Well its going to be my first tat. I am looking for opinions and maybe some ideas.
Starting off it is going to be a 3/4 or full sleeve n my left arm, ( first tat so not sure how big to go ) I want to get a koi pond type of tattoo.
I want part of the tattoo to start off with the koi fish in skeleton form with a lot of black and gray and just a little color. Then I want it to transition into all color full detailed koi.
The meaning behind the design is kind of like don’t give up, don’t dwell on things you cant change and just live life to the fullest because one day the inevitable will happen. Seeing how koi represent luck the skeleton koi show that you can’t always have good luck but things can change.
My concern is that the black and gray skeleton parts may look un-finished compared to the full color part. Any recommendations on where / who to go to for this kind of tattoo? I am in the Orange county area.
Ideas/thoughts/concerns ?
Sleeves are a big investment in time and money, you had better be prepared to sit for many sessions and for many hours at a time. Its also not going to be cheap and could easily cost $2000 or more, depending on the artist. While im all for getting larger tattoos for your first, i wouldnt recommend a sleeve as your first.
As for the colour, the black and grey shouldnt look unfinished as long as it blends in properly with whats surrounding it. Your artist should be experienced enough to know how to put your ideas together, so i would suggest talking to him/her.
Yea I know its going to take a good chunk of time and money, which I am prepared for. However I am leaning more towards a 3/4 now.
Since this is my first tattoo I am just really concerned finding the right artist and place. I don’t want to sound stupid but the only ( I guess creditable ) artist’s I know are the people form LA Ink. ( Cory, Niko Dan )
I have seen a lot of the “mess ups” and bad tattoo pics on this forum and I do not want to be in there boat lol.
I’m not familiar with the CA counties but if it’s not too far this is the guy to see. Terry Ribera at Avalon II.
http://www.avalontattoo.com/terry.htm
i like your approach to getting your first tattoo, kudos to you. if you have the patience and want to go to one of the best neo japanese artists in so cal jess “hori-yen” yen from my tattoos in alhambra is the man to go to. i am starting a full back piece with him in july and already have an in-progress leg sleeve with him. check him out.
I have loved tattoos for as long as I can remember. Out of respect for my parents ( mom ) I never got one. However I am 28 now and do to some recent unfortunate MX crashes I have decided that she now needs to respect my decision. I always said when i get my tat its not going to just be 1 tat, it needs to be a nice piece of art that flows.
Thanks for the links, there are so many good artist’s out there it makes it really hard!
I have been liking Kirk Alley’s work lately
http://www.myspace.com/fkirkalley/photos
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