Written by a person who has obviously never been kicked in the nads by a little Japanese lady! 😀

Someone described on this board once as this:

Imagine the worst sunburn you’ve ever had, and then someone comes and scratches their nails on it.

I got my first two weeks ago and that was almost it to a tee. When I tried to rate the pain for someone who asked, I told them to imagine where your pain threshold is, that point where you don’t want…[Read more]

Looks awesome! I love japanese style tattoos. I’m thinking of doing a koi on my left arm, very similar in size to that. Looking forward to seing it completed. One more sitting only?

I don’t have as many interesting stories as my man Wardy, but…

I got my first (and only) tattoo on my birthday. I wanted to do something to recognize my kids, so I got a kanji symbol tattoo (see my profile for a pic). It has a few parts: the large symbol means “family bonds”, the three words running vertical are my three kids names translated…[Read more]

Ben, your English is actually better than most people that were born and raised here!

Sounds like you are well on your way to coming up with a great design! You’ve got a basic idea and you’ve found an artist you can trust and who will work with you. Maybe you could have the blackbird (raven?) clutching something in his claws? Dark clouds…[Read more]

Welcome!

That is such a personal topic, its not easy for anyone to give any ideas without really knowing you and what you’ve overcome. You really need to find something that is a symbol of what you have overcome or what your life is now.

That being said, there are a ton of traditional images used for overcoming struggles, one of them being the…[Read more]

Old guy just voted…

Just when I thought mine was almost healed…

Its been looking much better the last day or two, after really itching and flaking on Thursday and Friday. Then, after I get out of the shower this morning, pat it off and let it dry out for a while, it’s all cracking and dry again! I lotioned it up again, but it’s still really dry and…[Read more]

That is so cool! Talisman, you have a gift. I’m jealous that I can’t get that tattoo. It’s so unique, Wolf, that people are always going to ask you about it, and you’ll always be able to tell the story of what it all means.

That’s the great thing about the medium of tattooing: you hang that picture in your house and people cock their heads…[Read more]

Adler;96080 wrote:
I don’t have an answer as to why but with me the reds in my tattoos have always been slower to heal and seem to scab more than other areas.

I got one small character in red on mine, and it did heal a bit differently than the other black inked areas. It wasn’t really a scab, per se, but more like the ink bubbled up and…[Read more]

No, I’m not doing multiple daily washings any longer. I just wash it carefully in the shower still (I use a non-fragranced, non-scented soap all the time), and then put on the lotion. I’m still putting lotion on about 3 times a day (still a tad itchy and flaky). Not sure when I’ll stop. I’ve gotten so used to taking care of it, you know?

Cypher;95922 wrote:
Hi all,

I’ve just done my first tattoo yesterday and my biggest concern is the aftercare. So i got home, took off the bandage and washed with Dove Sensitive Skin (fragrance free) and then i let it air dry and i applied the Lubriderm (the moisturizer the artist recommended).

So i’m on my second day and already washed and put…[Read more]

buttwheat;95883 wrote:
Go to your local University and got the language department and get the translation from them. Do not trust anyone on the internet. 頭がおかしい

This could be a great idea. Or, you could end up with some snotty burn-out who gives you the symbol for “buttwheat”… 😉

Japanese Kanji is completely differnet from English, and the translations aren’t always equal. Japanese characters convey concepts, not always words like in English. For instance, one of your examples, Happiness, has six different symbols! It all depends on the context.

There are some websites you can use to help. Just google japanese symbols…[Read more]

Talisman;95735 wrote:
Good Advice

Heres a rough just to see what could be done with your current idea. Its just a matter of what style you’re after

See? What did I tell you? Ask and ye shall receive! Very nice, Talisman!

Wolf, you just got a head start for free. Make sure you let us know what you go with and post some pics. Sounds…[Read more]

That should be easy for a good artist. I’m new here, but I bet some of the regulars here could recommend a good shop depending on where you live.

Find a good artist, not just a parlor. They will listen to you, take your ideas and start designing some artwork for you. You’ll probably have to give them a small deposit (maybe $50 or more?), but…[Read more]

I got my first a week and a half ago on my 42nd birthday, and I thought I was old when I got my first! I love this thread, you guys are making me feel like a teenager! I’d love to see pics of everyone’s first ink.

As a side note, how about a poll of the oldest person here for their first tattoo?

I’m not a lawyer, but a few things to consider:
-You more than likely signed a waiver. I’d want to take a good look at that and see what your gal consented to. That might limit your awardable damages and the scratchers liability.
-Even in the case of a waiver, if you can prove fraud and misrepresentation (looks like a no-brainer), you’ve got a…[Read more]

I located a designer who was able to take a basic design he already had and incorporate my stuff. The basic design is this:

The large symbols on top mean “family bonds”. The three words going down the length of the tattoo are my kids three names, and the small red symbol means “protect”.

The designer was very good about communicating how the…[Read more]

Thanks! I was nervous as hell, but it came out fantastic! I’ve gathered here that Kanji is one step above a tribal arm band on the tattoo heirarchy, but it was a great way for me to put a bunch of concepts and important things together in one piece. Since this was my first (and probably only) ink, I wanted it to be special to me. And thanks…[Read more]