thinking of getting a koi tattoo on the top of my arm, picked one out and the tattooist says it ll take a couple of hours! this ll be my first proper tattoo ,i have a couple of small ones but these have just been 10 minute jobs so what i want to know is does it hurt more the longer they take and what do i do to stop myself getting bored and fidgety? if i sound like a wimp thats cause i am !!

 

10min job? how small are they? mine took 1 1/2 hour. without breaks

 

Just man up. Mine took about an hour, the needle kind of numbs the area after a bit, so if you're not a total pussy you'll be fine. If it's just on the top of your arm on your shoulder then it shouldn't hurt too much, it's when it's close to a bone and not much flesh that it hurts!

 

The area goes numb after a bit anyway Shaun so you will be fine. False economy thinking small Tattoos hurt less, get what you want 1st time as they are for life.

Get some pics up when you have it done

 

mine took 3 hours and i was just chating to the artist

Im having another one done while im here in the states

 

the 10 mins ones are just names , one on my arm quite bold and one on my neck, its boredom im worried about!

 

the koi on my forearm took 3.5 hours. You dont get bored it'll fly by

 

Had my arm and back done at the same sitting, an 18 pack of Carlsberg export and 20 cigs saw me through

 

Im in the middle of getting a koi on my am. taken 5 hours so far, an hour for the outline. 2 hours for the blues and 2 hours for the fish and flowers. took so long as he used 9 shades of blues and 6 shades of orange and pretty much all the coluring was free hand (not looking at the picture)

Still got 2 hours left, as he wants to put greens in with the blues and carry on up to my elbow.
after care is important but they should go through that with you, I found pile cream ontment to be good as kept it moist and didnt dry scab, just peeled off whn was healed enough

 

My first one took 4 hours (all in one sitting) and is just next and on my shin. The first 3 hours were fine but the last one nearly killed me off! I say go big or go home!

 

sorry fella, just my opinion but why the hell would anyone want a cartoon picture of a fish on they're arm. And 5 hours of pain for it thats dedication

 

I seen a mint tattoo the other day which my wife showed me on facebook.It was on a blokes foot and it looked like you could see his bones through the skin.I thought it was class.

 

biggiejody what do you mean freehand colouring?

 

like been siad, go big or go home nut also agree that first few house ok, the needle will numb the area but its after about 3hrs that you start to feel it, the last hour is a killer.

good luck and remember aftercare, its very important!

 

something smells fishy

 

i have done a few 7 hour sittings, just concentrate on something else.

 

got an appointment for friday now so no going back, looking forward to it now! thanks for the advice fellas ill let you know how it goes

 

we all know how it will go. With a lot off pain. Have fun suffering mate

 

thanks for that!!!

 

A couple of tips (my sister in law is a tattooist, done all of mine for free!)

Have something decent to eat before sitting in there. She has seen all sorts of things happen to people because they go in on an empty stomach!!

Take some Lucozade with you. She is covered from head to toe and she usually has lucozade when she has a big job done. My longest sitting was 4 hours and by the fourth, I was ready to leave!! Just take it easy and if it gets too much, just ask them to stop. That said they usually have a 6th sense as to when it's getting too much for people!

 

You'll be fine fella, have a good feed before you go in.

 

No problem mate. Glad to help

 

a fish tattoo'd on your body....why!?

 

It's a japanese tradition. It brings good luck I believe.

 

maybe he likes fish & chips

 

i just like fish!! im not very original

 

sort of depends more on which way the koi is facing i always research before a tattoo as you can have 2 pic's which look good but dont mean sense

 

i have a koi going down my arm ( doesnt meen nothing ) will get one goin up to show strenth next

 

Why thats what 1 facing down can mean also

 

honestly because i prefer the tattoos with a lot of attention to detail in and this has a hell of a lot of detail in, and once i get back in the gym ill get it extended up my biscep, top of the arm shoulder and on to my chest

i mean all the colouring was from his imadgination, not what the picture showed, the transfer was black and white and i added the colour myself and he done all the diffrent shading of the blues and oranges by eye, not by the pic if that makes any sense? lol

 

yeah i see what you mean, but isnt that normal for a half decent tattooist?
The guy thats doing my sleeve has drawn most of it on the arm rather then the lick and stick transfers. It always looks better ad-hoc so to speak.

 

well im half way there as he only licked and sticked the outline , but i agree anyone could just do an outline it takes talent to do some of the tattoos that some people do.

The man whos doing my work now is doing me a half cover up design of one i got for my mum but the writing was in old english and was to close together, so it now looks like a picket fence he should have them ready saturday for me to look at, so ill post them on here

 

im in to my sleeve for about 12hours now, maybe another 6 should see it finished i hope. Do some research into what the correct meanings are for Koi fish. there is something i recall about they should always be facing upwards, something to do with their life journey to become a water dragon, and pointing down is supposed to bring misfortune IIRC. seriously look it up before you get it done.

The outline sucked!! a fair bit of discomfort around the wrist, and the ditch on the inside of your elbow, and inner bicep!!

Dont get any tribal, or your name on the back of your forearm, barbed wire tattoo around your bicep, any torn skin tat with mechanicals on the inside, seriously

 

I watched two dvd's of jim davidson live when i had mine done, 5 and a bit hours, seemed like a few minutes really!

Good luck!

Ginge

 

I think i would rather suffer or use something else rather than have the embarassment of buying pile cream lol.

 

I'm with half the people here why the hell would you want a picture of a ugly ass fish on your arm?

I'd like a couple tattoos but can never decide what i'd like that i wouldnt regret at some point.

 

i just wanted something colourful on my arm and flowers seemed too feminine really.

 

koi with flowers ftw

 

ive done a few 4 hour sittings,you get used to it.if its hurting,tell him/her not to hold it on to long

 

Or just take it like a man?