Do you have a tattoo?

[Ruskie]

rich1231 said:

My right arm. Artist lives a few miles from me.. but is in New Zealand at mo so popped over
As was literally a flying visit had it done in 3days back to back. Which was fun .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGAyHNgOFa2/

That is absolutely fantastic!!

[coopedup]

Stunning!

[missy elliott]

Usget said:

missy elliott said:

New tattoo on my thigh, fresh today.

Nice, like it. Which artist?

Thanks. Artist is Nico Dray from The World's End in Guernsey. Awesome tattooist, my second from him.

[mcelliott]

coopedup said:

Looking good, perhaps the other half could get the same, sure it would suit him!

Ah, no thanks, far too much of a wimp these days. Hope to see you in October

[Usget]

rich1231 said:

My right arm. Artist lives a few miles from me.. but is in New Zealand at mo so popped over
As was literally a flying visit had it done in 3days back to back. Which was fun .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGAyHNgOFa2/

[coopedup]

mcelliott said:

coopedup said:

Looking good, perhaps the other half could get the same, sure it would suit him!

Ah, no thanks, far too much of a wimp these days. Hope to see you in October

You tart, sure it would look good on you Looking forward to October, might have some more by then

[Tom1312]

Latest one.

[Usget]

Booked in for 20th December.

"It'll take at least two days and probably two and a half. Best if we start off with a full day session."

Gulp. I've only ever had little ones before...

Very excited though!

[ben5575]

Ha Merry Christmas! I must admit I start getting annoyed at around the 4hr mark. Arm? Back?

[80sMatchbox]

Yesterday I had the final session....so 5 months, about 16 hours later, my first tattoo has been completed. When it's healed, I'll show a photo or 2.

Intially I was booked in for the whole day on my first visit, which he said whould be about 5 hours. As I'd never had any tattoos before, I suggested we do 4. He agreed.

..and I'm glad that he did. 4 hours felt long. Yesterday I had 3 1/2 which felt long as well, ut mainly because I was expecting it to last 2 1/2..

I prefered going in on a Friday as they were always busy and a lot happening around me. The time I went on Mondays, I was generally the only person being tattooed and there weren't many distractions.

[dxbtiger]

So I'm considering my first piece, fairly small amount of Arabic numbers and two words that are meaningful to me, somewhere on one of my arms.

I'm back in England for Christmas at my parents, will be in London most of the day of the 23rd (beers that night) before heading North for Christmas day.

A couple of n00b questions please!

- Any recommendations for parlours in London? Staying in Balham night of the 23rd, meeting the wife at Kings Cross 2pm on the 24th?
- How long would it actually take ish?
- Do parlours consult on design only there and then on the day or can you discuss them remotely via say email if you have an appointment?

TIA

[blindswelledrat]

rich1231 said:

My right arm. Artist lives a few miles from me.. but is in New Zealand at mo so popped over
As was literally a flying visit had it done in 3days back to back. Which was fun .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGAyHNgOFa2/

Look brilliant.
Just browsing through his instagram, he is incredible.
Out of interest, how much does it cost to have a 3 day tattoo from him?
How does that compare with having it done by an ordinary tattooist.
I simply cannot work out why so many people have average tattoos done when there are such awesome tattooist out there.
Is it just down to cost? I can't afford a decent tattoo so I will settle for a second rate one?
I can't get my head around it

[Usget]

blindswelledrat said:

Look brilliant.
Just browsing through his instagram, he is incredible.
Out of interest, how much does it cost to have a 3 day tattoo from him?
How does that compare with having it done by an ordinary tattooist.
I simply cannot work out why so many people have average tattoos done when there are such awesome tattooist out there.
Is it just down to cost? I can't afford a decent tattoo so I will settle for a second rate one?
I can't get my head around it

A lot of it will be a pennywise approach to cost. Good tattooists will be >£100 per hour. So assuming he calls a 5-hour session a day, a 3-day tattoo would be £1500. Now personally, if I couldn't afford £1500 for something to last the next 40 years I'd save until I could... but some people would rather skimp on quality and go for the £300 option. The reduced cost would be attributable to much less detail in the design (meaning it takes less time) and the lower hourly rate of the less experienced (or more st) tattooist.

Another factor will be availability. A good tattooist will now be taking bookings for early 2017. A *great* tattooist will already be booked up throughout most of 2017, barring cancellations. It's a slow process, and some people would rather get it immediately.

A final factor may be the fact that a lot of people can't see beyond the end of their noses. Why look for a new restaurant when the local Harvester has good parking? Why look for somewhere new to go on holiday when you can get all-inclusive at Marbella for £300? Why look for the best tattooist in the country when there is a perfectly good tattooist down the road?

[Zoon]

rich1231 said:

My right arm. Artist lives a few miles from me.. but is in New Zealand at mo so popped over
As was literally a flying visit had it done in 3days back to back. Which was fun .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGAyHNgOFa2/

Has someone else had exactly the same done on their arm as well?

[ben5575]

blindswelledrat said:

I simply cannot work out why so many people have average tattoos done when there are such awesome tattooist out there.
Is it just down to cost? I can't afford a decent tattoo so I will settle for a second rate one?
I can't get my head around it

Education/laziness I suspect. Lots of people buy prints from Ikea to hang on their walls which is fine. Others will buy prints from their favourite artist. Fewer still will commission their favourite artist to produce something bespoke for their house. I can't imagine hanging an ikea print on my arm, but I very much enjoy working with an artist to develop something bespoke and then committing permanently to the outcome.

Not only is rich1231's tattoo stunning, but I suspect the designing of it, the flight out to NZ, hammering it in three days straight and flying home again was as much of a 'life event' as the tattoo itself. Or you can pop round the corner to your nearest studio and pick something off the wall. Horses for courses and all that.

Re cost, I find around £80-£120/hr seems to be the going rate for an established artist at a top studio in UK/Europe.

[ben5575]

Crossed with Usget's post

[glenrobbo]

I have no tattoos on my body, but I came across this by chance and I think it's cool.



Artist is Russ Abbott.

I wonder if I could do my own version with pastry cutters and a hammer?

Edited by glenrobbo on Monday 17th October 10:23

[Usget]

Zoon said:

Has someone else had exactly the same done on their arm as well?

[S11Steve]

Never has the phrase "you get what you pay for" been more apt than for tattoo artists.

I'm close to getting my first one, after around 10 years of thought, research and idea building, and I know it's not going to be cheap. I've settled on a hyper-realistic biomechanical shoulder design, and I'm now looking at proper tattoo artists, rather than just a tattooist.

I'm not council after all.

[Zoon]

glenrobbo said:

I have no tattoos on my body, but I came across this by chance and I think it's cool.



Artist is Russ Abbott.

Edited by glenrobbo on Monday 17th October 10:23

I thought he was good in MadHouse.