Tattoo topic

Have a topic for practically everything else! Figured id start one for tattoos. Any of you guys got any? Who do you go to? What were the mistakes you made getting your first tattoos? All that typical stuff.

Personally iv got a bunch of them, mostly from video games. I have the symbol of Torment the main char in Planescape Torment has on one of my hands and the Soul Eater from Suikoden on the other. My knuckles also read love life. I have the Yuna dancing on water with the spirits raising from it as one sleeve and the under side of my other arm is a giant Katamari Damacy mural with the banner Ryan Loves Amanda at the bottom(my wife has a katamari one on her back reading Amanda loves Ryan).

The two tats I have the most regrets about are my neck and my shoulder. My shoulder tat I regret because its a stupid ass monkey that right when I turned 18 I ran out and got at the cheapest shop in town willing to get me in the same day. I just flat out hate that tattoo. My neck tattoo I do not hate, but I made the mistake of giving an inexperienced artist that WAS doing good work too much freedom. The tattoo is of hearts around one side and stars on the other side meeting in a heart shaped locket with a star shaped keyhole around my chest. Pretty typical necklace and I loved the idea I had for it and I loved his design. Problem was he talked me in to some heavy shading separating each heart and star....and he totally screwed it up. A few look more like blobs from run off as a result then actual stars and hearts. He also forgot to add a star or heart on one side so it looks slightly off. Long term I think I can get it fixed and long term I think the guy will be an awesome artist, but he jacked this one up(and charged me $150 over what he said he would).

With each of my tats I have learned a lesson and I think all those lessons are finally culminating. I will be going in the next week or two to get my other sleeve done and the artist seems to have 100% nailed what I want. I have for years reffered to myself as a punk rock teddy bear because I am a huge dude that everyone finds intimidating as hell, yet in reality I sit at home reading, playing games or board games with my wife. Id rather go to the zoo then to the bar and I do not use any drugs what so ever. Thus a punk rock teddy bear. I had the guy sketch up a design and I really wanted this tattoo to represent the way I see myself. Very hard on the outside but yet a big soft cutey in reality. This is his first sketch and I am freaking thrilled!

http://oi53.tinypic.com/1zchahc.jpg

Anyways. Thoughts on my tats? Post pics of your own or share your own experiences!

We've had tattoo threads before (aside from the infamous Spiderman tramp stamp that gets bumped every few months). I've got one on my back when I was... 19 back in 2001? that was based on this picture:
http://img714.imageshack.us/i/img20110212154129139129.jpg/

I originally wanted the whole thing and the guy I saw at the time said it would be more of a project than I was ready for but I liked the knotwork in the middle and said let's just start there and see where it goes. I never went back but I'm not sure why. I have a half-sleeve on my left arm too from about a year ago. I was really unimpressed with the local shops and found a guy on the east side that was almost as excited to work on it as I was when I pitched it to him in fall 09 (pretty big gap between tattoos I know). Got it done in a series of sessions usually about two hours long but he pretty much did it on the fly based on a loose reference piece I gave him. It's not complete in this picture but here's the general idea: http://img156.imageshack.us/i/22668116656393112814388.jpg/

If I wasn't in a professional career already, I'd love to take it all the way down but I'm good with where it's at right now. When I get some money I'll get work done on my right arm too but not sure what yet. I view tattoos as art on bodies and I go out of my way to not attach some meaning to it contrary to what most people do, but that's just me.

And a big you in advance to the inevitable douchebags that like to crap on tattoos

The current/old thread is still active as of 2-8-11
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131673&highlight=tattoo

Sorry! I will post there and let this fade away.

Forgot all about that Spidey tat; that whole thread was awesome.

My girlfriend got a stupid ass tattoo on her wrist when she turned 18 (four years before I met her). Some stupid symbol she got. Kinda looked like an alchemist symbol, but, it also looked like it was done by a blind monkey. Shit was wearing off, it was crooked, etc.

She wanted another one, and I tried to convince her not to get more tats. Eventually, we compromised on getting the old one covered up by something better.

We did some research, and she got a great tattoo. Completely covered the old crap (thank goodness).

About the *only* thing I would consider getting put on my body is my family crest. Except, I don't even think I'll proceed with that; tattoos just seem so trashy to me. (Trashy isn't the right word...I just really dislike 99% of them.)