My first! Yesterday I finally went to get an appointment at the tattoo parlor I had googled as one of the best in Philadelphia, for the tattoo that I've been sitting on for the last year. A dragon on the arm is cliched, I know, but it's in honor of my father, despite being in a different style and location. He had his my entire life, and it's an ingrained part of my mental image of him.
The guy manning the desk was
this guy, and his portfolio looked good and he got what I was trying for and seems to know what he's doing. I googled him when I got home as a double check of his reputation (that's how I found his FaceBook).
It's custom, which is what I always intended, but he'll be making it sorta-Balinese and I gave him reference samples and the colors I want and such. ("Sorta" because I don't want the intensely detailed scales and headdresses that they typically have, or the bulging eyes. It'll be more
"the kind they import to the US as knickknacks" then
the real thing, but I decided I could live with that in return for actually liking how it looks FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.) He's going to try to have it wrap around my arm and have wings (both highly preferred, but optional if the design just isn't working), and have a somewhat subtle grayscale background, probably smoke but possibly clouds, water, or abstract. Something easy to add to in a way that looks like it was always meant to be there, in the extremely unlikely event that I should go completely nuts and decide to do more.
In the end it should almost be a half sleeve, but my philosophy of tattoos says that if you're only going to have one, then go big or go home - get something of the highest quality you can that will age well (physically and mentally) and attract attention. Otherwise, what's the point, really?
In the end it should also take about three sessions and run around $500-600 or so, but hey, at least both will be spread out over a few months. Please don't remind me of how poor I am right now, I'm busy ignoring that. D:
This entry was originally posted at
http://risha.dreamwidth.org/11142.html.