Tatt-ursday
Get Inked, yo!
That gross title was my spin on Tattuesday or whatever it is they call it on "Ink Master".
My skin is no stranger to ink and needles. I have a grand total of 3 tattoos, one on my foot, one on my rib/side area as well as what has become a half sleeve on my right arm. That being said I have some incredible thoughts (Lonely Island shout out) and advice to share with those of you out there looking to get tatted up!
1) Not all artists are created equal
I made this mistake several times while choosing an artist for my tattoos. Luckily the first two tattoos I got are relatively small and simple, the one on my foot could be better but hey, it's covered by a sock 75% of the year here in good ole' Wisco. However, upon looking for a shop to get my "sleeve" started I was simply foolish. I had never had any big work done and in my naive mind I figured any artist would be good enough.
**They must all be talented and awesome!** <--- Actual qoute from my brain.
While many artists are amazing at what they do sadly some are not quite up to par. I picked a shop based on a few comments from my sister who said that the shop was clean and the artists were nice, aside from that I had no real grasp of what this dude was capable of. Once again I lucked out, the work on my arm is by no means horrendous and could be infinitely worse but, at the same time it wasn't outstanding either. As the years went by and I began using tools like social media to scope out local artists and view their portfolios I realized how much talent was in the area and scolded myself for not doing better research before making such a big plunge. Now don't get me wrong, I was absolutely in LOVE with my sleeve at first, it wasn't until I began to further understand the technicalities of tattoos that I really noticed it's shortcomings.
Now don't you worry friend, this story has a happy ending! Thanks to Instagram I was able to find an uber talented artist who was able to add two additional tattoos to my sleeve and tweak parts of the old tattoo that I was less than thrilled about. Thanks to the amazing work the artist I currently go to my arm looks 1 million times better and much more complete and most importantly, I'm back to loving my work! :)
The moral of the story is a good artist can make anything work and it's worth the time to find someone capable of giving you what you really want! Be picky, this will be on you for life!
2) Consider Aesthetics
Perhaps this is already a no brainier, while thinking of the design you want or while looking at what the artist has drawn up for you take a look at how the tattoo will flow with your body. The tattooer will probably already have this on lock depending upon what you want and where you want it but, it's important to make sure you like how something looks and flows before making the commitment. Also on that note......
3) Don't be afraid to move the stencil
There's a reason you look at the stencil on your skin before actual tattooing takes place, and that reason is... to make sure you like the tattoo placement! DO NOT be afraid to let your artist know if you want the tattoo moved a little to the right, a smidge to the left, up, down, around, whatever! I've had to ask for my stencil to be moved around and my artist was more than happy to accommodate!
4) Eat lots of food!
Be sure to chow down before going under the needle, sitting there on an empty stomach is not fun!
5) It's gonna hurt
Clearly getting ink is not going to be a walk in the park. That being said, don't let the idea of pain stop you from getting a tattoo where you really want it. It's one day of pain for a lifetime with your tattoo, at the end of the day it's going to hurt no matter where you put the thing.
Rat-a-tatt-tatt!
That gross title was my spin on Tattuesday or whatever it is they call it on "Ink Master".
My skin is no stranger to ink and needles. I have a grand total of 3 tattoos, one on my foot, one on my rib/side area as well as what has become a half sleeve on my right arm. That being said I have some incredible thoughts (Lonely Island shout out) and advice to share with those of you out there looking to get tatted up!
neonsignsus.com
1) Not all artists are created equal
I made this mistake several times while choosing an artist for my tattoos. Luckily the first two tattoos I got are relatively small and simple, the one on my foot could be better but hey, it's covered by a sock 75% of the year here in good ole' Wisco. However, upon looking for a shop to get my "sleeve" started I was simply foolish. I had never had any big work done and in my naive mind I figured any artist would be good enough.
**They must all be talented and awesome!** <--- Actual qoute from my brain.
While many artists are amazing at what they do sadly some are not quite up to par. I picked a shop based on a few comments from my sister who said that the shop was clean and the artists were nice, aside from that I had no real grasp of what this dude was capable of. Once again I lucked out, the work on my arm is by no means horrendous and could be infinitely worse but, at the same time it wasn't outstanding either. As the years went by and I began using tools like social media to scope out local artists and view their portfolios I realized how much talent was in the area and scolded myself for not doing better research before making such a big plunge. Now don't get me wrong, I was absolutely in LOVE with my sleeve at first, it wasn't until I began to further understand the technicalities of tattoos that I really noticed it's shortcomings.
Now don't you worry friend, this story has a happy ending! Thanks to Instagram I was able to find an uber talented artist who was able to add two additional tattoos to my sleeve and tweak parts of the old tattoo that I was less than thrilled about. Thanks to the amazing work the artist I currently go to my arm looks 1 million times better and much more complete and most importantly, I'm back to loving my work! :)
The moral of the story is a good artist can make anything work and it's worth the time to find someone capable of giving you what you really want! Be picky, this will be on you for life!
2) Consider Aesthetics
Perhaps this is already a no brainier, while thinking of the design you want or while looking at what the artist has drawn up for you take a look at how the tattoo will flow with your body. The tattooer will probably already have this on lock depending upon what you want and where you want it but, it's important to make sure you like how something looks and flows before making the commitment. Also on that note......
pintrest.com
3) Don't be afraid to move the stencil
There's a reason you look at the stencil on your skin before actual tattooing takes place, and that reason is... to make sure you like the tattoo placement! DO NOT be afraid to let your artist know if you want the tattoo moved a little to the right, a smidge to the left, up, down, around, whatever! I've had to ask for my stencil to be moved around and my artist was more than happy to accommodate!
4) Eat lots of food!
Be sure to chow down before going under the needle, sitting there on an empty stomach is not fun!
5) It's gonna hurt
Clearly getting ink is not going to be a walk in the park. That being said, don't let the idea of pain stop you from getting a tattoo where you really want it. It's one day of pain for a lifetime with your tattoo, at the end of the day it's going to hurt no matter where you put the thing.
foundshit.com
In closing a shout out to Madison at Serenity Ink in Milwaukee! I highly recommend her and the shop for anyone itching to fulfill their tattoo dreams!
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