Tattoo Dilemma

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  • StaceyL76
    StaceyL76 Posts: 711 Member
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    My advice is to make sure you really know the artist and preview their previous work. Also, I know you will be excited but really take the time to look at the placement and size.

    I have one tatoo and it is on my lowerback.. It is rather large. I waited until I was thirty to get mine. It was after my grandmother passed away and it is a tribute to her and some advice that she gave me. It means a great deal to me.

    However, I didn't want it as big as it is and I was so nervous and excited at the same time. If I would have taken a moment and a breath, to really take a look at the outline and placement, I would have realilzed it was much bigger than I wanted. That is my only regret with the tat. I want another one.. just not sure where, when or what.. = )
  • vitosbud
    vitosbud Posts: 54 Member
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    My biggest issue before I got my first tattoo was where it should be. I used temporary tats decided where it should go and have sported a maple leaf (that I love) on my calf for about 15 years now.I figured no matter what my calf wasn't going anywhere (see the poster talking about the rose turning long stemmed :) ) A couple of years ago I got a small word (act) tatooed on the underside of my right wrist. The most important thing for me is that I can easily see them. No flipping around with mirrors for me.

    Your friend seems to be imposing her cultural ideas onto you and that's kind of a no - no.
    My last (?) tat will be the outline of a star around my right wristbone to celebrate the acheievement of my 50 lb goal :) ... hopefully by the end of 2011 ;)
  • navywife33
    navywife33 Posts: 31
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    My 1st tattoo was of Kermit the Frog... my favorite of all time. He was (and still is) my favorite child hood memory. I don't care what anyone else says or thinks about it because it's between me and the Frog! Get what YOU want, don't worry about what anyone else thinks. If they don't like it there's a good chance their just jealous cause your idea is better than their idea... you're not asking them to get the tattoo so their opinion shouldn't matter. I have 7 tattoos ( I know it's not a lot especially since my hubby is covered) but 2 of them are things that I've always been attached to (pun not intended) and the other 5 are ones that I just walked in and said... hey I like that or hey, that's pretty or hey... draw something up for me... I want something here, whatcha got? A tattoo represents you... no one else. Be confident in your own decisions.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    hey i got a dragon tattoo on my upper back..i sorta regret that one..but its still cool looking and thinking about adding onto it to make it look cooler.

    i just recently got a tattoo of the earth being sucked into a black hole..its awesome, and something i've wanted for a while..i am going to add onto it..an astronaut and other planets and the voyager spacecraft..make it a lower leg sleeve. once you get one..you'll want more..they are addicting
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    Take yourself to the beach. Look at older people who have tattoos. It's easier to do at the beach because there's less clothing covering things up.

    maybe you should look at the back of your car and see if you're the kind of person who needs to put a message out there for everyone on the planet to see. :)

    really i dont give a rats behind what people think of me..and if i dont now, i certainly wont when i'm 80.

    and i cant stand this whole idea that people think we get tattoos to show off, or send a 'message'..really what message is a sailor moon tat saying? most people have tattoos today, so its not like its being anti establishment or anything..its the norm today, not the rebel ideal you think it is.
  • marsts
    marsts Posts: 85
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    I think personally, ( trust me i have nothing against tats..my brother is covered n them, and my 2 other brothers and 2 sisters all have tats as well - including myself) you should hold off for 3 months, maybe even longer but thats up to you.
    I waited for about a year to get mine done (mainly because I wasnt old enough) but when i was allowed i still wanted it, and got it.
    Same with my next 2 tats im wanting, one of them ive wanted for 3 months -but dont have the chance to get it done for another 3- and the other one i just thought of today -once again cant get it for another 3 months-

    Just randomly deciding on tats freak me out, but yours does have meaning to you which makes it all the better, but i think if you can wait atleast even a month (3 is ideal i personally think) then its definately all the more worth it. Mind you, yours is pretty visible - not to say visible tats arent bad! I have one on my wrist! - but since it is a cartoon, some jobs may think of it as unprofessional and may want it covered up... so i think you should play around wit ha bit more areas of your body, or if you are already sure on what profession you want to do - and if that tat wont interfere with your profession - then definately go for it!!
  • captainfez
    captainfez Posts: 18 Member
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    >really i dont give a rats behind what people think of me..and if i dont now, i certainly wont when i'm 80.

    Maybe not - but just as bodyweight and form changes over time, so does how we think of things. I know I view a lot of things differently now than I did even five years ago.

    As far as the tatts go, I'd say wait until the decision comes. Resist the urge to grab something off the flash on the walls of a parlour (most tattooists I know would agree with me there, even though it probably brings in a bunch of Friday night beer bucks) and really think about it.

    I was in a position where I'd pretty much decided I was going to get one - I had a design I'd been working on, I'd researched it all, I'd chosen the artist I was going to use, based on their design history and interests, etc... and then it Just Didn't Feel Right. I realised I'd been sort of influenced by a lot of other people in the circles I moved in, and that I perhaps wasn't getting it because I wanted it - so I held fire, and finally decided I didn't need it after all. I still like the art, but prefer it on my wall than on my arms. But it took me a while to realise that - and I certainly know that had I had the work done, at this point in my life I'd be feeling a bunch of regret about it. I'm a cleanskin, and that doesn't bother me, though there are certain people I know who kind of feel like you need to have one in order to be 'real' or whatever.

    Which is, of course, a crock.

    I know a bunch of people with excellent tattoos, ones that completely fit in with them, and are carefully chosen and obviously have special meaning for them. But I also know a bunch of 'scene' people who have large chestpieces or sleeves that they've gone out and bought in one hit - and have regretted later. Think of it like a pair of pants you can't take off: you better love it, 'cos you'll be stuck with those culottes forever.

    You know, unless you want to have some Goldfinger-style lasering. Or a belt sander.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    I love tattoos.....I have 7 of them right now ( but plan on getting MANY MANY MANY more ) I got my first one a few days after my 18th birthday (ankle) and then 3 more within a few months of that (1 on each shoulder and my toe) and another about 1 year after that (large one on my stomach) and still 14 years later I love them all. I have both custom and flash art tattoos and I don't regret any of them. I liked my big one best until 1.5 days ago when I got the ones you see in my profile picture (I went 13 years without getting any more since I couldn't decide on another design I liked) however I got those this past friday (may 20th) and these are now my favorite and they are my most "visable" tattoo in the sense I can't hide them as easily as the other 5 but they have the most meaning to me (symbolize my 2 children) and I wanted them to be seen so that is why I chose this placement.

    My biggest decision right now is whether or not to add color. I was originally booked in these to be full color tats and when the outline was done I told the artist I liked them as is. He said okay well lets stop and if I want to come back anytime he'll do the color.

    I honestly think all that matters is that YOU like the design and that is means something to YOU.

    I personally think your friend is just a tat hater and so no matter how cool the design or the meaning she would have the same opinion.

    Good luck with whatever choice you make.

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