Feeling stressed out about getting a tattoo...

burntheladle

I made a thread awhile ago about getting my first tattoo... Well, I've been staying with my cousins for awhile in another city, and they've recommended the tattoo parlour they (and several of their friends) got their tattoos at. It's Skintastic Tattoos in Coolangata, if you're interested. I went in there today to check it out, and speak to some people, and it seems alright.

But having had a discussion with an artist, picked a date, and paid my deposit... I'm starting to feel very stressed out an anxious about it.

I don't think I'm feeling stressed out about the idea of getting a tattoo, or about my design. I'm going through a fairly rough patch in life at the moment, so my stress levels are generally pretty high - but that's one of the reasons I've decided to get this tattoo now, as a way to do something positive for myself.

The design I am getting is a feather - I want a simple, monochromatic, realistic feather on my shoulderblade. With a hint of blue in it. Nothing bright or very colourful.


When I went into the tattoo parlour, the people were very nice, and the artist I spoke to was very confident and friendly. I had a look through some of his work, and it seems like he would be able to do realistic and monochrome well. BUT he told me for a piece like that, he would just freestyle the general shape onto my back, and then work on it from there. I think the main reason I am freaking out is because the first time I will have a clear idea of what this tattoo is going to look like is when it is indelibly inked into my skin.

Added to that - although he was very confident and friendly, he didn't really ask me very many questions about what I wanted. He made a few suggestions, which was good; but then I had to tell him three times that I did not want rosary beads incorperated into the design... He wanted to add a coloured background to make the feather stand out more - I'm not sure about this and he didn't show me any examples.

On the other hand, I did just walk into the shop and say I wanted to talk to someone about getting a tattoo. Maybe when I go back for the actual appointment, we would go over things in much more detail (and I would insist on this, I'm a control freak and a perfectionist and I don't want to find out that the image in his head doesn't match the image in mine AFTER it's all over.)?


I guess I don't really know what to do at this point. I don't know if I just need some reassurance from the artist, or if this artist isn't a good fit for me (but I do like the work he showed me), or if I should go an find a different parlour and artist all together. I guess what I really want is to have someone hold my hand and walk me through this process with thorough explanations so I have a clear idea of what is going on. I tend to be quite meek and agreeable until I've had a good amount of time to think about things, and I'm really concerned about letting someone give me a tattoo I'm not totally happy with...

My appointment is little over a week away, so I do have a bit of time to think about this. I have already paid a $40 deposit, but I am happy to walk away from that in exchange for not getting a tattoo that's not what I want, or having an anxiety attack.


TL;DR - not sure if my tattoo artist is a good match for me or not. Concerned about not having a clear idea of how he envisions my tattoo until after it's finished.


ETA: Their shop sign declares them to be "TATTOO'S", which I saw before I went in and it also stressed me out a little bit.

Inquisitor77

The tattoo is going to be on your body. You are the paying customer. If you feel uncomfortable about any of it, bring up your concerns to the person doing the work. If he can't provide you at least a rough sketch of what he intends to do, and that is what it takes for you to make the purchase, then find someone else.

Frankly, if I were getting a tattoo I'd want some sort of final design on paper which both I and the artist have signed off on. Unless the guy is some sort of fantastic tattoo artist whose designs always turn out awesome and who has a giant line of people waiting to get some sort of custom, free-form work of his on their body, I see no reason why you should be satisfied with what you've gotten thus far. Given that you are obviously not going for the aforementioned situation, get something down on paper first.

TL;DR - Ask for whatever you need to make yourself comfortable. It's your body and your money. If you aren't getting it, no need to turn into a dbag, just go elsewhere.

MoSiAc

If he wants to freestyle it, he may do a a sketch of what he thinks on the transfer paper before he starts to ink you so you can discuss it. I would NEVER let anyone freestyle ink into my skin unless it was someone that was so famous it would take years to get an appointment with them.

If he doesn't want to do a sketch first I say get out, but that is my personal thought. I wouldn't want someone to just go out on my skin without having any idea of what they are doing before hand.

Sporked

Ask for whatever you need to make yourself comfortable. It's your body and your money. If you aren't getting it, no need to turn into a dbag, just go elsewhere.

Limed for awesome. Talk to the dude, let him know what you want, don't let him talk you out of it and bail if you can't get it. Your money, your body, your piece of mind, your call. It's totally that simple. I'd personally NEVER let ANYONE freehand a tattoo on my body. I would want to pick and choose and know exactly what was going to be put on there forever. You should at least get a close to finished drawing of it... if you can't, I would bail and find a place that will actually work with you. Remember, you are a customer, not a canvas (or even worse, sketchpad) and any tat shop that isn't willing to draw your piece to your satisfaction (it might cost you a little more if it's more than 1 or 2 revisions but this is forever) BEFORE putting it on you should be avoided.

HenriettaCollins

Don't get a tattoo if you are not 100% comfortable with the people and the place- this is something you'll be wearing for the rest of your life- or paying thru the nose not to anymore.
Find a picture of a feather or a feather tattoo that suits what you're looking for and bring it to him- a visual helps most artists immensely, otherwise they try to fall back on what they are good at. I think that's why he was pushing rosary beads. Or he could be messing with you- at a shop I used to work at, two artists made a very hefty wager that one would tattoo 50 crosses in a week and the artist did, but by pushing quite a few people to get crosses who most likely would not have otherwise.
Do not let an artist put a needle to your skin without knowing 100% what they will be putting on you.

Also, for your comfort level I would ask to see healed pictures or (preferably) people with his work done. Tattoo shops have indeed discovered the joy of photoshop to make colors brighter and lines straighter. I say that specifically due to the teal lower back piece on his portfolio- if you look closely the lines are quite shakey. It could have been a bad sitting, but if so why is that picture in there...?

Honestly I don't think you're trying to wuss out at all- you've got a lot of reason beyond the tattoo itself to feel nervous, and until you're comfortable with that stuff, you don't need to get tattooed.

i n c u b u s

I was in this situation just last week and I know how you feel. Let me suggest that you go into the shop again and chat with the artist, bring reference pics of what you would possibly like even if it only has elements of what you essentially want, and have him free hand or draw you up a sketch and have him place it on you. While this obviously isnt how the final product will look like you can get to know the general shape and idea of what would be on your body and see if your comfortable with it. Since you already put down a deposit I see no reason for him to give you any lip about this especially since like what has been said above this is your body, your money, and for life. But most of all I have to say that you have to be felexible with your artist to an extent like if they suggest little altercations because they do this for a living. If they suggest something it is for your benefit and for the benefit of the piece. All in all if you end up liking the design then take a deep breath and go for it. If you truly and honestly cant see yourself with it for life then waiting a little longer isn't gonna kill you.

EDIT: BTW about my situation, I came in with a basic idea and a few reference pics and showed up the day of the appointment and before I knew it I had a stencil on me and the needle was buzzing and ready to go. I def was not entirely comfy mentally with how fast everything was moving but in the end I decided to just take it easy and trust the artist with what he does best (24 years of experience and fantastic examples helped too). I will admit that at first I was amazed that I went through with it especially since never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I'd be getting what I did and especially in pink but honestly it has really grown on me and I have accepted the piece as welcome addition to my body. I hope reading about my situation will help you with yours.

Limp moose

I got my first one on Saturday. I spent close to a month talking with the artist. till he got what I wanted Exactly right!

Make sure its right before you get the ink done. There is no rush here.

Also pay attention to what colors you specify because I made the mistake of not specifying EXACTLY what parts i wanted colored and what parts I wanted shaded and ended up with a bit more blue then I would have liked. (also don't fall asleep when getting tattoo'd as I could have corrected him right away had I been paying attention)

MeeOk

Just make sure you're very specific when you talk to the artist. Bring reference material, and pretty much everything that's already been suggested. Every single body mod (piercings, tattoos, etc) I've had done, I always talked with the person who was doing the work. Every single one of them has been very good about working with me. If they're not, you don't want to get your tattoo done there.

This isn't quite pertinant, but typically if you get a body mod done, it's considered polite to tip.

LoveIsUnity

Freestyle doesn't mean (at least for 99.999% of artists) that they're just going to start outlining the tattoo with the needle. They'll simply draw the shape on your body by hand without a transfer.

That said, you should free free to talk with the artist about getting a sketch beforehand. It's your body and your tattoo, so it should be perfect.

Don't be like me the first time I got a tattoo: I got an imperfect tattoo that I had covered up with another imperfect tattoo that I will eventually get covered up with another tattoo.

burntheladle

Thanks guys, I think I really need to with my gut on this one, and probably have a look around for another artist. Ideally, what I would like is for someone to look at my reference material, draw me up a few designs, and then let me sit on it for a little while so that I can be sure that what they've drawn for me isn't only "oh, shiney", but also something I'll enjoy longterm. And really, I'd like someone who shows some interest in what I'm getting and why I'm getting it.

The thing that's bothing me is that this has made me so anxious - sick to the stomach anxious - that now I'm really stressing about the idea of getting it at all. The idea for the design is something that means a lot to me, and every time I look in the mirror I image what it will look like; I can't really pin down a specific reason to be anxious beyond "what if it doesn't look good".

MeeOk

Oh, also, a lot of places if you bring in references and have them do a sketch/concept art for you, will either require a deposit or else a small fee to do so.

MoSiAc

Yeah when I got my first tattoo I bought in a starter picture and he turned that into the tattoo that wrapped my leg. He said it would cost extra because of the art, but to get what I wanted, cost was not an issue.

I am not saying this guy isn't a good artist, but he isn't coming off as a good guy to get a tattoo from.

burntheladle

Honestly, cost is not an issue. I'm generally a bit of a skinflint (yay poor student), but this is going to be on my body forever, so I am not looking for an el cheapo deal. I'm not going to pay more than I can afford, but price is not a consideration in where I get it done - if I can't afford it, I'll just hold off until I can.