[knorl05]

thx ellievee! x

[sexysandee]

well, the best method is a tattoo machine, but if you can't get your hands on one (or don't have any experience with one), india ink would be safest, since it's non-toxic. also, if you use a sewing needle/safety pin/etc you have more control (if you're a beginner) with how deep it's going into your skin, and have a less likely chance of tearing yourself up or scarring. but you need a pretty decent pain tolerance, and patience. though stick-n-poke tattoos never look as polished as 'real' ones, there's a certain homemade charm to them, and i like mine! good luck!

I would love to see a picture of your tattoo

[ellievee]

ellie: thanks dear! once we discuss it further i'll for sure have more questions i'm sure. i suppose for now what do you think the best method is? my friend was talking about using india ink.... is that the safest?

well, the best method is a tattoo machine, but if you can't get your hands on one (or don't have any experience with one), india ink would be safest, since it's non-toxic. also, if you use a sewing needle/safety pin/etc you have more control (if you're a beginner) with how deep it's going into your skin, and have a less likely chance of tearing yourself up or scarring. but you need a pretty decent pain tolerance, and patience. though stick-n-poke tattoos never look as polished as 'real' ones, there's a certain homemade charm to them, and i like mine! good luck!

[Miss Deena]

Make sure you think long and hard about what you want and where you want it. I made that mistake when I was 18. Not that I dislike my tattoo, more the point now in later life I wish I had put in in a more ah private place. When you walk down the street and everyone stares type.

[knorl05]

ellie: thanks dear! once we discuss it further i'll for sure have more questions i'm sure. i suppose for now what do you think the best method is? my friend was talking about using india ink.... is that the safest?

[ellievee]

knorl, i have a decent amount of experience tattooing myself and others (stick-n-poke and with a machine)...
if you're wondering about something specific i might be able to help...but in general, be safe!

[grrrlyouwant]

thanks for the info ava. a friend of mine's going back to see her tattoo artist in a couple of weeks, so i'll tag along and find out what he knows. for now, i'm noticing that my first tat needs touching up a bit, so i'll get that redone when we go. and once it heals up, i'm thinking about adding some uv ink around the edges, just to make it pop. that will be the test run before i get the all-new ink done.

[sexysandee]

I got my third tattoo this weekend. It is 3 James Avery Butterflies.... one larger one and then two smaller ones that are floating above it... they represent my mother, my sister and I... If I ever learn how to post pictures here I will do so.

[knorl05]

my girls and i are talking about tattooing ourselves.... any busties with experience on that?

[avaadore]

Ok, I'm not 100% on this, but I think you can get the tattoo done in the colours you want and then they can do the blacklight over it. It will make the colour under it less vibrant though. It would be much easier to get it done with actual coloured u.v. ink (u.v. ink = black light ink) however these are usually slightly...neon-ish.

However I do know this: u.v. ink in a [i]bitch[/] to heal and can lead to infections much easier than normal ink. Same with red and white. Some people are even allergic to the colours.

The best advice I can give you is to find a tattoo parlor that does uv ink tattoo and has good experince with that kind of ink and tell them your idea. Only they can give you truly good input on this.

[grrrlyouwant]

ah ha, i knew we had a tattoo thread somewhere! does anyone have a tattoo that includes the ink that glows under black light? there's a very specific design i want to get, but i'm not sure if it's possible. basically i want a tattoo that looks regular on the surface, but shows hidden details under black light. but i don't know if the black light ink has to be the surface layer in order to glow, or if it can be hidden under other ink. the answer to that will effect how my tattoo has to be designed, so if anyone knows, please clue me in.

[knorl05]

beck: wow. that work is amazing! so detailed and vibrant. nice.

[Lindsey]

anyone here design their own tattoo?

Snow White,

I told my tattoo artist what I was thinking and told her the colors I wanted in it. I also told her to throw her own pop to it as well. She drew it out and it was perfect. She did what I asked and I loved it. My second tattoo my sister designed. She asked me if I wanted to get tattoos together and begged me to let her design them. I totally trust my sister. I went got it done and didn't even know what I was getting till the tattoo was finished and looked in the mirror. (my first is on my foot and my second is on my lower back to the right) I love what she designed and love my first one as well. Good luck with your tattoo hun!

[snow white]

thanks

[zoya]

snow_white - I think that the key is to find a tattoo artist that specializes in custom artwork. You don't have to worry about bringing in a completed drawing, because they'll work with you to design something. They can take your drawings and consult with you to refine them into what you want. My tattoo artist won't even do anything that is "flash" (ie: the generic designs that are in the books and on walls of a lot of tattoo studios you see) actually, the studio she's at is 100% custom, there's not any flash on the walls or in books (the only thing on the walls are paintings by the artists!) I'd say that if you want something based on your designs, find a studio / artist like that that specialize in custom. Besides, I think you'll be more happy with what eventually ends up on your body if you have someone work on you who's a true artist than some hack who does tasmanian devils and stuff..

all my tattoos are based on ideas I had, and my tattooist refined them. I have a bunch of different flowers tattooed on me, and I emailed her drawings and photos of flowers, and styles of paintings I liked, to communicate with her not just the actual design I wanted, but also the feel of the coloring of it.. then after some dialogue, she came up with something exactly right!

I have some words on me also.

I think that wherever you feel comfortable with it is where you should put it. Don't rush into a tattoo. Decide exactly where you want it and turn that idea over and over in your head. It's going to be with you forever, so it should be done by an artist you trust, who's work you love, on a place on your body that you can live with and be proud it's there. When I first came up with the idea for my tattoo, I thought I wanted it on my arm. After kind of living with that idea for awhile, I changed the whole thing to my back and now I have an upper back piece -and I'm really happy with it.

I think that that is the biggest mistake that people who are new to getting tattoos make - thinking they have to pick a fully complete design, and not researching tattoo artists to find someone who's art is what they like. Think about it - if you were going to have a dress made, you'd research the designers to find someone who's style you like. If you were getting married and having wedding photos done, you'd research photographers for someone who had the same vision as you for what you wanted and who would work with you. So if you're going to put some art on your body, it's a good idea to do the same as you'd do with them.

anyway, hope that helps, good luck!

[snow white]

i'm also thinking about a word tattoo but i'm not sure where to put it. anyone have a word, quote or even small poem tattoo?

and...i hope my constant questons aren't too nosey and annoying >,<

[beck]

mine are both pretty stylised - just simple outlines - the sacred heart (on my back - tramp stamp!) is black and the flowers (on my left shoulder/arm) are blue. I don't have any pics but I'll try and remember to take some and put them on here. I love all the religious imagery - if I get another, I might get a Virgin of Guadelupe...

[snow white]

i'm a little bit of a doodler and i basically want to bring some in to give the tattooist an idea of my style and what i like, i was just courious to see if many other ppl do that. i like the idea of it a little better than picking something out but since i'm not a gifted artist my own drawings only go so far, you know.

beck, both your tats sound pretty awesome, i love that sort of x-tian imagery and also plants and flowers. is your stuff realistic or stylized?

[beck]

snowwhite for my first i knew the kind of thing I wanted- a sacred heart surrounded by light, and i saw it on a tomb and got a friend to draw it out for me. the second was a really nice chrysanthemum design i saw on a flier, so i took it in and had it drawn up. my cousin has designed all his own, and they look great too.

I would definitely choose that over a flash from a book, but on the other hand, if you have a great tattoo artist then it's an art form in its own right, and they may come up with something really inspired. If I get another i might go in with a concept rather than a picture for them to copy, and see where they take it.

here is some of my tattooist's work http://www.thefamilybusinesstattoo.com/gal.../newgalleryone/

[sarasota]

snowwhite, i have a tattoo i'm about to get that my sister drew, and another one that a friend of mine drew. one is a blackbird, the other a seahorse. i have the designs worked out exactly how i want, i just have to decide where on my body i want to get them that is the hardest part for me.

my friend also has designed all her tattoos herself, and so has my boyfiend. i definitely think it is the way to go

why do you ask?