#25 Japanese Wave Sleeve (update)

I finally have something to show for this tattoo. This is a sleeve I've worked on twice now. He had the dragon on his arm before I met him, and he was wanting something to fit behind it. Last time, I only did the lining and some shading on the wave crests. This time, I got started on shading the waves. I really didn't anticipate how long it would take to do. Luckily, we ended this step in a place that was faily balanced.

 I remember an artist once telling me that good tattoo artists will rather take their time than do a crappy job. After the third hour, I could tell that I was getting tired, so we're taking another break. I'm really pleased with how it's going so far.

#29 Phoenix

I love this design. She got it online, but I adjusted the coloring just a bit. Rather than having the gradient only go from top to bottom, I made it go from a few places here and there. This was one of the examples of a client who wanted something, but for whatever reason our schedules took a month or two to connect the right way. I think it was worth the wait. :)

#28 "Respect" Kanji

This was a surprise. I came over with the intent of working on this guy's back again after a few months, and right away, he asked if I had ever tattooed on a hand before. So there we went, an unexpected tatt right then and there. Pretty sweet-looking. He told me that the reason he wanted a tattoo on his hand right in that spot was because he's seen a few people with it and loved it. It was playing pool with a man with this placement that got him really interested. Man... If I hadn't gotten myself into a career that prohibits visible tattoos, I'd do it too!

#27 Die Laughing

Simple, but nice design. I like the message, as well as the negative space being used to make the mask jump out of the skin. It also kind of makes it look like I lightened up the mask, but I actually never even touched it. This was with three shades of black. I have been planning on doing this one for months, but the client kept putting it off. I found out today that he was mostly worried about the pain, but ended up not thinking it was all that bad.

#26 Infinity Splash

This design means a lot to the client, but also doubles as a really sweet tattoo. It's a representation of her family and a specific family member who recently passed away. I really like the colors. This whole design is about 2x2in.

#25 Japanese Wave Sleeve

Sorry, folks. I somehow forgot to get this guy's photo before he left. However, I only completed the first half or so of the tattoo during the first visit, so I'll definitely get my second chance at the photograph. It's cool, though.