incredible ink

some examples of great body art!

random fffound x2, yan mcline, margaret cho, lorelix04 on deviantart, random x2

nothing ruins a cute girl faster than bad ink!

if you are new to tattoos, here are some tips on getting the best ink money can buy.


basically there are two types of people in the world: good people and bad people. interacting with them produces two experiences accordingly. some people are positive and lead by their shiny example of how to do things well. other people, unfortunately, are there to show you how NOT to do things. making mistakes is part of the learning process to be sure. but, getting a tattoo is one area where a mistake can scar you for life, or even cost your life!


you only have one body, and that body deserves the best skin art that money can buy!


suggestion for getting great ink:


1. educate yourself on tattooing: styles, artists, most importantly sterilization.
2. find your own personal art, image, symbol for inking.
3. find an artist! (not just a tattooist who traces)
4. consider famous and/or female artists.
5. demand 100% custom work. you are unique, your ink must be too.
6. start saving money


youth has certain characteristics indicative to the teenage years through the early twenties. there is a feeling of invincibility, as well as being impatient, impulsive, indecisive and easily influenced (and sometimes impoverished). these qualities can combine to be counterintuitive to getting great ink.


you may have a burning desire and eagerness to get a tattoo. that pales in comparison, is just a tiny fraction, compared to the overwhelming obsessive need to get a disgusting mistake that is embedded in your skin removed. not to mention the shame and embarrassment of bearing bad tattoo work. be patient.

tattoos are one area you get what you pay for! great ink is expensive. plus, the artist you may want may require some traveling. more expense. plus, I believe you should get quality, but also quantity. get as big as you can stand for that body area. more expense. -and do not put something tiny in the middle of a large swath of skin. tattooing can be addictive, and if you decide to go big later, it will have to be incorporated or covered up. the "cost" of going cheap can be enormous. not only bad art, but cheap low quality inks can cause a permanent allergic reaction. getting tattoos lazered off is very expensive. seedy, cheap tattoo parlors could give you hepatitis. I am sure treating that is very expensive.


the nefarious lower classes feel they have a claim of the market in tattoos. this is simply not true. tattooing goes back time immemorial. mummies and bog people have tattoos. all indigenous people have a tattoo tradition. still, tattooing has a rough reputation. there is a subtle, but significant difference between being a bad ass, and being unscrupulous and immoral. if you are inexperienced, it may be difficult to perceive that difference. always trust your gut instinct! obviously, there has been a tattoo renaissance over the last 25 years. there are many talented artists working in the medium of tattoo.-artists with art school degrees even! also, when you choose a female artist, they are likely more compassionate by nature. plus you eliminate smarmy individuals who are just wanting to dig their skeevy needles into your skin so they can glimpse your naughty bits. IMO if you can't draw freehand well, you have no place doing tattoos.


I personally choose famous tattooists. that is just my style. but seeking a shop that is part of the international tattoo community, would seem to help guarantee that they are using the state of the art procedures and have top notch talent working there. whatever shop you choose, I would look for one that is more of a hip looking salon, or art gallery. if a place has a lot of money put into it making it look cool, they are probably doing good business. also, anyone who is any good is likely booked up, perhaps for months even! again, be patient.


never, under any circumstance, get a lover's name or image put on your body! never! lovers come and go. trust me. all though a certain relationship may be important, it is another person, it is not you. you are you. plus, respect your future lovers. even the least jealous types will appreciate not having a visual reminder of your ex, every time they address your nude body. it impedes intimacy seeing "george washington slept here" every time. wear your relationship scars on the inside, not on the outside. further, no one should ever pressure you into getting ink. not your friends, and certainly not the tattoo establishment. if a shop pressures you to get work done there, leave. friends come and go too, but tattoos are forever. I find getting tattoos together with friends just silly (although a friend chaperone is certainly fine). it is a right of passage, true. but it really is a ritual, a serious sacred ritual solely between you and a tattoo artist collaborating on an image you will wear the rest of your life.


your first quest, find your design. second quest, find an artist. spare no expense. anything worth doing, is worth doing right.