Fencing tattoos?

[Victor]

Anyone here get a tattoo that portrays his/her connection to fencing in some way?

[Nusy]

I've had an abstract fencer on my back, but it was only henna. Though, I loved it, so this year I might make it again...

[Elemental]

I'm planning to get a fencing related tattoo sometime in the near future but I need to save up some money for it first.

My other tattoos need to get touched up first.

[Maeve_Mari]

Originally Posted by Nusy

I've had an abstract fencer on my back, but it was only henna. Though, I loved it, so this year I might make it again...

I think henna and now these temporary color tattoos are the greatest ever. Gives you the chance to express yourself, without having to commit to the design or mood!

The thing I have always worried about with real tattoos is the competence of the artist. If you go to the shop and plan a design, how can you guarantee you are going to get the quality of craftsmanship you want for your body. I've hired painters in my home from whom I was not satisfied with their work. And that just needed to be repainted or touched up, not actually lasered off and scratched back in!

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Maeve_Mari

The thing I have always worried about with real tattoos is the competence of the artist. If you go to the shop and plan a design, how can you guarantee you are going to get the quality of craftsmanship you want for your body. ...

Ah, good point.
And to that end, I've actually shopped around myself. You've got to start looking more closely at real tattoos on people you pass every day, and be willing to ask them where they got the work done. Then follow-up by calling the shop ahead of your project to see if they've got referrals or photos online.

I figure any good, truly good, artist who's worth paying to permanently mar your body should be willing (and proud) to provide examples of his previous work.

[Elemental]

Never go to a tattoo artist who doesn't have actuall photo's.

Find out what they do for post tattoo covering (I avoid places that just wrap the tattoo'd area in plastic wrap)

I would recomend asking someone who already has tattoos where they go. Personal referrals almost always are best.

[Maeve_Mari]

And I am assuming you both would agree that getting a tattoo while drunk on spring break is not a good idea! Right?

[Maeve_Mari]

A side note:

I saw two shows on television about people who wanted to be tattooed to look like leopards (or some spotted animal, I forgot which) and between the two you could really see the difference in getting a good artist and some other guy who tattooes.

The first was a woman who wanted to be covered in spots, but wanted the spots strategically placed so that they folded and moved as she moved. The tattooes covered most of her body, but were pretty cool how they were designed and placed. As I recall, she used the same artist over the ten years it took her to get completely covered in spots.

The second was a man from Australia (I think) and he had his body covered in spots too, but went to several different artists and so had a combination of spot styles and colors and many of them just looked plopped down in any old place, instead of in a pattern that resembled the actual animal. He even had spots on his bald head. He said in the interview that it was unfortunate, but that he had one artist do a very bad job on some of them and that he has had a difficult time trying to get it fixed and that some of them would always appear messed up.