I debated on taking this one on. I decided to go for it.





What really got me worried when lining mid tattoo was how soft and squishy his inner bicep and tricep are. It was really really stretchy and I struggled with how much I had to stretch the stencil. It was like tattooing a big fucking marshmallow. The curved lines in the flame part of the stencil were practically straight by the time I got a decent stretch. This was a tough one for sure, and humbled me quite a bit. Though I learned a whole lot about my lining technique. The line work had me worried, and I didn't feel good about my decision at first, but after seeing it healed tonight, and being able to get in there and doctor it up with shading, I feel really good about how it's going to finish up. I initially went in with a tight 9. I feel after fixing up most of the lines with shading, I can fine tune the lining with a bigger grouping, and all will be solid. If anyone feels I bit off more than I can chew, I can take it, but I honestly feel this is already starting to turn into a great tattoo. Paul is super stoked so far and the excitement in his eye tonight made me feel good about my decision to take this on.

If you look close, you can see the many lining inconsistencies, and some holidays in the black fill. It will be interesting to see how the fill heals up. I'll obviously go back in to take care of any holidays before I call this one finished. I've been warned about how difficult it is to get a good solid fill in larger spaces. I now see how it's not as easy as I thought.

>>>EDIT: AFTER A FEW COMMENTS WERE POSTED, I EDITED OUT A LINK TO THREE SEPARATE PHOTO'S OF THE TATTOO AND REPLACED THE LINK WITH A PHOTOSHOPPED MERGED PIC<<<