Top products from r/tattoos

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-The-Tattoo-R-Klanten/dp/3899554426/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398737634&sr=8-1&keywords=tattoo+gestalten

http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Criminal-Tattoo-Encyclopaedia-Volume/dp/0955862078/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1V5WZKHAXJRCDY01GV56

Milton Zeis, tattooing as you like it (Yellow Beak Press) is great but hard to find. Yellow Beak has a couple other cool books but I think mostly out of print.

In my experience the best books are small-run publications put out by individual artists. For example, State of Grace shop puts out a lot of cool books that you wont find on amazon or in stores : https://www.stateofgracetattoo.com/product/

Love it. I love the Great Wave.

Did you know though, that Japanese artists of this era (and arguably still today) thought that the art of the written word was as important as the drawing? You should get the script that goes with the image on the other arm :D

I recommend this book for more on the stylised nature of Japanese art.

I got my first at 18; had been wanting one for the previous year, but struck a deal with the parents that I'd wait until after graduating HS, and they'd pay for it. I ended up managing to get it a little early so I could show it off the last couple months of senior year. (Note that this was in 1994, when getting a tattoo in high school was still considered daring and rebellious. Now I swear they're getting 'em in elementary school, oy...)

I'd say if you want one, go ahead. It's your skin, you're (pretty much) an adult, and if you're paying for it yourself, well...Just be sure to follow the two pieces of advice I got. Make sure you really want what you decide on, since it's going to be with you for a while. You can get temporary tattoo inkjet paper to 'test drive' your choices if you would like, but don't overthink it. I took about 3-4 months of visiting and looking through flash books (remember, pre-internet days...) before I decided, but YMMV.

Second, make sure that the place you go is absolutely hygenic, professional, and schools you thoroughly on immediate after-care. (I know from experience) Unfortunately, I'm not a TX local, so I'll defer to a more local subreddit member to answer your second question.

Lastly, enjoy your new artwork; may it always make you proud.

If you're still interested in cephalopods, I highly recommend this book. It was so fun to read! More about squid than octopus and cuttlefish, but definitely wonderful.

The inspiration we used was from the catacomb saints from the book Heavenly Bodies. The skeletons ordained in jewels were pulled from the catacombs, so as you can imagine they're old and jacked.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0500251959

Thanks for the advice. I've seen stuff like this to cover up tattoos. I figure wearing long sleeves and a watch would work. I am always wearing long sleeves, even in summer.

I don't think fingers would work so well, as they tend to fade very quickly. I'd like it to look good for a long time.

Pretty cool - if anyone's interested, I did a project a while back where I searched through old, public domain texts to find as many instances as possible of the phrase, "The world is..." just to see how that figure of speech has been used through the years. Ended up collecting over a hundred of them in a book, with a page of the original text in-tact.

If anyone wants to see it without having to buy it, pm me and I'll send you the the digital copy.

Example one, two.

Thank you! It's a maxi dress from Amazon :) I got it specifically because I have a thigh tat healing so I can't wear pants and I wanted to take my arm out of my dress without flashing the shop haha.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GSWVL7K/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_Pv1XDb6EGX2MT

Nice ink! :) I guess I feel famous?

If you'd like a IRL copy, the tattoo photo also got published in Carl Zimmer's Science Ink

Made me think of this book from my childhood... And then I bought it for $0.01 on Amazon... Thanks for the awesome memories!

Get a cheap beard trimmer first if you have never shaved your legs, it will be a lot easier than clogging up a bunch of bics.

This one works great: https://www.amazon.com/Gillette-Fusion-Proglide-Groomer-Trimmer/dp/B0062IWQVU

Also, if you are interested in cycle history, this book is excellent
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0300104189/ref=aw_d_iv_books?is=l

http://www.amazon.com/Quickutz-Silhouette-Printable-Temporary-Tattoo/dp/B0043WJ3OA

A friend got this for his Hween costume... it will work better than printing it on paper and taping it to you, and you can try 20 different spots without taking up an artists time.

Consider this stylist t-shirt to compliment your skin art.

In all seriousness if you have done all your research and have your heart set on the right tattoo, you'll more or less turn out fine. You can't do a whole lot about the pain but studios usually play music and/or make conversation to take your mind off it. Also, follow whatever aftercare instructions your tattoo artist gives you religiously. They know what they're talking about!

Oh I know mine isn't original either, but I am hipsterly proud that mine was done before the first famous one was printed in Science Ink.

Beautiful tattoo. It reminds me of the children's book Stellaluna, which was a go-to bedtime story for me and my siblings when we were young.

Maybe one of these? I saw someone else on reddit suggest one. Not really sure how breathable they are, but it seems like a viable choice for your situation.

That's what I was hoping you'd say. Verdi style.

Thank you! It's Sickness from I Feel Sick and the vines are from JTHM.

Buy this shirt and rip the sleeves off to, not only show off your cool tat, but also because the combination would make any woman in the bar climax on the spot.

https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Tattoos-Book-Old-School-Skin/dp/0789318245

Invest in this book and pick and choose.

This really reminded me of the cover of Things the Grandchildren Should Know book cover.

>but there is no such thing as russian prison "style" tattoos.

tattoos that arose in Russian prisons in the beginning of, and remained a large part in the 20th century are very specific to the country

https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Criminal-Tattoo-Encyclopaedia-I/dp/0955862078

over the last couple decades, they've been gathered and documented in books and magazines. and yeah, artists now tattoo those very same images onto people. the guy in the picture OP posted says that all of his tattoos are medieval influenced, yet i do know the goat, cathead and alter are all taken from Russian criminal tattoo collections. he probably just went into a shop and flipped through a bunch of books and picked that out, and has attached his own personal story to it.

i've had the pleasure of traveling extensively for tattooing and while i haven't gotten a russian prison/criminal style tattoo yet, i've come close and met some cool artists who still preserve that culture.

Oh yes, sorry, how stupid of me.

Bodies of Inscription: a Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community and Inked: Tattoos and Body Art around the World, both by Margo DeMello.

Get yourself one of these (or something similar) and just trim it down. Less irritation this way and no annoying ingrown hairs to deal with while still removing enough hair to show your tattoos.