I'm planning at trip next month to Saint Louis to see a friend, just kick it, and watch my woman run a half-marathon. For a long, long time I've wanted to get a tattoo, and it's always been one in particular, but I just haven't done it. I'm thinking about doing it on this trip. The one I'm thinking of getting is just a series of letters (WEMANIKE) across my back, so I'm searching around for font types.

Then I got curious about the good ol' Lanys community. I'm sure plenty of you have tattoos that you're proud of.

Do you have any? Care to share? Pictures would be spectacular. What does it mean to you? Why did you get it? Do you regret it? Have a tat that you've been thinking about getting but haven't done it yet? Opinions on the best spot for a tat?

Maybe I'll steal one of your ideas.

Fleshy spots are best for tats. Avoid bony areas like the ankle, wrist, sternum, hip, etc. Even your shoulder blade can be a bit more painful, though I've seen guys go through long sessions without even wincing. Just depends on the person.

I'd recommend starting with something small and deciding 1. whether you like having a tat and 2. whether you are comfortable during the procedure. If it's on a relatively painless spot (upper arm is typically the easiest) and you're fine with it, chances are you can get a larger one with little problem. If the experience is one of the worst of your life, you may want to reconsider that sleeve concept you were working on.

I'll post a couple of pics later.

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My cousin got SIMON done in old english across his back and he said it was the most painful tattoo he's ever gotten (he has two full sleeves, neck, some on legs, etc). He said he had to be held down during some of the thin areas of the shoulders and along the spine.

Just a warning.

Old English? Please don't be that guy. Even if they're running a special on Old English because that's all the artist knows how to do, stay away. It's such a damned cliche.

I've got one on my shoulderblade and another on my upper arm. Neither one hurt much.

My only piece of advice is to research the artist you are going to have do the work. Look at their portfolio (especially if they include pictures of the tatts AFTER they've healed) and if possible talk to some of their customers. One of my tattoos looks like ass (one on my arm) because it was done by an apprentice who insisted on arguing with his girlfriend on his cell phone in the middle of it and the other looks perfect and was done by one of Lanys' tattoo artists while he was in Texas for a convention.

I'd give my left nut if I could get him to make a trip to Florida to do the cover-up on my arm (or if I could find his number so that I could schedule a time to come up to where he is and get it covered...hint hint if you're reading this).

As for my next tatt, it'll be the cover-up. I plan on getting religious ornamentation that will almost be a short sleeve (and not that pussy short sleeve that doesn't go under the arm).

What's a cover-up?

I have one around my belly button =)

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"Creating Havoc and Pie Since 2001!"
My Website: http://www.anthonyhays.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cakvala

A cover up is a tattoo that covers up another tattoo.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Where da pics at....

Tats are pretty trashy imo. Some people can pull it off, but the number of bad tats far outweighs the others. I'd /veto a tat.

I am completely in the minority in today's society. Don't want one, won't get one, never will get one, no interest/desire in one, etc etc etc.

I used to hate them with a passion, but sooooo many have one now that I just /shrug. Doesn't appeal to me, although someone who has a lot told me once that "it is a form of personal expression, just like what clothes you wear or what haircut you have". I guess I see that perspective, although they are just so... I dunno... forever. I can change my shirt if it is ugly, but a design on the arm? That is basically staying...

I just know I won't get one, and will never have one.

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That's why you don't get tattoos for style. You get them because it means something to you. Things like memorials/homages, club or group symbols, family names, etc.

As they become more socially acceptable, more people are going to get and give shitty tattoos. So as is stated earlier, do your homework on the artist. Visit them while they are working one day, or just talk and get to know them a bit. Some tattoo artists are picky about who they ink and won't just go drawing dumbo or winnie the fucking pooh on any douchebag that walks in.

If you're looking for the latest craze when shopping for a tattoo or tattoo artist, you're already going to regret it. But that should be obvious.

Arm bands anyone?

I'd agree with this sentiment for the most part, but only because it seems that most people do not give proper consideration to the tattoo or the artist.

Before you pick a location or design, you need to take into account how it will look on you. Size, shape and color of the area to be tattooed are all important factors that a good artist can help you with while designing the tattoo.

My biggest pet peeve with tattoos are the people who get tattoo after tattoo without any regard to how they look together. You need to plan that shit out.

I would never get a cookie cutter tat, never, ever. My requirement has always been that any tat I got would be unique to me, very personal, and obscure to those who don't know me.

You should get a penis tattooed around your forearm.

I'm afraid of what you mean by that...

I saw what you did there.

Yeah I don't know how you could mistake tattooing a cock on your arm for anything other than a penis but I had to edit it for clarity.

Surcam I have 2 tattoos and can help point you to a good studio here in St. Louis. I would recommend going to Trader Bobs on S. Jefferson they do some excellent work and are extremely clean.

Had this one done by Trader Bobs back in August.


Had this one done in El Paso about 13 years ago.

Same, pretty much. I don't quite get the appeal, and they still seem tacky to me. It's not the same type of expression as a shirt(though, hell, I'm not one to wear tacky or super-message shirts either) because of both the lengths you go to get them and because it's a more permanent way of making a statement.

All the proof I need that I love someone is right inside my head if I ever need to be reassured. Same goes for any ideology, or any group I belong to. I guess I don't see the need to tell the world about it, or have ideas/love made into a physical printed thing.

But, like Cicely said, more power to people that get em. It doesn't really bother me even if I don't see the point.

Thanks for the tips and the pics! More pics!

Got the outline done on my halfsleeve about 2 weeks ago. I go in for the shading next weekend. I also have 8 more, all of which mean alot to me; tattoo's are nothing short of addicting. It also doesn't help that I'm here in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and there's nothing better to do than to drink beer and get ink.

Edit:

Here's the other arm. (Yea, gotta have the moto tat.)

If I ever get around to getting one it will be a colombian red tail boa saddle pattern sleeve on my right arm.

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Marauder Harabakc Goat

My girlfriend had this done at Trader Bobs same time I had my Khorne symbol done.

cameltoe lol

joxur made me lol for real

No "tats" here. They are retarded. I could try to find some PC way of putting it.. something that wouldn't hurt feelings.. but the fact of the matter is -

They are fucking retarded and I have to question the judgment of the people that get them.

One of those things I don't really care about much - they are great signals to people though.... "Oh, look, barbed wire around his bicep... so I guess he's that guy".

I remember my ex-wife getting a big-ass dragon on her thigh when she was in Bosnia when she was about 19. I wonder how that "tat" is looking now that she is about to hit her mid-30s and 3 kids later.

Save yourself some money, humiliation and regret and just buy a funky hat.

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Jox! Hahaha!

Wakka: Please tell me your girlfriend knew what you were doing with that photo...

She knew and sorry the pics were so big.

It's not so much that they were big, it's that I was seeing your girlfriends cameltoe.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

added a little contrast

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Got mine about 10 years ago or so. It's kind of a dork tattoo. For a while as a teenager I was a CB radio aficionado and my "handle" was Evil Jester. Then later it was my login name for bulletin boards and my email address. Some of my older friends still call me EJ actually. The art was something a friend emailed me once because she said it made her think of me. I liked it and had it done a while later.

The phrase under it, though, meant more to me at the time than it does now. I'll probably get that part covered up eventually, as I've decided that writing cliches on myself isn't nearly as meaningful as it seemed when I was in my early 20s.

I have a tattoo.

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Lots of people do (myself included, although I wish I didn't).

I went through a phase where I almost got a tattoo. I had it designed and everything. I went to a guy in Cleveland who is supposed to be "one of the best" and he quoted me $500. That cured my desire and I thank goodness I didn't do it.

Went to college with a girl who got a tattoo of a spider web that spiraled out from her belly button. She was 19 and proud of it.

I can only imagine what a full term pregnancy will do to that though. But then, I don't think many tattoos look so good as one gets older.

My point exactly.

Is it a frog on your ankle?

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Hey Zat, I actually like yours. If you cover up "Never Give Up".. why not replace it with "never surrender!"??

Nope. And I'm not sure how that would be 'your point exactly'. I have no problem with people having the OPINION that tattoos look 'trashy', or whatever...there are still some people who highly dislike them. That's not even close though to 'questioning the judgement of people that get them'.

If something like a tattoo makes you question someone's judgement...it's not the tattoo that's retarded.

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Draagun calling someone trashy is like me calling someone a smartass.

I think he's suggesting that people who get tattoos have questionable judgment and are possibly retarded.
He suggests you have questionable judgment and possible retardation.
By getting a tattoo, you reinforce his opinion that people with tattoos have questionable judgement and likely chromosome miscounts.

At least that's how I read it, hope that helps. /shrug

While I certainly disagree with him, I think he means that the decision to get the tattoo was bad judgment, and that someone who would make such a bad judgment perhaps has questionable judgment overall.

Also how I'm reading it, I'm hoping I'm reading it wrong.

And Fribur, even assuming that we can state that getting my tattoo was bad judgment (and since I don't discuss the circumstances publically he certainly doesn't know)...but let's for the sake of argument assume it was...

how does what I had done at 19 have any bearing on the person I am at 37 today? That's just ridiculous.

It's akin to me saying 'Anyone who's been divorced on these forums clearly cannot manage a relationship, and therefore must have poor relationships in EVERY aspect of their lives'. Even MORE wrong would be me making the statement that because I have NOT had a divorce *I* must be better at relationships than ANYONE here who HAS been divorced.

Such a statement would, I assure you, be factually wrong. In my specific case, personal romantic relationships are an area in which I've struggled and have made some extremely bad choices, some of which I have remarked on a time or two on the forums.

Simply because I've not been divorced doesn't make me 'better than'. Nor do my problems in that area mean that I do not give good advice in that area (sadly I do, I just struggle with my own, yes yes physician heal thyself and all that ;D ), nor does it mean that I make bad choices in other areas of my life.

Such black and white thinking is just unbelievably stupid. I know you don't share it Fribur, probably more than most people here you believe in the ability of individuals to change..so it's not directed at you. Just Draagun and other people who think that way.

I mean we're all judgmental so I'm not bitching about that, but to come to such sweeping conclusions on such a small thing...wow.

And now I WANT to go get a small frog tattooed on my ankle. Seriously.

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Sky's been quiet lately. Draagun's been beefing up the douche. Coincidence?

I got my tattoos not for anyone else but myself. I will never get anyone's name tattooed on my skin not even my kids. If another person with tattoos notices mine for what is art on a human canvas great but if not no big deal.

Ah Tarot, you took all the fun out of my post. I at least made myself laugh

In all seriousness, I think tattoos are mostly pointless. In general, there are only 2 reasons I can think of to get a tattoo:
1. It looks cool
2. You have a undying, permanent commitment to something and you want to prove it

I was going to do it for reason #1, but decided it was dumb and permanent (and expensive). So I didn't.

If you're doing it for reason #2, I would wonder why you feel the need to prove the commitment in such a way. But ultimately, it's not my place to care.

If someone gets a tattoo in a concealed area, then oh well - it's cool and freaky for them, great. I just think they'd be better off doing something else.

If someone has a visible tattoo, I can't help but question their decision making skills.

That's all for me. Ink up.

there are a lot more retarded people in the world than i thought

fucking jerkoffs

I largely agree with you Orme, except regarding visible tattoos. It truly depends, and today it's largely not a big deal. In areas where it can be a big deal, there's generally work arounds. One thing I'm actually doing atm as a side side side business is removing tattoos from pictures (picture sets used for commercial purposes) because the tattoos can be problematic. So in that industry it's easily masked/removed, and most people can hide them.

When you see OFFENSIVE tattoos in places that cannot be hidden, or facial tattoos, it's often criminally related. Not always, but since it's so prevelant as a criminal thing (drug related, prison, gangs, etc.) it has a highly negative connotation and people will react to it as such.

Is that penis tattoo even real? I can't imagine why someone would get that, it looks fake/photoshopped. :lol

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i dunno but be careful when you go to google image search and put in "penis tattoo" with your blinds in the living room open. DOH!

Oh jesus, I once had safe search off on google and I forget what term I looked up...but it popped up granny porn.

CANNOT UNSEE

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I have the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware on my back, in full color. It is a complete back. It took months to complete and cost me thousands of dollars. It is my pride and joy and brought me more pleasure when it was completed than anything else I have ever done.

More pleasure than your first epic mount in wow???

LOL @ YOU

damn you are EZ

Huh? You wanted to be funny, so I gave you your "LOL!"

Tarot, your response to me is exactly the kind of response I sometimes have with people who are like, "people who are convicted of a sexual crime will never change! Burn them forever!"

isn't that pretty much a general rule of thumb for like 90% of convicted sexual predators? regardless: tattoos are stupidddddd

He didn't say sexual predator though, he said people convicted of a sex crime...a group of people who have some of the lowest recidivism rates in the United States.

http://www.csom.org/pubs/recidsexof.html

nearly half isnt "some of the lowest"

and whatever i meant sexual offender