thinking finally about getting a tattoo.

so yup. im finally mulling over actually getting a tattoo. for a long time ive been too much of a wuss to actually get one. i have a fairly low tolerance for pain(go figure) but im thinking i might be able to do this...at least once.

because ive put up with some fairly terrible pain in my life, IMO.

>Crashing into a brick wall whilst speeding downhill on a bike at age 6 with no helmet or safety padding or anything
>Groin Pull/almost hernia a few years ago
>giving blood(both charitable, and for medical reasons)
>taking allergy shots for at least once a week for i think maybe two or three years.(Like back when i was 12)


Now for the most part i've never had that much of a problem with needles. Before the allergy shots
i used to be really uncomfortable with needles. During the allergy shots and for a couple years after, didn't have a problem with them, but for some reason now they just make me a little anxious/nervous, but it's nothing i can't deal with. Most people i know compare it to a bee sting. which i know isn't that bad, but for me, psycologically it kinda is. i grew up allergic to bees and they always (and still kinda do) scared the buhjeezus outta me, and i associated bees with death, so psycologically i have to get over that if im going to do that. I hadn't been stung by a bee for quite a few years, until like a year or two ago and wasn't that bad. it stung and burnt for like five to ten min. and then it was gone. so i think i can do it.

(sorry about the long paragraph)

but the tattoo im thinking of getting is a classic black Batman symbol. on my upper left arm. Batman's always been a big part of my life, its what got me into comics and thats a huge part of my life.


so thoughts, opinions, advice, bellybuttons?

I say do it, and don't worry about the pain. Honestly, it's not that bad.

azrael07 wrote:so yup. im finally mulling over actually getting a tattoo. for a long time ive been too much of a wuss to actually get one. i have a fairly low tolerance for pain(go figure) but im thinking i might be able to do this...at least once.

because ive put up with some fairly terrible pain in my life, IMO.

>Crashing into a brick wall whilst speeding downhill on a bike at age 6 with no helmet or safety padding or anything
>Groin Pull/almost hernia a few years ago
>giving blood(both charitable, and for medical reasons)
>taking allergy shots for at least once a week for i think maybe two or three years.(Like back when i was 12)


Now for the most part i've never had that much of a problem with needles. Before the allergy shots
i used to be really uncomfortable with needles. During the allergy shots and for a couple years after, didn't have a problem with them, but for some reason now they just make me a little anxious/nervous, but it's nothing i can't deal with. Most people i know compare it to a bee sting. which i know isn't that bad, but for me, psycologically it kinda is. i grew up allergic to bees and they always (and still kinda do) scared the buhjeezus outta me, and i associated bees with death, so psycologically i have to get over that if im going to do that. I hadn't been stung by a bee for quite a few years, until like a year or two ago and wasn't that bad. it stung and burnt for like five to ten min. and then it was gone. so i think i can do it.

(sorry about the long paragraph)



so thoughts, opinions, advice, bellybuttons?

The two I have haven't hardly hurt at all, and I hate needles. Like I freak out when I have to get a shot. They are addicting though, if I had the money, I'd have about twenty lol. I am looking to get my next one soon.

The pain of a tattoo is really no worse than dragging a needle across your skin with some pressure behind it. If you can handle that, you can likely handle a tattoo. Be aware, though, that the closer to the bone the skin is (say, on an ankle or in the center of the chest), the more it can 'hurt'. I put hurt in quotes because it's not exactly pain. It's really like intense nerve stimulation. But it's pain if that needle hits the bone.

Good luck! I've been thinking about getting another tattoo, but after forty, it seems a bit...unnecessary.

I'll be getting my third soon. I've found that the "pain" fluctuates quite a bit. My first tattoo was on the inside of my wrist... a decent sized one with some "coloring in." It wasn't the least bit painful. It just felt like someone scratching me for an hour.

The one on my spine, on the other hand, was friggin awful! Felt like they were scraping my vertebrae with a butter knife.

I've chosen to rely on the pinch test for my next tattoo. Basically, just give yourself a nice nail-pinch on the spot. The more sensitive you are to the pinch, the more the tattoo will hurt. I'll be going with my left forearm as opposed to my much softer and more sensitive left side (ribs).

I say, as long as you get something that has significance to you... go for it. I don't regret my tattoos, and I don't think I ever will. They are essentially benchmarks in my life that represent where I was in life.

Just be sure to post pics after you get it done.

Is there a way you can make the design more personal? Before my first tattoo, I was basically looking to slap a bunch of logos on myself like a Nascar driver. But then I realized they should have a personal touch.

And it really doesn't hurt a whole heck of a lot...just every now and then it'll hit a nerve. And don't think of it as a "needle". It's not that deep. The worst pain is afterwards...feels like a bad sunburn.

But, if you get it, Bobby, we'll feature you in All Ink'd Up!

I want a tattoo so bad..but I can't decide what I want to get...I really do know what I want, but where to put it is the problem..so congrats on making that first step...make sure you post pics when you get it

I think Doug described the feeling of getting a tattoo pretty good. It dosent feel like a shot or a besting. It's more like a scrape. Also Az, getting a tat on your forearm is one of the least painful spots.

Silent K wrote:Is there a way you can make the design more personal? Before my first tattoo, I was basically looking to slap a bunch of logos on myself like a Nascar driver. But then I realized they should have a personal touch.

IDK. That classic bat-symbol is pretty personal for me, because the original 1989 Batman film, and the subsequent Batman:TAS are some of the first things i remember watching as a child, and Batman has been such a big influence in my life. I mean it was Batman comics later in life like DKR, Arkham Asylum:A Serious Place on a Serious Earth, and The Killing Joke that made me want to be a writer.

potatojoe wrote:I think Doug described the feeling of getting a tattoo pretty good. It dosent feel like a shot or a besting. It's more like a scrape. Also Az, getting a tat on your forearm is one of the least painful spots.

well i have an idea for a forearm tat if this one goes well, and i can stand it.



id prolly be getting this. Now it'd be a little scaled down, and i know i wouldn't be able to get all the detail, but i think it would depend on how it would look scaled down.

id be getting that one on my right forearm.

Oops I meant upper arm. Not forearm

That Joker would make a great tat. And you'll probably get a lot of the detail, a good artist can do crazy stuff with a tat.

As important as the design itself is, it's VITAL to find a good artist. I've a friend who wanted a simple nautical star tattoo on her lower back, but the 'artist' (and I use this term loosely) messed up the shading and she ended up having to just fill the whole thing it - not at ALL what she wanted.

And as long as the design means something to YOU, it doesn't matter what it is or what other people's opinions are....the main thing is that you love it.

^ I knew a girl that got a tiny star tattoo and the ink didn't hold at all. It faded and she had it less than a week or so.

Get a Mountain King dwarf from Warcraft 3 tattooed on your back!

BlueMaxx wrote:^ I knew a girl that got a tiny star tattoo and the ink didn't hold at all. It faded and she had it less than a week or so.

That would suck! At least it wasn't something big and expensive .

(._Y_.) wrote:Get a Mountain King dwarf from Warcraft 3 tattooed on your back!

Really? A giant dwarf? weirdo

CJ is right, as long as the tat is meaningful to you, that's all that really counts. First tat i ever got was the Badger symbol from the 1st comics character. He's always been special to me.

I've had a total of about 90 hours of work done and I can tell you that the tattooing hurts far less than you might think. If you really want it, then you will get it. As far as ink not staying as someone mentioned, that's just a crappy tattoo artist, not the act of receiving a tattoo. Nothing is more satisfying than having your fave comic characters on your body for life.

Got any better pics of your work, waerloga?

waerloga69 wrote:I've had a total of about 90 hours of work done and I can tell you that the tattooing hurts far less than you might think. If you really want it, then you will get it. As far as ink not staying as someone mentioned, that's just a crappy tattoo artist, not the act of receiving a tattoo. Nothing is more satisfying than having your fave comic characters on your body for life.

I take it that it's in your avatar.... I spy the ACSS logo. A fellow Manson fan? Hi.

I would love to get more ink. Just so hard to pick a spot and the artist.
A pal of mine has a great artist doing her work in Baltimore. I can dig up the card if anyone wants.

Silent K wrote:Got any better pics of your work, waerloga?

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still working on it, funds have gotten tighter in the last few months...gonna finish the bottom part and add a cityscape to the background. And before anyone whines, it is Marvel, DC, Image, and a lot of other small press companies. I like them all and it's my back...couldn't fit all of them on there, but if you look closely you'll see Waldo!

this is what a bad tattoo artist did to me:



this is what my new artist has done to fix it:


worlds apart

I take it that it's in your avatar.... I spy the ACSS logo. A fellow Manson fan? Hi.

I'm a huge Manson fan! Few people notice that logo, btw.