Let's talk about tattoos

[Idlemessiah]

So Escapist, what are your thoughts on tattoos? Do you have one? If so, tell us about it. Has your tattoo ever affected your life in any noticeable way?

Furthermore, does someone having a tattoo affect your judgement of them?

Personally, I've always wanted to get three lions tattooed on me, but not on my arms or legs or anywhere it's immediately apparent. (I'm a sucker for national pride)

I have several tattoos, one covering my entire left arm. I've generally had positive reactions to them, since they are very bold, striking and colourful designs.

I've never had a problem with them at work. My old boss told me to cover them up since the customers were offended by them, so I asked her to show me the apparent complaints since I had only heard praise from customers. Not another comment out of her. On a related note, she left a few months after that because all the other staff thought she was a total *****.

Sorry, sidetracked there...

I DO judge people with tattoos, sure. If I see somebody with a wonky, badly shaded piece of shit (or even worse a spelling mistake) then I will think that you're a silly twat for going to a bad tattooist and not doing your research properly.

One of the main reasons I love tattoos is that they are an instant conversation starter. I had a nice chat the other day with a Polish bloke in broken English about an absolutely stunning African savannah scene he had on his arm. Didn't matter that we were from different places, didn't matter that he could only speak a bit of English. He had a cool tattoo, and I wanted to talk to him about it.

Also, with regards to your three lions thought. It's a little common don't you think? I know thats kinda the point of national pride, it's the same reason people get football club badges tattooed on them. But I'm pretty sure you can come up with a better idea, sure use the three lions as a start point, but make it your own design, subvert it in some way. Also, there are plenty more things that represent England than the three lions that you could use.

And my final thought to you, bigger tattoos look better. It's a simple fact due to the size of a tattoo needle. The bigger your design, the more detail and shading you can get in it and the better it will look.

And my final FINAL thought is, draw it yourself. Tattooists get bored doing the ones on the wall. A tattooist who gets the chance to flex their skill on a new design is a happier tattooist. Also I'd advise pinning your drawing up somewhere you'll see it every day, even if you can't draw that well. If you get sick of it, tear it down, start again. If you look at it every day for 3-4 months and still want it on you, then thats the right time to hunt down a good tattooist!

And that was way longer than I intended. Hope some of it was helpful for you!

 

[Floppertje]

I have a stylistic phoenix in black lines and red/orange/yellow colors on my right upper arm. Just high enough to be covered by a normal T-shirt. The only effect it has had on my life was people complimenting me on it. How it was pretty, rather than the usual tribal/name/etc tattoo's you see a lot. And then me having to explain why I got it and such. But nothing else really.

Could you upload a picture of it? It sounds really cool.
I've got a tattoo of the bass I learned to play on and two clasped hands on my upper left arm. I only got positive reactions so far, but it can get a little exhausting to have to explain what it means to every new person I meet, mostly because it sounds kinda cheesy. I generally object to tribals and chinese characters because they're kinda tacky. Also no things like people or bands because it makes you look like you're obsessed and you definitely look stupid if you stop liking them. The only exception would be if something impacted you in such a way that it would still be a part of who you are even after you stop liking it/them.

Also, they're addictive as hell. Ever since I got the first one (note the use of the phrase 'the first one' rather than 'it', I always say that, even though it's the only one I have), I've been thinking about what my next one should be. Had a few ideas, but somehow they're never quite good enough.

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

I've thought on and off of getting one, but it isnt something you can easily remove.

I dont want to regret it lets say 20 years down the line, so I do not get tattoos.

I dont have one and I have a fetish for men with tatoos.
But when I think of how they will look in the long run it makes me sad.

That's the argument against tattoos I hear the most often, and I've never really understood it. Your skin is probably gonna look terrible in 20 years anyways, might as well pimp it out while you're young!

OT: I have two Chinese symbols on either of my wrists, they were inspired by a famous Mark Twain quote. And I have a large chest tattoo in the works, but I haven't gotten it done yet.

 

[sanquin]

Could you upload a picture of it? It sounds really cool.

Sure I guess:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Vampiric6/Phoenixcolored.jpg

(I put it in a normal link because the pic is rather large and I don't know how to re-size in the edit box.)

 

[Parkway91]

I currently have two. My first which was done a week or two after I became legal is Est. 1991 across my lower stomach. My second was done a few months ago and is calvin and Hobbes acting as zombies on my thigh. I am one of those who believe that you don't need a reason to get a tattoo, rather I think of the body as a canvas and a way to express yourself so why not put things you like on it or art you enjoy??

If you know me in real life you would know that quite a bit of what I say/do shouldn't be taken too seriously, same with my tattoos, just a further expression of myself.

I plan to be quite covered as quickly as my funds will allow.

 

[rednose1]

Tattoos are a tricky thing for me. If you're tatto has meaning behind it, you put thought into it, etc. Then good for you

But those people out there with "tribal art" tattoos, chinese character tattoos....yea, I'm gonna laugh at your poor life choices.

 

[Saladfork]

Tattoos and piercings kind of squick me out. I'm never going to get one myself, and I don't think they look good at all on other people.

I'm generally okay with poeple who do it in moderation, like keeping it somewhere easily concealable and keeping them classy if they intend to show it off, but I have to question the foresight of anyone who gets tattooed on their faces or something. It doesn't seem terribly helpful if you're trying to get any kind of respectable job.

 

[Launcelot111]

As a passive observer, I really, really hate tattoos. I only have one friend with tattoos though, and I knew him as he got all of them and I got to hear the reasoning and backstory and everything for them, and as a result, I thought they were pretty funny, even if they were stupid things to stick on your body. Maybe if I knew more people with tattoos, I would know more of that sort of reasoning and like them more. I sort of doubt it though. Also, any tattoo not on someone's arm disgusts me, backstory or no.

 

[Denamic]

I've got a tribal-style skeletal dragon on my arm. Mom made it my 18th birthday gift. And she got a tattoo of the ancient Italian cartoon character I was named after. So yeah, pretty liberal on the tattoo front here.

 

[Astoria]

I don't have any yet but I have some plans. When my dog dies I'm gonna get one and I recently have been thinking about getting a Harley Quinn pin up if I get into a psych masters degree like I'm hoping. I'm also a sucker for japanese style dragons so I'll probably get one of those eventually. I think people are a lot more accepting now of tattoos than it seems. For instance I've heard of lots of places refusing to hire people if that have tattoos and yet I see it all the time. As long as it doesn't look stupid or is in a really obvious place I don't think it makes things worse for you. I'll admit I do sometimes judge people by their tattoos, but that's usually if it's a yolo tattoo or something equally stupid.

 

[camazotz]

I'd imagine the community here (and in a lot of geekdom) is actually going to have fewer tattoos than the norm, because a lot of us have personal issues with socialization, introvertedness and limited expression. I know I do....I have no tats at all (though I've designed a few). Then there's my wife on the opposite end of the spectrum. She has at least ten tatoos, including wings on her back and an arm-length vampire/demon theme tattoo, and she started early, never looked back. Tattoos were for her a way of taking her body back from those who had imposed themselves on her when she was young (I'm being vague here because it's the sort of thing she can talk about if she wants, not my place) but the point is that for her this was a way of establishing a sense of control over herself that others had taken from her.

Anyway, where I live tattoos are so common that I'm the odd man out with my pale, naked flesh! They seem damned ordinary to me now.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I like the idea of a tattoo but I've never found a design I want grafted to my body for the rest of my life.

 

[gLoveofLove]

Coincidentally, I got my very first one a couple days ago, I'm still needing to apply cream to it 3 times a day. It was something that I debated with myself for a long time (like a couple years) before I finally went through with it. I'm not a person who does things like that on a whim. Obviously one of my biggest concerns is that I would look back at it years later with regret and that it is a permanent thing that I'm imprinting onto my skin. However I think what's more likely is that I will look at it when I'm older I see something I didn't back down on; instead I'll look at it and be proud I did something I wanted to do.

As for the permanent aspect- I have a mole on my cheek. It's visible for anyone to see, I choose to keep it on my face because I have an affection for it, it being there for as long as I can remember. It is unattractive but I don't get it removed because it is a part of me. If I have gotten attached to this ugly lesion that every new person I meet sees why wouldn't I get attached to a cool looking mark on my shoulder, which people can't see when im wearing a shirt, that means something to me; connected to my past; and I actually chose to have.

Btw the tattoo is L's "L" from Death Note. It's pretty damn cool.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/DEATH_NOTE_L_wallpaper.jpg
But it's not like I just like Death Note and L that much that I put any old Death Note themed thing on my body. 3 reasons:
1. It's just a really good looking mark.
2. My last name starts with an L. It's actually the name I preferred to be called by my friends rather than my given names. So when I look in the mirror at the backwards L it makes me think more of me even more than Death Note.
3. I love anime and manga (Death Note included), and this represents a part of my personality.

 

[Woodsey]

I've been thinking about getting one for a while. A big fucking boat. And by boat, I mean ship.

 

[CriticalMiss]

I have a tetris tattoo on my wrist, because tetris. It's nice and discrete so I can go to interviews etc without weird judgemental looks from fogeys.

Though I guess I do judge people based on some kinds of tattoos. Like people who get those generic 'tribal' tattoos or a Maori tattoo despite never having been to New Zealand or the Pacific islands. It's always fun to go up to them and ask what tribe they are from and see what kind of level of confusion that causes. And tramp stamps. Just...no. They're not as bad as playboy bunny tattoos, which I would probably place on the lowest step of the tattoo escalator.

But at the end of the day if it makes them happy and they aren't getting hurt, they can spend their money how they like. As long as you think it through and don't do it on the spur of the moment then go for it. Get a tattoo with meaning or get one that you think looks good, just remember it's there until you carve off the skin.

 

[Nazulu]

My grandfather told me a long time ago that he regretted getting a tattoo and I've been thinking about them for awhile now. I just can't decide if I like the idea or not.

I usually tell everyone that asks me 'if they should' to wait till their 25 at least (that's a good age isn't it?) before they decide to get one. Also, to ask themselves if it's just a simply to express something or an artistic symbol.

I might start up a thread one day to ask what's the best tattoo's they've ever seen, because I've never seen one I could call amazing in art, just detailed or personal. And no, I don't want to have 'that' discussion.

 

[Floppertje]

Could you upload a picture of it? It sounds really cool.

Sure I guess:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Vampiric6/Phoenixcolored.jpg

(I put it in a normal link because the pic is rather large and I don't know how to re-size in the edit box.)

That looks awesome! Especially love the wings.

 

[Tiger King]

Some tattoos are really cool, the best I've seen is some dude with a huge one on his back that looked like he had ripped his skin and exposed the bone underneath.

I honestly can't think of a reason I would get one though :/

I don't really like the tribal tattoos (sorry to that guy who posted earlier) and I don't understand why people get a chinease/Japanese word inked on them. Granted Asian words look quite interesting but i dont get it. I would love to know what Asian people think of this because if I saw someone with "hope" or "peace" written in English you would probably think it a bit odd.
I think I've Had a bit of trouble explaining my point here but hopefully it gets across.

Sorry if this upsets anyone.

Also if I did get a tattoo I wouldn't put it on my back because I wouldn't be able to see it.

I know "tramp stamps" get a lot of negativity/frowned upon but they do do an annoyingly good job of catching your attention at an already eye catching part of the female anatomy.

I say annoying because staring at women like they are a piece of meat is a bad thing.

 

[sanquin]

Could you upload a picture of it? It sounds really cool.

Sure I guess:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/Vampiric6/Phoenixcolored.jpg

(I put it in a normal link because the pic is rather large and I don't know how to re-size in the edit box.)

That looks awesome! Especially love the wings.

Thanks. Took me about 2 years of thinking and searching for something I really liked before I arrived at that one. The original pic came from someone on Deviantart: http://s0rce.deviantart.com/art/Phoenix-Tatoo-25366619 Though I changed it a little so it was colored rather than just red lines.