Tattoo Shrinkage (Lack Thereof?)

MayGodHaveMercy

Quick and easy. I've been steadily dropping weight for a few months now, but am still 30 lbs (and months [years?] of hard work) away from my target weight (215 - 185). I've been wanting a tattoo or several for years and years, but it's always been "Once I lose this weight." Well, as my goal draws closer, I actually find myself becoming less patient, and I've been considering going ahead with it. My question is this: If I get inked up now... will a tattoo become significantly deformed as I drop the weight, or will it be negligible? Can you even answer this without a picture to judge by?



EDIT: Uh, I should probably add that I plan on getting mostly my upper arms and forearms tattooed.

ink4n3

On those parts of your body it shouldn't be too noticeable unless it extremely detailed or you have an enormous amount of excess skin on your arms. If you were planning on getting some kind of portrait or something that has tons of tiny details you may want to wait.

Gnome-Interruptus

Most people dont carry much, if any at all, fat on their arms. At least not until you start getting fully obese where you can shake around the fat hanging off your tricep.

You shouldnt worry about any significant shrinkage there, and if it somehow happens, you then have some incentive to keep the weight off and actually put on some muscle there to keep your tatts looking good.

MayGodHaveMercy

Gnome-Interruptus wrote: »

Most people dont carry much, if any at all, fat on their arms. At least not until you start getting fully obese where you can shake around the fat hanging off your tricep.

I can... uh... sort of do that, a bit.

This is the only picture I have that shows my arms. It's also 4-5 years old, but I was probably 10 lbs lighter when it was taken, so not a huge difference.

You shouldnt worry about any significant shrinkage there, and if it somehow happens, you then have some incentive to keep the weight off and actually put on some muscle there to keep your tatts looking good.

This is the plan regardless of the tattoo. 8 years of being a fathead is all the incentive I need.


Also, it would be pretty detailed, possibly a sleeve, more likely a half-sleeve. No portraits. I don't think I've ever seen a good portrait tattoo. Thanks for the responses, good sirs.

Cruix

Best thing you could probably do would be go and talk to a tattoo artist. You're going to need to find one anyway, and this way you can tell them exactly what you want done and they'll have more experience to let you know what may happen.

Gnome-Interruptus

That picture looks pretty good, at that point you should be able to ignore the weight scale and just work on muscle tone and eating right.

Your BMI is more important than your weight, and even then, that doesnt really scale very well with height.

EDIT: Also also... my last Tattoo appointment meant I had to wait 4 months or so for the earliest appointment with almost any of the artists at the parlour. So you may still hit your goal weight while waiting on your tattoo.

ink4n3

The point I'm trying to make, if you're planning on getting a tribal half sleeve it probably doesn't matter when you get it. I have one and a 100 lb weight gain isn't going to make it look much different.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/4986/52408003.jpg pic

MayGodHaveMercy

Gnome-Interruptus wrote: »

That picture looks pretty good, at that point you should be able to ignore the weight scale and just work on muscle tone and eating right.

Your BMI is more important than your weight, and even then, that doesnt really scale very well with height.

EDIT: Also also... my last Tattoo appointment meant I had to wait 4 months or so for the earliest appointment with almost any of the artists at the parlour. So you may still hit your goal weight while waiting on your tattoo.

Oh hey, that's a good point. I definitely want to find an artist that can pull off what I'm looking for, and the wait to see him/her might be long indeed.

Spherick

Gnome-Interruptus wrote: »

That picture looks pretty good, at that point you should be able to ignore the weight scale and just work on muscle tone and eating right.

Your BMI is more important than your weight, and even then, that doesnt really scale very well with height.

EDIT: Also also... my last Tattoo appointment meant I had to wait 4 months or so for the earliest appointment with almost any of the artists at the parlour. So you may still hit your goal weight while waiting on your tattoo.

BMI is complete shit as it fails to take into account body type and muscle mass. 95% of all NFL athletes are classified as obese per BMI. Ignore that and just use the mirror and how your clothes fit as a measurement. And if you are looking for any weight loss advice, I want to recommend the SE++ or the H&A Fitness threads.

In regards to tattoo deformation - talk to a tattoo artist, he will know the best.

KidDynamite

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

Gnome-Interruptus wrote: »

Most people dont carry much, if any at all, fat on their arms. At least not until you start getting fully obese where you can shake around the fat hanging off your tricep.

I can... uh... sort of do that, a bit.

This is the only picture I have that shows my arms. It's also 4-5 years old, but I was probably 10 lbs lighter when it was taken, so not a huge difference.

You shouldnt worry about any significant shrinkage there, and if it somehow happens, you then have some incentive to keep the weight off and actually put on some muscle there to keep your tatts looking good.

This is the plan regardless of the tattoo. 8 years of being a fathead is all the incentive I need.


Also, it would be pretty detailed, possibly a sleeve, more likely a half-sleeve. No portraits. I don't think I've ever seen a good portrait tattoo. Thanks for the responses, good sirs.

It shouldn't be an issue, but a tattoo artist will know the best.

also, Might I suggest just getting a smaller one at first. People well tell you that they don't hurt, and really they don't. But it is drat uncomfortable, and you may want to see how you feel about having one thing permenant before you step up to the sleeve commitment. If you are using a good artist, you should feel 100% comfortable, and honestly you are looking at a bit of work (I dunno 4 sessions?) before they are done.

LoveIsUnity

KidDynamite wrote: »

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

Gnome-Interruptus wrote: »

Most people dont carry much, if any at all, fat on their arms. At least not until you start getting fully obese where you can shake around the fat hanging off your tricep.

I can... uh... sort of do that, a bit.

This is the only picture I have that shows my arms. It's also 4-5 years old, but I was probably 10 lbs lighter when it was taken, so not a huge difference.

You shouldnt worry about any significant shrinkage there, and if it somehow happens, you then have some incentive to keep the weight off and actually put on some muscle there to keep your tatts looking good.

This is the plan regardless of the tattoo. 8 years of being a fathead is all the incentive I need.


Also, it would be pretty detailed, possibly a sleeve, more likely a half-sleeve. No portraits. I don't think I've ever seen a good portrait tattoo. Thanks for the responses, good sirs.

It shouldn't be an issue, but a tattoo artist will know the best.

also, Might I suggest just getting a smaller one at first. People well tell you that they don't hurt, and really they don't. But it is drat uncomfortable, and you may want to see how you feel about having one thing permenant before you step up to the sleeve commitment. If you are using a good artist, you should feel 100% comfortable, and honestly you are looking at a bit of work (I dunno 4 sessions?) before they are done.

Do not listen to this advice. The biggest mistake I see people make with tattoos, aside from going to terrible artists, is starting small on an area that almost necessitates a larger piece to look nice. You want a design that will flow with the shape of your body. Geting a small tattoo on a bicep, particularly if you have a large bicep, is terrible aesthetically. You have the right idea going with a larger piece that will naturally complement the shape of your arm.

MayGodHaveMercy

Noted. I'm not interested in a small tattoo anyway. Rather than testing the water, I'm diving in arm first.

LoveIsUnity

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

Noted. I'm not interested in a small tattoo anyway. Rather than testing the water, I'm diving in arm first.

Definitely a good idea. I wouldn't be worried about the pain at all, either. I have a large cutting along my ribs and my sternum that was far more painful than a tattoo could ever be, and I got through it fine without anesthetic. However, my doctor once told me, after I explained what the huge scar on my chest was from, that she would never doubt me if I complained about pain.

MayGodHaveMercy

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

Noted. I'm not interested in a small tattoo anyway. Rather than testing the water, I'm diving in arm first.

Definitely a good idea. I wouldn't be worried about the pain at all, either. I have a large cutting along my ribs and my sternum that was far more painful than a tattoo could ever be, and I got through it fine without anesthetic. However, my doctor once told me, after I explained what the huge scar on my chest was from, that she would never doubt me if I complained about pain.

Your post reads as follows: "It doesn't hurt. Well, it probably hurts a lot, but I didn't realize it because I have amazing pain tolerance."


I'm not too terribly worried about the whole pain thing though. I'll manage.

LoveIsUnity

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

MayGodHaveMercy wrote: »

Noted. I'm not interested in a small tattoo anyway. Rather than testing the water, I'm diving in arm first.

Definitely a good idea. I wouldn't be worried about the pain at all, either. I have a large cutting along my ribs and my sternum that was far more painful than a tattoo could ever be, and I got through it fine without anesthetic. However, my doctor once told me, after I explained what the huge scar on my chest was from, that she would never doubt me if I complained about pain.

Your post reads as follows: "It doesn't hurt. Well, it probably hurts a lot, but I didn't realize it because I have amazing pain tolerance."


I'm not too terribly worried about the whole pain thing though. I'll manage.

Nah, I didn't mean for it to read that way. I was just saying "I've done shit that hurts way more than a tattoo on a way more sensitive area of the body, and it was easily manageable." Our bodies can cope with a lot more than we give them credit for. :P