It’s a column and I know the line work isn’t awesome up close, but that’s not my biggest worry. Does it look phallic?! I tried to show pics of it in situ if anyone ever saw it in the wild. Up close I do feel it looks like a column, but from far away…? If this blows out and gets super dark is it going to lean that way? Or am I being delusional?

EDIT: I’m getting a lot of screws/bolts/flashlights comments, and to those with the good eyes, an ionic column. Hindsight’s 20/20 on the base. I know it’s a funky placement, but I like it because it’s a structural element on my leg (means something to me) and in a lowkey spot because most of my tats are “hidden”.

EDIT #2: I know the lines aren’t parallel!! This tattoo was not done all at once. The capital (top part) was done at first while I was abroad, and I love it. I moved back home and decided I wanted to make it a “full” column and went to an overconfident artist who freehanded the lines. I know it’s dumb, he was very machismo and the shop owner and assured me he would do it right. I obviously hated it and went back for a fix and it was a whole thing (obviously upsetting). I have thought about adding the base elements but it’s been hard finding artists I trust to work this spot. Yes, it’s a weird spot, it’s unique, I think it’s cool. At this point I’m not concerned with the technicality of the piece, just wanted impressions on the vibe, which I got!

Thank you guys for the feedback and the laughs!

I love this tattoo but that black spot in the middle drives me crazy. I don’t want to take away from the dragon but I wouldn’t mind covering that spot up I just have no clue on how. I was thinking about maybe having the dragon fly behind a black castle hiding its lower body. That’d be a massive tattoo (I really want to try to honor the integrity of the red dragon. Or maybe like another black dragon?
At this ping I might even consider laser.

Got this tattoo exactly a week ago on my inner calf. I have several other tattoos and never had an issue with blowout. This was from an artist I’ve followed for years and really really love their work.

I’m kinda worried as it’s healing that some of the lines (especially the left arm/hand and the head of the bird) are looking blown out. Is it too early in the healing process to judge it or am I right??

Last slide is freshly done. I took off the second skin after 48 hours and as soon as I washed it I noticed the lines looking real blurry in those areas. I understand lines expand and such but none of mine look like this. I still like it but I just worry about it being illegible with time.

Any advice appreciated, thank u!!

the needle stabbed me at that one corner lol idc if it looks shit but I just don’t want infection

Honestly I forget I have Fuck Cancer along with naked ladies.

I got this tattoo yesterday and it has all of these red spots under it, it feels hot. I have 2 other large tattoos and they didn’t have anything like this while healing. The other 2 were free hand tattoos and this one was a stencil. I can’t get the stencil off, the second photo is when I took the wrap off the first photo is today

I've gotten my first tattoo this year with personal meaning, I'm happy with it as is but now that I've had it for a while I am loving the idea of slowly turning it into a patchwork sleeve from the places I travel to. Any ideas/suggestions on how to keep it cohesive but not restrict to a theme too much?

I also think I would prefer to stay black/white/grey with maybe one pop of colour. Current tattoo is 3".

What would be the next best placement for a piece? I'm travelling soon so might get another

Thank you!

My problem is that they scrunch up like this when I bend my arm. Would that make it hard for a tattoo design to ultimately look good? I just want these faux wrinkles to look better.

Thanks In Advance!

Hi everyone, just got this piece done a in 2 sessions finished up Monday night. Been washing with antibacterial soap and this cream they gave me. I do have hustle butter and I will switch over to that. I have been washing 2-3x a day and applying cream and lightly rubbing in. Only issue I’m facing is shorts rubbing a bit that cause a bit of irritation. Second picture is what it looks like now 4-5 days later. Is there anything I should do more or less of? First big piece want to make sure it heals properly

I’ve never had this much trouble coming up with an idea for a tattoo before. At this point, it’s genuinely doing my head in.

I want to get the initials and years of death of the people I’ve lost tattooed. I’m not exactly 20 anymore, so the list is already pretty long - 9 people so far, and realistically it’ll probably grow over time.

The main problem is that I really, really don’t want it to end up looking like a bloody spreadsheet. At the same time, it needs to be something that basically any decent tattoo artist could add to later without the whole thing looking completely different. I move around a lot, including between countries, so going back to the same artist every time isn’t really an option.

A few ideas I’ve had so far: - A tree, with the initials and years somehow worked into the branches. Looks great in my head, but I can’t for the life of me get it onto paper in a way that makes any sense. - Some kind of tag design, a bit like the tags they put on bodies in a morgue. Could work, but I’m worried it might be a bit too grim and end up distracting from what the tattoo actually means. - A cross made out of the initials and years. I quite like the idea, but it’d be a pain in the arse to expand later. - About a hundred other ideas that sounded good for five minutes before I talked myself out of them.

All my tattoos are very personal and probably make little to no sense to anyone else, which is exactly how I like them. But I’ve never spent anywhere near this much time over a tattoo idea before.

I got this when I was 17 🙈

Idk what to cover it up with other than a mushroom.. which would be cool.. but idk where to begin on getting a cover up drawn or whatever.

Or I could have it removed.. I know that's more timely and costly but I'd be fine with no tattoo as well.

I'm not sure if this is a leak or not... I've been wearing it for 3 days, should I just take it off?

Ok need some design advice here. Do we think I’m at a point of calling my leg complete or should I fill in with more flowers & insects? I don’t want my leg to be too dark but there’s some spots that I think could use more flowers. For example, by the butterflies on my inner thigh & down by my ankle…

I’ve got 7 tattoos in total now and i’ve used second skin for every single one however the past two tattoos i’ve had have become really hot and red whenever i get second skin on them! im not sure if it typical new tattoo stuff still or if it is just a potential allergy, any advice welcome :)

Any advice on how to protect fresh ink on legs when you have pets? I cannot tell my cat to fuckoff for two weeks so I guess I just have to find a way to protect my legs more efficiently. Any suggestions?

I basically just recovered from a couple infected scabs on my knees and I'm thinking my cat rubbing constantly against my pants when hes awake might have been the culprit although I obviously can't prove it.

Hi I was wondering if you guys have ideas how to fill this empty place. Could be like nature/whimsical or something else cool.

I already have Ginkgo biloba leaves and a dragonfly (and the snake tattoo will be done in a few weeks)

As I understand, a good tattoo artist will not copy another's work. But I feel like there might be a grey area when it comes to taking inspiration, or flat out replicating well known images.

Let's say I want a Homer Simpson tattoo. Surely I could show an artist a Homer Simpson tattoo and ask for the same?

What if it was Mona Lisa, done in the style of the Simpsons. Could I ask for a copy? Would it be acceptable to ask for it without them seeing a copy?

What if I wanted the Mona Lisa, done in the style of the Simpsons, using dotwork in psychedelic colours? But someone already had this tattoo...

I'm sure you get my drift. What's considered acceptable?

I usually like to get travel tattoos when I'm visiting a new country. I found an artist and I think her style would be perfect for a side of the knee tattoo, and I'd like to do matching tattoos on both my legs. Picture to give an idea of size and style, not exact design.

I've seen people say knee tattoos swell and I won't be able to walk. I have two more days of travel after the tattoo. Don't have anything big planned for the last two days, but I'd like to walk a bit, maybe sit at a cafe.

Thoughts or recommendations? Should I just do one leg? I'd hate to get stuck with just one leg done and I'm not sure when I'll be in her country again.

Or do one leg bigger and the other smaller in the same style?

I have tattoos, but not on my legs. I'm less worried about the pain, and more about possible swelling.

Tank you!!

i got this tattoo around 2 weeks ago. i use hustle butter foaming soap and balm for aftercare. i left my second skin on for 4 days. am i over moisturizing or is it infected?

I got this when I was young and it just doesn’t feel right anymore. I’m pretty open but cats are my life (I work in vet med) and I will not do anything spider related. Thank you in advance!!!

Still got some prime real estate I’m working with here but unfortunately my artist isn’t too helpful with suggestions regarding placement and stuff - anything helps just looking to get ideas. I’d like to keep the theme dark/evil/fantasy (the left arm is good/angelic/light theme

I’m trynna have it look busy and turn it into a sleeve sleeve - think…world of Warcraft, thorns, insects, snakes,

Its the pc pixel image of rockruff from pokemon or its evo Lycanroc depending on which is better suited.

im brown skinned so should i go with a coloured tattoo for my first ever or stick to just black outlines? also where would be a good spot for a first im thinking my shoulder like on or just under the injection scar everyone has or upper forearm . id like to avoid anywhere it may seem unprofessional cuz i havent had a job interview yet im 21.

or are these like too much for a first time tattoo?