tattoos

[anti_everything]

What do you think of a tattoo of dragon wings that take up about half or so of ones back? If done in fairly bold black outlining with gray shadowing and maybe a bit of red. Of course, I'm fifteen and if I had it done I wouldn't be able to for another 3 years but I think it would look really cool. I've seen people with angel wings tattooed on their back and thought dragon wings would be a nice change from the norm. Also, if you know of somewhere I can get ideas of what dragon wings should look like I'd appreciate it. I've sketched about five designs and think I have one I like, but then again, I've got three years to think about it.

[MrMaelstrom]

There are as many styles of tattoos as people who have them.
A tattoo is for life (unless you want some whimpy dime-sized rose/dolphin/unicorn/pentacle/heart crap that you can get rid of later); therefore, it's something to be well and truly thought through.
Obviously, I strongly discourage lover's names (no matter how much you think you'll be together for eternity). If you don't know what I'm talking about, think of Johnny Depp's "Winona" tattoo.
Your own name is stupid, unless you suffer from Alzheimer's.

Although very much a fashion thing nowadays, a tattoo represents something; traditionaly a rite of passage, like the coming of age into adulthood of a tribe member, the arrival of a girl 1st menstruation, confirming her physical readiness to bear children, the 1st confirmed kill of an animal, an enemy or nowadays, a rival gang member by young men.

The theme should be considered. You might want a skull, man's ruin or a Harley at your present age, but that just might clash a wee bit with the chinese dragon entwined with the phoenix you might want to do in adulthood, and I think there's nothing as ridiculous as a human quilt.

When I turned 18 and was living in South East Asia for the fist time, I fell in love with chinese triad tattoos. I decided to do something reasonably small that I could be satisfied with for the rest of my life, or that I could expand on the theme if I decided to add something later on (you DO get addicted). So I took a ferry to Hong Kong and done it.

Another thing I made sure of was that the design was my own; as I wouldn't want to bump into someone else later in life with the exact same thing on their bodies (women will relate to this when considering what to wear on a special night out).
I also made sure needles were sterilized and made useless after my sessions.

Summing it all up; at 15, I don't really think you should commit yourself to something you just might regret for the rest of your life. Tattoos are very expensive and that's all the more reason to take your time; so that when the time comes, you can do what you want and not what you can afford.

I believe that nowadays, there are specific tattoos that only go through the first few layers of epydherm, so as to fade away in 2 to 3 years as those layers are replaced. Maybe you should look into that. If in 3 years you still like it, go for the skin deep ones.

Hope you enjoy the pain as much as I did....

[Darkholm]

I agree with everything Maelstrom said and yes the pain is intense and I loved it. My smiley was done from a comic poster I had and the artist did a good job. Allways think of what you want before you get it done. The smiley also covers up an old one I had there from a forgotten time and the other is going to get covered up when I have the money. I also have a third on my leg that is a skull wearing a tophat and leather. Tats are cool and as he said addictive.

[Daz]

yay tattooooooooooos
i love my tattoo, i have a little frog over my left boob :twisted:
the next one i want is hugeso its gonna take me a while to save up for it, im thinkin a year or two. i thought about getting dragon wings but thought better of it when i saw three people at the bar with various styles of dragon wings on their backs. i have an ex who had broken angel wings put on while we were dating. dont forget that you wont be able to sleep on your back for a while after they are put on.. and its damn hard to get cream on them if you dont have anyone there to help you.
the best way, i have found, to get an origonal tattoo is to get the basic design down, shop around for an artist you really like and feel comfortable with and show them the design there is a girl here who can take up to a year to customize your tattoo so that you both like it. NEVER go to anyone who will tattoo flash, it ususally isnt a good scene.
this is actually an odd time for this topic to pop up since my sister asked me about my next one just the other day and when i went to findthe picture i had that i wanted customized i couldnt find the damn thing. now ive spent the last two days cleaning and still havent found it hehe.]
ya i know i went off topic and there is more i wanted to say but the damn pain killers are finally starting to kick in so im getting a little loopy maybe i'll post the rest later.

[Daz]

hahaha i just found the damn thing

one thing i did want to mention to all you who do want to get a good tattoo and dont know what to get, see if you can find some books by Tania Diotalevl-Hodges. she is an amazing artist and her drawings are done so that they can easily be used as tattoos. i know its a pulg but hey, i dont even know her.

[Icegoblin]

Love tattoos, Im addicted. Have 3 of them, and Im going to pursue more as soon as I get the money up. Ive got a chaos symbol with a human heart pierced by a morpheus strip on the left side of my chest(my first). The head of Fenris the wolf swallowing the sun on my left shoulder(my second). And below that I have the Midgard serpent encircling the rune for Loki(my third). Theyre a tentive start on a Ragnarok sort of murial on my left arm. None of them ever really hurt it just felt like someone running a pen over my skin, but the smell of the inking is horrendous at times :shock: .
Ive always gone into the tattoo parlor with more than one idea. That way the tattoo artist and me can work together with my budget to get something that I can live with. And have no regrets.
Other than the sound advice that everyone else has given all I can say is good luck.

[Daz]

i actually dont remember getting the tattoo being painful at all... well it hurt a little when he went over the breast bone but that was it.

[TourniquetDistortion]

I don't have a tattoo, But I agree with Maelstrom also. You don't want to get something stupid and then hate it later. it's just not worth it. I plan on getting one right when I turn eighteen. That way I'll be signifing that I am growing up, and it'll get me through the last months of highschool. Tattoos always mean more when they're worked for I think.

[Takhisis]

I agree with MrMaelstrom in general. Also, most reputable tattoo artists won't do names that aren't "premanent" (your kid's name, or your dead brother, etc.) Although my mother got my dad's name and a heart tattooed on her butt for their 25th wedding anniversary. The artist agreed to do it because he said that after 25 years it was probably a safe enough bet.

I've got 3 at the moment. Ultimately I plan on having a circle of 8 on my back and one central figure, all representing parts of myself and my life I consider the most important. Right now I'm basically taking my time and getting them done when I find the right image or symbol for each facet. I figure I've got the rest of my life to enjoy the perfect design or regret the wrong one, so I'll take my time and go for the former.

Although now I'm looking at getting my first tat outside of that continuing project, that's actually a part of someone else's. Looking like it'll go on the inside of my ankle. I've been told that it's a pretty painful area, but my other choice would be top of the foot and that would be a lot worse (not to mention a pain in the butt while it healed).

[Priest]

I have 13 total(actually 12 but one is a cover): 4 dragons, 1 character for a dargon, 2 firebirds, a tat of christ's head, a bear claw, a celtic knot , a tribal and a black sun.
All of them have some spiritual or emotional story behind them and all of them are very important to me and they are all parts of my background.
It has been my experience that the middle of the back(over the spine) is by far the most painful place that I have gotten a tattoo. The arms and legs didn't hurt much and the ankles and shoulder blades only slightly but the mid-back area was a killer.
I'm like some of the others and think that itty bitty tats gotten by people that just want to be "in" are ridiculous. I'm not saying to get a full back piece your first time out but (and this is my opinion) if a 4 foot tall , 300 lb woman get a dime sized butterfly on the small of her back...it's gonna dissapear when she stands up. I know...I've seen it first hand. If you have that much trepidation about ink then don't get one until you are ready for a good sized one.
Also , if it a money issue that makes you get a small one, don't get one. My cover is over a smal cross that I got for my first tat. It wasn't what I wanted but I couldn't afford anything else so I got that. I eventually regretted the descision. Although it was still important to me(and still is because it was my first) I became ashamed of it and got the sun to cover it up.
Anyway, I'll shut up for now.

[eternal_darkness_18]

i have only one tattoo on my left shoulder of a Gothic Cross and it comes down to a point on one end. i am going to get a green dragon on the other shoulder before i quit getting them though.

[WolfMoon]

I have a serpentine dragon on my right shoulder,it's about four inches wide and six long.It symbolizes the year of the dragon,when I finally left my abusive X and the beginning of my new life.

I plan on getting another dragon marking my daughter's birth and a fairy on my lower back,one day.

[Agwani]

I have two tattoos. Both are Dragons are each are perched on the flesh of my shoulderblades.

I love them, but the experience of getting the first one was very different from the experience of getting the second one.

First: Find someone reputable and see what kind of recent work they have done. It's great that you have three years, because you can talk to people about thier tats and if you hang around, you get to see the tats age, so you know what you are in for a couple years after you get your tat.

Second: Don't be the first or last appointment of the day. For my first tattoo, the artist said he could 'sqeeze me in' at the end of the day. This lead to a rushed, rather painful, crappy job. If the artist says, "I got plenty of time' or 'I've scheduled your appointement so that we have time if it goes longer than expected' then you are more safe.

Third: Keep your tat design with you, that way, if you see something you like, you can incoperate elements from it into your original design.

Fourth: Some artists will ask for the design you have made so that they can rework it themselves and possibly make some improvements. With my second Dragon, I had a unique design made by a friend of mine that I added some changes to. Then the artist got her hands on it and made it into something more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. It was the same thing basically, but with some elements that made her life easier (such as better spacing between lines) and made it a 100% unique design.

Fifth: As for the pain factor, that's up to individual who is doing the inking as well as the person being inked. I said before: the first artist did a very bad, rushed job, so it hurt more than I expected (and I have a very, very, high pain tolerance). The second artist was a dream. All her strokes were smooth, and she did this thing were she would touch the spot she would ink with her finger first. She was relaxed, I was so relaxed, I fell asleep, even though the tattoo took over an hour to complete.

And finally: Don't get your tat on an empty stomach. A burger, fries and softdrink should do you good before you go in. And a good tat artist will ask you during the tat if you need to stretch or use the washroom.

Pick someone you trust, take your time and enjoy the sensation.

That's my 2 cents.

[WolfMoon]

Yeah I forgot,

Mine hurt like blue blazes.The artsist said that they had to push hard to get my skin to take the ink.Now,I don't know if that's true or if they were just mad because I was asking questions the whole time or what.But I still want more!!!

[Perfectly_Flawed]

Just thought of a joke ... A man with numerous piercings and tattoos walked into a doctor's office with a nasty cut. The doctor examined the cut, and said "Yep, looks like you'll be needing a tetanus shot."

The man paled and replied, "Damnit, I hate needles."

...........

I was watching a show last week, and it featured a woman who had a small tattoo on her ankle. I've definitely seen other photos of people with tattoos on their ankles, but somehow, that 2 second shot made me consider getting one.

Not sure what of ... and it was just a thought. But it's a lingering thought.

[iana]

i gots some art nouveau on my neck and a david bowie symbol on my ankle

thats it thus far, but... yknow.. :shock: we always come back for more :shock:

[wiccangoth_jnh13]

i don't have any tatoo, but i'm plannin' on havin' mine in my nape!! i'll try henna tatoo first!
i don't think there's anything wrong on havin' a tatoo...
just keep it clean...! and have a real cool one!

[GothHyena]

Every once in a while I see a tattoo I like, then I remind myself that I might not still want that 20 years from now. Daz's sounds cute though, and I liked Priest's self-history concept.

[Moon_Creature]

I have a fairly large tattoo of a tiger crawling up my arm. I got it because I was born in the year of the tiger and tigers are kind of like my "power-animal".

I love tattoos and I think eventually I will covered in them. The rush you get under the needle is absolutely amazing.

[koehiir]

I've got several tattoos, all required alot of thought and design. I've done most of the designs by myself with help. All my tat designs have been taken home with me, so I willnot see them on other folks.

Over time, the designs have become more meaningful and personal. My last tats are for my children celebrating their diverse background and cultures, they do incorporate their initials, however one is in Etruscan rune (?sp) and one in arabic, the designs are tribal and native american.

Some people take pictures to remember events, some get them scratched into their skin to remember them.

[Giga]

I wanted to tattoo myself for quite some time now. I've even seriously pondered it about six months ago but then decided to drop it until I'm at least twenty years old. Twenty one-twenty two seem to be the best time for me to add a tattoo, at that time, if you want somethin' you'll probably want it in 15 years too.

Simply, I realized that making such permanent decisions is not somethin' you want to do when you're still in puberty.

And if I added tattoos I'd put on at least five of them, all big ones, I utterly dislike small tattoos and I hate tribals (they're so idiotic, every brand-wearing slut has a tribal above her ass these days)...

[bloodembrace]

i only have 2 tatoos so far but as for the pain, i found that the outline hurted more than the filling and you get used to it after a while, but if you don't there are things to take your mind off of it. a good artist will talk to you about damn near anything to make conversation or take ur mind off of it. mine actually asked me what music i liked so i got to listen to AFI while getting inked. no matter how much it itches don't scratch it or the color will come off and you'll see tiny blank places where ink was supposed to be, don't drink b4hand and wait an hour after u get it to drink (found this out the hard way) by the way i want another tattoo but my parents are making me show them what it is before i get it, since no one i knows can draw well if someone could help me out by finding a green care bear with a pot leaf on its belly giving the finger, i'd REALLY appreciate it!

[Bodnoirbabe]

I have one tattoo right now. Now, i have always thought that tattoos should be personal and of your own design. When I was in my senior year of high school, my friends all decided to get matching tattoos. They got the chinese symbol for "friendship" tattoed on their left arms. I absolutly refused to get the tattoo because a) it was a fucking trendy ass chinese symbol, and b) it wasn't something i wanted my first tat to be, and c) Call me cynical, but you never know if your friends in high school will still be your friends in life.... I held out for about a year. then my boyfriend at the time said i ahould get it because even though i felt the way i did about the design of the tatt, it was still a bond between my friends. Needless to say, about 4 months ago, i had a severe break with those friends. I don't see this break being healed ever, at least not to anywhere near where it once was. And i'm completly fine with that. time to move on with my life. But now i'm stuck with a sucky trendy ass tatoo in the middle of my shoulder blades. as soon as i can get money saved up, i'm going to get it covered with one of my own designs, plus a few more...

So that's my story....

[HerGhostInTheFog]

i dont have any yet, but here's what im going to get
1. a bat
2. a moon
3. a scorpion
4. a cat
5. a peace sign
6. the word hope

[Bicth_in-the_Basement666]

I love tatoo's I'm planning on getting my entire body covered hopefully before i die, ever since i was little i always wanted to get one. It also helped cuase my mom is a tatoo artist so i get mine cheaper than most places for often better quality :twisted: