First timer upper arm tattoo?

Question

im 19 and planning my first tattoo, i designed it myself pic: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=380241126&albumID=797299&imageID=8417735 (dont steal it!)

id want it placed on my upper left arm, (i decided that before i heard that it was one of the least painfull places)

the problem is that my arms are rather thin and bony 5" around wrist, 8" around my upper arm, and i generally have a mid-low pain threshold (although anticipation is always much worse im generally ok when things are underway)

as this would be my first i have no idea how painfull it will be, and how long is it likely to take?

any help would be much apreciated :-)

lora x

Answer 1

Hey hon. Lots of input for ya. Here goes:

First, I am just about as skinny as you (I'm 9" around upper arm), so I know what you mean about worrying that that might mean more pain during the tat. I got my first tat two weeks ago, on my upper back. I knew that bonier areas tend to hurt more, and it's true - significantly more. I didn't even feel any pain, just pressure, on the areas of my back that were fleshy. I think you will probably be fine with that area (and I'm no m*******t either, so pain does nothing for me). Upper arm is a pretty hardcore (in a good way :)) place for a girl to get a tat, in my opinion. Anyway, it's not going to be any more painful than any other area, if you are a thin person.

My tat lasted 90 minutes (with just a couple brief breaks); it is full color, fairly complex, and 5"x8" on my upper back. It is a phoenix in flames coming out of smoke, so the artist had to do all the flames and some pretty complex shading in the smoke. I found the shading to be more painful, because he had to linger in the area more than he did with just the outlining, so it felt more like a burn during shading.

The anticipation is definitely worse; I mean yeh, it hurt like a *****, but nothing I couldn't handle, and I'm already planning another. So it's bearable.

The bigger issue, in my mind, is your design. I checked out the pic, and first, I love the concepts you're trying to represent. I think it's going to be totally original. However... it was difficult to tell what some of the elements were supposed to be. There's a LOT going on in there, girl! :) My advice to you is to find an artist whose work you LOVE, bring him or her the design, and ask them to work up a drawing. They will undoubtedly have some things they want to tweak (tattoo art is different from plain drawings in that there are limitations on it that you don't have in straight artwork. You want to make sure it's not too muddy, or else the impact of the tat will be lessened); if you have never been trained as a tat artist, you won't know the subtleties of the artwork.

So find an artists, work with them to come up with a tat you love (and be open to any suggestions they have; the best aspects of my tat were my artist's ideas, not mine - worst case scenario, you don't love the drawing and they keep working on it until you do), and in the end you'll have a piece of art that's totally personal and "you" for the rest of your life. Good luck!

Oh, and it looks like, from the intricacy of the piece, you're looking at at LEAST an hour, hour and a half for it, depending on how complicated the shading is. But you might get away with less. :)

Answer 2

Don't think of the pain part of it, if you choose the right artist it is not all that painful. Do your research, look at portfolios of the artists you speak with and don't settle for something because its cheap....quality is the difference between fantastic art you have forever or a regret you need fixed or covered!

Answer 3

i think thta tattoo is nice but it will take ages maybe more than a hour if you want it in colour its quite painfull at first but u get used to the feeling its just like someone scratching you hard you could try taking painkillers half an hour before having it done

Answer 4

Make sure you go to a good artist. A good artist will totally help to put you at ease. Everyone is different, but honestly tattoos hurt. They're tolerable, so don't get scared off. Some places hurt more than others, obviously you've done your research on that. If you have a good artist, I'd say that could take anywhere from an hour - two hours. I've seen a S****y artist do a smaller tattoo that took four hours...Do you research before picking a shop, and make sure you get good after care instructions.  

Answer 5

I had mine when i was 16, i am so scraed of needles, there is no one more scred of needles than me, i was fine the tattoo artist was cool tell them your worried and there sort you out. Mine didn`t hurt one bit, it was just like a vibration on your arm and tugging when they fill it in but you`ll be fine.

Answer 6

dont worry about anyone stealing it. i cant even tell what the **** it is. dont get it.

btw you look like a freak

Answer 7

Good artists seem to be able to work at around 12 square inches per hour for detailed color, faster for B&W and even quicker for monotone art.  If you have an 8" circumference arm and the tattoo is maybe 6" long, that's about 48 square inches total (4 hours) if you were to fill in the entire area.  I'd guess at most it's half or a quarter of that, but the artist would be the one to say and it depends on the final design.

Keep in mind that lines too thin are more at risk for fading over time.  There's a minimum you'll want that the artist can suggest.  Also, the artist will need to re-imagine this in tattoo format; that it won't look completely like the picture hopefully is understood.

Pain-wise, as someone who's had his upper left arm done, it really is no big deal.  Even the upper back isn't too bad, but the outer arm & shoulder is really trivial even before you get past the initial 5-10 minutes & the endorphins kick in.  I can hold normal extensive conversations when work is done on my arm, whereas the spine and especially the lower mid back near the waist I have to hush up.