LOL Dear god no. Just ask Jimmy_Lemon what I think about Comic Sans
I've settled on a design but Im not going to show it until it's on my arm
Im a little bit nervous.
I went into one shop that my wife went into 10 years ago to get her first tat. A small tweetypie with our daughters name underneath. He came recommended by a bus driver I was working with who'd had most of his body done by this guy...This guy having been tattooing for over 20 years or so at the time.
Anyway I went into the same place last week and he was sat in the side bit where they do it. I went in pretty much blind with a couple of ideas but nothing concrete. The woman wasn't really that helpful. She showed me a couple but just too the attitude 'have a look round and let us know when you've chosen one'. She engaged a bit about what I might want, but I felt like I was taking too long and piddling about.
I also noticed that even though he seemed to be an absolutely brill artist...all the simple designs were really old fashioned. IE stuff that my dad would have had done in the 70's. There were some modern stuff there, but she just said 'If you have one of your own you like, print it off and we can trace it'. Not once did I see the tattoo guy himself, or was I offered the option of them drawing it for me. That's why I didn't get it done last week.
Went to another place today in another town near me that's also been there donkeys, and both guys couldn't have been more helpful. They had mountains of example books, and alot of modern stuff.
I showed him a few that I liked out of his books and he pointed out why the ones I'd chosen wouldn't be suitable. (One looked too close to something that usually represents death, another he said looked a bit girly tbh (It was a tribal-ish design with a name through it)). He backed up my idea of the one I took in on my iphone.
I emailed it to him, and he printed it out there and then, and spent some time with me choosing different styles of lettering (this is even as the shop's getting busier and busier). Not once was I pressured into making a decision. Even when I apologised for dithering, he kept saying 'No, make sure you take your time...It's a lifelong thing and we want to get it right'. Showed me a few of his tats, where he told the artist that did them 'oh stick any old **** in' and showed me why it matters to make sure it's right.
Couldn't have been any more helpful to be honest.
Now I've heard many good reports from people about him, but also one bad one from a mate (saying that one of the guys that works there rushes them because he has so many booking and is that popular, and that he's heard load of complaints. Not sure how much of it is chinese whispers though, there are gonna be bad 'reports/rumours' about everyone).
So I'm approaching it with a bit of trepidation, but I've heard mostly good, that's the main thing. I've seen his work, spoke to him, and I feel really comfortable with him doing it. I've even seen the outline etc that theyve prepared and I'm 100% happy. My neighbour had one done there too and is going back for another. That's good enough for me too.
He even said 'go home and find the lettering you want (I mentioned Id seen one on a pic at home). Knowing full well I could have wasted their time, got all their ideas and help and gone somewhere else.
So....Tuesday it is, I'm booked in, and I'm getting me inked up
