NEEDING HELP WITH YOUR TATTOO IDEAS?
Moderators: buttwheat, sidelvar, kohlhaas, EvilJay, Sphenoid, SharpTattoos
There have been an obscene amount of postings asking for help on an idea for a tattoo or asking someone on here to draw something for them. So if you are planning on posting something: FIRST READ THIS!!!
I'm sure you are all fired up right now; you've joined this forum and near ready to post your first topic on how you need help finding internet images or just coming up with a way to put together your idea for a tattoo. But wait! Ask yourself:
Have I taken my idea to a tattoo artist yet?
Any truly respectable tattoo artist should be able to take your jumbled mix of general words and ideas and create something you could never ever hope to imagine in your little head. I know this from personal experience. Never NEVER underestimate a great tattoo artist. If they can't draw up something to your satisfaction, then go somewhere else. That is how a great tattoo is made. You take your time and work with your trusted tattoo artist to fine tune and make your perfect tattoo.
Now you might be asking:
But what if I don't have a tattoo artist yet? Can't I just get the design from someone on here or someone else's tattoo and get that?
Not having a tattoo parlor near enough to you or only having one in your general area is no excuse to be forced to get something less than amazing. Remember it is going to be on your body forever and it's also not going to be cheap. It's an investment so if that means you need to drive 2-3 hours to the next major city and go to a great tattoo artist there, then you should by all means do it. Some people fly across the country just to have a particular artist tattoo them. There is good reason for that.
If you've said these words:
I don't have a lot of money and don't think I have extra funds to give to a custom artist.
Don't worry. The cost is about the same and most passionate artists like doing custom work over regular flash pieces or tracing crappy drawings that people bring in. My particular artist ONLY does custom pieces; the flash on the wall is just to give someone a point of reference when describing what they want but he'll only draw up HIS vision of it (which is usually stunning work!)
References:
If you really feel you need to have visuals for the artist, remember that a great tattoo artist has seen and done many different tattoos and your idea might not be a hard to do as you are thinking. If you HAVE to, however, look on the internet for general pictures of what you want. If you have many different elements, just print out each element separately and the artist can put it all together nicely for you.
As for cost: you'll probably be paying a lot for the tattoo. Period. There is a saying, "Cheap tattoos aren't great and great tattoos aren't cheap."
If you feel you can't afford the tattoo you want, I know it sucks to hear this, but WAIT. Wait until you DO have proper funding. Don't try to get the cheapest price but only look into how great the artistic abilities of the artist are and how clean and sterile the conditions of the shop are. The higher cost of the tattoo and the pain are both inevitable and are what makes it so special. It's why only a minority of the population have them.
Need words or quotes? Use an online thesaurus or search classic quotation websites which are usually categorized by theme. But most of all, look into who you are. No one on this forum can make those decisions for you. If it is going to be a tattoo that is unique to you, you and you alone need to put time into what you want. Once you have the idea, it should be between you and your trusted, handpicked artist to create the design. So instead of sitting here asking for someone to draw you up something, go research local and maybe not so local tattoo artists. Once you've found the artist you trust in, you'll have it made.
I'm sure you are all fired up right now; you've joined this forum and near ready to post your first topic on how you need help finding internet images or just coming up with a way to put together your idea for a tattoo. But wait! Ask yourself:
Have I taken my idea to a tattoo artist yet?
Any truly respectable tattoo artist should be able to take your jumbled mix of general words and ideas and create something you could never ever hope to imagine in your little head. I know this from personal experience. Never NEVER underestimate a great tattoo artist. If they can't draw up something to your satisfaction, then go somewhere else. That is how a great tattoo is made. You take your time and work with your trusted tattoo artist to fine tune and make your perfect tattoo.
Now you might be asking:
But what if I don't have a tattoo artist yet? Can't I just get the design from someone on here or someone else's tattoo and get that?
Not having a tattoo parlor near enough to you or only having one in your general area is no excuse to be forced to get something less than amazing. Remember it is going to be on your body forever and it's also not going to be cheap. It's an investment so if that means you need to drive 2-3 hours to the next major city and go to a great tattoo artist there, then you should by all means do it. Some people fly across the country just to have a particular artist tattoo them. There is good reason for that.
If you've said these words:
I don't have a lot of money and don't think I have extra funds to give to a custom artist.
Don't worry. The cost is about the same and most passionate artists like doing custom work over regular flash pieces or tracing crappy drawings that people bring in. My particular artist ONLY does custom pieces; the flash on the wall is just to give someone a point of reference when describing what they want but he'll only draw up HIS vision of it (which is usually stunning work!)
References:
If you really feel you need to have visuals for the artist, remember that a great tattoo artist has seen and done many different tattoos and your idea might not be a hard to do as you are thinking. If you HAVE to, however, look on the internet for general pictures of what you want. If you have many different elements, just print out each element separately and the artist can put it all together nicely for you.
As for cost: you'll probably be paying a lot for the tattoo. Period. There is a saying, "Cheap tattoos aren't great and great tattoos aren't cheap."
If you feel you can't afford the tattoo you want, I know it sucks to hear this, but WAIT. Wait until you DO have proper funding. Don't try to get the cheapest price but only look into how great the artistic abilities of the artist are and how clean and sterile the conditions of the shop are. The higher cost of the tattoo and the pain are both inevitable and are what makes it so special. It's why only a minority of the population have them.
Need words or quotes? Use an online thesaurus or search classic quotation websites which are usually categorized by theme. But most of all, look into who you are. No one on this forum can make those decisions for you. If it is going to be a tattoo that is unique to you, you and you alone need to put time into what you want. Once you have the idea, it should be between you and your trusted, handpicked artist to create the design. So instead of sitting here asking for someone to draw you up something, go research local and maybe not so local tattoo artists. Once you've found the artist you trust in, you'll have it made.
...and I can see it doesn't seem to be deterring people from posting things asking what color their name should be or what some one else thinks they should get.....and if I see another post that's titled "Question for the Artists" I'm gonna scream.
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I wish I had read this first. Apologies everyone
Look at the time.. This was probably in response TO YOUR post.. Now you suck twice as much.... Just kidding... Your question gets asked 5 times a day on here, which is I'm sure why this was posted...Amnesia180 wrote:I wish I had read this first. Apologies everyone
Exactly. It's one of those questions I think fueled by excitement from a person who wants acceptance from the tattooed community when, in the end, it's not necessary. If done right, the tattoo will look cool. By done right, I mean getting a great artist. Anything short of that and it won't really MATTER how cool the idea is. Pretty much everything has been seen, heard, and done and I don't think tattoos are any exception.
But seriously guys. I'm having trouble finding a tattoo. I want something that's cool, yet timeless, has profound meaning and it has to be personal to me. If someone can have that sketched up for me by tomorrow it would be great.
Also, does it hurt? And how much? Is there any way I can just get the coolness of the tattoo without investing any pain. I don't like pain, but would like to look like I do.
Thanks guys <3
Also, does it hurt? And how much? Is there any way I can just get the coolness of the tattoo without investing any pain. I don't like pain, but would like to look like I do.
Thanks guys <3
You forgot "Where should I put it" and "how long will it take"Sphenoid wrote:But seriously guys. I'm having trouble finding a tattoo. I want something that's cool, yet timeless, has profound meaning and it has to be personal to me. If someone can have that sketched up for me by tomorrow it would be great.
Also, does it hurt? And how much? Is there any way I can just get the coolness of the tattoo without investing any pain. I don't like pain, but would like to look like I do.
Thanks guys <3
Oh crap I forgot to ask how much it will cost too. I must be slipping...EvilJay wrote:You forgot "Where should I put it" and "how long will it take"Sphenoid wrote:But seriously guys. I'm having trouble finding a tattoo. I want something that's cool, yet timeless, has profound meaning and it has to be personal to me. If someone can have that sketched up for me by tomorrow it would be great.
Also, does it hurt? And how much? Is there any way I can just get the coolness of the tattoo without investing any pain. I don't like pain, but would like to look like I do.
Thanks guys <3
No no.... You got "And how much" in there... I was watching... I got yer back.... Oh wait, did you mean "and how much" will it hurt.. Shit.. I though.. ahhhhhh fuck...Sphenoid wrote:Oh crap I forgot to ask how much it will cost too. I must be slipping...EvilJay wrote:You forgot "Where should I put it" and "how long will it take"Sphenoid wrote:But seriously guys. I'm having trouble finding a tattoo. I want something that's cool, yet timeless, has profound meaning and it has to be personal to me. If someone can have that sketched up for me by tomorrow it would be great.
Also, does it hurt? And how much? Is there any way I can just get the coolness of the tattoo without investing any pain. I don't like pain, but would like to look like I do.
Thanks guys <3