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General tattoo discussion

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Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Tue May 10, 2005 4:20 am

Sooo, I finally got my tattoo done today.

I couldn't get an appointment with the artist that I wanted... Buuut, me being me, I had to have the tattoo right then and there.



I was in an area with a lot of tattoo parlours and had a lot of time to shop around. I walked into several and finally settled on the right one. Checked out the artists portfolio (pretty good), chatted with him for a while, and discussed my design. I also checked his health board certificate and it was inspected and approved.

So, we're 10 minutes into my tattoo and everything is fine more or less ( he had a bit of a heavy hand though), then the tattoo gun cuts off. The dude fixes it and goes on tattooing me. I look at the tattoo and see that it's not inked as densely as I would like it to be, so I tell him and he says he will fix it. Then his gun cuts off again. At that point I got pretty f**king nervous, but hell what could I do we were already almost halfway done. Anyways, to make this long ass story shorter, he managed to finish the tattoo even though the gun cut out several more times. I noticed that the tattoo is not inked all the way through (meaning you can see my flesh through parts that are supposed to be coloured in).

The artist said that he left some spaces because the ink will blur together when it heals and it will even out.

So, now I'm stuck with a tattoo that looks undone, and when the bleeding stopped and the swelling went down a bit, I noticed that some of the lines look sorta rough and un even. Looks like I definately have to get it fixed up

Ok.. Is that true about the ink blurring together and evening out? Also how long should I wait before fixing it up?



Sorry for the long post, I had to rant somewhere.
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BadWolf
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Tue May 10, 2005 7:46 am

The ink will NOT blur together and even out. Him telling you that is complete bullshit.

His mentor should have spent more time on machine tuning. But I suspect he had no mentor, or he may have had the sense to stop, and AT LEAST change machines, instead of trying to continue on with one he couldn't work with. Chalk this one up to experience, and pray a tattoo artist worth his salt will agree to fix it for you in the future. At least if he was using proper aseptic procedure, all you got was a mess...and not a death sentance.
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Tue May 10, 2005 1:16 pm

At least if he was using proper aseptic procedure, all you got was a mess...and not a death sentance.


Yup, safety first.

It also could've been much worse, at least it looks fixable.

The dude, just sort of seemed disinterested while he was doing the tattoo. Which is weird because I didn't pick up on that vibe while I was chatting with him before the tattoo.



Another question for you;

How do tattoo artists look at correcting another artists work? Do you find it insulting in any way?



Thanks for your response by the way, It's nice to see someone so passionate about what they do :)
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BadWolf
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Tue May 10, 2005 6:15 pm

Newbie wrote:


Another question for you;

How do tattoo artists look at correcting another artists work? Do you find it insulting in any way?


Depends. I have people ask me to "finish" work that is really bad. And I have no desire to "finish" bad work. I may cover it, or fix it, if I feel inclined, but I am not going to just "finish the yellow" in some real piece of shit someone's friend started in his kitchen before he died of liver problems or something, then somehow be associated with it forever.

Some of those folks come in thinking they have a real masterpiece, and when they roll up their sleeve, I recoil in horror. When I tell them the extent I will have to go to in order to make it look right, they get all pissy because they think the wobbly, blownout lines are alright, and the scarred blobs of color are acceptable....they just want the mess FINISHED...and I should, in their pea brain, be happy to do whatever they want, no matter how bad it makes me look. And at that point I invest my time into talking with someone else.

So, it is best to ask the artist what he would be willing to do. Asking isn't an insult.


Newbie wrote:
Thanks for your response by the way, It's nice to see someone so passionate about what they do :)


Thank YOU!
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Tattude
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Wed May 11, 2005 12:02 am

Newbie wrote:Ok.. Is that true about the ink blurring together and evening out? Also how long should I wait before fixing it up?


Like Wolf said he LIED about the blurring???



2-3 weeks to go over a fresh tattoo.



I know you didn't want to wait but you wouldn't be here worrying about a messed up tattoo and tattoo experience if you did. hint, hint
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CxCx
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Sat May 14, 2005 8:41 pm

what color was the pigment that the artist was apllying that he said would "blur together"? I ask this because I have a shamrock on my wrist that has three shades of green in it. I bring this up because the lime green (I think it was a millenium pigment, but I could be wrong) that was used looked non-existant the day I got the tattoo done. The color didn't fully come out until about a week after the rest of the tattoo was healed. It looks great now and still amazes me. anyone else have this situation?
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Tue May 17, 2005 2:28 pm

what color was the pigment that the artist was apllying that he said would "blur together"?


Black.



Now that most of the scabs fell off it also looks much lighter almost faded and you can actually see dots of flesh where he didn't colour it in well.



I have an older tattoo also done in black and it doesn't look faded at all.



Shit
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Tattude
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Tue May 17, 2005 8:25 pm

Newbie wrote:
what color was the pigment that the artist was apllying that he said would "blur together"?


Black.



Now that most of the scabs fell off it also looks much lighter almost faded and you can actually see dots of flesh where he didn't colour it in well.



I have an older tattoo also done in black and it doesn't look faded at all.



Shit


Shouldn't scab up bro...?

Tattoos should flake almost like a sunburn healing. NOT SCAP...

You need to take better care of you tattoos.

Yea, you need to go back to him get a touch up. Make sure it looks good before leaving and take better care of your tattoos.
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Wed May 18, 2005 1:30 pm

I'm not a bro I'm a sis :)



I took very good care of the tattoo.



Parts of it peeled off like a sunburn, but most of it turned into a thick scab.
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Tattude
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Wed May 18, 2005 4:41 pm

Newbie wrote:I'm not a bro I'm a sis :)



I took very good care of the tattoo.



Parts of it peeled off like a sunburn, but most of it turned into a thick scab.
SORRY sis... lol

Scabbing isn't good. On certain parts of the body its harder to keep it from scabbing (like feet) but it still should be hard scabs.

Hope it all works out.
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Sat May 21, 2005 3:53 pm

SORRY sis... lol

Scabbing isn't good. On certain parts of the body its harder to keep it from scabbing (like feet) but it still should be hard scabs.

Hope it all works out.


Thanks :)
Alley Cat
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Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 1:53 pm

Mon May 23, 2005 2:02 pm

Personally I would not recommend going back to the same person to touch it up....scabs are bad M'kay. They do happen sometimes but they are not desirable. Like was said...should heal like a sunburn. And remember...You may want it done now...you may want it done right...but you can't always have both. You have the rest of your life to wear it...so whats a little wait to get it done right.
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:16 am
Location: Canada

Mon May 30, 2005 2:07 pm

Oh sooo not going to the same artist to touch it up.

Going to touch it up at the end of the summer, to make sure it's completely healed and to be on the safe side (it's still peeling a bit).
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