Author Topic: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say  (Read 24352 times)

Offline djones

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #30 on: February 10, 2014, 09:36:19 PM »
 I started getting tattooed at 18, at the time my dad was a pastor, he didn't really care but it was frowned upon..and my mom had tattoos from her teen years she hated so she always told me I would regret them..so my first tattoos were all on my legs lol because I didn't wear shorts around them.my third tattoo was the beginning of my back piece so I just told them before I went to get it and I stopped hiding them then and even did an apprenticeship at a shop but decided not to become an artist...since then my parents divorced the church gave my dad the choice to take a vow to never date/marry again or give up being ordained..he gave it up..since then I have tattooed my dad, step mom, and my moms boyfriend..basically it's your body, your choice and others just have to accept it because if it's what you truly want that urge will always be there,I would rather regret the things I done than the things I didn't do ...best of luck
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Offline Viking

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #31 on: February 11, 2014, 04:29:01 AM »
Some good advice in this thread, my advice would be if you want to get a tattoo then just do it, don't tell anyone prior just do it. Maybe not go the full hog and get sleeved up but research an artist and get yourself a nice quality piece. As you have seen, you're not too old as there is no such thing as too old, I think like me you think your old in your early 30's!!

My experience was I wanted to get some tattoos since I was a teenager, my step dad had some then I got heavily into music in my later teens and the bands I was into were all ink'd up, that progressed as I got a bit older I got a massive interest in the hot rod and custom bike scenes, those guys had cool ink too and I started to think, this is something I've wanted to do for a decade so why not do it!

I guess I had reservations, what would my parents say (no one in my family had tattoo's except my step dad and he'd had his for a long time before he met my mum), surely if I had tattoos I'd never get on in life etc.... I knew my then girlfriend (now wife) would be cool with them, mainly as she shared the same interest in music, cars and bikes and more still because she loves me and it really makes no difference. I had both my inner fore arms done, showed them too my dad and he was into them, showed them too my mum and she wasn't bothered, showed them to the missus and she loved them.

As for work, the job I was doing at the time required I had to keep them covered which I was cool with, the company I work for now don't mind. The world is changing, I'm in the UK and over the last 5 years tattoos have become very mainstream, it's not criminals, sailors and bikers, it's very much the norm. In the future tattoo'd lawyers, doctors and teachers will be something no one even raises and eyebrow too.

It sounds like you've been planning it a while which is the right way to do it, I live in a student area of town and the amount of 18,19, 20 year old kids I see with full sleeves, hands and necks does kinda worry me, if I had covered myself wit the ideas I had at that age I'd have a lot of regrets now. I don't understand the rush of these kids to cover themselves straightaway, I guess it's trendy at the mo, all I know is that life is a journey and I plan to mark that journey on myself every now and then, these kids will be all outta room by the time they graduate!!

Offline Blitzed

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #32 on: March 01, 2014, 07:52:30 PM »
If you truly believe you should be an inked person, then others will key on to that. Mentally make a list of things your friends and family have done that displeased you. You're not advocating the violent overthrow of the government, you're not doins something that hasn't been done by others millions of time, you're simply allowing your self to respond to what you want and have wanted. My grandfather taught me that consider everything you do and see if, someday, you'll look back witha shrug or a sigh. If it's the latter, don't do it. I guess I must have had and old age crisis as I started collecting mine in my late 60's. Eventually I'll have sleeves, full back and probably one leg. Or I'll be dust in a mason jar; Thesse things take time.

Offline Mr Jules

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #33 on: December 04, 2014, 04:27:07 AM »
So you want to go get a tattoo and worried what other might say? In my case, couple friends' ink finally got me interested. And a friend of many years suggested the perfect design for me, which I instantly liked. Visited the local tattoo shop and they booked me an appointment the next month, given me plenty of time to change my mind. I only discussed the whole thing with friends who already had ink.

If you are worried about what others might think, then choose something discreet. I chose to have mine on my right leg calf. It's winter now and it will be many months before the tattoo will ever get seen in public !

If you have changed your appearance by shaving your head, then having a tattoo is less of a change for friends to get used to. Especially, if the ink is covered by clothing all the time.

My big issue was tattoo pain. Got quite anxious. In fact, getting inked was really quite painless. More of mild sensation or irritation. Sure there were moments of actual discomfort. But for the most part, I happily chatted to the tattooist and played on my phone. Going to the dentist far far worse !!

Really glad I got my done. Wish I had one earlier. And of course, I now want more.

Offline Semi-Sly

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #34 on: December 04, 2014, 09:34:01 AM »
Well, I got my first publicly visible tattoo when I was 59 years old.    This tattoo commemorates my career as a naval officer.  It is a Naval Officer's crest, topped by a traditional tattoo frigate, and wrapped all around with ribbons which list the various countries I have served in.

It is a half sleeve that runs from a bit over the top of my shoulder down to about 2 inches above my elbow.  So, when wearing a dress shirt, or even a dressy casual polo shirt, it doesn't show.  When I want to show m y tattoo I wear a sleeveless t-shirt.  And there are times where I really do not want my tattoo to show, (important business meetings, at church, at formal functions, etc.

My Mother first spotted my tattoo about 8 months ago and she actually cried about it.

I too plan on getting another tattoo; a half sleeve on the other arm. But I dread the conflict that this will cause with my Mom.

My Advice to you is as follows:

1.  If it is going to affect your relationship with your partner; think long and hard about it.  Be sure that this is not going to be the cause of a break up.  A tattoo just isn't worth that!

2.  Be sure that you are going to be able to handle the displeasure of your parents.  I really do understand how you feel about them - and you are right to honor them. 

3.  DO NOT just go to the first tattoo artist that you find.  You should go to at least a dozen artists and view their portfolio's before you let them ink you for life!  You can do some of this on-line.  It is also good to go to a few tattoo conventions.  While conventions tend to draw some really freaky-modded folks, they also draw scores of different artists.  They all bring portfolio's of their work and you can actually see them working.  You live in Germany right? I know that there are world famous tattoo conventions in both Berlin and Munich.

4.  In then end, do something that is UNIQUE and individual to you.  Do you really want to be just another one of 10,000 guys with a Koi fish on his arm?  Or, do you want something UNIQUE to you:  Find a good tattoo ARTIST who can help you translate your desire for a large colorful tattoo into something that is ONE OF A KIND and represents something that is really, really meaningful to you - after all, you are going to be looking at this tattoo in the mirror for the rest of your life.  Also, you want this tattoo to communicate something unique about you to whomever sees it; and you want them to also enjoy it as ART.

5.  It is good to start small - doing the tattoo in phases will definitely result in a better end product; (e.g. shoulder cap first, then chest plate, then upper arm, etc.).  And perhaps you will decide along the way that you do not want your sleeve to go down below the elbow.  But you are absolutely correct in having a plan for how the shoulder, chest plate and upper arm will be one complete piece of art when you are eventually finished.  (So many guys ran out in the 90's and got a piece of tribal flash slapped onto their biceps - and now cannot create an integrated piece of true art because that big black piece of flash is smack dab in the middle of their prime "real estate" (skin).

So my advice is that you really think this through, that you really do some research, and that you search out a tattoo artist who is both a true ARTIST as well as a technical genius when it comes to executing art in the medium of tattoo.  After you collaborate with your artist and come up with both a finished design as well as a plan on how you are going to do this in stages, then you will have something beautiful and unique to show to your partner and discuss rationally.  You won't just be getting some "big ole' tattoo slapped on half of your body - you will be able to explain and discuss the artistic and creative process with him.  You will be able to explain what the tattoo says about you and means to you.  And you might be surprised that he may be less objectionable about it then.

Offline Mike E. P.

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #35 on: December 04, 2014, 06:26:55 PM »
Randy, what a great post.  I've always been fascinated by tattoos.  And I've toyed with getting one for a long time.  An older woman (well older than me!) at work wants me to go with her to get her ink and she is trying to convince me to get one with her.  My biggest fear is finally doing it and then hating the work.  Good advice about the research necessary.
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Offline swimmerbro

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #36 on: December 05, 2014, 06:50:11 AM »
mike,
I 100% agree with what you're saying. I have such a fear that I will not like it once it's there or get sick of it after a few years.

does anyone have any experience with this?
The design I have picked out is very important to me, but it's important to me in the current stage of my life, and I don't know how I will feel about it later.
Help!

Offline Mike E. P.

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #37 on: December 05, 2014, 11:43:42 AM »
Swimmer, what's the design?
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Offline swimmerbro

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #38 on: December 08, 2014, 08:05:20 PM »
its the logo of the university where I was a college swimmer. I want it to look as if my skin is ripped and the logo was always underneath.

Offline Semi-Sly

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #39 on: December 08, 2014, 11:20:53 PM »
its the logo of the university where I was a college swimmer. I want it to look as if my skin is ripped and the logo was always underneath.

Hey Swimmerbro:

Now that is the way to do it!  You are starting off with an idea of something that is unique and deeply personal to you.  You can expand on that to make it look like you are just comming out of the water - so that the water is sheeting and dripping off of your skin - and then the "tearing skin" shows and the University logo underneath.

So now you need to go looking for artists that have experience in doing "biomechanical" tattoos, because they will have experience in doing the "torn skin" look.  You are also going to look for artists that specialize in "photo realism".  That is going to be a harder thing to find someone who is REALLY good at photo realism and not just SAY that they are good at it.

Offline swimmerbro

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #40 on: December 09, 2014, 08:14:16 PM »
really, really like the idea to have water dripping off it! I never thought of that.
I guess I'm gonna start looking for a tattoo artist...
anyone have any suggestions for artists that specialize in photorealism or biomech?

Offline DOC_OSMC

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #41 on: December 11, 2014, 06:05:53 PM »
Swimmer, where do you live?  I know a couple of good tattoo artists down here in Southern California.
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Offline swimmerbro

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #42 on: December 13, 2014, 08:35:40 PM »
I live in the lehigh valley in pennsylvania.
can anyone just talk about their first tattoo experience? I'm very apprehensive about the whole process, thanks!

Offline Semi-Sly

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #43 on: December 14, 2014, 10:45:28 PM »
There is a major tattoo convention in Philadelphia in just a couple of months, February 13-15.

Why not go up there and check out the different artists.  Look at their portfolios.  Look at some biomechanical tattoos.  As about "photorealism" tattoos.  If they don't know what you are talking about - Move ON!

You can learn a lot in a day or two at a convention.  Just don't freak out when you see some of the hard corps body modifiers who will be there.  They are just there to hook up with their friends.

Offline Semi-Sly

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Re: I want to get a tattoo but I am afraid what people will say
« Reply #44 on: December 14, 2014, 10:46:36 PM »
The website for the convention is:  http://www.villainarts.com/