it.Forearms are easy...it won't hurt like more sensitive areas like ribs.
- monospaced0
- But I wanted my own thread mono .. :/lukus_W2
- I was NOT timelineing you, bro. I was just lending some priceless QBN insight into tattos in general. Carry on.monospaced
- hmm.. I realised after I clicked .. thanks - I think I remember that debate.lukus_W2
- lukus_W20
My tattoo will be very intelligent.
- nadanada0
emu oil. seriously, heals tattoos in days and keeps them super-vibrant. a lot of the super-chemical-laden hand creams / lotions tend to dull the color... plus you're basically shoveling bad shit into an open wound.
actually working on my own little skincare line and i have tattoos - so obviously i business expensed my last ink to test... it's killer.
- chossy0
Brace yourself, it will hurt. No matter what anyone says it fucking hurts for the first ten minutes or so, then after that it's plain sailing.
Ignore all that shite about having drawn it yourself etc. if you like something get it done awwww yeah boyeeeee :D
When it's done you will be totally stoked!!!! yesssssss. I'm getting another tattoo in the next week or so (whenever the fucking tattooist gets her thumb out her ass!!!!) so I'm excited for you playa!!!
- DaveO0
Just got my forearm tattooed the other day, gonna get some more work done before the end of the year.
Went here:
http://smithstreettattoo.com/- I've heard great things about that shop. Been meaning to ride over and check them out. Who did your piece?GM278
- nice .. what did you have done? do you have any photos?lukus_W2
- Steve Boltz does some great stuff
jacklalane - I think I'm going to get work done there!!bulletfactory
- DaveO0
To the guys above, I have a couple of pieces by those Smith Streeters.
First one was an eagle by Boltz, massive on my left arm, top. That was good – 3.2 hours in the chair and looks BADASS. My anniversary in the USA kinda.
Then last week I got this:
https://fbcdn_sphotos_a-a.akamai…...
By Eli Quinters
- DaveO0
- FUCK.
– DaveO1/2
facebook changed something about their photos this week :(albums - FAIL
DaveO - http://picpaste.com/…lukus_W2
- FUCK.
- jacklalane0
I am supposed to get tattooed tomorrow and the artist hasn't sent me the drawing yet. I had a consultation 8 weeks ago. I feel it is a bit unprofessional when he promised it to me at the beginning of this week. Now what??!!
- call him/her?lukus_W2
- Wouldn't be the first time. Its probably a combo of being super busy and flakey (its why they have shop managers) you could always swing by a bit early or just see it tomorrow.GM278
- could always swing by early or see it tomorrow.GM278
- Mine are always drawn on the dayDaveO
- Most tattoo artists are worthless.Llyod
- DaveO0
- there we go!DaveO
- really nice .. I've been thinking I don't want a colour tattoo - but the rendering looks great.lukus_W2
- that's tight!jacklalane
- that came out greatGM278
- Think long and hard about color – I've got loads of color on me so it's okay, but it's sort of one or the otherDaveO
- Ed Hardy?Maaku
- how come this style is frowned upon on t-shirts (Ed Hardy), but everyone gushes over it when it's on skin? Posers all of you.CanHasQBN
- Isn't it kinda like wearing these instead of getting it done legit?
http://i.imgur.com/i…dorkKn1ght
- alicetheblue0
I had a tattoo of a star a log time ago.
Now it's a galaxy ;)
- mikotondria30
I would say 'don't do it'. Like people say, it'll probably fricken hurt, and you'll have a degrading greenish drawing on your arm forever. People will see it and think '...', oh, actually they won't think anything because everyone's got a tattoo of this, that and the other. Go naked as the good Lawd intended.
- lukus_W20
^
Not so long ago, I would have agreed with you mikotondria. But I figure, if chosen carefully - a tattoo can be something that's worthwhile.For me, the idea of not-blemishing my life - or making mistakes / or, hell .. even choosing a particular trajectory was a big deal. I was wanting perfection / and staying dangerously static as a result.
I'm starting to realise that this is it. No second chances .. no repeats. We have to choose and move with our choices.
For me, getting a tattoo will be part of this process - and a way of commemorating the way I'm feeling right now. Life affects us, damages us, improves us and leaves it's mark on our personalities. I like the idea of visible marks too - I think scars and tattoos are interesting ways of marking the passage of time.
- Well saidgoldieboy
- AH yes, I like scars.
I'd have a scarification before ink. I just don't like the black/green color they all go.mikotondria3
- DaveO0
^
Agree. You regret shit you aint done
- bjladams0
a decade later:
i rarely consider my tattoos.
nothing to do with design, meaning, experience... and all that.when i got them, i remember thinking how it would be part of my personal manifesto / statement of my world view / a visual piece of the definition me. ha!
i dont regret them - i like them. i just don't consider them any more than i do the shape of my knee-cap or the placement of my freckles.
i remember telling someone that "every time i see it, it'll make me remember (insert personal philosophy)" ... i see them all the time, but this thread has probably made me think of that for the first time this year.
i also had a picture of myself on my business card. i'm still a bit shifty about that when they surface.
- Llyod0
get a tattoo of a butt on your butt.