Tattoos; Good, Bad, Ugly, Pretty...?

[Ferrret]

So I have always had thoughts of getting a tattoo in the back of my mind. They usually stayed at the back of my mind because Mom always threatened to take a Brillo pad and scrub off any tattoo I got. That is until my older sister came home with a tattoo high up on her wrist/forearm. Mom wasn't happy, but she was over 18 so she wasn't going to argue. I recently found out that my older brother has a tattoo too, which surprised me as he's not really the type you would expect to have one.

Since my senior year in high school (a whopping 4 years ago

) I have come up with different ideas for art and placement and some I really like a heck of a lot, and some wouldn't think about getting until I had a dead set, cannot fire me kinda job (like a tattoo on the back of the hand).
I have always had a leaning towards the less cute and girlie style tattoos, such as flowers and butterflies, as they aren't my kind of thing. I have drawn out some very convincing temporary tattoos on myself (realistic enough to make Mom sternly ask if they were fake) my favorite being an angel and devil, one either arm, modeled after a Gustave Dore artwork for the book Paradise Lost.

There have been times in which I find some drawing I had done that was meant to be a tattoo where I just have to ask myself "What were you thinking?!" The one that sticks out in my mind right now is a lion tattoo I had drawn over and over, until I finally gave up and accepted that I can't draw lions. It was supposed to be a lion posed in an aggressive roaring stance in which his body would be in the same shape as the sign for Leo, my astrological sign. In the end it just looked bad, so I have walked away from it.

Lately my issues with getting a tattoo are less about what the art looks like and more about where the heck I would put it. One of my favorite ideas, inspired by a really cool zombie bite tattoo, is a werewolf bite tattoo. I really like werewolves the most out of the classic monsters and having a bite tattoo would be awesome, except I have no idea where to put it where it would look good, wouldn't hurt so bad I couldn't finish it, and I could cover it up. I will keep the idea on the back burner for now and wait a while before getting it done.
I've always liked well done skull and skeleton tattoos and have been working on some that have my own spin on them, such as a skeleton lounging in the curve of my hip or a small skull drawn in almost entirely in shading. The current skull themed tattoo I have been dwelling on could my first tattoo, and I haven't seen anything like it so for now I'm gonna be hush-hush about what it looks like. I normally prefer black and white tattoos to colored ones but this one may just be my exception.

If I do get it done then the obstacle to tackle would be to have BF approve of it. I don't need his approval, but I would rather not have him begrudged over it. I really don't want getting a tattoo to be a stick in the mud in our relationship.
His reasoning for me not having any tattoos is that I am too young and I would "ruin my prettiness". He also tells me to come up with something I like and wait a year before I get it, to see if I still like it. Recently he's taken to suggesting I get something cute and not scary, but those suggestions seem to be in jest. He doesn't have issues with tattoos themselves or tattoos on girls, but issues with tattoos on me. Before you ask, he has tattoos himself, all in a skeleton and Halloween theme. He's even had me draw some concept art for his artist to work off of.

I have already had several people tell me to just go out and get a tattoo, no matter what it is, with a live in the moment mind set... But if I did that I would have some downright silly tattoos right now.
So what do you folks think?
Should I wait on it for a year? Half a year? Five years? Never get a tattoo?
Or should I just get it when I feel ready for it and if I regret it later I can either put up with it or have it removed?
Do you like tattoos on people? Just on men? Only on women?

All in all, lets have this be a Tattoo Discussion thread, as long as we can be polite about it.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Ruin your prettiness???
OMG what is he gonna say if your hair turns grey, or falls out, or you get wrinkles, or stretch marks, or maybe a big scar from a C-section . . . .
I'd drop him like a hot potato if it were me

However I do kindof agree with the "see if you still like it a year later" thought process -- I never have been able to decide on something that I want permanently attached to my body, so hence no tattoos. I do like piercings

I say, "scars are tatoos with better stories" and I kinda like tattoos (or piercings) that can't be seen with normal clothes on - so then it's a shock if you wear less than usual, or it's a secret people only know about if you want them too. Just my personality like that I guess, I like to surprise people and/or keep secrets.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Definately wait. It's permanent, not like a piercing you can take out. Get a piercing instead, or WAIT WAIT WAIT about the tat. TRUST me! I have 3, and have regretted them at times. They aren't scary. All of mine are nature themed and the art is nice, and I like them....but sometimes I'd just simply rather they weren't on ME

They get annoying

I dunno why

Just think about it for a bit longer. I was about your age when I got them.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Ok, so I have a Rule, I have to think about a tattoo for a year, and if I change it in the littlest bit, the year starts over again. And keep in mind that when you are forty will you still like that tattoo, like the ware wolf bite, it's awesome now, but when you are older or a mom will you still like it? Try to be classy not only about the tattoo design, but the place you put it. Also have it mean something, something that will mean something to you forever. I have a Hibiscus on the back of my left shoulder, that I got when I was 17, in Hawaii, because Hawaii is one of the places I am truly happiest. I also have a bear with angel wings over my heart that I got 1 year to the day after my Uncle died, in memory of him because he always said that when he died he would be reincarnated as a bear, and he was lovable like a teddy bear.

And here is the Bear, but it's a very light blue, so it's kinda hard to see.

 

[Ferrret]

Quote:
I have stretch marks, and scars, and he has no issue with them. I think when he said that, he meant that it would be something that forever changes how I look, that I willfully did. Scars and Stretch marks aren't done on purpose, tattoos are.

As for piercings, I don't like any piercing that isn't in my ears, and I hardly ever wear earrings as it is.
I like to look semi professional and like to have a good chance at any job I apply for, and there are plenty of good jobs that won't hire someone with a few rings in their lips and eyebrows and a big tattoo on their neck or hands.

The tattoo I'm looking at getting will be on my lower leg, on the inside or outside of my right leg, or the inside of my left leg. Left leg has a good sized scar on it halfway up my lower leg running toward the outside. If it isn't on my leg, it would be on my side.
I'm not going to run out right away and get it, that's for sure. I want to wait on the design, but every time I wait to do something, my inner procrastinator comes to life and it never ever gets done. There seems to always be an excuse not to do something, so I give up and don't do it.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

GO FOR IT!!!!!!

I have 3, well, 3 & 1/4. One is dull and faded. I got it at the county fair on a dare at the age of 15!

The other 3 all have meaning behind them.


Butterflies are the symbol of a survivor. I am a Breast Cancer Survivor

My Service Dog and Best Friend

Each Ribbon is for someone I've lost. They are upside down because they form a Y as in "Why did they have to die?"

These are some of the ones I plan on getting

Eye of Horus-This one will go on my right chest. I have a scar there from a chemo port that in the shape of an eye to start with. It's a sign of protection.

Tribal Hand & Paw print---this one will go on my left chest to cover the other chemo port. They Hand & Paw is a connection between me and my dog.

This one is basicly showing that all beliefs are connected in some way and why can't we all just get along. This will be right bicep

I don't have a picture of the other one I want. It's going to be Japanese letter saying, "That which does not kill me, will make me stronger."




Whatever you decide, make sure there is a purpose behind it. Not the plain ol' MOM like everyone else. If you are going to be stuck with something all your life, be sure it's something that you won't be embarassed to show you Mom, your Grandmon, or even your child!!

 

[RAWR]

hmm...if i was ever gonna get a tattoo, i would get a Hello Kitty on my lower back, and a star on my wrist
then i think i would be happy

LOL
just dont get this

 

[kelseygirl707]

Also, if you can, get your tat in Hawaii. Tattoo parlors on the mainland are so dark, and goth, I love my bear tattoo, but hated getting it on the mainland. In Hawaii the tattoo shops are so much happier and open and bright, because tattoo's are a part of the heritage there, where as here it's mostly about being bad or dangerous, which is not my idea of the meaning of tattoos.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I was 17 when I got my first tattoo... And 23 when I started getting it removed.


I got a lovely Dragon on my shoulder blade- which I loved at the time - But once I became a mum- It just didnt seem right anymore. I have a very nice swan on my left ankle and recently had some work done on my arm to cover some very serious scaring which for years had caused me self esteem issues. . All my tattoos were very different styles and gotten for different reasons. But the only one I regretted was the one no longer there.
I wont be getting any more- But will just get the ones I have recoloured in the future if they fade.

Maybe you could try to get it done in henna first- then you can make up your mind if you like it- and if it is in the right place before going ahead and making it permanent.

 

[Ferrret]

Quote:
While I would love to get a tattoo in Hawaii, that is an awful long way to go for a tattoo.

The tattoo parlor I would get mine done in is very well lit, big open windows at the front of the building, and each artist decorates their own little room. I would have BF's artist do the work, because she does some really great skulls and is awesome with shading. She has a 50's pinup, Elvis and rockabilly theme for her workspace which is pretty cool. The shop itself is very inviting and friendly.

Forehead tattoos confuse me. Unless I'm getting paid enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life, I would not get a forehead tattoo, or a facial tattoo in general. I like to be able to cover things up when need be.

I'm distrusting of henna. Colored henna, which I'd have to use to get the right look for the tattoo, has had some nasty effects on people, like permanent scarring blisters.

Before I get the tattoo, to be sure of placement and what not, I'll put it on first with some alcohol based effects makeup. It won't wash off as quickly as long as you don't scrub hard and it has a better tattoo look than henna usually does.

The tattoo has meaning to me with the skulls and the colors it will have. The skulls are a very classic representation of Halloween which I enjoy greatly and hope to someday to have enough skills to open my own prop and costume shop. The colors are my own kind of silliness, taking something usually serious, dark and gloomy and turning it into something fun and light hearted. Adding the colors I am adding also makes the skulls something of my own, something you don't expect to see on someone.