Artist in Oklahoma to tattoo coat of arms?

Recommend Artists/Studios, ask for help finding the perfect artist for your tattoo.

Moderators: buttwheat, sidelvar, EvilJay, Sphenoid

Post Reply
kante
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:26 am

Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:07 am

Hey Folks!

I'm thinking about getting my coat of arms tattoed for quite a while now. Actually for a couple of years now and it's about time to finally get it done! :D

A little more background about the tattoo: My coat of arms - my family history and my roots, which are indelible - tattooed as a permanent body art which i would wear for the rest of my life... well, i think a coat of arms is just something that is meant to be a tattoo ;). But anyway, to ask my questions:

I'm looking for a good tattoo artist here in Oklahoma City. As you know, tattooing has just become legal here in OKC about a year ago. I'm afraid that there are still a lot of "artists" who just recently started tattooing. I looked at some studios' and artist's websites, but to be quite honest: Most of them don't look too good.

I already asked some friends, but most of them just seem to get tattooed because it's legal and everybody else got a tattoo. I have people jumping around me, having skulls, roses or smileys put on their shoulders, telling me how great it looks and how awesome the artist was and oh yeah: It only cost like 40 bucks!!1! Do i need to mention that most of these tattoos look like a kid draw something on them using a filt pen?

So... I guess this is probably a stupid question, but can anyone recommend a good artist in the Oklahoma area? I know i would have to visit the studios, talk to them and see their work. But maybe i can get some opinions from you guys here, helping me to find a good place.

Mike
01RedZQ8
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:11 pm

Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:12 pm

Wow, what are the chances that I join a forum right after someone else with the exact same question...unfortunately I can't help, but I'm definitely waiting for the answer...btw, where did you find/verify your coat of arms? Thanks.
User avatar
green_girl
Hardcore
Posts: 1864
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:30 pm

Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:39 am

:D The chances that two new people ask the same thing are pretty good then!

Family crests/Coat of arms are great. I like heraldry, used to dabble a bit in the SCA.

Sorry I don't have any artist suggestions. I've heard people were tattooing there even when it wasn't legal. So it seems reasonable that you should be able to find someone reasonable. Someone who works in a style you like might be another story. You might have to travel further to get the quality of work you are looking for.

How big are you thinking about going? How detailed is the coat of arms?
kante
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:26 am

Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:42 pm

Heheh...

well, the fact that people here were tattoing even when it was illegal doesn't mean that there are a lot of good artists around. Seriously, i have buddies showing me their new tattoo, being all proud and don't even realize that everything is out of proportion, the outlines are all messed up and it just looks creepy. :roll:

I'm not sure yet about the tattoo. I'm thinking getting it done either on my upper arm (the usual place to get a first tattoo :D ) or maybe on the back of my lower leg. I don't want it small though. It should be small enough to be concealable, but big enough to look great :D. If you want to get an idea about it, here you go:
http://blackmike.net/serendipity/uploads/wappen7.gif

It would be nice if there is an artist somewhere here in this area, but i'm defenitely willing to travel further if its necessary. The only thing i'm not sure about yet is the fact, that i have a lot of white color in it (silver in the picture above). By my understanding white is a difficult colour in tattoos, so i think i will go with the silverish color instead...

For those who are interested in that kinda stuff: I did a lot of research about our family history. I did find our roots and history, but not a coat of arms. Therefore i went ahead and created a "new" coat of arms. It's not just an imaginary one that i came up with because i liked the colors - it's "talking", it has a meaning about the family history. The colors are the colors of the region our family comes from. The waveform between the silver and the red stands for a river which my (and my ancestors) hometown is named of. The hook is linked to my family name. The Lion stands for the curch our family is linked to: Me, My parents, their parents and their parents have been married and baptized in that church... Well, just in case someone wanted to know ;)

Mike
User avatar
yorvo
Hardcore
Posts: 5187
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:48 am

Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:34 am

This silverish color you speak of doesn't exist. Just leave it as a negative space and let your skin show through. They could do a chrome thing using blues but I think that might be too gay. Just leave it skin.

I like your Idea. As long as you don't put it on your face you should be able to hide it.
kante
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:26 am

Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:39 am

Well, not silverisch. I ment grayish, a gray shade sort of thing. I don't know if it would look good if it's just gonna be red, black and skin showing through...
User avatar
yorvo
Hardcore
Posts: 5187
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:48 am

Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:42 am

kante wrote:Well, not silverisch. I ment grayish, a gray shade sort of thing. I don't know if it would look good if it's just gonna be red, black and skin showing through...
It will look just fine. I haven't seen much gray ink used. I have some but haven't used it yet. It usually doesn't come accross as desired. Silver will never look metallic on the skin because it needs light to reflect off it. The ink is beneath the skin so light can't reflect off it.
kante
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:26 am

Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:49 am

Don't worry about the silver, i just got it confused with gray. I know it will not work on skin. I know what you are talking about, i have the exact same problem explaining my customers why they can't have silver colors on their websites :D

Anyway, like i said, i dont have to have it gray or any other color. I want it to look as good as possible and i will see how the artist will do it. By the way, talking about tattoing: I've seen tattoos who have been filled with a pure white. The white is already starting to fade out big time... :roll:
User avatar
yorvo
Hardcore
Posts: 5187
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:48 am

Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:54 am

Cool, you sound like a smart person. Just trying to help you know what to expect. If you just go black and gray, by gray I mean watered down black it will last much longer.

You're right about white ink. IMO it should only be used as a highlight that won't be missed when it fades.
Post Reply