Ink Slingers

Silver · 06-21-2008, 12:00 PM

Greetings Gentlemen and Ladies

I searched the Forum and could only find one thread about Tattoos!

As I didn't want to hijack that one I decided to start a new one that everyone could join in with.

Those of you who do have ink, why did you do it?? Are they specifically symbolic to you, do you have "club" member ones? Were you drawn to the artwork? How many of you came at it from the historical angle??

I know ink isn't for everyone, so all viewpoints are good to share. I have 4 tattoos so far, only 1 I have a photo of though.

JimmyH-AD · 06-21-2008, 12:58 PM

Nice tattoo you have there. I guess the devil made me do it. When I am asked how many tattoos I have I always say one, it just isn't finished yet.

Here is a photo of me laying one on a happy customer.

Akady · 06-21-2008, 01:54 PM

I have one. Got it this past november while in Japan. We went to the Ghibli Museum and it was one of the first times in my adult life that I truly felt like a child again. So I got a tattoo to remind me of that feeling. It is on my left foot and is dire need of a touch up since I haev very tough skin and a good part has fadded. Here is a picture from when it was fresh.

Side note: got it on my foot cause it was one of the smallest places on my body (Size 16US and I am 2 meters tall) and all I could afford was a small tattoo. I originally was planning (and still am) to get one on my back and another on my thigh.

The first few pictures are from the museum and the area where you could take photos, and then there is a fresh and a slightly peeled picture of the tattoo. well they dont want to load right now so I will try later

metalhead · 06-23-2008, 03:25 AM

sup dude I have about 10 tats and 16 piercings I did just because i enjoy it. Now a few of them have an actual meaning like the dog on my stomach my wife drew for me and was laughing as she said it was a "portrait" the dagger on my chest is a "club" so to speak the rest are just for fun i liked the designs they i guess you could say called out to me. my favorite i would have to say is my chin piece

crichton · 06-23-2008, 03:41 AM

I think they are the ultimate form of self-expression.....or pretty damn close anyways! I have two full sleeves which took about 18 years all told to finish as well as a tribal piece on my right thigh, one on each shoulder blade and one at the base of my neck. Most people think I'm crazy, but I like them and that is all that counts as far as I am concerned. Many of them were drawn by myself, or friends and I even have one that my son drew for me. A good friend of mine that I grew up with did most of the work, but I did some of the stuff on my left arm (I'm right handed), including some coloring and shading.

foundlingofdollar · 06-23-2008, 03:51 AM

This was my first one. It's on my left shoulder. The picture is while it was still fresh, so it's a little red from blood in the ink.

This was my second, on my right shoulder. My wife and I each got this one on our first anniversary.

Here it is on Lisa.

That's it for now, I have 2 more in mind, but sadly they take $$$. Now I have RAD, and my other hobby, contact juggling, competing with ink for money.

[edit], I can't seem to link straight to the pictures from Facebook, so here are links to them:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

[/edit]

wopmanfixit · 06-23-2008, 04:07 AM

I have 2 tats. They're both close to 30 years old (I had just turned 18 when I got the first). Why did I get them? To be honest I really don't remember. I ran with a pretty tough crowd in those days. When I got mine the social stigma connected to tatoos was still vary negative, not like today. It used to amuse me how peoples perception of me would change when they found out I had Tattoos. Aside from thinking they were cool I think it was a way to establish myself as a idividual. Am I sorry I got them? Not in the least.

Akady · 06-23-2008, 06:01 AM

Lets try the whole picture thing again.

Spike J · 06-28-2008, 10:57 PM

I've got 8. All of which I drew myself & took to various tattooists at points over the last 18 years.

My first was a pentagram on my right upper arm, paid for by my grandfather "to protect me out amongst the heathens"

when I was 18. (I come from a very old Welsh pagan family tradition.) Next was Idris, inked by Alex Binnie, a fire breathing dragon on & around my left shoulder & upper back. Back to the right shoulder & more work around the pentagram to turn it into a quarter sleeve. My ex's name on my arse & feather to mark our marriage on left front chest. They are up for covering when £££ permit

. My daughter's name drawn into a flower below. The next two are on right forearm. The lower says "Diabetic on Insulin", because I am!!! I have lost count how many medical tags I have lost over the years. The other, which Silver also has, looks like a fish, but isn't...

Then I've got falcon talons on top of my left shoulder. All of them are in mostly black tribal with touches of purple, red & green.

Future ink? Definitely, when funds permit & find an artist I like locally. I've got two intertwined snakes drawn up & ready to go...

Oh yes & seven, soon to be eight, piercings

Pics to follow

DMcLean · 06-29-2008, 05:17 PM

I have one on my upper right thigh, running form the outside across the front. Simply reading "Carpe Diem".
To me it was to help me remember my past whilst encouraging my future.

Daniel

sno · 06-29-2008, 08:12 PM

i have a couple of roses on my left thigh that Bob Darling designed. It says "Tigrae's sno". The red rose is in full bloom and dripping a single drop of blood onto a white rose bud. It's about 5-6 years old and i've never regretted it. As soon as funding and artist permit, i'm getting the fire kanji on my neck, a dragonfly on my lower back, i'm thinking of "Daddy's girl" intertwined with a blue rose bud for my right thigh and another kanji on my right ankle. All of course are symbolic and mean something to either myself or both of us. i've always wanted a tattoo, it just took me a while to find one that meant something to me. i don't think one should just go out and get one just for the heck of it. i believe it should have meaning and if no one else gets it, oh well!

Philadelph · 06-29-2008, 08:53 PM

I've got a couple. I choose an artist really specifically when I do. I don't like half assed tattoos if you know what I mean. I love them but it takes me a while to decide on a design, plus I am EXTREMELY picky about artwork and style so I can't just have anyone design my stuff. This one is my left hand holding one of my first restos. It wraps around my arm somewhat, especially the scales (not visible here). This is right after I got it. I think it looks better now that it is more faded/blended.

Mike_ratliff · 06-29-2008, 10:51 PM

I have a back piece that is a work in progress, and will eventually be a collage of events and characters from some of my favorite books...
No picture of that as of yet, as much of it is still in outline, and it is an ever changing piece of art.

However I do have a tattoo I can show you. It's called a Dark Mark, and yes for those of you who are in the know, it's on my left forearm...

It's done in black light ink... The picture on the left was taken when it was about a week old, the one on the right was taken under a black light... No photoshop here, that's what it really looks like.

This is it when it was almost fully healed, you can't see it at all right now unless you have a black light.

CactusBob · 06-30-2008, 07:55 PM

I have a Tiger on my right arm, this one I got many years ago in Spokane at a place called Tiger Tattoos. The Artist loved tigers as well and said he drew this one when he was young and at the time I was the only one he'd inked it on. I will get sno to take a pic and post it later. Down the road is some more most likely for my kids and grand kids. Just figuring out the designs right now.

Bob

Spike J · 06-30-2008, 11:07 PM

Here's some pics...

Couldn't get the one of my dragon to come out though

chief · 08-06-2008, 01:49 PM

I have a sleeve (with a Sacred heart, flames, musical notes, flowers) on my upper arm, and a chain of stars going from there on over my shoulder and ribs towards my belly.

And on my lower leg is my most recent one (obviously in multiple shots):

from now on I'll stick to the oriental style... next up other upperarm and backpiece.

I like tattoos.

Mike7120 · 08-06-2008, 03:11 PM

I got my first tattoo this June. I drew it up myself and had an experienced tattoo artist put it on me. This piece is very symbolic. My great grandfather, who I was very close to passed away last year and this represents him and his struggle. He was born in Ireland and migrated here in the early 20th century. He was a boxer, a football player and coach, and a successful buisness man. He was a strong man, both physically and mentally and went through a lot in his life.

These pictures were taken the day after I got the tattoo so it looks a little weird. My leg is very swollen and leaking.

jockeys · 08-06-2008, 03:32 PM

I have two so far:
a dragon on my spine between my shoulder blades, that I got when I was in college, to commemorate someone important that I lost, and my wife's name in the alphabet of the magi on my right ankle.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/magi.htm

also have 5 ear piercings, but have let me tongue piercing grow in at my dentists recommendation.

will most likely get other tattoos down the line, but for permanent body mods I have a rule that I follow: I write down what I want, size color location etc. one year later, if I don't think it's totally lame, I declare that the design has passed the test of time, and get it done. so far, only happened twice

and I'm not the sort of person to get ink done just for the sake of having it done. when another design comes across my mind, I'll probably get it done, just haven't been able to think of anything recently. also, I will only have one done in fall or winter, for practical reasons.

OLD_SCHOOL · 08-06-2008, 03:32 PM

I have 2 ATM one that an artist fudged up by trying to do it freehand. The other, I had done at a different studio where the artist kinda did a carbon copy onto my arm, then inked it, I was pleased with the results. There are days I am happy with my tats then there are days when I kinda wish I hadn't done it.

I have designed a tattoo that represents a very historical moment in my life, but my wife refuses to let me have it. For now I am humouring her, but I will have it done sooner or later.

Why do I get them? I just love the feeling when its being applied.

holli4pirating · 08-19-2008, 10:21 AM

I'd like to get this done, but I'm a little uncertain about the location (I'm in grad school to be a high school teacher). I know that if I was to get a tattoo, this is what it would be, but I'm waiting till I'm 100% certain that I want it. In the mean time, I just draw it on now and again to see how it feels.

(Please excuse the redness, not really sure what that was, but it disappeared a day or so later).