Tattoos where do you stand?

I created a thread like this a couple of years ago, but times gone by and I just thought I'd get an update on what people are thinking now seeing as body art has become more common.

I personally like tattoos, I have three and each one has a meaning behind it. I think tattoos can be a great way of expressing yourself, but what do you guys think?

Do you think there bad or ok?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I am a bit impartial, my girlfriend wants to get a small one on her ankle and she wants something that has meaning. I am not going to stop her from doing it, I am just kind of yes/no when it comes to it. I am sure I will be fine with it, a little tattoo isn't going to destroy who she is as a person.

Personally, I would never get a tattoo on myself.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I can't see any reason why tattoos would be bad. But there are a lot of things to consider before getting one. First of all, it'll affect how people view you (and thus treat you). Unlike clothing, jewelry, and make-up, which you can change at will, most tattoos are permanent. What if you want to change your look? You'll have to cover up the tattoo somehow. Also, if you are very young, you may want to be careful where you place the tattoo. As your body grows/changes, the image may become stretched or distorted.
Just some things to think about.

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Originally Posted by YOU MAD

Other than the fact that they'll look like shit later?

By the time your skin gets so saggy that your tattoos will warp, nobody's going to want to see you naked anyway. How you'll look when you're old is the most retarded arguement against tattoos ever.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Stop gaining so much weight then.

:smug:

I was speaking idiomatically.

I don't care either way about tattoos, as long as they stay the hell away from my body. So I guess you could say I'm partially against them.
Also I wouldn't ever be able to find any motif or symbol that I care enough about, or would care to look at for a whole lifetime anyway.
Ironically my GF has a huge Norse dragon-thing stretching from one shoulder blade to the other.

I guess if I were ever to get one anyway, I'd have to completely fuck my body over, irezumi style.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I have nothing against tattoos, I only have something against people who get tattoos for no reason whatsoever. It's one thing to get a bad tattoo, it's another to go into a shop and not even know what you're getting until the needle is on you. That's horrible. I think some people definitely trivialize the fact that their tribal armband is going to be on them for life, but hey, it's their body.

I don't really understand the bias against tattoos. If they're well done and mean something to the person who got them, what's the big deal?

How ya doing, buddy?

I don't have much of a problem with tattoos, but I get bothered about it if it looks bad or the tattoo would've looked better in another place.

When I was with my dad at some hardware store a couple months ago, some dude there had Quagmire from Family Guy tattooed on his neck with "Giggdy Giggidy, Alright!" tattooed alongside him. I couldn't help but think:

...

And then a friend of mine got a tattoo on his forearm, a whole bunch of music related stuff since he was a music major. I would've liked the tattoo a whole lot more if he had it on his upper arm or something, but the forearm was just a bad spot to put it.

I personally wouldn't get one because I'd regret the decision later, but nothing against them. Your body, you do what you want with it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I like tattoos when they're well-organized and cohesive on the body. But things like, say, Mickey Mouse and a portrait of Hitler overlapping on one arm are pretty awful (true story, saw that one on some lovely person about 8 years ago). I like themes, though. There's a guy who works (or worked) at our local Borders that had this Aztec theme going on with his whole body, tattoo and piercing-wise. He had pottery and architecture design tattoos and Quetzalcoatls going through his ears. It was interesting, not necessarily attractive, but at least he had a larger goal in mind with his body art.

Personally, I've considered getting one, but I'm entirely too indecisive to commit to any one design in any permanent location. But Henna is a fantastic alternative to actual tats, in my opinion.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I dont think I'd ever get a tattoo, for the sheer reason that I wouldnt know what to get or where to get it. I cant really envision a tattoo on any part of my body, so that makes it really tough to say.

As for tattoos on other people, I like it when they're tasteful. Its actually a bit of a turn on if a guy has one or two nice, small tattoos. But there comes a point where they just start looking awkward. Tattoo 'sleeves' (especially on just one arm, while the other is bare), and huge words across the stomach just look silly to me.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I like the idea of getting a tattoo, and I have a few ideas of things that aren't just transient bullshit, but I'm going to think about it for at least a year longer before I commit to anything. If and when I do get anything it'll either be on my forearm or my calf, and it'd be something small and discreet.

People who get music-related tattoos are bad, but dolts who opt for shit from video games are the absolute worst.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I would never get a tattoo, and they're really a major turnoff for me when I see them on other people. I just don't like the idea of permanently ruining your body (I know the people who get them don't see it that way, but it just looks ugly to me to have this noticeable, unnatural spot on your skin, regardless of what its of or how big it is), especially on someone who would look totally nice otherwise.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

People who get music-related tattoos are bad, but dolts who opt for shit from video games are the absolute worst.

Deni once told me he wanted to get "6:10:50" tattooed on the back of his neck. I STILL think it's an awesome tattoo.

As for me, I'm currently toying with the idea of putting some Aesop Rock lyrics on my inner forearms. I REALLY wanted to use "Must not sleep. Must warn others." but Aes himself already inked that on. I might still do it but I'm more hesitant to do it now that the man himself has them.

In short, Krel: Fuck you.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'm a fan of them overall though the number of people that get really fucking bad ones seems way higher than it should be. Also neck tats are quite possibly the trashiest thing a person can do.

It doesn't seem so hard to be smart about it really. Pick an image that doesn't look like ass and place it somewhere on your body that you at least have the option of covering up. And you know get someone to do it who's at least competent.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by YOU MAD

Found Shin's tat:

Spoiler:

No, if that were Shin's tat, both horses would be blue.

FELIPE NO

i am ok with it. i might consider getting some in the future (back of neck or lower back).

something simple, symmetrical but no words of any language. don't really want to end up like some people here

may go as far as wings.. but tha'ts pushing it

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Encephalon

Deni once told me he wanted to get "6:10:50" tattooed on the back of his neck. I STILL think it's an awesome tattoo.

As for me, I'm currently toying with the idea of putting some Aesop Rock lyrics on my inner forearms. I REALLY wanted to use "Must not sleep. Must warn others." but Aes himself already inked that on. I might still do it but I'm more hesitant to do it now that the man himself has them.

In short, Krel: Fuck you.

I'm just wary of getting a symbol of something I might not think is poignant and meaningful twenty years down the line indelibly etched into my flesh. Seems a valid concern to me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I don't have anything against tattoo's, I just don't understand why anyone would want to have someone else doodle all over them with a sharp ink pen. Lots of people tell me that it's to remember an "important event/date", but is it worth keeping ink on your body forever?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Tijuana

I don't have anything against tattoo's, I just don't understand why anyone would want to have someone else doodle all over them with a sharp ink pen. Lots of people tell me that it's to remember an "important event/date", but is it worth keeping ink on your body forever?

So what you're really saying is, you actually do have a problem with tattoos?

Though, I will agree, there are a LOT of bad tattoos out there, there are a lot of people who are jumping on the tattoo bandwagon as it were, but it's not fair to assume that people don't have events or symbols that will always be important to them. It just seems like a cynical point of view to think otherwise.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Encephalon

Deni once told me he wanted to get "6:10:50" tattooed on the back of his neck. I STILL think it's an awesome tattoo.

As for me, I'm currently toying with the idea of putting some Aesop Rock lyrics on my inner forearms. I REALLY wanted to use "Must not sleep. Must warn others." but Aes himself already inked that on. I might still do it but I'm more hesitant to do it now that the man himself has them.

In short, Krel: Fuck you.

No, no. I -have- it tattooed on my back. Except it isn't the number. I have the clock tower in a ghost town vista set to 6:10:50.

I did once drunkenly threaten to get it tattooed on my arm in the same style that Donnie Darko gets the count down to the end of the world on his arm. Then I sobered up.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

I'm just wary of getting a symbol of something I might not think is poignant and meaningful twenty years down the line indelibly etched into my flesh. Seems a valid concern to me.

YouTube Video

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

I'm just wary of getting a symbol of something I might not think is poignant and meaningful twenty years down the line indelibly etched into my flesh. Seems a valid concern to me.

Who says it won't be meaningful twenty years down the line? If you personally love it enough to put it on yourself, it's worth doing it. Sure I question the judgment some of them use when choosing subject matter but it's ultimately up to the individual. I don't see how picking a symbol from a game makes you "the worst" at, well, anything.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I actually just got one last week. I'd been thinking about it [getting one] for quite a while, but I never really knew what I wanted. I was actually going through some old sketches a few weeks ago and caming across something I drew a few years back and it just clicked. As such, I'm obviously not against them. I probably wouldn't plaster myself with them, but I'm all for getting a couple.

Pics in the Chocojournal, for the record.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg

People who get music-related tattoos are bad, but dolts who opt for shit from video games are the absolute worst.

Meh, gaming related stuff is as valid/stupid a reason to get a tattoo as anything else, as long as it means something to the person getting it.

I saw this Shadow of the Colossus 'weak point' tattoo, which I thought was a pretty cool idea, instead of say, the logo or something. That's in spite of me not liking SotC very much at all.

If I should choose something that is the least applicable to ever make it to my body though, it would be a celebrity tattoo.

For the lulz:

Spoiler:

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Originally Posted by YOU MAD

Found Shin's tat:

Spoiler:

Behave woman, everyone knows the greatest gay unicorn tattoo of all time is this one:

Spoiler:

My tattoos don't have any huge meaning and I find it slightly ridiculous when you watch that Miami Ink thing and there's all these people wanting a picture of a dolphin to remind them of their dead grandpa or a Celtic cross to remind them of the time they ran over their dog or some shit. If you can't remember your own grandpa without a fucking tattoo staring you in the face then you've got some issues.

I'm also not a fan of tattoos that are directly "From" something, I think it shows a lack of imagination if nothing else and I'd rather express myself through an original piece of artwork than a corporate logo or a character or icon someone else came up with from a game or film or whatever. I mean, there's nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from something you've seen, we all do that all the time and trying to come up with something 100% original would be damn near impossible but to slavishly copy a band's logo or put a picture of a computer game character on your butt or something just smacks of a lack of imagination. Either that or a shitty tattoo artist.

I understand why some people would want a picture of Mario on their arm (To remind them of their cousin who died in a freak turtle related accident of course) but it's not for me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.