:o

[imthecoolkid_mod]

Ha. It's a year away - due to the fact my piercer's studio doesn't tattoo until age 16 - , but I'm still excited - I'm getting a tattoo! (If you want a speech, I can tell y'all the whole story.)

Since I'm uber excited and psyched and stuff and have all this time, there is lots of planning and research I'm delving into. So, I have a few questions.

1) how are tattoo's generally charged? by the hour? by work done? I really don't know, and I'm probably gonna end up having to pay for it. So I like an idea of what I'm going in for.
2) an elaborations on pain on shoulder blades and/or lower back?
3) I'm pretty sure my piercer wouldn't have bad artists in his shop, but still, what are some things I should be looking out for when looking into tattoo artists?

[rex_hardcastle]

hey coolkid ill answer the questions the best i can from my limited experience, 2 tats. anyway 1. tattoos can be charged by the hour, and generally time is a factor, also detail is added to the price, a larger piece with less detail may attract less cost, then a smaller more detailed piece. 2. i have one tat on each shoulder blade, as for pain, it is certainly bearable and may b considered more annoying then painful, 5/10, i found it to b a cross between a cat scratch and sunburn. 3. ok, cost if they profess to be cheap, then run. smoking, alot of tattooists smoke, thats life however if they r doing it in the studio then they really arent very professional. i cant think of anymore atm, theres no doubt other signs, as i said earlier, limited experience. Just make sure you love the design, and enjoy it, they r so worth it. Rex p.s i really should upload a pic of my new one, anyway enjoy ur planning

[imthecoolkid_mod]

definately upload pics!

what i'm wanting are some new-school style sparrows i found on....uh...the internet. i can post links to the pics if anyone's interested. they are fairly large, and i want one on each shoulder blade, both to be eventually encorporated in my backpiece. there are, however, a few changes i want made so here's a list (more for me than you guys, but still):

1) colors darker/brighter - perhaps change the color of the green/blue one to purple/blue
2) heads bigger
3) "shinier"
4) cuter. this includes slightly smaller beaks then they have.

nothing TOO complicated, huh? :P

[rex_hardcastle]

No nothing to complex at all *:razz: , colours arent my thing but i acknowledge that they can look awesome. A friend of mine got a dragonfly with green/blue/white/black in the one design and its ridiculously cool. Have fun with ur designing, it sounds like it will turn out great

[imthecoolkid_mod]

most of the stuff i want is blackwork - i'm huge on blackwork, but i thought i needed ONE thing with color :P hehe. i kinda like colors, strangely...

[iamblackbird]

I've got four, and hang out in my artist's shop, cause he's a friend of mine...


1)Depends on the shop. In Denver, CO, about 500 miles from here, its usually by the hour. In my town, it's by the piece. It depends on the shop, city, and artist.
2) Shoulder blades will probably be more painful. Lower back was a piece of cake, since there's really not alot of bone there to hit. The only painful part there on mine was when it hit my spinal area (I'm pretty skinny and it pops out), and that wasn't even all that bad. The Shoulderblades....well, kinda like the spine. Not as bad as the ribcage, from what I've heard.
3) ASK FOR A PORTFOLIO. First off, that's the best way, next to seeing people that have work done, to check out skill. Look for pieces that are close to like what you want....check line work, its even-ness, color distribution, etc.

[imthecoolkid_mod]

Well, pain doesn't discourage me from wanting it, I just like to know what I'm in for - you know?

Anyways. They have a portfolio in the shop and each of their artists also have a portfolio online. I've been through all of them and this Larry fellow who I've seen a few times at the shop seems to do more of the new-school stuff that I want - looks good to me. He's pretty interesting, got a huge septum and a full facial ...inkage.

Hehe. ^^