Cover-up advice/suggestions

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Moderators: buttwheat, sidelvar, kohlhaas, EvilJay, Sphenoid, SharpTattoos

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OBjuan
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Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:29 am

What's up y'all? New guy here (first post). I'm looking to get my very first tattoo (from 22 yrs ago) covered up. My little fish skeleton is about 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. I pretty much want to get my entire shoulder done. I want a koi similar in style to my dragon (which I'm getting finished soon). Black scales, red fins, a few cherry blossoms, etc. I'm just not sure if the old black will hinder the scales or other parts of my new piece. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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green_girl
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Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:43 am

The colour scheme should not be an issue. Make that old tattoo an element that your new koi fish will be swimming around. A dark rock, the centre of a flower, etc..
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OBjuan
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Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:16 pm

Thanks for the ideas. I actually talked to my artist today and he said he can cover it up, no problem.
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OBjuan
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Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:52 pm

I got my cover-up done today. I love it. Like I didn't even know what it was going to look like until this morning. I just told him that I wanted a koi and colors and let him do his thing.

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OBjuan
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Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:21 pm

This cover-up took like 3 hours including design time. It's going to be a quarter sleeve when it's all done. I'm getting a lotus on my chest and background (water), plus touch up on an old piece inside my bicep. The dragon on my other shoulder will be a quarter sleeve, too.

Mark Lazio is the man. He likes Japanese stuff a lot but his realism work is just sick. If I didn't already have all black (ie: old tattoos) when I met him I may have gone a different direction. Best artist in SE Michigan, easily.

https://www.facebook.com/mark.lazio
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buttwheat
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Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:37 pm

Looks good thanks for the update
Last edited by buttwheat on Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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reefdiver
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Sun Nov 08, 2015 9:42 am

^ditto^.........
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tattooDan
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Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:16 pm

very nice ! I recently had a cover up shoulder piece done to cover up very old crappy tattoos also.
Call_me_Lola
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Sun Nov 08, 2015 10:40 pm

Well that looks a lot better. Congrats.
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OBjuan
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Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:31 pm

Thanks, all. I'm getting my dragon finished in a couple weeks. It will be a good feeling having both initial pieces done.
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OBjuan
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Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:25 am

I'm just gonna go ahead and describe what I'm thinking and see what y'all think since it's still on topic. I like balance but not necessarily symmetry. To match but be different. Originally I was gonna get cherry blossoms on the koi arm to match the dragon but I don't think I want to after seeing the color palette and the aqua/turquoise that will be the background. Less is more. For the lotus on my chest I'm thinking black/purple highlights and a bright colored seed pod.

For the inside bicep on the dragon side I'm leaning towards a chrysanthemum. It's my birth month flower and I know my guy could rock it out. Maybe purple and gold to kinda match the lotus on my chest on the other side.

So since I don't want cherry blossoms on the koi arm I kinda want to balance that aqua color with green on the dragon arm. I'll have a couple more cherry blossoms when the dragon is done along with kanji for the elements (earth, air, fire, water) on the back of that arm (where scorpio is on the other arm). The elements is kind of a theme. I want to represent all of them. So I need wind for the background on the dragon but I want some green to off-balance the aqua on the other side. Green wind bars?
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OBjuan
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Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:35 am

On the inside bicep under the koi's tail I have an old piece that I would like to get covered up but probably just get fixed. There's some line work needs done but that ring is not good. It coulda been worse for $60 plus the kanji for scorpio on the back of my arm, but it's overdue for some help.

Maybe he can outline it where it's thin and inline it where it's thick to even it up? Add some shading and fill. Probably like 9 sun rays behind it. I'd love to cover it up with a bright Japanese snake (red, yellow, that aqua color and some spots) but doubt it's doable. Any ideas I haven't had?

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EvilJay
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Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:20 pm

If you want good ink in Michigan, you really need to take advantage of the Motor City Expo in March. There are very few 'artists' here in Michigan worth a damn. Dan Pemble if you want to drive to the UP. Matt Lambdin but he's always traveling.
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OBjuan
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Tue Nov 10, 2015 11:03 pm

I have a solid artist now. I'm all good on that.
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buttwheat
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Wed Nov 11, 2015 12:01 am

OBjuan wrote:I have a solid artist now. I'm all good on that.
You tying yourself down to one tattooist?
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