Just sat my first 3 hour session starting my full back piece. The centerpiece is a pirate girl. She runs from the nape of my neck all the way to the bottom of my back. The background will include a sinking ship on fire with a blue ringed octopus pulling it under. I’d love to post a pic, but am new here and not sure how. My profile says I’m not allowed to upload attachments. Advice?
There are two ways:
1.) Upload pics to your album, and when you view them you will see a BB code box below each one. Copy and paste that BB code into the threads, to ‘attach’ an image.
2.) Upload pics to a service like http://imageshack.us (it’s free to register) and from there you will find the BB code links to paste into threads.
Nice one – Going big is the best way to go on the back
I have known so many people that just went with a tiny peice and then madly have to figure out later how to incorporate that into the rest of their back – doh!
Looking forward to seeing pictures
You’re not going to like this, but I think it’s better to say it now because you’re just starting and you ask for advice. Hopefully these things can be fixed.
The tattooist is not very good. You need to find a better one to finish and fix. Let’s work our way down:
Her eyes are too far apart, which almost gives her a non-human outlook.
Her nose is going to turn out like crap if he continues where he’s ended.
Her lips, likewise, are going to fail.
Her hair looks like a spaniel’s ears.
Either she’s completely missing her left shoulder and collarbone, or her hair is supposed to be hiding it. With the ribbons flying so straight it is unlikely that the hair would be so far in front of her neck, so basically her neck ends at her left breast, and her left arm comes out somewhere in that mass.
Her left breast is about 3-4 sizes bigger than her right, which I guess is understandable since it’s carrying the weight of her head. Poor thing must have a hard time finding bras.
Her left knee is seriously messed up, while her right knee is better but lacking definition. Her left thigh is disproportionately thin, compared with the size of her ass and hips. She is also obviously sitting on something, but that something should be doing completely different things to her skirt. Her ass/thighs area simply does not work, and I don’t know what the hell the dress is doing back there.
Her hands are ATROCIOUS. I can’t be sure since I try to forget these things, but those may be the worst hands/fingers I’ve ever seen in ink.
What is that she’s holding? A bone-handled knitting needle that someone stepped on and bent?
Her knife is very crooked. Perhaps it could be drawn out of an equally crooked sheath, and no doubt it’s just as sharp, but she won’t be throwing it at nobody.
Your artist must never have seen a pair of woman’s shoes before.. or perhaps just never seen a woman before… either way, those shoes don’t work, and her ankles are so swollen she must have been walking for leagues. Which I guess is difficult since we’re going to be seeing an octopus dragging down a ship in the background, so either she’s on the next ship over, or on the shore. Either way, she shouldn’t have been walking too far.
@
“The tattooist is not very good. You need to find a better one to finish and fix. Let’s work our way down:
Her eyes are too far apart, which almost gives her a non-human outlook.”
She’s almost a cartoon. An abstract of a woman. That’s how I see it.
“Her nose is going to turn out like crap if he continues where he’s ended.”
Again. It’s not a real human. It’s not BASED on a real human. It’s a work of art. I’ve seen the image of it on the internet. The poster probably saw the image and decided that it was something that he wanted.
“Her lips, likewise, are going to fail.”
What gives you that impression?
“Her hair looks like a spaniel’s ears.”
Comparisons like that don’t make sense. At least at this stage in the tattoo’s life. It’s a basic outline.
“Either she’s completely missing her left shoulder and collarbone, or her hair is supposed to be hiding it. With the ribbons flying so straight it is unlikely that the hair would be so far in front of her neck, so basically her neck ends at her left breast, and her left arm comes out somewhere in that mass.”
This is going too far. Again, the hair is a basic outline. Detailed lines that define borders aren’t necessarily needed to give the artist a basic outline for the future session. Also, I’m sure LIGHT, fabric ribbons weigh a LOT less than a clump of hair on a PIRATE. Pirate women probably didn’t have shampoo to keep bouncing, light hair. Test it yourself. Hold a ribbon in the air and hold a clump of long human female hair under it and see which one blows in the wind easier. To assume the neck ends at the breast from, again, a basic start-up outline is completely ridiculous.
“Her left breast is about 3-4 sizes bigger than her right, which I guess is understandable since it’s carrying the weight of her head. Poor thing must have a hard time finding bras.”
Just because the outline of the cleavage falls short doesn’t mean the finished product will be destroyed. The cleavage line could be modified in the finished product.
“Her left knee is seriously messed up, while her right knee is better but lacking definition. Her left thigh is disproportionately thin, compared with the size of her ass and hips.”
I agree with the left knee (sort of. The way the knee works, you wouldn’t have a ROUNDED angle on a bent knee. It would appear triangular and shading would be needed, in that perspective at least.) But again, it’s not based on a REAL human. I mean, come on. There’s going to be a GIANT octopus in the background attacking a ship. Realistic-talk could go out the window after knowing that.
“She is also obviously sitting on something, but that something should be doing completely different things to her skirt. Her ass/thighs area simply does not work, and I don’t know what the hell the dress is doing back there.”
This isn’t even relevant. It’s an outline.
“Her hands are ATROCIOUS. I can’t be sure since I try to forget these things, but those may be the worst hands/fingers I’ve ever seen in ink.”
Most cartoon characters in America have 4 fingers.
“What is that she’s holding? A bone-handled knitting needle that someone stepped on and bent?”
A rose. Obviously. It’s the outline of the flower.
“Her knife is very crooked. Perhaps it could be drawn out of an equally crooked sheath, and no doubt it’s just as sharp, but she won’t be throwing it at nobody.”
The poster’s BACK is crooked, obviously.
“Your artist must never have seen a pair of woman’s shoes before.. or perhaps just never seen a woman before… either way, those shoes don’t work, and her ankles are so swollen she must have been walking for leagues. Which I guess is difficult since we’re going to be seeing an octopus dragging down a ship in the background, so either she’s on the next ship over, or on the shore. Either way, she shouldn’t have been walking too far.”
Again, I think that has something to do with the poster’s back. The ankles appear swollen, but I’m sure they’re not. Maybe she tripped and fell? All this talk of proportions and perfection quite bother me. It’s obviously a SYMBOL. Most people are trying to wear tattoos as a badge in honor of someone or something, or some thought. They’re not trying to find perfect DaVinci-proportioned works of photography. The pickiness of your post actually quite bothers me, to be frank.
I do understand you have an opinion, and that’s perfectly awesome!
It’s just that, in my opinion, your opinion (based on your idea of facts) is weak.
I just thought I’d comment on your opinion.
Is there some specific reason why you decided to create a new account on here just to ‘comment on my opinion’, instead of just commenting on my opinion as yourself?
I’m sorry you missed the (to me) obvious satire near the end, once I got down to the shoes, swollen feet and walking. The whole thing had become so ridiculous that I just had to end with a fat glob of sarcasm.
As for my opinions, you are right. You asked for it and I gave it. If you wanted people to pat you on your back (metaphorically speaking) and tell you how awesome that ink is, you should have asked for a pat on the back.. not advice. Take said advice or leave it, makes no difference to me. It’s the best I can give you.
This is a strange thread!
I agree that there are parts of the outline that don’t work but I also understand that there is A LOT of work between now and the end of the tattoo. I hope that the OP can take the solid opinions that Arnivider threw out there and just pay attention as the process goes on.
I think Arni brings up some really great points. You say that most cartoon characters only have 4 fingers but, so far, this doesn’t look very cartoony. It looks old school- and in an old school tattoo’s you really should have 5 fingers. Same with the boobs. I like big boobs as much as anyone else but they are seriously different sizes. The knee as well. These are all facts based on what you have. It’s not the end of the world and if you have faith in your artist than take note and keep an eye on it.
The big picture point here is that if you ask for an opinion on an internet forum you are probably going to get one. I think Arni’s heart was in the right place and I think you have some details to track as you progress on your tat. Make sure you keep us updated.
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