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Posted by: J.D. Oct 29 2009, 02:36 AM

I knew I could do it. As far as I'm concerned, I DID IT. And I did it well. I'm very proud, and hope to keep the consistency in my lining on the next tattoo.

Tight 5rl. Upped the volts and stretched stretched stretched.

Posted by: ink-sink Oct 29 2009, 02:39 AM

are you kidding - i see blowouts allover the place - inconsistant lines - wobbles all over - quite a few places the ink will fall out?











only kidding - looks good to me. cant wait to see this one with some colour in it - congrats bud

Posted by: J.D. Oct 29 2009, 02:57 AM

I just found a MAJOR mistake that can be fixed pretty easily. But it's a major misread of the stencil. Fixable for sure, and not a big deal, but I'm pretty upset with myself and am racking my brain on how the hell I fucked that up. Can anyone spot it?

Posted by: ink-sink Oct 29 2009, 03:07 AM

very bottom petal?

Posted by: Nippyneedle Oct 29 2009, 03:41 AM

Did you move a flower to the left from the right, adds to the design. Oh and it would be soo sore where it was going according to the design, nice work.

Posted by: amybird Oct 29 2009, 03:41 AM

Do we get a prize if we spot it? Is it the leaf overlapping the poppy petal at the top? Don't see that in the original...or was that one of the modifications?


It's gonna be pretty!

Posted by: Bravo4 Oct 29 2009, 03:53 AM

Where one of the leaves overlaps a petal on the flower that will be yellow. It's supposed to be under the petal.

Posted by: jabardstown Oct 29 2009, 04:14 AM

Lines look pretty solid, a couple ugly ones at the bottom but damn fine job! You did a hell of a job keeping them nice and straight.
The only thing that jumps out at me is the little bit of leaves missing under the blue bonnets, other than what was mentioned above. It looks better without it anyway.

Posted by: lilbit78 Oct 29 2009, 04:55 AM

J.D. Nice work. I think the lines at the bottom will be fixable with the shading.

Oh I saw this on myspace and it made me think of the knife to the back you were drawing up to tattoo...

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=2695439&albumID=564126&imageID=68516686

Posted by: ink-sink Oct 29 2009, 05:04 AM

thats really good - not liking the handle but the slashes are good

Posted by: The Nerd Oct 29 2009, 05:07 AM

amys spot on i think about the mistake .. i also notices u took 1 of the flowers off the right side and added a smaller bud on the left ...

anyways great job my dude .. some small line issues but most are pretty darn good ...


i want a bit fun piece like this

Posted by: Stoneface Oct 29 2009, 06:05 AM

I'm thinking Bravo nailed the mistake(greenery over flower)...but the piece could go either way...don't see it's a big deal....if you colorshade the petal at that point it'll look prettydarn cool.
Otherwise I may have greylined and gone full color, no black outline.
COOL.

Posted by: Bravo4 Oct 29 2009, 07:25 AM

Yea, in my post I was just seeing if I knew what the mistake was. Not that it looked bad. It can go either way. Your lines are solid, and I like this very much. Would love to see it when it's done.

Posted by: J.D. Oct 29 2009, 08:31 AM

I thought that might get some weird looks. The lines at the very bottom are not etched or sculpted. They're one pass lines, I promise. They have just a bit of purple stencil left over, and are still bleeding, as they were the very last lines I put in, and the pic was taken less than 5 minutes after we were done.

The leaf sprout over that poppy was intentional. She and I talked about each section of the stencil as I laid them on. We thought it would be cool to have that one overlap.

Some flowers I cut out and placed in different places to have the whole thing flow better.

All good guesses, but are not the major fuck up I still have no idea how I missed.

My mistake is on the poppy with the blue bonnet leaf overlapping. Though it's not the leaf that's the problem. It's the fact that I somehow missed one of the petals on that yellow poppy. There are three petals on the original art, and I somehow only put in two. I don't know how, but I did. I'll add a third next time, but I don't feel good about it. I'm pretty embarrassed actually, but hopefully it's an easy lesson learned to always double check the art in weird spots.

Thanks for the comments guys.

Posted by: J.D. Oct 29 2009, 08:57 AM

AHHHH! Not as big a deal as I thought. That blue bonnet leaf sprig goes over the line that separates the two petals on that yellow poppy. I just need to add a small curved line to the left of the sprig to turn that one big petal back into two small ones like the original art. Not such a big deal. Yay! I'm not a dumbass!

Posted by: JUSRUSH808 Oct 29 2009, 09:23 AM

Looks good, it flows very nicely with her body.

Posted by: amybird Oct 29 2009, 10:23 AM

Lol!

Ok, you're maybe just a tiny bit of a dumbass for managing to take perfectionism to a new level of loltasticness If all the amateurs/"scratchers" were this anal, that other thread about http://forum.ink-trails.com/Question-Noobs-Jumping-Skin-t16641.html would certainly not exist

It's gonna be a really nice tattoo. If someone showed me this picture and said it was by a professional who'd been tattooing for several years I'd believe them.

Posted by: J.D. Oct 29 2009, 11:42 AM

Thanks brother.



Well, shit Amy, thank you.

Posted by: paulengland Oct 29 2009, 03:13 PM

love it.............not perfect.......but near enuff for arts sake

Posted by: J.D. Nov 5 2009, 02:18 AM

Undiluted Kuro Black. 9mag. 3 hours. We'll finish the rest of the black shading tomorrow night.

Posted by: amybird Nov 5 2009, 02:53 AM

How many tattoos have you done on humans other than yourself now?

Posted by: J.D. Nov 5 2009, 03:00 AM

Six, I think.

Posted by: J.D. Nov 5 2009, 03:03 AM

Nope, sorry, 8...

Posted by: amybird Nov 5 2009, 03:07 AM

Fucksake. (A compliment, lol)

Posted by: J.D. Nov 5 2009, 03:16 AM

Thank you for that. I like it. It's not perfect, but I 'm very proud of the linework. I learned a bit more about getting a smoother gradient with more finess of my wrist when flicking the mag out. You can see some choppy gradients in there, but considering it's just pure black, I'm happy. Especially since the color will blend it all together. Hopefully this marks the end of my lining struggle. But know that I tattooed pounds and pounds of pigskin, and littered my thighs with practice. If you factor in the pig and my thighs, I can say I've done easily over 100 tattoos. It's been a long, exhausting effort.

Posted by: amybird Nov 5 2009, 03:25 AM

Well it's been worth it. A lot more people should probably make their first 100+ tattoos off-human!

Posted by: Marcuz Nov 5 2009, 04:41 AM

when u do ure shades with un-dilluted black, do u do whip shadeing ? to make it fade

Posted by: J.D. Nov 5 2009, 07:33 AM

Yes. Whip shading. Flicking outward towards the fade. A basic guideline to smooth out the gradients is to try to work in a crosshatching pattern. Hand speed and feathering out your wrist flick are key factors too.



Absolutely. There are a lot of mistakes that can, and will be made on pig when learning how to control your machines. A LOT of mistakes.

Posted by: purplethumb Nov 5 2009, 12:42 PM

Looks great JD you should be very proud bro. I cant wait to see this finished out.

Posted by: ke4est Nov 5 2009, 05:38 PM

Damn good job.

Posted by: J.D. Nov 6 2009, 01:29 AM

Thanks guys.

Finished the black tonight. We'll wait two or three weeks and start on color.

Same deal. Kuro Black, 9mag. 2 hours.

Thanks for looking.

Posted by: amybird Nov 6 2009, 02:00 AM

Do you fancy a trip to Norway to finish my arm?

Posted by: J.D. Nov 6 2009, 02:04 AM

Don't tempt me.

Besides, it's not done yet. You're gonna jinx me.

Posted by: amybird Nov 6 2009, 03:06 AM

Eek sorry. Yeh, it totally sucks. Go back to piggies you crazy fool!

Posted by: Teo Nov 6 2009, 04:47 AM

wow JD ! very nice bro ! .......this is gona look ace finished !


side note: do you lower your voltage for the whip shading ? or is it purely increasing hand speed while whipping out ?

Posted by: J.D. Nov 6 2009, 09:14 AM

With Kuro, what works for me, is I lower the voltage as much as possible. Just hard enough to get that needle grouping fully penetrating. This is with Kuro Sumi black though. With most other colors, I need to turn the volts up. But for me, and what I've adapted to, yes, a soft hitting shader is what I prefer. It's not very fast either. It's in the low 80 Hz range.

Posted by: paulengland Nov 6 2009, 09:18 AM

looking awesome j.d How many hours including concept and design have you put into this.....every one of em was worthwhile

Posted by: J.D. Nov 6 2009, 09:29 AM

Man, I don't know. From the first pencil to paper sketch, up to now?

I'll say about 5 hours conceptualizing and coming up with the final layout and lines. Maybe more.
8 hours for the full color rendering.
4 hours lining. Maybe a little less.
3 hours first black session.
2 hours last night to finish black.

So 17 hours so far. Maybe 20.

Posted by: Teo Nov 7 2009, 08:57 AM

how do you personally gauge the lowest volts for whats needed to just penetrate the skin ?

thumb test , slowly increasing until it doesnt stall while aplying your thumb ?

sound ?

or have to bump it with the flick of the wrist to keep the volts low enough

Posted by: J.D. Nov 7 2009, 09:04 AM

Thumb, and sound. Putting my thumb on the nipple over time, over and over and over, every time I changed something up. It took trail and error over time to where I know what hit is too much, too little, or just enough. It's one of those many things in tattooing that you have to just learn to feel on your own. Pig skin man. Hours and hours and hours on pig skin is what taught me.

Posted by: Old Skool Nov 7 2009, 10:03 AM

Very nice JD, that looks well.

Posted by: J.D. Nov 7 2009, 11:28 AM

Thanks man.



Oh, and I don't really pay attention to the stalling. It's more of the hit I feel on my thumb. My machine sounds like it's stalling when I'm in the middle of my whip, but I know from the hit I felt on my thumb, and the feedback I get through the machine while it's in the skin that it's hitting just hard enough to be fully penetrating.

In the latest update on my 1/2 sleeve, I upped the volts quite a bit more with the green and yellow steam. That particular ink from Intenze goes in awesome, but still no where near as easy as Kuro black. So the volts were upped a bit to pound the ink in. But not too much. Just enough to get the ink to stick a bit easier. But still soft enough to also be able to build up some subtleties in the gradients from green to yellow.

Hope that helps.

Posted by: Stuart (Coleford_Ink) Nov 8 2009, 12:48 AM

I don't blow smoke up peoples butts so here goes.....



Love it Man! looks spot on to me can't wait to see it finished.

Posted by: Teo Nov 8 2009, 02:52 AM

good ol thumb eh ! thats pretty much how i guage the hit..... and sound of course

did you blend/mix in the tube ? or have caps set out with the diff shades,gradients ?

Posted by: J.D. Nov 8 2009, 03:30 AM

If we're talking about the 1/2 sleeve, it's been all in the tube since the areas have been small enough. When I hit the background with purples and blues, I'm gonna premix to make sure it's all consistent.

Posted by: Teo Nov 8 2009, 05:38 AM

gotcha ! thanks for the insights....il stop bugging you now !

Posted by: J.D. Nov 25 2009, 02:56 AM

I'm not certified to legally tattoo in the shop yet, so this one was done in my home. I refuse to travel anymore, as it's a fucking pain in my ass, so most people wanting tattoos are waiting for my blood and paper work to go through so I can get them in the shop. But this girl's a family friend, so I set up in the house again for her.

7mag

She asked to leave the purple out of the blue bonnets at the last minute. I'm gonna see how it all heals, and decide how to tie it together without the purple. It doesn't look right as is. Needs something in there to replace the purple.

I had a hard time with the light blue. It wouldn't go in at some points, and super saturate in others. I finally jacked up the volts and just hammered it in. I moved fast along her hip bone, and stomach area since my machine was hitting pretty hard, and could tell she was NOT happy. So the top of the bonnets on the hip bone are gonna get another pass. Hell, I'm not happy with the light blue at all, so I'm going over all of it again to get it right next time.

This is my biggest hurdle right now. Getting it all in the first time. I'm tired of doing it all twice to get it in right. I'll get it. It's coming.

So I kept the volts up pretty high. Color went in faster, but the tattoo bled much more. No overworking, but you can see the excess blood dried up in the bonnets and the poppies.

We'll probably hit this sooner than later, so another pic will be up soon.

Posted by: Noz187 Nov 25 2009, 03:22 AM

Awesome stuff J.D. can i ask a question about your progress?... how much time do you think you have jumped forward since Mario took you under his wing? from the first time he helped you .. how long do you think it would have taken you to get where you are now on your own..? and what is the single most important thing you have learnt from him so far? im just curious .

Posted by: amybird Nov 25 2009, 03:23 AM

You're quite sure you won't be in the Norway area any time soon...?

Posted by: J.D. Nov 25 2009, 03:50 AM

Although I've started on a few things with Mario since we talked about the apprenticeship, it's really only been super hands on with art. We haven't really gone over my tattooing yet, as I'm not legally allowed to tattoo there until the paper work goes through. But I've been at his shop every Saturday for the past few months, and he's answered whatever questions I've had. Especially about tattooing. Being allowed to hang out at his shop while he and Noel tattoo has helped me quite a bit. There's really not any one thing I can say that has stood out with my learning process yet. It's been little bits and pieces from picking their brains about stuff. There were moments in this tattoo where I wanted to walk out of the room and punch something when I couldn't get the baby blue to stick consistently. I was taking WAY too much time, and it was a very sensitive area for her. I watched Mario put color in super quick with a HARD hitting color packer a few days ago, and that's what clued me into upping my volts considerably. But seeing how quickly he moved to assure no overworking, and the subtleties of his finessing out gradients stuck with me too. Things like that have chimed in with me during most of my tattoos. If it wasn't for him allowing me to hang and observe, I'd probably still be struggling a lot more than I am now. I can't wait to have him over my shoulder as a committed mentor while I'm tattooing. I'm hoping to soak in his advice on anything he can suggest for me to improve.



How about you and your husband take a trip to the beautiful and historic San Francisco.

Posted by: Deputy Devilz Nov 25 2009, 02:15 PM

if all clients were patient enough to have 2+3 sessions .. they all want it all in one day and that causes stress and rushed work. Good to see you taking steps on this one. Will work in your favour.

Posted by: J.D. Nov 25 2009, 02:21 PM

I can only put the ink in so fast, and that's starting to bug me. Plus, I only have a limited window of time to begin with. We started after 10 pm, after I put my kids to bed and set up. And she had to get up early for work the next day, so we stopped at 1:30am. 3/12 hours, with two 5 minute breaks. Not very fast. I gotta speed up.

Good to see you back Devils.

Posted by: Deputy Devilz Nov 25 2009, 02:41 PM

thanks J.D...
been mad busy.


good work.

Posted by: The Nerd Nov 26 2009, 09:43 AM

this seems as if it is really comming together JD i have the same issue with a few colors aswell getting it solid the first run i dont wanna overwork the skin yet it needs to be solid ..

looks like you have a great star and a solid foundation to build this piece up .. take your time and do what you need to do

Posted by: Noz187 Nov 26 2009, 10:14 AM

dude you should read/see josh carltons color packer set up... well it worked for me anyway.

Posted by: J.D. Nov 27 2009, 02:09 AM

I own the book, but read it a loooong time ago. A lot of it was over my head at the time. I bet if I revisit it, it will help a lot. Thanks for reminding me I still have that thing.

9mag

She wanted orangey gold poppies instead of the yellow in the reference art. I think my set up is off. I gotta rethink some things. It looks saturated in the pic, but it's really not. I just couldn't get the color in, and therefore struggled with the blending. I couldn't judge the gradients between the red, orange and yellow brecause it was all filled with blood. Even still, I know I put in gradients from yellow to orange in all new flowers tonight, but still cant see it in the pic. I need to add more red at the base shadows in the new orange poppies. I need to add more brownish tones in the roses. No contrast in this new work tonight. It looks okay, but desperately needs more attention. A little discouraged tonight, but I know I'll get there.

Posted by: J.D. Dec 6 2009, 08:12 PM

My first tattoo session in a real shop!


See what I mean about the lack of color saturation in the roses? It's the same with the poppies. The shader I was using on this tattoo before this session is tuned for black and gray and didn't really realize it until I started doing bigger color pieces. Just not enough punch for me to put the color in consistently and I was struggling. I could have retuned it to hit harder, but that would just be a waste of a perfectly good B&G shader setup. I have a Buzzbrush cutback shader that I put down for a while because it was just too much for me to handle. But I retuned it today before this tattoo, and it put in the inks like fucking butter. Hopefully when the new flowers heal, the color will stick. It looks like and felt like it's gonna stay. I hope I'm right.

So, I gotta go back in to the roses and poppies but know it's all gonna turn out how I want it to. It's frustrating to know she's gonna have to endure me going back in.

As far as the pink naked ladies, I got a lot done, but it still needs finessing. Man, this is a big tattoo.

Posted by: jremy Dec 8 2009, 02:35 PM

just seeing the outline made me have to change my pants.............in a good way.

Posted by: 1rottie1 Dec 9 2009, 06:06 AM

awsome piece J.D. ive been watching it since u posted it back in 2008.... im glad its slowly coming together.... i gotta get some of my work up on here..... cant wait to see the completion......

Posted by: J.D. Dec 9 2009, 09:50 AM

Thanks man, but I posted the completed art for this less than two months ago. Started tattooing it soon after.

Posted by: Monkey Juice Dec 11 2009, 08:16 PM

Nice work, are you planning a background or you gonna let this one stand on its own?

Posted by: J.D. Dec 11 2009, 09:35 PM

Thanks. No background for this one.

Posted by: Stoneface Dec 12 2009, 09:31 AM

Lookin' really nice dood ... I havn't tuned in since page 2 ... You mentioned the light blue hard going in and the first thing to come to mind was... Intenze? I went back through the thread but didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

Posted by: Kuso01 Dec 13 2009, 10:29 AM

A nice to se some good work! Keep it on!

Posted by: J.D. Dec 13 2009, 10:57 AM

I used Stable and Starbright. I think it had more to do with my tuning and application than the brand. These exact colors have gone in fine in some tattoos and not so fine in other tattoos. I think it's just a matter of me dialing everything in and getting more consistent. I'm tattooing this one again in a couple hours, and will be using the same newly tuned cutback shader I used the last session. If it puts in the color as easy as last time, I'll have taken another step toward being a more consistent tattoo artist. Fingers crossed...

Posted by: J.D. Dec 13 2009, 07:07 PM

Almost done! I'm gonna wait about 4-6 weeks for everything to heal up, then go back in and just add some oranges and purples in the blue bonnet leaves. I need to add some color to the center of the poppies. I need to add a bit more dark pink to the tips of the naked ladies. And I need to add some white highlights in the green leaves and a couple other teeny spots.



Like I hoped, the newly tuned cutback shader put in every color I had today with zero problems. I'm very happy with how this is turning out, and am super stoked to have tuned a shader to handle big color pieces.

Posted by: Stoneface Dec 13 2009, 08:40 PM

That's great man...nothing like that under-control feeling. I'm guessing you're packin' a lil quiker these days(cps)? What group were you drivin'(if you don't mind)?

....Sweet piece all- the way around.

Yeah, I have a softspot for the Starbrites................The Stable... not had any of it but Those colors are nice...some poppin' placements.....nice job on the gold...and I agree with you and the purple in the Blue Bonnets. I've been really diggin' Eternals of late.... a lil messy but well worth it.

Sorry for the ramble...I don't comment much...just really like the piece, placement etc..

Posted by: J.D. Dec 13 2009, 08:56 PM

Stable has been good to me. This tattoo utilized all kinds of brands though. Stable reds, yellows, oranges, greens, purples, pinks and blues. I used Starbright blue, yellow and white. I used a Waverly purple, and a Mom's lavender. Mainly Stable colors for the majority though. For this last session, I used a 9 mag. But also used an 11mag and 5rl for some shading in previous sessions too. I think that was all I used. But the back posts will say if I'm leaving anything out.

Oh, and the cps is somewhere between 150 and 180. Sorry, but my Cyclone readouts are fucked up right now. I just go off of sound and hit for the tuning nowadays.

Posted by: deerfaced Dec 14 2009, 12:20 AM

looks awesome big guy.

Posted by: J.D. Dec 16 2009, 12:16 AM

I plugged the cutback into Mario's Cyclone PS today.

Unloaded I got:

200 cps
50% Duty

That seems a little high for speed. It's fast, but doesn't feel THAT fast. Maybe I'll plug her into an Eikon one day and see how that compares.

Posted by: JohnnyChaos Dec 16 2009, 02:26 AM

200!!! jesus h monkey balls. how'd you get it running that fast!? I seem to be hitting a 130cps wall with mine.

tat looks cool btw

Posted by: J.D. Dec 16 2009, 07:24 AM

Buzzbrush worked his magic. I just retuned it to my liking. But like I said. I don't know if I trust that readout.

Posted by: buzzbrush Dec 16 2009, 10:14 AM

eikon, got a machine to run over 3oo cps

Posted by: J.D. Dec 16 2009, 10:29 AM

So, it's not unrealistic to think the blued watson cutback shader you made for me is running at around 200?

Posted by: buzzbrush Dec 16 2009, 11:04 AM

it sure is possible, but i think unlikely with that machine when loaded

Posted by: Deputy Devilz Dec 22 2009, 11:41 PM

lookin' good!

this would have looked lovely as a black n grey piece too...
I really like how it looked in the shaded pics.
love the top hip area flowers.. nice flow up the body..
the lower ones at the knee end a bit abruptly for my eye... but still the overall piece is coming along lovely.

Needs some more dark shading in the flowers now they are coloured maybe?
I have had a few pieces like that...
had plenty of dark in there but when the colour went in the shading got lost a bit.

She has a very pretty leg now, bet she loves it :-D

Posted by: J.D. Dec 22 2009, 11:51 PM

Thanks DD. She's loving it, for sure. She had me change the final design on the fly in three areas.

-One was the blue bonnets on the hip. She didn't want the purple, and now wants to just leave it as is. I wasn't happy with leaving it at first, but I think it looks fine now.

-Second was the yellow poppies. She wanted a more golden orange than a yellow. No biggie.

-Third was the pink naked ladies on the knee. She wanted less black in the tips. This was right before the second black shading session so I was uneasy about that since it wouldn't balance with the rest of the black shading. I agreed to do less black in those compared to the reference art because I knew I could balance it out with the dark purple to come. But then she wanted more pink and less purple when I got to the color. I gotta figure out a dark pink in there to help with the contrast. I don't know if I can without going too red, but I'll try to mix in the cap to see. If I can't come up with something other than purple to balance, I'll just leave it.

Posted by: Deputy Devilz Dec 22 2009, 11:54 PM

its going to be an impressive piece when finished.
following the clients instruction can sometimes go against what you would want to do yourself, but its their tattoo after all.
if they are happy..we are happy :-)
( of course I refuse to tattoo certain things no matter how much they beg ! ) ;-)

Posted by: Blackwidow Dec 23 2009, 12:39 AM

love it JD ...be proud bro cos you got it nailed!!!!!!!! am proper envious of both the piece and your progress!!!! i've loved watching you journey from complete novice to where you are now and i expect to see your name right up there with the best in the coming years!!!

Posted by: J.D. Dec 23 2009, 12:44 AM

Hey thanks! I don't know about up there with the best, but thanks very much for the compliment.

Posted by: The Nerd Dec 23 2009, 10:12 AM

oohh my god the most horrible tattoo ever .. hahah

JD - let me start by saying you started out way after a lot of people on this forum and have progressed at such a high rate so fast i see you as an example and a mentor not ony to other people but as to myself aswell ..

this is an amazingly done tattoo ...you have mentioned throughout the small things that needed to be fixed and this is def a solid tattoo nothing more that i can say than .. GREAT

Posted by: J.D. Dec 23 2009, 01:22 PM

Thanks Nerd.

Posted by: JaysonIllustration Dec 26 2009, 12:33 PM

is it the second yellow poppy down from the top? it looks more closed in the tattoo than the stencil?

Posted by: J.D. Dec 26 2009, 01:34 PM

^^^^

Posted by: Stoneface Dec 26 2009, 01:57 PM

200 hz!!!!..... (picking jaw up from floor).. Holy DitchWitch Batman! ... lol !

Wow...I'm with Johnny, I really have to tweak to get more than 130(loaded) out of anything I've got. I tend to run everything between 90 -120.
I had a hand made liner that used to show me 200+ but it drifted(readings)...kinda wacky-like....I don't think it ever gave true reading ...checked it with an E.B. against the T.V. and it appeared to be around 125.
Anyway...Yeah! That's one "nice looking leg" (ahhhemmm....the tattoo of corse

Posted by: J.D. Dec 26 2009, 08:03 PM

It's the fastest machine I have for sure, but I can't be certain it's running at 200. Maybe down the line I'll be more certain...

Posted by: J.D. Jan 25 2010, 12:49 PM

Done:







A very cool part about this tattoo, is she picked the "Sweet" and "Misery" flowers from http://jdtattoos.com/artwork/1089076_Sweet_Misery.htmlto cover up an old teenage needle poke tattoo that we'll be doing soon. It makes me happy to know people want to come back.

This thread can officially die now. Thanks for looking y'all.

Posted by: deftones46th Jan 25 2010, 12:54 PM

looks awesome m8. good job on fixin the petal mishap

Posted by: Moon Jan 25 2010, 02:23 PM

whats that cool light blue you're using dude?

Posted by: J.D. Jan 25 2010, 02:40 PM

Stable makes it. It's just labeled "light blue"

Posted by: SteveTattoos Jan 26 2010, 07:32 AM

Nice work man really nice.

Can i ask what kind of gap you have on your shader? that is some great whip shading

Posted by: J.D. Jan 26 2010, 09:23 AM

Hmmmm. I actually don't know. I'll have to take a look on Thursday when I get back in the shop. This sounds so generic, but I'm gonna say a little less than a nickle. I've been told my shaders have a smaller contact gap than most, so it may be smaller.

Posted by: JUSRUSH808 Jan 26 2010, 09:34 AM

Really clean JD, thats a nice piece to have in your portfolio.

Posted by: bret Feb 2 2010, 03:41 AM

really nice job, well lined and good depth on the shading.
the only thing im not sure about are the colors, or maybe its the similar groupings of colors next to each other, but nether the less nice job

Posted by: Deputy Devilz Feb 4 2010, 05:59 AM

Didn't spot this til now..

that turned out really nice.
Love the shading in the yellow flowers. That peppery/gravel like effect at the edges of the shading is cool.
(any tips on that would be cool.. lol)

A little to much yellow in one area for my eye, but it really does look nice :-)

Posted by: natebot Feb 4 2010, 06:53 AM

I've been kind of avoiding this thread just because I didn't want to spoil the surprise at the end. Easily one of your best to date. Nice work, really nice.

Can't wait to see the "Sweet and Misery" pieces.

Posted by: amybird Feb 4 2010, 08:13 AM

Very very good is what it is, especially considering:

Ok so there have been a few more tattoos during the progress of this one but still... Scratchers, there's a big lesson here!

Posted by: steal25 Feb 7 2010, 11:38 PM

I'm sure shes a happy client! good job JD.

Posted by: J.D. Feb 8 2010, 01:50 PM

Thanks guys.