Tattoo's

I don't know if anyone remembers way back when, I posted asking about a tattoo school for my son.
Well he got himself a bad apprenticeship, then out of that came a good apprenticeship. He's now "inking" people almost daily and loving every minute.
He started with simple symbols etc and has moved on to multi coloured shading. Always drawing, and is starting to design custom work for people.
It's nice when your kids turns out ok huh, was a little concerned there for a while :-D
Still not over enthusiastic about the 1.25 inch holes in his ears but hey, he's happy.

Anyone here have tattoo's?... Well obviously, more a question of does anyone here have an interest in tattoo's?

 

I will not make this a rant but i do not like the culture that has developed where tattoos are considered chic due to so called celebs filling their body with ink.
This craze of young girls and women inking the visible parts of their bodies with sub-standard tattoos fills me with horror,do they not realize it is there for ever and when they are in their 60s a tattoo of Justin Bieber does not look so good.

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/237/tumblrlibytx49uc1qhm3jw.jpg

 

I sometimes take good tattoo art and carve it into leather, the artists who draw the pictures are amazing in some cases. Mostly tho, traditional carving and tooling...

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/72542_472249396166925_1296372987_n.jpg

 

I have a small (2") tat of wings on my chest where I got pinned in jump school. I was young and dumb and full of **** - but I don't regret it.

I just don't advertise it. :major

 

You're right Bill, there is a "Fad" with it again, it dropped off for a decade or so and is back with a vengeance.
The only problem I have with it is the choice some people make, boyfriends/girlfriends name is a terrible idea for a start. There are also many "Artists" out there who are just banging out tat after tat in random places on the body which ends up looking muddled or as those in the industry call it "Branded" in other words, stamped pictures here and there.
The idea's my boy has are different, get something that means something, if you want your arm covered then a piece that inter twines is best.
It's also one of those things you should think about for a considerable amount of time, since they are not easy to get rid of should you change your mind.
Many artists are in it just for the money and will ink whatever you ask, my boy and his co-workers are not like that, while they will do pretty much anything you ask, since you are a paying customer, they will offer changes and position advice for how the image will work with your shape, bone structure and muscle lines.

But some of the work popping out nowadays makes the old Anchors and "Mum" tattoo's of generations gone by look lame. Bio-mechanics is incredible artwork.
My boy is currently drawing up a Poseidon piece for my arm and it's looking fantastic so far.

Now it's more about the art rather than the stigma. Back in the day, getting a tat made you tough and frequently deemed a thug of some kind... now it's different, it's now an expression of art and emotion for the person getting it.
Yes there are still those who want silly things, like my boy got asked by this girl to have the words "Your Name" on her butt cheek, this was apparently so she could win bets in bars "I bet you $20 I have your name tattooed on my butt" kind of idea.

As for what will they look like when you're old, this is an argument I hear from many.
The answer?... well providing you get it touched up so it isn't heavily faded...
Proof Right Here

@Cipher... That's awesome man, my boy would love that!

@Laura... Yes I was forced to watch Miami and LA Ink lol, like I said, now it's more about the art than the stamp.

 

Ok so the one on my back was only the 2nd tattoo my boy had done on a person (instead of pig skin)
Back Tattoo

Then a few months later I challenged him again, I wanted a tribal water dragon (because of my affiliation with the sea) on the inside of my bicep, the skin here is very stretchy and it was the first time he had done one on that part of the body, he had some troubles getting the ink to take due to not being rough enough and the skin so soft. Apparently he needs to touch it up sometime, he's very critical of his own work.
This one however is a dragon in the centre out of a book, the surround however was designed and coloured purely by my boy.
Arm Tat

Note the way he drew the curl of the surround to match my muscle shape... or at least it did back then when I was still working out a lot :-D

To be honest, it makes me proud that I am showing my boys own artwork and I have made a pact with myself that no one will ever ink me but my boy.

I've always wanted tat's but either couldn't afford it or just didn't know what to get, now between us we have planned out both my upper arms, inside and out, my right thigh and my entire back. Obviously this will take lots of sittings probably over the course of a few years... cost factor as well, even though I get them very very cheap, I still pay my boy his full wage... and then we argue about it :-D

 

So I thought I'd share some of his drawings, bare in mind these are ALL drawn freehand, a couple of them copied from other images, but mostly straight from his own warped mind :-D

This One his mother has on her lower leg and is all his own work

The Freaky tree

Obviously copied pic of Audrey Hepburn - Still free hand though

Again a copied but freehand pic of Miss Monroe

I love this one, we told his Grandmother it's eating an Icecream lol

This one recently went on a guys calf

This one is a couple of years old, I remember watching the progression of thought with it and it amazed me how it went from one idea to the next to the eventual outcome

This is one of my favourites, this came totally from his memories of Jurrasic Park, his fav movie when he was little

So yeah, can you tell I'm proud :-D

Edit: By the way, I added the watermarks just now, which is why they are a bit... you know.

 

This kid has *some* talent, those drawings are outstanding! I take it he's relatively young and new to his craft, he'll only get better!!

 

I realize tattoos can be art but soooo many are badly done as to be ridicules s.

Some examples of what i mean.

http://bad-tattoos.tumblr.com/page/2

Tulisa is on the X factor and is a Z list star but the example she has set with the name of her own brand of perfume tattooed on her forearm is just beyond comprehension.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...sa=X&rlz=1B3GGHP_enBE487BE487&tbm=isch&itbs=1

 

Yeah he's 19 and always could draw, but with tuition over the last couple of years of how to hold what type of pencil and angles, light etc, he's really moved forward... fast!

@Bill ... I do know what you are saying Sir, there are many bad choices and artists out there, the girls arm tattoo is poorly placed regardless of what it says.
Also some of the grammar is terrible, I have seen so many using the word "Your" instead of "You're" , ok in typing and letters I find this annoying, but to misspell a tattoo is simply retarded. I remember when he did the one on my back, he didn't print the comma and his boss/mentor told him in no uncertain terms to ALWAYS make sure spelling and punctuation is correct.

Some of the stuff my boy has shown me on various websites is just mind blowing. Same as some of the stuff his boss does.
Then there are the various specialities, portraits being one of the hardest, also one that often looks terrible due to the artist treating it like every other tribal line. My father in law has recently passed away from Pancreatic cancer, when we found out the boy was heart broken and had been talking about getting his grandparents names on his back with a little slogan like "Where's my coffee" for his grandfather, instead his shop had a guest artist come for a week who was a portrait artist. So that's what he did, on his calf he has a portrait of his grandfather. And I can honestly tell you it is Identical to the photo and yet it was done free hand on skin.

Good and Bad Bill, don't tar the whole thing with the same brush

 

My feeling is that anyone who is thinking about getting a tattoo should do so carefully. I know people who have changed their minds later and opted for the painful (and very expensive) process of laser tattoo removal.

Like it or not, there is also the issue of potential employers in the future. If a tattoo (or other "alternative" body art such as piercings) are visible while wearing normal clothing, it is an automatic "fail" when applying for most non-blue collar jobs (I've had HR training; trust me on this one).

I'm not disrespecting tattoo artists or those who have tattoos - just offering a few thoughts for anyone who may be tempted to go overboard on getting inked.

 

When I was 18 I got one, I was down the shore and went to some guy on the boardwalk but the guy made the letters look funny. So now I do my best to hide it because I'm so beyond tired of people asking me "does that say.....?" and I guess I'm more annoyed about people asking because what people think it says makes absolutely no sense rolleyes

Which is kind of funny that I stumbled onto these pics today by accident (or was it by Pinterest? lol) :-D

 

Anticipating the humor, I did not put coffee in my mouth while viewing these... :-D

 

This is true, although it is becoming more and more acceptable, obviously depending on where in the world you are.
A good rule to go by is "Nothing below the wrist and nothing above the neck line" that way a shirt can cover all.

Also removal isn't as bad as it used to be, there is a bleach like solution that will fade it so much it's hardly visible (depending on colours).
There is always the also the opportunity to "Cover up" (re-tattoo over top with something more preferable) which my boy gets a lot of work from.

@Dyamond... Sounds like you would be a good candidate for a cover up.