Stages of getting a tattoo:
I really really want this............................... 1 year
Do I really want this?.................................. 1 month
Hey I got a tax bonus! I want a tattoo!
Now! ............................................................. 1 week
Yay I have an appointment!
In 1 month ):{ ......................................... 1 month
Outline:
Ow this kinda hurts! .................................. 1.5 hours
Hey this kinda itches! ................................ 2 days
and its peeling! black bits! ........................ 2 days
Oh look, all better
Fill in:
Ow this kinda hurts! ................................. 30 mins
No, this Really HURTS! ........................... 2 hours
Yuck this feels like a bad sunburn .......... 5 days
Hey this itches! Itches like hell! ............. 2 days
(overlaps with the pain -- how is that possible??)
OK, enough of this, it still itches ............. 2 days
and its peeling! lots of black bits! ........... 4 days
(overlaps with itching)
Finally, I think its healed ........................ 8 days post fill in session
And for those who think that the fill in is less pain than the outline, I can assure you its not true. 2.5 hours of pure pain cannot even compare to the the outline. I'm now convinced that I could probably handle getting shot (note: I do NOT want to though) and childbirth. At least then they could give you pain meds. There were no pain meds involved in this b/c most of them thin your blood. Which makes you Bleed. Bleeding is not good b/c then your skin wont absorb the ink and you'll have to go back for more touch-ups. As it is having an all black tattoo requires a minimum of 1 touch-up session. Joy. BUT it was all def worth it. I think it looks amazing and I love it.
And now, for the fun stuff. Pictures.
First, the Outline.
Here is the "Before" shot with my crappy little blobby dolphin tattoo. (Yes, the picture is in focus, the tattoo is not though)
Cool mirror shot
Making the "ouch" face
Looking oddly serene
Halfway through the outline
Close-up of the outline in progress
Outline is done. All bandaged up and ready to go. (Yes that is blood).
Here is the finished outline before the peeling began. The ointment makes it shiny.
And now the Fill In
Close up of red swollen -ness
At this point, I made him take a break b/c I was feeling woozy and needed a snack. So Ariel snapped a picture.
Here I am thinking its all done (b/c he cleaned it) but not wanting to get up b/c of the pain.
There are no pictures of him touching up spots while I was standing. Trust me that is was intense and horrible.
And here is the final picture after all the itching and peeling.
Taa-daaa!
Its beautiful. Well, I think so anyway and that's what matters since its my back. (:{
I have to say throughout it all my artist, Andrew, was a class act. A perfectionist through and through. Everyone that I dealt with at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo over in Jamaica Plain was great and I would definitely recommend that studio, and of course my artist, Andrew, to anyone. If you are like me and dont want to wait a year to get in to see the famous owner, Ram himself, then go see Andrew. His custom work is great as well. He also didn't freak out when I decided after the outline that I wanted to tweak parts of the design. Its going to be on my back for the rest of my life so of course he wants me to be happy with it.
Well now this has become a super long post, so I think its time to end it. There may be more about this in a couple months after the required touch-up. And I can assure you I am not looking forward to that. But, it must be done.
Edit: in case anyone is wondering, its a tribal design based off of the luna moth
3 comments:
This tattoo is frickin awesome. Did it peel little black bits while it was itching? I just got a back piece colored black with shading in magenta and I have peeling skin. I started to freak a little but I read that it is normal. What did you use on yours for ointment or lotion?
Yes, the Tattoo artists are kind a perfectionists. They say "this is going to stay for your life time, it has to be very good".
My artist have told me three things right after it is done.
1) Don't wash for three days.
2) It will peel.
3) Don't scratch.
I just got a little one on my wrist last saturday. It is still itchey.
Right after getting it, I thought to getanother one on the shoulder.
Since it was on my wrist where lots of vascular under the skin, it was bleeding more than it should have. But the artist tried to wipe out blood before I see.
She was a nice chinese lady.
I wish I had given a tip...
That is an awesome tat! I bet it hurt like hell.
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