@Sam-I-Am 123353 wrote:

I’m with the bunch here that think tattoos should be “taylor made” for you, not “off the rack” so to speak. Koi fish tattoos can be beautiful, but there are millions of them. Bert used the barbed wire tattoo to make the point.
Do you want your tattoo to illustrate who you are? What your interests are? What you want out of life? What drives you? Or do you want a tattoo that looks like a picture screwed to a wall in a mobile home or RV?

Really think this through. You have a chance for exceptional artwork.
Good luck, send pictures.

I appreciate the point. I know the koi isn’t exactly the most unique piece out there. However, the meaning behind it does have significance to me. Defining those things things you mention isn’t difficult. Translating them into an exceptional unique piece of art is the challenge. Plenty to think about before starting the next project. Thanks.

The blacked out arm isn’t a consideration for me. No fears there. The funny thing is that I was pretty happy with the arm band till I got my koi half sleeve. Now I want to laser the sucker off and get some more quality work. Wish I would have discovered this forum years ago. I had a consultation today and was told 3-4 sessions should be sufficient to lighten it up enough for a cover up.

I went back to get the chrysanthamum worked on. The original concept as shown in the first post left it looking a little unfinishe to my eye. My artist went in with some muted colors and did a great job with the water effect.