I didn't get it to follow a trend, I got it because it was relevant in my life. When I got it, it wasn't that big of a trend outside of the internet, and I rarely see anyone with the same placing as I have it.

Didn't she claim she was asleep or something?

I love that tattoo, especially its placement :).

I'm gettin a forehead tattoo that says "HUD".

It's kind of funny that you keep trying to make this conversation about you. :laughing: I wasn't talking about you, I was just talking about tattoo trends in general. To me it's interesting how they've evolved over time. In the 80s it seemed like colorful, airbrushed tattoos were all the rage, then came tribal art in the 90s, then the aforementioned indie rock stars (which also sort of coincided with the retro tattoo trend), then came the "lines of text trend" along with the simple line drawing trend. I'm curious what's next.

At least it's realistic, look I found the Plough....
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l9...rface-girl.jpg

You keep quoting me so I assume you are talking me, so it's not quite me "trying to make it about me".

I was quoting you because I was having a conversation with you. That doesn't mean it's about you.

Ryan's belt should be around there somewhere :laughing:

Orion

:)

Sorry, I never knew you were the star formation police ;) it won't happen again.

My friend's ex spent his rent money on an enormous tribal cross he had tattooed over his entire back, and now he can't afford to have it finished, so it's remaining incomplete.

On top of that, the reference he used was someone's tribal doodle off of google images, so it's not even in perfect alignment with itself. :laughing:

I've thought about getting tattoos, and I've had three in mind for many years now, but they're all for deceased pets and members of my family. You're not likely to fall out of love with that.

I would love to get a tattoo dedicated to something like that. I've thought about the lyrics of songs that helped me through those times but I just can't seem to decide. I've been pondering over so many different lines of the same song and can't decide.

I know exactly what I would want and that concept hasn't wavered for six years and all the people I've been, but I still haven't committed to it.

I know I want something from a certain song, just can't decide which. I don't think I really trust my own decisions either, I'm really scared I'll eventually fall out of love with my piece and have something I hate stuck on me forever.

Finding someone I trust enough to permanently mark me is a project I do not take lightly, and something that deters me from getting a tattoo.

That aswell, although I know roughly two shops in Scotland I would trust with no problems. They're just a bit far away and don't do appointments :(

The cost and maintenance of a tattoo is something that also weighs heavily on my frugal mind.

I don't even like to break a toonie at the convenience store.

Dahell is a toonie?

Sorry, I'm from across the pond.

Seriously?! I love keeping £2 coins! Or the double nugget. I try to keep ahold of them as loooong as possible.

Oh... wait... I'm from the same side of the pond just a bit south... one a those days.

Thanks for clearing that up, sir. Those are nice. Shiny. I would'nt wanna break one either.

Hee hee!

That's the thing. At first, the only reason I got mine was because I liked the way it looked. I never really wanted some obscure meaningful tattoo because I figured I'd eventually grow up and think differently, so the only sort of tat I ever wanted was for the visual aesthetic.

Now, I just don't think it's adding anything of value to my life, and I couldn't care less about it, so there isn't much of a reason for me to want to keep it. Personally, I'm more concerned about not having to wear long sleeves at a job in the muggy heat of Louisiana. So it's just more practical for me to not have one.

Wow, I completely agree with everything you just said. Couldn't have said it any better myself.

Doing something irreversible for purely aesthetic reasons is silly. Aesthetics is a volatile and unpredictable rationale and its not one that makes for any sort of confidence in why you did something so drastic as getting ink permanently suspended within your living flesh.

As for the revered art form stuff, that's bull****. Not becAuse you're wrong, because you aren't, but because its a stupid thing to use as reasoning. Slavery used to be a respectable profession, ritual sacrifice used to be a perfectly sound rationale for murder. We stopped doing them because its bloody stupid to think of things as good or meritable just because they're old or traditional. The history of tutting should have no bearing unless you happen to be a tattooist.

My eventual position was that in either case, whether it's some sort of personal meaning, or aesthetic, it's silly... In my case, I actually always intuited that there wasn't really a point to permanently inscribing whatever I thought was important at the time into my body when there are plenty notebooks available at office supply stores, had I thought I needed to remember something in case I went senile or had some sort of amnesia and somehow forgot the important things I cared about. Of course, I could lose a notebook a lot easier than a tattoo, but if I were senile, I probably would no longer know what the hell the tattoo meant anyway. And, should I grow older free of senility and amnesia, I really wouldn't need a constant reminder of my own perspectives and values, which are also subject to change throughout life. Those sorts of things don't need to be etched into your body to make them valid.

Aesthetic tattoos, on the other hand, seem more in line with, let's say, deciding to have a permanent hairstyle that you can never change. It doesn't inherently contain any meaning... you just like the way it looks and commit to it, (usually not thinking about how you'll feel about it in the future, as with a lot of "meaningful" tattoos).

Ultimately, if I could go back, I'd not have wasted the money it cost to do something so pointless. But there is one thing I am thankful for... I didn't choose something that required some ridiculously pretentious explanation for how "deep" I am when people ask about it. If I want to share my thoughts and feelings to some one, I'll do it of my own accord and with traditional communication. I have more control of it that way.

I still get strangers saying "Hey, nice tattoo!!", but I'm just thankful that the conversation ends with me saying "thanks" and walking the f*ck away.

or you're a fan of getting tattoos :p: honestly i've never experienced such negative responses to getting a tattoo, or body art in general. i know in older times this forum was quite supportive of tattooing, but i suppose things have changed. what i see now is a reaction to the fleeting nature of a person's whim and using the idea that "even if it's what you want to do you shouldn't, there are no guarantees that you'll even like it in 2 weeks, it won't look good, etc etc." as a basis for not doing something permanent to yourself. i love my tattoos, and they are well done, and they weren't terrible expensive for something that'll be in my body forever. am i the grand exception, can this never happen again?

I think you're over-reacting.
Most people in this thread are not saying that at all. They're warning her about how difficult portrait tattoos are to pull off unless you have someone who really knows what they're doing, which sounds like reasonable advice to me.
A few people here don't like them but it's hardly the blanket negativity you're making it out to be.

Agreed on all points. Now going back to Everclear I just remembered the 2nd version. Is your tattoo the band or the booze?

A slightly different take on the 'logo or lyrics' angle is a custom piece based on a band's art style. Like the 1 guy I know with good tattoos has a sleeve on his left arm that's entirely created based on Radiohead album covers and styles. The Hail to the Thief bit on his shoulder is awesome. But where the tattoo draws from various albums it creates a familiar yet unique piece of art. Again, SUPER PRICEY, and something that I believe he's been working on for like 3 years.

Yeah the original claim was she only asked for like 3 or something and the tattoo artist went 'crazy' and just kept going, after she fell asleep, while getting a needle jammed into her face like 1000 times a minute. Exactly no one besides her own dumb ass and her parents bought that line. I doubt the lawyer they paid for to press charges against the tattoo artist even believed the farce.

:laughing: :clap:

Exactly. In fact, I may be mistaken here, but I haven't seen anyone in this thread who is categorically anti-tattoo. I know I'm not, I just think people should consider questions like "How well is this image going to translate a piece of body art?", "How well is thing going to age?" and "Am I still going to like this a decade or two from now?" before getting one. I say this because the majority of people I know who got tattoos in their teens or early twenties regret having them now.

I think my favorite saying of all time applies to this thread.

"You worry about you and Ill worry about me."

Are people worrying abut things in this thread?

It has nothing to do with this thread. It has to do with people giving opinions on tattoos that are not their own.

thank you

You're thanking a Juggalo for sharing your view on permanent, possibly life changing fashion statements. Think about that.

I'll add to this by saying that there are meanings to tattoos that aren't evident in the tattoo itself, but are instead used to portray what that meaning is.

I have a cat tattoo on my arm, some would think it's just a cat, but to me, it's to show that my cat was the best cat in the world, and the only way to express that, was through a tattoo. I know it may seem ridiculous, but I prefer something permanent over something temporary.

I think getting a Kurt Cobain face tattoo is like so hot right now. Like, all the guys are going to think you are so cool and probably want to date you because you'd be like so original.

If you really care about something, by all means, go ahead and get a tattoo. It's your body, and it's your choice.

I have a modified "Coexist" on my ribs that I drew up myself, and I've had it for a couple of years. I don't regret it. It's something that meant a lot to me (and really still means a lot to me) at the time.

With that, it is kind of important to acknowledge how you may feel about it in a few years' time. If it's a recent infatuation, it may not be lasting. Even so, think about how much you feel about it now, and even if you're not as into it later, it still marks an important and memorable period of your life.

My sister got a Batman tattoo, after pitching a bitch about her close friend getting a Hello Kitty tattoo. My sister has been way into Batman since The Dark Knight, but again, that may not have staying power. She's still completely happy with it, and I imagine she will be in the future.

Imagine yourself when what you're getting tattooed has become irrelevant, and think about how you'll feel about it then. If you would feel that it chronicled an important time in your life, then you're good. Because then you'd, at the very least, have nostalgia associated with the ink. If you think you'd regret it, though, then don't get it.

?

lol oh no he didn't