Tattoos

Ok so i have been contemplating getting a full back tattoo of what snowboarding evokes in me.. you all know the feeling….. bluebird powder day top of a moutain .. no one around except your mates.. and the untouched unknown in front of you… i have searched the internet high and low… for ideas to help my ideas but nada!.. ive spoken to a few tattoo artists but they just dont get it.. i live in brissy and if anyone has ideas/ there own tattoo or know any wicked artists….

I have a design , that a friend in Whistler drew up fro me. Its a combo of my 3 passions, guitar, snowboarding and surfing. Its pretty rad, but im not going to post it as i dont want it poached…

Maybe explain to the artist you want a snow theme?? Mtn’s, sunshine, blue sky etc etc?? All else fails, travel to get it done.

I went to LA Ink in hollywood to see Kat Von D but she wasn’t there… One day soon for sure though.

could you perhaps sketch what you are trying to capture?

My cousin has a full back tattoo of a sabre (tiger) - its looks awesome. Took multiple visits to the tattoo person to get get completed. She reckons it was quite painful but likes the result.  I don’t think it was cheap either.

Be prepared for some pain (in the physical sense and yoru hip-pocket)

A cheap tattoo isnt good, and a good tattoo isnt cheap.
I have always liked that saying.

I’ve got a few, so it qualifies me to participate and advise.

Dude, take your time on it… seriously.
Take your time on eciding exactly what you want.
Take your time deciding on the artist that you choose to do it.

Yes, I said ARTIST, respect them as artists. You want a unique piece that is yours and only yours? This will take an artist.
You want something big over your whole back- Well, I got a few thoughts about tattoos on one’s back, but as for the large size this means you should take even more time.
Consider if you think you’ll want this in 5 yrs from now… 10… 20? it’s for life.
Do you think that once you’ve been married 8 years, and have a kid or two on the way and you havent snowboarded for a season or two, that this is what will be the most important thing to you?
Can you even imagine how important the wife that you will one day have will be to you? or the children that you will have and what they will mean to you? Snowboarding is awesome, indeed, but goodness there are other things that we will value later in life - should we get a tattoo for that too? Perhaps you will say yes… so if you do say yes, then I’ll say - Well, you only have one back. See a full back piece is a one time thing… whereas smaller tattoos have more spaces and options for them to be placed.

Here’s my thing about putting tattoos on your back - or rather on the whole back half of our body…
I’d ask you to really question why you want the tattoo. Seriously. You dont have to give me or anyone else the answer to this question, but answer it to yourself and be honest.
The reason I ask this is that a tattoo on your back YOU WILL NEVER SEE. Ive just got a person thing about that. I know it is commonly done, but personally the excitement of having a tattoo and what it means and how it changes over the years, is something that I want to enjoy and experience over and over again. I just cant do that with a tattoo on my back. The closest I have is a tattoo on the back of my leg, it is on my calf, but I can see it - not as much as other places, but still my argument is worth pondering if that is important to you at all. It’s your tattoo, so of course you dont have to agree with me or anyone else about it. but I tend to think that a tattoo that YOU cant see wasnt put there for YOU it was put ther for everyone else to see your tattoo. and I’ve just got something about tattoos being fashionable - I think that’s the wrong approach to a tattoo, something that lasts forever - fashion should have nothing to do with it. But of course it does.

I like that you want something unique and original.
Respect the tattoo artist as an artist. visit different shops and ask to see that artist’s portfolios. Artist all have different styles, and some just outright suck! Be sure to pick an artist that you like thier style. Point out things in the work they have done, like shading in a certain area or some color detail and say “I want somethign like that done over here in this area” etc.
Look at the pics on the wall and note that they are just there for IDEAS. I think it is disrespectful (in some ways) to point to a picture on the wall of a shop that someone else drew, and tell an artist to put that on your body for the rest of your life, without any feeling or passion or personalization behind it at all. it’s sad.
After you choose who you want the artist to be, Respect the artist and tell them what you want, have them draw your design over and add some detail to it. Let them make the drawing their own. Have them inject some of their style that you saw in the portfolio into your ideas. An artist that feels the work is theirs, will want it to be a good piece.
Again respect the artist and pay them for their time weither you get the tattoo or not. they just spent time drawing for you, and you take that drawing away… pay them for the time they spent.
Many artists will take that payment as a downpayment toward the tat.
It would be best to discuss these things beforehand.
“can you redraw it and put this here and do this like that blahblahblah”

“sure dude”

“OK I appreciate that you would take the time to do that for me, what will it cose for me to have you redraw it, even if I dont get you to do the tattoo?”

You should ask, because if you are still shopping around for an artist them you need to be honest and let them know that.

Got any questions?
I almost always have something to say… LOL

I have a little snowboarder tatt, love it.

I lifted it from a mag years ago, just an outline. Saw it in the mag and got it that night.

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one.

WOW thanks everyone ( especially snowslider!!!) i have to say that yes i have thought about this for many years ( hitting the 30 year mark) and the reason i have chosen my back is because there are not too many areas on your body that wont change ( being a lady as well .. i have to think about the stretch marks of pregnancy.. if that should happen ) and also i plan to have it below the line of back strap of a dress. i have soo many ideas that i want to incorporate into it but until i get it right i wont. snowboarding and travelling has been part of my life for many many many years it is who i am now and as a family will become more important, i hope the two will merge.
im not doing it so other people can see it almost the opposite, its for me and a reminder for me.

Sounds like your intentions are honest, I can appreciate that easier than the alternative “because it’s cool” intention.

As for getting all your ideas together…
I’d like to share a story: I know a guy that had many tattoos and so getting tattoos for silly reasons was not a big deal to him, but he had some dream, or maybe he just liked these things - whatever it was… he choose an artist that he thought did good work, and asked him to draw something with bees and bombs - that was all he said, and that was all he wanted to say, he wanted the artist to draw something for him. He told his the body part - it was his upper arm from elbow to shoulder and he wanted that body part covered. What was the result was amazing. An awesome city-scape with bumble-bees dropping bombs over the city and the city was up in flames from the destruction of the bombs. The tattoo looked great.

I had an image of a candle, it was a simple drawing, no shading and no real emphasis or emotion to it at all. For some reason I was in love with it, and I carried it in my wallet for about 5 years, knowing I wanted it redrawn, and possibly tattooed. I have a thing for words and art - so I needed words to go with the drawing and eventually the words “to conquer loneliness and give hope” what what I choose to describe how I felt about a candle and what it symbolizes to me. I ended up getting the candle redrawn. I then asked him to change things about the drawing and again change things a second time. Then I decided to get it tattooed. If I were to ever get my ink removed - this would be the last to go.

I’d suggest going to an artist and asking them to draw something with whatever images or symbols you have in your head…. just see what they come up with, and see what they charge for such a service.

Hey, i got my arm sleeve done by an awesome chick that now lives in Lennox head..amazing artist!!!....all her own work and very different style and colours..look her up she is the only one in lennox head and her name is Milly..tell her Beth recommended you.

Take photos of what you see and what you want.  When your standing on top of the mountain looking at the perfect run and its just you and your mates.  Take a few shots.  Get good collection of what you see and how you see it.

Research artists, and once you find some that you trust and think you can hang with while your in alot of pain (cause you dont want to hang with a nob that is annoying and hurting you)  take the photos in talk with them and get them to sketch a couple things up (this will cost a little but at least you will get some great ideas.

Tattooing is an art, every artist has a style make sure you find the style you want.