I have 2 tattoos - one on my right shoulderblade and one on my right upper thigh. Both were "annoying" - not so bad that it couldn't be tolerated. My first tattoo took 45 minutes and by the end I was giggling through it. My second took 3 hours and I was ok until the last 10 minutes - then it felt like road rash. Definitely worth it though.
I keep contemplating a third tattoo on my lower back, but my thing is more about how fat I look from the back. I'm not sure it will be attractive at all for me to have a big ol tramp stamp...but I'm sure plenty will disagree with that.
Personally, I would avoid the ankles, especially since you mentioned the edema issue. I was told many many moons ago by my first tattoo artist that if you think you are going to gain weight, or an area might be swollen for long periods of time (think pregnancy, edema, that sort of thing) to avoid getting ink there. Tattoos can get distorted from the stretch-relax cycle and then you end up disappointed and with a blob somewhere. I guess it depends on how elastic your skin is.
If your heart is set on your ankle, you can always go up to 3/4 length capris would fall - still an attractive placement, and more room for the artist to work with.
Research your artist and shop. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!! You don't want some fly by night 'scratcher' to put something in your skin that may not come out the way you want it, or worse - make you ill. Take your artwork to a couple of different shops - talk to the artists about how you want it - where you want it. The really good ones will also have good input and feedback for you and may have ideas to enhance the art or better placement ideas. If an artist doesn't care about your concerns, your art, or you get the hell out and go somewhere else. Oh! Cheap does not equal good. A good artist will charge a reasonable but fair price. If it's too cheap to be true, don't let them ink you.
I wish you were here in NY - I would take you to my artist. She's an RN and is awesome and a hell of a gal. But that would make this tattoo a very very expensive one!!!
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timeasmymeasure
Tattoo stuff
Date: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 02:48 am (UTC)I keep contemplating a third tattoo on my lower back, but my thing is more about how fat I look from the back. I'm not sure it will be attractive at all for me to have a big ol tramp stamp...but I'm sure plenty will disagree with that.
Personally, I would avoid the ankles, especially since you mentioned the edema issue. I was told many many moons ago by my first tattoo artist that if you think you are going to gain weight, or an area might be swollen for long periods of time (think pregnancy, edema, that sort of thing) to avoid getting ink there. Tattoos can get distorted from the stretch-relax cycle and then you end up disappointed and with a blob somewhere. I guess it depends on how elastic your skin is.
If your heart is set on your ankle, you can always go up to 3/4 length capris would fall - still an attractive placement, and more room for the artist to work with.
Research your artist and shop. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!! You don't want some fly by night 'scratcher' to put something in your skin that may not come out the way you want it, or worse - make you ill. Take your artwork to a couple of different shops - talk to the artists about how you want it - where you want it. The really good ones will also have good input and feedback for you and may have ideas to enhance the art or better placement ideas. If an artist doesn't care about your concerns, your art, or you get the hell out and go somewhere else. Oh! Cheap does not equal good. A good artist will charge a reasonable but fair price. If it's too cheap to be true, don't let them ink you.
I wish you were here in NY - I would take you to my artist. She's an RN and is awesome and a hell of a gal. But that would make this tattoo a very very expensive one!!!