Hi

Nice start on a tribal sleeve you have.

How long did it take to do so far?

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

You could do clouds and smoke

Tribal chains

Lattice or Celtic knotwork

What is it you are passionate about?

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

What does that tattoo stand for?

United States Marine Corps??

If it is is there a regimental badge or symbol that you can build up around it?

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

You want a serious opinion on your tattoo design. Well to be honest if you had not already shown the first tattoo done by your friend then I would have laughed it off as a joke on that design.

But seeing that skull tattoo and your feeling that it is not that bad I will run through this with you on a serious note.

Here is a photo of a giant…[Read more]

Hi Tana

Yes diabetes can effect the healing of a tattoo – you have to make sure they are on top of their sugar intake as otherwise the immune system becomes worn down as it tries to deal with glacemia.

It is nothing major but something they have to take into account.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

Because of the sizing needed to allow for flexing and straightening I would suggest a pro to do it. That way you avoid the tattoo looking stretched.

Also the dips around the joint can be tricky to fill in if not had plenty of practice.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome

Just up the road from me really (Leeds)

Looking forward to sharing your ink.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome

Looking forward to seeing some of your work

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

I keep getting asked about skin coloured tattoos and frankly they suck and when I say suck I mean they look bloody awful.

The problem is that it is almost impossible to get the exact skin tone to begin with and as you age and get sun exposure the pigment looks even worse. It tends to go blotchy as the pigment breaks down.

I have seen several…[Read more]

Hi and welcome

Just a quick bit of advice – everybody and their dog knows about these sites.
I am not knocking them it is just that you will end up annoying peeps if you keep spamming about them.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi and welcome
Looking forward to sharing your ink.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi

You get colour fade and a slight blur in all tattoos as you age no matter the colour.

Black does hold up slightly better than some other pigments but depends on your health, age of skin, sun exposure etc.

As for the cost I would set aside around $1000 as can easily cost that with a detailed piece.

Take Care
Matthew

Hi are the dots red?

There are a number of conditions that can cause this but in all of them picking or peeling them will just elad to an infection and scarring.

It could be campbell de morgan spots also called hemangioma which is a swelling of the capillaries and is considered to be quite harmless.

Or could be Petechia – broken capillaries…[Read more]

Hi

My advice is pin up the design look at it everyday for a month and see if you still love it.

If the answer is no then don’t get it done.

The whole thing about small tattoos is that you will likely think – damn I coped with that and should have gone bigger.

I would suggest the outer bicep or thigh for a first tattoo – it has more padding and…[Read more]

Hi

I am not able to tell from the pics as a bruising and blow outs can look very similar.
If it is a blow out it is easily corrected with some light shading.

Is it possible to get clearer pics?

Take Care
Matthew

There is nothing wrong with the tattoo.
I would leave it alone it is a nice piece and I personally would wear it with pride.

I think you are worrying over nothing to be honest.

Take Care
Matthew

to be honest just getting it built into a larger tribal piece would probably be your best beet. its kinda a big black area so the only thing to do really is try to follow the existing lines with a new design and build in some wording which represents your friends and comrades

would probably be pretty difficult to cover it so i dont think thats an…[Read more]

Hi

I do sometimes get it to read although I am white I still like to see tattoos from all cultures. I think that some of them are below par but the excuse they often give is that these are ‘street edge’ tattoos whereas we call them ‘kitchen magicians’.

They are not the only peeps guilty of it many tattoo mags and books have some ropey ink but I…[Read more]

Hi

I really love that ink.

Who was the artist?

Take Care
Matthew