Dragon

Been forgetting the real camera, but the phone camera can always do the trick in a pinch.  

I've got to admit, I had fun with this one.  I didn't have as much prep time to work up the drawing as I like, need, or usually have, but we pulled it off.  I like to have a drawing (especially a bigger one) completed well before the appointment so I can have some time to really digest and critique it.  Sometimes you get so wrapped up in the drawing process, that you really need to re-visit it a day or two later with a fresh set of eyes and clear head.  Not always, but often you'll see things that you weren't  able to before (sometimes very glaring mistakes).

Due to some scheduling and communication glitches (not the end of the world though) I was actually finishing the final line drawing of this about 5 minutes before he came in.  Like I said, certainly not how I prefer to do it, but it can also really work.  If you've had nothing but one image in your head for a while and you're drawing, drawing, drawing and then jump straight into the tattoo, there's like a muscle memory thing that just transitions right over to the outline.  It feels much more like you're still just drawing rather than tattooing.  Hope that makes sense...

That in combination with the fact that this dragon design was a little looser than I normally do it (which is a direction I will certainly be heading in) and he sat like a rock made it a success.

(And as for the rest of the scales, he had to get out of there to pick his son up at day care, so we'll have to draw the remaining ones in next time)

Body Suit (Koi and Lotus)

After the last year of diligently working on the dragons on his sides, it was finally time to start new work below the knee.

As it stands now, his dragons are outlined from under the arm pit down to the thigh, and the background is 100% done down just past the waist.  The back piece (phoenix) has been done for years, although there is still a little background to finish on one butt cheek.  We got to a place where it was either color in the dragons, or start outlining the rest.  I decided to go the later route...

His whole upper body has clouds as background and as we get to the bottom we'll be transitioning into water and a few rocks. He had the dragonflies (of which I plan on adding more) on his thighs already that served as a very natural meeting point between the sky and the water.  We went with lotuses as they're an aquatic flower, and there's not going to be much earth element going on in this piece.

Of course I didn't get a great picture, but from the back and side views it's really cool to see the upper body and legs almost connected.  After next session (where my plan is to outline the whole back of the left thigh above the koi) he'll have solid tattoo from the top of the shoulder to the ankle.  Pretty exciting stuff...

Koi Sleeve #2

Second day...

Kept on going up the arm with more of the same as the day before (see below). 

I'm digging how strong and bold it's looking with just those primary colors and black in there...

Koi Sleeve

I'm very enthused that we were able to get some more work done on this sleeve that was started several months ago.  She lives about 8 hours away, and she and her husband come up a few times a year to get tattooed.  Last visit we outlined the whole arm during 2 sessions in 2 days.  I was (and am) really into into it, and enjoyed the slight added pressure of having to do a little more work than normal for me, as she was traveling from such a long distance to get it.

This first of two sessions we began color starting at the wrist.  Although I had some slight reservations about it at first, she really wanted vibrant blue water, and despite the fact that I almost never do it that way (black and grey shading has been the norm for me), I thought it could be really cool and knew that it would suit her very well.

It was a slightly different mental approach for me to go in making it as rich and bright as possible, but I think it really works.  Once I got into the swing of things I started having a lot of fun with it.  I'm always very conscious of staying focused and present while working, not really thinking about much, but I distinctly remember reflecting on how it was really fun to do something that was a slight tweak off of how I normally do it...

Chrysanthemum

Well, this was actually started over a year ago, and we are just now getting to coloring the elbow region in.

There is a hawk above (that I did a few years ago) that takes up most of the upper arm, and a snake and clouds that were added later (that we're still finishing).  After completing the lower arm, we should just have a couple more sessions up top to be pretty much done.

This go around I shaded in the background on the elbow and colored in the chrysanthemum bud.  These flowers were intended to be very strong and bold, and I think have sort of that old school punch and good visual impact.  I went back to the powdered Japanese white  pigment on this one, and it went in great for sort of a rough spot on the arm.  I'm also happy that the white on the blue flower from at least a year or more ago is still looking good and bright, and it makes me feel confident that this one will stay very vibrant as well.

Getting really solid, rich white can be tricky sometimes, but he seems to take it well.  

He's always been super enthused about his tattoos and the process, and it's good to have him back in the rotation again...

Mucha Woman

First color session on a piece we started a while back (within the last year I believe).  This is one of three Mucha women on her arm (that will be getting a bunch of nouveau background eventually).  I've actually finished the bottom two women recently, but wasn't able to grab decent pictures this time.  I am super happy with how they turned out however and am planning on this one also going very well.

In the original print the hair is a kind of grey and brown, but she was interested in doing black hair, and I thought that would be just fine.  The lower women were done extremely faithful to the originals, and she felt comfortable veering off slightly for this one. 

This top piece is 2 or 3 times the size of the lower ones, so a very subtle thematic shift should work out just fine.  

I love this style of art and I'm really enjoying doing these.  Combining Mucha's very clean and technical line work (which is also extremely busy but perfect) with the very soft and watery color tones is a super cool look, and has given me lots of ideas and inspiration for some of my other work...

Tiger Sleeve

Pretty cool session...

Picked up right where I left off last time and went up the chest, over the shoulder and down the backside of the arm.  This means that the overall silhouette of the background is complete.  There's still a little water and a few rocks to finish, but all the borders are done and it's got the look now (I think we were both equally excited to see it hook up all the way around)...

Time to start re-calibrating my brain for color mode soon, but I think I've got a few ideas.

He's back every three weeks for the rest of the year, so we should see a finished arm before not too long...

P.S.  In my opinion, this is the best way to get a larger piece (at least what works best for me and seems to be good for my clients), having a half day session every 2-3 weeks for a several month stretch.  Seems to be a nice balance of staying really consistent and on it, with just enough healing time in between to enjoy a little non scabby time before the next one...

Here's a few shots of the whole arm as of now:

Tengu Sleeve

Last time we pretty much finished up the robes of the lower karasu (crow) tengu, and this time it was on up to the the big man at the top.

I do enjoy working on the clothing patterns, although these real detail oriented sessions can be a mixed bag.  It really gives the tattoo that something special, but you sure don't cover that much square footage in a session.  It ultimately is about quality over quantity (as with most things in life) and as long as I feel good about what we're putting on and he continues to be super happy then it's a win win.

I realized that we only have 1-2 sessions left and it's a done deal.  I'm really happy with this set of sleeves he's gotten (fox one on the other side).  We were able to do them one right after the other which really helped maintain aesthetic cohesion. That combined with their individual symbolism (and as a pair) in relation to the client's life just made for a very unique and positive situation.

Sounds like we'll be heading to his back next...

Skull Cover

Man, I messed up...

Not on the tattoo (I think) but I lost the before picture of what this is covering.  This was one of the craziest cover ups I've ever done.  Believe it or not, there was a very solid black and grey half sleeve under there of a guy shooting himself in the head under a bridge or something made out of bricks...no joke.  I've been doing other work on him for years and he's always mentioned wanting to do something about it but I always kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to have to tell him it couldn't be done.

We had been working on dialing in the lower section of the arm one day (which has a bunch of skulls and roses I was finishing that had been started by another artist) and he brought up the upper arm.  I started looking at it and realized there were these three pretty dark spots roughly where two eyes and a nose would be.  I started drawing on him and it was looking like it might fit, so we just went ahead and started outlining it.  The roses up top are there to match all the ones that were already on the lower arm.

I really hope he has a picture of the old tattoo laying around, because I still can't really believe we were able to cover it so well...

Also, threw in the last picture to show how different these things can look in different lighting...

Phoenix

I actually did this one a few years ago, but we never got around to finishing the inner tail feathers.  I had always meant to add some stripy dark grey lines over the lighter grey shading, but we never quite got to it.  Years later it finally happened, and honestly, it really pulled it together.  

This piece is really about pattern and it looked strange to have one part not like the others...

Also, it was fun to just dive in after all that time and just do it.  No drawing or over planning, just pick up the machine and go.  Very free and fun...

It was very cool that he requested such a graphically oriented piece, and it actually goes very well with his arm of tribal on the other side.

Japanese Hulk

Yup, that's right...it's a Japanese warrior Hulk.

Definitely one of my more fun and original requests in quite a while.  He asked for the Hulk as a samurai or ninja or just some bad ass looking Asian dude.

It was super fun from the drawing through to the final session.  The only snag was in the beginning, deciding the ratio of Hulk to warrior.  Do you make it the classic bare chested Hulk with some Japanese clothing and weapon details, or do you focus on the Japanese part and let the green guy be secondary?  I sort of chose the later approach.  I figured as long as his face and hands were showing (and green), you'd be able to figure out who it was.  That way I could focus more on the clothing and patterns (which to me is way more interesting than some green pecs and six pack) and try to "trick it out" a bit more.  Since it's a sort of campy premise (and totally cool at the same time), I subtly hammed it up a little by putting the kanji for strength in the robes, and trimming it with the universal nuclear sign as a repeating pattern.  He's the new school Hulk from the comics with the smaller head, but it makes his hands look way bigger and more substantial...

Super fun tattoo on a super fun guy who I'm looking forward to working on more in the near future (you should see his next idea...)

Horitoshi 1

Not sure where I came across this one (or who made it or why it's so short), but I kinda dug it.

Both gentlemen are wearing Horitoshi body suits (the shorter haired one is my friend, Mr. Ishikawa, who I've had some great times with in Tokyo and SF, and the longer haired fellow is basically what I'd like to look like when I'm that age)...

Horitoshi has always been my favorite tattooer and one of my main main influences and inspirations. I've always admired his personal and artistic style, not to mention his ferocious work ethic.

I met him almost 15 years ago, and am very fortunate to have gotten to spend so much time with him and his tattoo family over the years.

There's a link to the right if you'd like to check out some of his work...

Warrior and Snake

This one was started sometime last year I believe.  I wrote about once before, but it actually is based on a bible verse.  I'm not sure which one, but he had a list of a few key elements/images that need to be represented (I think it was sword, armor, serpent, helmet, and shield).  His idea was pretty neat, to interpret a biblical passage as a piece of Asian inspired art...why not?  

He mentioned a samurai at first, but I wasn't really clicking with that off the bat.  Even though so much of this tattoo stuff is make believe and fantasy, a samurai just would have never battled a snake (at least not one that big).  I decided to model the main figure after one of the Suikoden bandits (as depicted by Kuniyoshi).  The thinking was this:

They are warriors that are often shown wearing helmets and armor, so check on that.  And since the story is pure fantasy, there are times when the protagonists fight giant creatures of various sorts, so check on that as well.  Also the shield was a big sticking point.  There had to be a shield in the composition, but the samurai didn't use shields (ever the consummate bad asses, they had to keep both hands free for two swords, a bow, or spear), so that wouldn't have worked.  But as the Suikoden warriors are originally from China, there were shields used (and depicted in the prints).  I didn't love the idea of having it be a main focal point, so you can just see it poking out from behind his back, but it is there...

Seems like there are usually at least several months between each session, but it's coming together just fine and we're having a good time...

Tiger Sleeve

Even though he's one of our favorite people around here, I sure didn't take it easy on him this session.  Started right on the elbow and shaded the whole thing solid in one shot.  Then it was around to the inner arm for more fill in.  Rounded out the day by finishing the thick rock lines around both sides of the arm pit.  I imagine it was one of our more intense sessions for him, but as always he laid there perfectly still and relaxed.  His dedication to getting tattooed really invigorates me and is a constant reminder of all of the best aspects of what I do.

We've actually had another session since that one, and although I forgot my camera I was able to snap a couple pics on the phone...

Another painful day I would imagine.  All up the inside of the arm, skirting the arm pit and onto the chest.  It's cool to see the silhouette of the sleeve taking shape and I'm really focused on moving ahead in a couple weeks...

Body Suit

Well for the first time in over a year we tattooed him with something that wasn't new outline or background shading.  The really dark, dense background is what really makes this style (and he knows that full well and loves it) but it can be tedious just doing month after month of black and grey clouds.

This session was still just black, but we started coloring in the scales on the right dragon.  This will eventually get color as well, and the black will serve as a little extra depth and texture.  Again, his wish is for a traditional-ish suit that follows established Japanese aesthetic, but a little tweaked and unexpected.  It's a bit hard to explain, but if you knew him it makes perfect sense.

We also began consulting for the next phase of the project, which we might even start next time depending on which way the winds are blowing.  Here's a sneak peak (very rough, but it's a general idea)...