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Hey folks. I'm so very excited on November 3rd I'm finally getting another tattoo! A set of stars between my shoulder blades along my spine, with my son's name and birthday written in the stars. The end result will hopefully look like this but coloured.



But in my excitement I began to wonder how many of you have tattoos? I love them, they are an art form in their own class, and could spend hours watching someone get inked lol. So share you pics (providing they're forum appropriate of course), stories and descriptions!!t

When my mum died back in '09 I got angel wings tattooed on my back. She always had a fascination with angels and spirits, and I had always wanted a tattoo so I thought it would be a good way to remember her by. I don't have any good pictures of it to show though!

I've been tempted to get a tiny one of the Stargate symbol for Earth for years, but can't pluck up the actual courage to get it done because I do not like needles.

Six.
The USMC Aviation Ordnance symbol on my left bicep, along with a tattoo with my father's initials, some text, and the Japanese kanji for 'Father'.
Right bicep has the Universal Power Symbol (think power button) and a tribal design around a Superman S (yes, picked from a wall, but with great purpose and deliberation)
On my back, I have a small set of life sized fangs (just the teeth, no mouth), and a Celtic cross.
I have several others planned, including a rib piece of the 1930's King Kong fighting the airplanes atop the Empire State building, a hand grabbing a koi with the words "Carpe Deim", The entirety of Robert W. Service's 'The Cremation of Sam McGee', a design upon my back that will incorporate my favorite Gandhi quote, and down my spine I plan on having something that integrates the twelve points of Bushido with the twelve points of the Scout Law.
Not to mention anything stupid I might decide to get.

I have one on my lower leg, dedicated to my best friend who died a few years ago. I'm currently a hibernating cavewoman (aka I need to shave), but after that I can share a picture! The ones I have at the moment are mostly from when it was still fresh and healing.

This is my first and currently only tattoo. I'm planning on getting at least five more. I have a custom drawn woman/sun to go on my shoulder behind the wolf; the word "transform" down my left side; one that says "Don't Split the Party"; circles on my right wrist and an Elephant on my left wrist with the date of my wedding on it.

Plus, if/when I have kids, I've got a symbol for each of the names I've chosen that will go on the right side of my back.

Vintners: that sounds like a an awesome piece, with great meaning

Disducibus: I'm squeamish with needles too, but tattooing needles are different feeling. Plus they are going fast enough that they can't be seen. If you can deal with the sting from a bee, you should be able to handle the tattoo. Plus I like your idea

Sanne: I remember that. I loved it Did it heal up good?

Jay: I love you ideas, especially the one for Sam McGee. Sounds like your going to be a collector

Lily: yours is great. And the idea for the woman and the sun will loon amazing when done.

I realized I've never included a pic of my first tattoo. I have the symbol for infinity on my left wrist. I don't have a pic in my photobucket but I do have one on my Deviantart account. link

I do not have any tattoos Just haven't had the means to get them yet, I want one though! Looking at all the stories on here just makes me want one even more!

I know it's not me, but I have a story about my mom's tattoo.

One saturday, I get up, and my mom is getting ready to leave. It wasn't her shopping day and normally she invites me (but I'd usually decline unless I had plans with Strangedisease). I ask her where she's going.

"To get a tattoo."
"Sure mom. A tattoo."

When she gets back several hour later, she's limping and I FREAK out. And then I notice the bandage on her leg.

"You... got a tattoo?"
"Yep!"

She got a picture of Mickey Mouse on her ankle. She's always been a fan, but my granny was born the same year MM was created. So, since she had died earlier that year, my mom manned up and get herself a tattoo.

My parents paid for the tattoo I got, plus later on gave me $50 towards one, but I didn't even up using it.

I have a half sleeve of a wizard with a dragon on my forearm wrapped around a phoneix in fire. Need one more part to finish up the half sleeve fully.

I have a wolf and moon with tribal on my left shoulder.

I have my dog tags, and Medical Casuda, As I am a Army Medic right now, around my neck with a eye clasp on the back.

Currently working on a full sleeve idea.

I don't have any tattoos, but my older brother does (3 or 4, I think?). The only one I remember off the top of my head is a Celtic cross on his upper arm, but I can assure you that every one he has did nothing but tick my dad off back in the day when he got 'em. xD

I could never get one because I am terrified of needles, but on the other hand a couple of characters of mine have 'em. Not much, probably because I'm not big on 'em, but they exist.

I've got a stylized question mark on my upper back that I got a little over a couple years ago now. I've long planned on getting more tattoos, love them and feel almost naked without the ink I know I'll eventually have, but I'm extremely picky about design and timing. I feel I must design them myself and that they must be very symbolic to my personal life - almost as though I must "earn" my ink by passing mental rights of passage. I do have one in the works right now, as I feel I'm going through a very significant transition in my life, but finances are in the way for the time being. x)

I feel the same way Tailbone does. Ink is really important to me and the time has to be right. I currently have "guardian beast" transliterated into Norse runes on my forearm and an elk skull with the antlers turning into branches on my upper arm. Eventually the rune one is going to be covered up in favor of the same thing, but larger, on the inside of the arm, and actually in the old Norse language (not just transliterated). That will be a half sleeve with scales. All that needs to be done by Sarah Frary no matter the cost. Then my upper arm one needs color eventually, but I'm not super happy with how thick the lines came out, so I'm not sure if I want to dump more money into it. Next I'm going to get Aegishjalmur on the inside of my other forearm. That one is a-coming soon.

Loki: I understand the means part. I've been waiting so long for mine for the same reason.

lily: that story sounds familiar lol my mum got a big tribal butterfly on her lower back (aka a tramp stamp) she was like I got a tattoo and I looked at her like she had two heads, and she showed me it.

SilverWolf: they sound wonderful. I like the dog tags.

Copper: hahaha!!! My dad tried that when I was 18 and started to really get into tattoo. I recall laughing, and telling him that he didn't have q choice, it was my body, and that he was a tad hypocritical as he has a bunch from when he was in the navy.

Tailbone: hmmmm, that sounds like a cool tattoo. I realized with what you said it likely has meaning to more than just being cool. However I really like your reasoning for your tattoos, I was talking with an artist when mum went for her second tattoo he had these markings inked on his chin, and after asking about them he explained that those markings come from tribe (for the life of me I can't remember the name) and they are put on boys when they achieve manhood. He then said I've been running his shop successfully for two years, I'm getting married in a month, my first child is due in 7 months I feel like I've become a man. Turns out he also did them himself, lol I asked him if it hurt and he said yeah cuz I was bouncing the gun off the mirror. Lmao.

Hemidall: I see why you want Sarah Frary to do your work, she's amazing. As for your elk skull with the lines to thick, a good artist can likely fix it if given he chance.

I'm looking into getting inkwork done. At least on my right arm. I want to get a thick black band around my forearm, with a smaller black band located just a inch or a half inch away, with a series of dots lining both.

I really like single color banded tattoo's, but currently I am unable to get one for one reason or another. Still though I'm going to keep looking into it.

I only have one myself; the Kanji for Fox on my right wrist. But I always want more. Problem is I try to deisgn them and end up hating them before the art is finished. I did however design my brother's Green Man tattoo

I know. When I get it colored, the colored inks can be layered on top of the black and it'll actually help with the shading, I think. My main issue, I think, is I haven't been arsed to actually find someone who I trust to shade it. For my current two designs, I drew them and had them stenciled onto my skin... but you can't do that with color.

Fox... that greenman is amazing.

Thanks Heim! This was the Original Design but the artist he went to was like.. Uh.. Too many lines. *revamps!*

I'll be honest. I want one so bad but I'm scared to get one.

I've got an idea of what I want though- something incorporating music notes. Music is so important to me- I couldn't survive without it. So I'm thinking something small, somewhere it won't hurt so horridly badly or won't take too horridly long. Yes, like I said- big ol baby here. I have toyed around with the idea or getting some small music notes behind my ear since I keep my hair short (which is currently blue, BTW! LOL). Apparently, it'll only take a few minutes, but that's still scary to me because it's on my head... so I've been thinking about other places too. And I'd have to find someone to draw something up for me because I don't want to just pick something off a wall.

If you want the 'least pain', it should go on a fleshy area. My tattoo is part on the fleshy side of my lower leg and the closer the artist got to the front of my shin, the more it hurt.

Still, it's not 'end of the world' kind of pain. To me it felt like being pinched continuously. It was just really damn annoying.

Did you know cursing a lot (using bad words I can't post here ) helps to subdue pain? If you explain to the artist you'll be dropping a lot of f-bombs and c-bombs all over the place they surely won't mind.