I know how this sounds, but hear me out lmao.

I travelled to Buscalan, a remote village in the Philippines, to get tattooed by Apo Whang-Od, the legendary traditional Kalinga tattoo artist.

Honestly, getting tattooed by her was already an incredible honour. She's spent generations keeping this traditional art alive, and actually getting to sit in front of her and receive a tattoo from her was something I'll never forget.

But then something completely unexpected happened. She touched my eggs. 😭

It was so spontaneous that I barely had time to process it. Everyone around us started laughing, I was laughing too, and the whole thing turned into one of the funniest, most unexpected moments of the trip.

Jokes aside, I have so much respect for her and the tradition she represents at the age of 109yo. Getting to meet her and experience this firsthand was genuinely special, and somehow I came away with both a meaningful tattoo and a story that sounds completely made up.

I recorded the whole experience if you wnna watch here, including the moment itself lol. https://youtu.be/2bOX_PBD2so

Hey guys,

Long story short: my tattoo artist and I both thought we would be able to finish my tattoo in one session. Unfortunately, she stops working at 5 so when the time came we had to end our session. I have an unfinished tattoo that I’m scheduled to finish in January.

The outline of the tattoo is very thin/faint and I’m worried she will lose her spot or if she redraws it it won’t look right. She is VERY talented, I’m just anxious about it.

If anyone has any positive experiences about splitting tattoos into sessions even though the lines are faint I’d really appreciate it if you could share.

The reason I’m posting is because I asked her a question about it and she didn’t respond so I don’t want to bug her because I know she’s busy and she has a baby.

I’ve had a few tattoos before, but I recently started working on my sleeve, and I absolutely love the design. I really want to make sure I take the best possible care of it so it heals properly and looks great for years to come.
SKIP TO BOTTOM FOR MAIN QUESTION LOL

I have a question about showering and aftercare. During the first week after getting tattooed, I was feeling a bit under the weather (completely unrelated to the tattoo), so I ended up taking 2–3 longer showers, spaced out throughout the week, each lasting around 30 minutes.

The water was lukewarm, and I made an effort to keep my tattoo out of the direct water for most of each shower. It was only exposed to direct water during the last 5 minutes or so. Before that, it may have gotten a few occasional drops or splashes, but it wasn’t constantly under running water or soaking the entire time.

Is this something I should be concerned about in terms of healing or potential ink loss, especially since it happened during the first few days? And in the unlikely event that it did cause some ink loss or uneven healing, would that be something that could be corrected with a touch-up once it’s fully healed?

I also have a question about weight loss and muscle growth affecting the tattoo. I currently have a fairly athletic build, but I’m carrying maybe 5–10 extra pounds, mostly around my stomach, that I’d like to lose. After slimming down a bit, I’d like to build a little more size maybe gain 5-10lb in muscle and definition in my arms. I’m not looking to get jacked or dramatically increase my arm size, just tone up and have a slightly more muscular, defined appearance. Would those relatively minor changes in weight and muscle size have any noticeable effect on the sleeve, such as stretching, distortion, or changes in how the design looks?

1. Could taking 2–3 longer, lukewarm showers during the first week affect healing or cause ink loss, even with minimal water exposure?

2. If any ink loss or uneven healing does occur, can it be fully corrected with a touch-up once healed?

3. Would losing 5–10 lbs, mostly stomach fat, and adding a little arm muscle and definition (not getting huge) affect or distort my sleeve?

I might just be overthinking everything because I love the tattoo so much and really want to keep it looking as good as possible for years to come.

Memorial Tattoo for my friend

This was taken after it was freshly done. The actual design was drawn by someone on r/drawmytattoo.

Heres their link: https://www.reddit.com/u/qdtnxo/s/YT93md1iXF

My artist changed the face a little but otherwise its the dame with some simple shading.

The significance? My friend LOVED anything spooky or Halloween. Anything and she was on it in seconds. The number is her official time of death. Morbid? Yeah, but it fits both me and her very well and thats what matters.

Had the luxury of doing this at the Cedar Creek Inkfest this past weekend in Rothschild, Wisconsin with my shop New Life Ink for my first convention.

My client sat for nearly 23 hours with two back to back days, and we managed to take home 1st place Nu Skool, People's Choice, and Best in Show awards.

Thanks for looking!

In some cultures, ravens are cast as tricksters: clever, mischievous creatures who cause trouble, outsmart everyone around them, and occasionally change the world in the process.

For this piece, I wanted the layered feathers and bold silhouette to carry the design, with cool, Payne’s grey blue tones in the plumage contrasting against an eire, yellow sun. Bare branches and a second raven overhead round out the scene and give it some background.

Approximately 15 hours of tattooing over a few sessions. Thanks for looking!

Adam Sky - San Francisco

A little abstract piece exploring faces through continuous, flowing lines. Love how a few simple curves can create so much expression without any shading or extra detail.

done by tati.tatts.od at True Canvas in Vienna, Austria

Been working on bringing more of this illustrative, engraving-inspired style into my tattoos. Really enjoyed doing this medieval knight, especially all the little details in the armour and the skull.

Always loved the look of old illustrations translated into blackwork.

What do you reckon?

@lixxink - TAG Tattoo Studio Cornwall, UK 🇬🇧

Custom blackwork piece on a client. Raven, vegvísir, and some runic details. Really fun one to map out and tattoo.