| Delurk(!) and tattoo design question |
Question:
I've been lurking since January, and I thought this was a good time
to introduce myself and ask for some advice.
I currently have two tattoos: a small ankle band I designed and
acquired a year ago, and a large piece on my back that extends from my
shoulders to my waist. A Japanese screen painting that I've loved for years is what the piece was designed from, and it was worth doing big. I just finished it about a month ago, and I love it. Unfortunately for my newly-slender pocketbook, I've already begun
plotting my next large work.
I've decided to go with a half-sleeve, it will end above the elbow for
convenience in covering it at work. I don't feel I'll need to hide it,
exactly but the world is *not* ready
for fully-sleeved Librarians.
I work in NYC and I already have a great artist, but I was wondering what
would be the best way to approach the design of such a large (for me) piece.
I have an idea in mind, but I'm not sure if it'll work for a sleeve. Is it
better to show the artist and see what he can do to interpret it, or would
it be better to just go in and say "No kanji, no tribal, no koi. Design
away." Is it better for the artist to be given totally
free rein, or is it safer for us both if specific desired
elements are outlined in the beginning? I know this sounds like
a no-brainer question, but I really wonder, and I want to do this right.
Also, do you find any difference between the tattoo on my right arm or my left?
Answer:
- When Cat was fairly new to tattooing he did my
backpiece - one big stencil. It was a MAJOR pain
in the ass to make and to position, and thank the gods he
got it right the first time because it would have been
impossible to do again.
In hindsight, so much better to have done it another way,
but at the time, it was the only way to go.
-I guess that depends entirely on what your artist and yourself feel most
comfortable with. It takes a lot of trust to just say "design away",
getting a tattoo of which you don't have much of an idea how it's going
to look. Trust on both sides, what if the client gets up, looks in the
mirror and says "hey, that's not at all how I wanted it" ;).
That said, I never thought I'd be comfortable with getting a tattoo that
I haven't seen before, but I'll be getting just that later
this year . I brought in a bunch of photos and jotted down my ideas,
and the tattoo will be designed on by body during the first sitting.
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