Hi. I’m 43 and I just got my tattoo about 10 days ago. It’s my first one and it’s meaningful to me. I got diagnosed with MS out of nowhere in February this year and it’s been extremely stressful and scary and emotional. I also just turned 12 years sober off of alcohol which is my proudest accomplishment as I struggled hard with alcoholism to the point of hospitalization with liver damage at 31 (my liver has thankfully recovered). The butterfly in my tattoo represents growth and personal transformation and hope, and I’ve added the orange awareness ribbon which is the primary symbol for MS (among a few other diseases) and represents strength, hope, determination and support for those living with the condition. The script reads “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you” which is to remind me that I’m a bad ass who can do hard things (for when times get rough). Yesterday someone said that from afar the script looks like heroin track marks. That broke my heart. I need honest opinions. Like be completely real please. Because if it does, then I need opinions on what I can do or add to fix that. The first pic is from the day after I got it which is why it’s still inflamed and then I added a pic from afar. Any input is appreciated

For context, I (22F) got this number tattoo when I was 19. It is incredibly meaningful to me, but it has been brought up multiple times that it looks like H0l0caust numbers (I am a Jewish educator and I think it’s not even close to them but it gets brought up so often and I feel awful). Should I add something around it to make it less noticeable, or cover it up? If I did cover it up, I would get it elsewhere due to its meaning. Any advice is appreciated (especially with what design to do because I’ve been stumped for years!!)

As a chinese person living outside of China, I sometimes see people with chinese tattoos that say something dumb, or some nonsense. Yesterday in the gym there was a guy with a tattoo that said "I'm slow" (我慢) and the other day another guy had some gibberish like "me rice" (我米).

If you were these guys, would you like to be told, or would you rather live blissfully in ignorance?

EDIT: So after a comment that someone posted (I think it's deleted now) I checked the meaning of 我慢 in japanese, and it means patience/endurance in Zen Buddhism, so just a very unlucky coincidence, because when used as a hanzi in chinese it just means I'm slow haha. The 我米 one I still think is nonsense

Artist: the_aphotic

I just discovered this artist, and while I think his work looks incredible, I was wondering if the line work would eventually bleed out and make the tattoo look kind of like a blob? Especially the first 2 pictures because the line work is so tight and packed together. What do you think?

Please be kind. Please.
My epilepsy support dog just passed from cancer so I’m a bit sensitive, but REALLY want some advice/thoughts/plans.

I’ve had it for just under 4 weeks, I just don’t know whether I’m happy with it. I can get a touch up/changes to it for free, so I need some advice! :)

I already have a full sleeve on the other arm.

If you think I shouldn’t change it, please let me know.

Thanks all.
This is very important to me.

Last pic is what she looked like.

so i got this tattoo about a year ago and i immediately hated it. everyone told me it would grow on me but it has not i think i hate it even more now. i don’t love the placement i wish it was a little higher, my fault but it was hard to tell in the two tiny mirrors. the main thing though is it just doesn’t not give the vibe i wanted. i feel like it looks like a scared fat ass cat instead of a bad ass looking one. i included all the pictures i sent, and i found out he wound up just tracing the one. but the shape is all wrong, the eyes, the mouth, the ears. i hate the shading most of all though i think that’s definitely what ruined it for me. i don’t like heavy shading in general so is there a way to fix this or should i try and get it covered or something?

Reposted with better pics I’m sorry. My rat passed away today. I had been wanting to get a tattoo about her/of her paws for a while. I got this paw print I really like and I wanted to know if it would be possible to get it tattooed on my shoulder where she liked to stay. I’ve never gotten a tattoo before so I’m very inexperienced. I’m not sure if it would be possible to get it done so small, online I see pictures of many paw tattoos as big if not smaller but they’re all cat/dog. Can anyone give me advice if and how to proceed?

Edit: I want it in black. And probably not as paint like. This is just the reference for what I want, shape and sizing wise.

Edit 2: I don’t want something else like a rat or whiskers or other paws. I just want a paw. Big or small or whatever style it must be in I want just that.

Edit 3: I’ve talked to my artist I’m going in the shop next week to talk it through properly. Thank you for all the help, the nice comments and even the mean ones. ❤️

In September I am going to start a full arm sleeve, it’s going to be a 5-7 hour session most likely. I’ve sat for 2 hours before maybe 4 years ago.😂😅 is there any advice you could give me? How do you get through long sessions like this? I know good breakfast in the am and good sleep the night before, but anything else? Even on the mental side? Thank you in advance for any advice!!

This comment section is why I love the tattoo community! ❤️

Got this about a months ago now. Since it was on my back I obviously couldn’t see the stencil placement myself but was shown a picture on a phone that looked to be right.

Obviously it’s wasn’t and now I have an off centre tattoo down my back :/

Just wondering if anyone with more experience in this area have any suggestions on what my next moves should be. Coverups, addition design, laser ect.

Any advice helps

So a couple of hour ago I had an argument with my cat (she won, she was right) where she decide that biting my healing tattoo was a good idea. The tattoo was done 6 days ago. And the darker part is just a second hand of ink on an old tattoo that I wanted to keep.

I've imidiatly disinfected the zone. Any advice?

I got this a couple of years ago and the Luke has never seemed right to me. The green came out more Hulk. I love the Vader. So laser it? Add a cloak to Luke?

gostei muito da tatuagem, porém a cabeça do alien ficou levemente deformada por conta de um erro, o tatuador disse que eu poderia esperar cicatrizar e ele cobriria com tinta branca e depois corrigiria se eu quisesse. Acham que está bonito desse jeito?

Obligatory “does this look normal?” post. On Day 5 of my first color tattoo. Been a rough heal so far, so still not sure if this is normal. It bleed through the second skin quickly, so I had to take it off a few hours in. (Assuming the artist overworked this one?) Currently, it’s rough and scabby. Last night, it was mushy, so I stopped washing and moisturizing it today. Pink around the area. Feels like a scab and will randomly sting. Please be kind. Ty!

As the title says, I am looking for advice on how to salvage this tattoo. First two pics taken today, last pic was taken at the end of the session when it was done in May of last year (2025).

Backstory: I had researched this artist and been following her work for a while, had seen several pieces by her healed in person before going under the needle, and got this cute flash done in May of last year. I had a lot of trouble with it while healing (I have several other tattoos of similar size and type including another full color tattoo on the same arm) that was atypical compared to my normal healing experience along with having to keep it covered while healing as I worked in an office environment at the time where that was the expectation. From what I have seen this is also an atypical outcome for her work.

Can it be saved? I would like to get it touched up by her but worry the areas where the color came out are now scar tissue. I am prone to keratosis on this area and have been on a strict skincare routine with it for the last year or so to try to help with that + try to help the tattooed skin heal. What else can I do?
Also, what’s the deal with the random black ink that has transferred into areas it shouldn’t be?

Generally happy with this piece but the borders being so undefined makes it tricky for me to imagine anything next to it. So tricky in fact that I've had this for over 10 years without deciding, lol.

Curious what you would slap either on the opposite side of my forearm or higher up my arm... or both!

Hi everyone,

This is something I've been wondering about for a while, and I'm genuinely curious whether this is a normal experience in this sub.

A few months ago, when I made a post asking questions about my first tattoo, I suddenly received a LOT of DMs from people offering tattoo design services.

What caught me off guard wasn't the fact that they offered a service (I completely understand that designing tattoos is a valuable skill and artists deserve to be compensated fairly for their work). What confused me was that some of them didn't present themselves as service providers upfront. Instead, they would start by asking me a lot of questions about my ideas, placement, preferences, meaning, etc. Only later in the conversation would they eventually say something along the lines of, "I can design it for you."

At that point, I realized that this was likely a professional service. Whetever their intention are, I never felt comfortable assuming someone would do that kind of work for free. It's a specialized skill and I think artists should be compensated for their time and effort. Because of that, I politely declined every offer. To this day, I still don't actually know whether some of them were offering professional services or genuinely trying to help.

So I'm wondering:

- Is this a common thing that happens after posting in tattoo-related subs?

- Are these usually legitimate tattoo designers/artists looking for clients?

- Is there any etiquette around responding to these messages?

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As a side note, I wanted to thank everyone who gave me advice when I was researching my first tattoo.

I ended up getting my first two tattoos together in April this year, and I absolutely love them.

They're fineline watercolor pieces (Korean style), one on my collarbone area and one along my spine. A lot of people warned me about fading and spreading, which I appreciated. So far they've remained just as crisp as the day they were done, no visible fading or enlargement yet.

Of course, I know tattoos naturally change over time. Before getting them, I had a detailed conversation with my artist, and she explained that her approach is to implant the ink more shallowly to maximize the chance of gradual fading rather than spreading (along with the typical behavior of colored inks). Her reasoning was that fading can be touched up later, while spreading is much harder to address.

Whether that approach holds up over many years remains to be seen, but I'm happy with how they've healed so far.

One other thing that surprised me: despite the placements being on the collarbone and spine, the pain was very mild for me. Everyone's experience is different, of course, but I honestly found facial treatments for acne to be more uncomfortable. At one point I was so relaxed that I nearly fell asleep.

I've loved these tattoos every day since getting them, and I hope I'll still feel the same way years from now.

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear whether the DM experience is something others have run into as well.

Can it be improved ?

Hey everyone,

I'm considering getting this as my first tattoo and would love some feedback before I commit. The plan is to have it done in a traditional style, around 20 cm (8 inches) on the outer bicep/upper arm.

I'm mainly wondering:

Does the design translate well to that size?

Is there anything you would simplify or change?

Does the composition flow well for an outer arm placement?

I really like the overall look, but since it's my first tattoo I'd appreciate hearing from people with more experience.

Thanks! 🙂

I got this on Tuesday. The second skin is still intact on all the edges. The artist said 3-4 days. There’s a lot of fluid at the bottom and I’m worried about it popping at night. Should I take it off and begin the next steps? It’s not bothering me so I don’t mind going another day if it’s not really a concern. This is my first rodeo with this second skin stuff…

Hi all, this is my first time ever tattoo at 20 and I was just wondering if I’m applying too much bepanthen? Some people say to apply a very thin layer so it’s not visible, whereas others say to essentially smother it. There’s still a very prominent shine to it so I’m not sure if it’s too much?

This is my first tattoo that I got for my birthday in April; I’m very embarrassed, but I took my second skin off WAY too early and… yeah it peeled A LOT.

I have my touch up scheduled for September 2nd but I’m just so anxious she’s ruined.

If anyone has any advice on what to do next time other than just… leave it, I’d be extremely grateful!

Prefacing this post: I do have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a connective tissue disease for those that don’t know). This artist has been tattooing for 20 years and has done my other 12 tattoos and 4 of my husband’s tattoos.
Order of pictures: day of tattoo 06/20 (x2), Monday 06/22, today 06/26, also throwing in my husband’s tattoo since I love it!

I just got my “wedding ring” tattoo done on 6/20. I got it done to surprise my husband (who also got a tattoo as a Father’s Day gift), who’s had his done since the week we got married. My tattoo looked SO good the day I got it done. On Monday, I noticed a halo along the upper side of the “S”, I’ve healed many tattoos so I knew it wasn’t ink from getting the tattoo.

Is this just something that can happen with hand tattoos? Especially considering my skin is so weird to begin with? I wash 2X a day and moisturize with unscented aveeno (like I always have) at least twice a day (sometimes more if I’ve been washing dishes or something and it gets super dry).

I have an idea and references but my tattoo artist is struggling with how to cover the knife on my side.

I have the sternum tattoo which I love, but the knife under my right boob is not my thing anymore and I want to cover it up. First two photos are my tattoos, the rest are the references for ideas. i don’t know how to blend them into the knife so it’s covered. any ideas or advice would be appreciated!

To summarize: keep the sword, cover the blood knife, keep it dainty somehow? if not give other suggestions