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If you're new to getting tattooed ask your questions here

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Butterfly9319
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Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:26 pm

Okay here we go..... Great! You have decided to get a tattoo. Excellent. Welcome to the forum. Now please read the following, and if you still have a question, by all means post away!

NOTE: This thread was edited, cleaned up, and locked by EvilJay 02/01/2008 in an effort to condense the posts in the stickes to a more manageable and readble level. I left Butterfly9319's orginal post, as it was excellent, but added additional commentary in BLUE. If anyone has anything to add to this thread in the future, PM me and we can add it. - EvilJay - Mod

1. Minimum Age: Are you old enough to get a tattoo?? If you aren't, then either get a parents permission or wait until you are. No reputable artist will tattoo you until you are either legal or have your parents/guardians with you. If the "shop" you are going to is in your buddy's uncles garage...HE IS NOT A REPUTABLE ARTIST, you will most likley get a craptastic tattoo.

Note that tattooing in an unsterile enviroment(i.e. kitchen\bathroom\living room) is extremely dangerous, especially for the "client" See .(http://www.everytattoo.com/tattooforum/ ... .php?t=948) for more information on What defines a clean tattoo parlor. Ages vary by state. Most states are 18, some are 16 with parental consent.

2. What should I get? Have you researched your design? We can not tell you what to get, we don't know you from any other person in this world. The only person who can decide what tattoo you should get is YOU.

Your tattoo does not have to "represent" anything. It doesnt have to have some "meaning". You can get pretty much anything that can be drawn put into your skin with the right artist. Much more should go into your decision than random input from a bunch of bored internet strangers. Also, if you ask "what you should get", you're going to get a bunch of pretty outlandish suggestions....

3. Pricing: Have you asked around shops to find out how much it will cost? We can not tell you that , we have not seen you, your body type, where you want the tattoo, how much shading/color you might want, and we don't know what area you are in. Tattoos cost differently based on each artist or shop.

Artists average anywhere between $70-200\hr. All artists work at a different pace. Some will charge by the peice.Shop prices also vary by region. No one can even give you a realistic ballpark on time or price. Price Should not really be a concern, considering you will be wearing this for the rest of your life. Go for cleanliness and quality over price. Good tattoos arent generally cheap.. Cheap tattoo's arent generally good...

4. Pain: Don't ask if its going to hurt....They will be jabbing needles into your flesh...YES, its going to hurt. How much? We can't telll you, we do not all have the same pain tolerance levels.

Yes, It's going to hurt. No,it is not going to kill you. I see 90 year old women get tattood. If you're a complete pussy, don't go and humiliate yourself, but seriously, it's not that bad. Like a constant scratch on a sunburn. Pain levels and tolerances are different for everyone on any day. Addionally, some artists are just heavier handed than others. If you go in with a full stomach and a good nights rest, your session will be much less painfull... And for most people, the pain is done as soon as the needle stops. The area will be sore for a few days.

5. Can we draw it for you? Maybe, some of us are truly great artists, some of us are shitty artists who think we are great, and some of us can barely draw a stick figure. Will a great artist draw you up something and then let SOMEONE else tattoo you with it? Most likely not. Go see an artist, if they are truly good, they can draw up what you want based on your words, and if you don't like it, find another artist or ask them to tweak it until it is the tattoo of YOUR dreams.

Paying websites for designs or having someone other than the artist that is doing the tattoo draw it up is pointless. Find a great artist and have him draw up the peice he will be tattooing. If he cant draw it, he cant put it on your body. Most artists will draw the design for free with a deposit for the session. A deposit of under $100 is usually required for new customers.

6. What did you say???... Are you typing your response in that "Text" speak? If you are, we are not going to be nice to you, beacuse we are too damn tired of trying to understand what in the hell you are wanting.

serioly if u r gona talk lke this then g0 jumpi n the showr wit ur hair dryr..


7. Healing: Yes. Your tattoo will scab, flake, appear to "lose color" on your sheets,shirt, etc. You have created a gaping wound in your flesh. You body will heal itself. Keep it clean, and don't pick at it, and you should not lose any if not just a little bit of color. [/color]

Your tattoo will take anywhere from several weeks to several monthes to completly heal. Read the sticky ( http://www.everytattoo.com/tattooforum/ ... php?t=1526 ) for complete tattoo aftercare instructions. Touch-ups should only be done after the tattoo is healed, typically atleast 4-6 weeks.

8.READ THE STICKIES. We have written these to help YOU with your tattoo, we did not write these because we like wasting our breath.

The "Stickies" located at the top of each forum answer many of the frequently asked questions from the forums. Having read through these prior to asking a question that is clearly answered in the stickies will start you off much better with the regulars. The stickes are there for a reason.

Thank you, please understand this is not to piss anyone off, but reading the same posts 300 times a day is old. If you want to know of a good artist in your area, ask, we might know someone. If you want to know our opinions on your tattoo, ask, but be prepared, we may not all like it. Do you want to know other's experiences with their tattoos? Ask, we are all willing to talk about our experiences.
Last edited by Butterfly9319 on Sun Jun 03, 2007 1:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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EvilJay
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Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:12 am

dante007 wrote:how long should you wait between tattoos?
The week or so following a new tattoo, your body is trying to heal a open wound. There is alot of risk for infection, and your immune system is somewhat weakened. The more open wound area(new tattoos) you have at a time, the greater the impact of the above. In reality, if you are healthy, you can probably get as much ink as you can tolerate without an issue.. You shoudl wait 2-3 weeks minimum before working over any other work.
themouseandme wrote:I nicked my tatoo while shaving.....I'm pretty sure nothing horrible will happen to it, though. Right?
If the wound is not deeper than the ink, you'll be fine... Can you still see ink? I actually had a biopsy done on a tattoo on my arm and it didnt effect the tat, and they took a chunk of skin out. You'll probably be fine. I doubt a razor cut was that deep..
Last edited by EvilJay on Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:50 am, edited 2 times in total.
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EvilJay
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Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:12 pm

Cut from Thread:( http://www.everytattoo.com/tattooforum/ ... 45&start=0 ).
Sticky: NEEDING HELP WITH YOUR TATTOO IDEAS?
hanalotus wrote:There have been an obscene amount of postings asking for help on an idea for a tattoo or asking someone on here to draw something for them. So if you are planning on posting something: FIRST READ THIS!!!


I'm sure you are all fired up right now; you've joined this forum and near ready to post your first topic on how you need help finding internet images or just coming up with a way to put together your idea for a tattoo. But wait! Ask yourself:


Have I taken my idea to a tattoo artist yet?

Any truly respectable tattoo artist should be able to take your jumbled mix of general words and ideas and create something you could never ever hope to imagine in your little head. I know this from personal experience. Never NEVER underestimate a great tattoo artist. If they can't draw up something to your satisfaction, then go somewhere else. That is how a great tattoo is made. You take your time and work with your trusted tattoo artist to fine tune and make your perfect tattoo.

Now you might be asking:

But what if I don't have a tattoo artist yet? Can't I just get the design from someone on here or someone else's tattoo and get that?

Not having a tattoo parlor near enough to you or only having one in your general area is no excuse to be forced to get something less than amazing. Remember it is going to be on your body forever and it's also not going to be cheap. It's an investment so if that means you need to drive 2-3 hours to the next major city and go to a great tattoo artist there, then you should by all means do it. Some people fly across the country just to have a particular artist tattoo them. There is good reason for that.

If you've said these words:

I don't have a lot of money and don't think I have extra funds to give to a custom artist.

Don't worry. The cost is about the same and most passionate artists like doing custom work over regular flash pieces or tracing crappy drawings that people bring in. My particular artist ONLY does custom pieces; the flash on the wall is just to give someone a point of reference when describing what they want but he'll only draw up HIS vision of it (which is usually stunning work!)


References:

If you really feel you need to have visuals for the artist, remember that a great tattoo artist has seen and done many different tattoos and your idea might not be a hard to do as you are thinking. If you HAVE to, however, look on the internet for general pictures of what you want. If you have many different elements, just print out each element separately and the artist can put it all together nicely for you.


As for cost: you'll probably be paying a lot for the tattoo. Period. There is a saying, "Cheap tattoos aren't great and great tattoos aren't cheap."

If you feel you can't afford the tattoo you want, I know it sucks to hear this, but WAIT. Wait until you DO have proper funding. Don't try to get the cheapest price but only look into how great the artistic abilities of the artist are and how clean and sterile the conditions of the shop are. The higher cost of the tattoo and the pain are both inevitable and are what makes it so special. It's why only a minority of the population have them.

Need words or quotes? Use an online thesaurus or search classic quotation websites which are usually categorized by theme. But most of all, look into who you are. No one on this forum can make those decisions for you. If it is going to be a tattoo that is unique to you, you and you alone need to put time into what you want. Once you have the idea, it should be between you and your trusted, handpicked artist to create the design. So instead of sitting here asking for someone to draw you up something, go research local and maybe not so local tattoo artists. Once you've found the artist you trust in, you'll have it made.
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EvilJay
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Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:50 am

If anyone they feel needs to be added to this thread, PM a mod and suggest it. - Thread Locked -
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