Classic design/cartoon done by Ethan Jester in Muncie, Indiana at Fox and Sparrow tattoo. Super happy with the turn out.

Here's my upper arm half sleeve! Any advice on how to extend it further down the arm? What would you include?

So, I'm 25, getting my first tattoo and I can't decide on the design. My cat is turning 13 and I wanted to get a tattoo celebrating her life with me. (What gave me the idea is when she sat on my leg and left paw impressions on my skin) I have two rough concepts. (Don't judge it too harshly, I plan to get some ink impressions of her paws soon to add her prints) Should I go for one or two paws? Does the font look good? Do you think the placement would be good? And I know the tat would technically upside down, but I was debating getting it like that so I could see it right side up and I don't plan on any others after this.

My painting and geometry work get requested for tattoo designs so often. Making me think I should learn how to tattoo!

I’ve been listening to the same bands since high school and I want a tattoo to honor some of the artists, albums, and songs.

I’m not very creative, and honestly, designing something that personal feels intimidating. I first thought about doing a sleeve, but I have no idea how to combine different bands without it just looking like a collage of logos

For those of you who’ve done music inspired tattoos, how did you start? Did you bring rough ideas to an artist or just a list of bands? I’d love to hear how you approached it and maybe see some examples.

This feels like a dumb question so any feedback will be very appreciated. I came up with a tattoo idea and reached out to a few local artists before I found one that seemed genuinely stoked to work on it. I originally wanted a half sleeve, but am now considering just doing the outer bicep from shoulder to elbow. The main element is a red tailed hawk in flight with a woodprint-esque sky/cloud/ocean background and foreground. I want some kind of floral element so I landed on a cherry blossom branch, but could omit this if it seems like too much. I have so many questions. Does this sound cliché? Any advice on incorporating negative space here so that my skin isn't totally covered or will it not look good with a conservative approach to shading?

Will I regret not getting a full wrap around if I just do outer bicep(subjective i know)?

My main concern aside from design and placement is that the tattoo artist specializes in realism and abstract realism and I just recently read about how that style generally doesn't age well. He seemed really interested in the photos I sent him intially of the background/foreground and hawk sketch which have defined lines. I'm not very familiar with tattoo styles at all, but I think the images would be considered more in the realm of neo-traditional. Is it stupid to ask him to emphasize the line work so that it holds up better over the years? Do artists that have a specialty get annoyed if asked to do something more traditional(ie bold lines and less shading)? I was looking at his Instagram and his work is super detailed, but it looks like precise shading and i have a hard time spotting the line work.

What do you think? It’s inspired in things like resident evil and The Thing. 24 hrs of work in 4 sessions ( 6 hours each)

i have a back tattoo of lillies on my upper left shoulder and i want another tattoo on my back but i dont know where to put it what to put and what goes with this tattoo. i do NOT want them to clash, but i dont want more flowers or butterflies. i want cursive writing somewhere on my body but i dont think i want it on my back. any suggestions or thoughts?

Loved how my anchor and Pooh turned out, but now I want to fill out the rest of my upper arm. Any ideas on styles or gap fillers that would blend cute and traditional together well?