advice for sitting through a long tattoo?

I'm about to spend all day sitting for an outline and my research has shown
1) eat and sleep well before
2) bring sugary snacks
3) stay well hydrated
4) bring an ipod
5) don't plan on texting or phoning - my artist says it annoys the hell out of them
6) bring something to read IF the tat allows free arm movement. mine will tie up my left arm so I'm gonna skip the reading material and just focus on the tunes

mostly great advice here except the parts telling you to take sleeping meds or booze.

I have yet to meet a respected artist that will tattoo someone under the influence of anything (booze, pills, drugs, whatever). Don't do it, it's a bad move all around.

My advice: (my longest sittings are 3 hours each because thats all I can really stand to have)
- take breaks if you need them
- make sure you have eaten a good meal
- keep food with you, candy or snacks
- keep hydrated, Gatorade, tea or water, etc
- book/magazine if possible
- if your artist allows you, bring a friend; i know having my boyfriend there, especially for my side piece kept me calm and distracted enough not to be a total baby during the thing. Even if your friend cant sit for 10 hours, an hour or two of distraction is always good.

Get someone to take progress pics :)

I can't show mine here, it covers my whole butt and lower back. I sat for 9 hours and 45 minutes to get it done. Its a HUGE butterfly :) I had a friend come with and we just hung out and talked and joked and had a good time. Its easier if you have something to keep you busy. Also helps if the person has a light hand

Oooooh progress pics are a MUST :) Good call cinderbird

The longest that I has sat for a single tattoo is around 9 hours. It wasn't on the back though. It was on the front of my right thigh so I could sit and watch what was going on. I drank a lot of water and took a few snacks with me. Getting the tatt done wasn't the issue for me. It was the next day. My leg felt like hamburger...lol I will try and get a few pic's of it in the next few day... Good luck

Absolutely no boozing beforehand. You'll bleed like a stuck pig and your artist, if they're experienced, will be able to tell...

I would call and ask your artist how they feel about topical anesthetic. There are some out there a bunch of them out on the market, but from what I've heard, some of them can effect how the tattoo is applied. I used to read and post on a tattoo forum where the guy who runs it is an AMAZING tattoo artist out of Vancouver. He recommends a product called Maxeline 5 that he has tried and he finds that it works pretty well in making long sittings more tolerable without effecting the skin and how the tattoo ultimately turns out.

Here's the thread on that board, in case you wanna read up on it.

EDIT: WARNING - I forgot to mention that the tattoo board isn't a kid-friendly board like this one. There is bound to be some bad language and adult humor in that thread...

i think i can handle a few bad words... maybe ;)

I'll be heading out in a couple hours. I will try to get pics posted tonight but not sure how long it will be or how ill feel after. It's about an hour and a half drive so I might just go home and crash.

Best of luck... I can't wait to see the pic's.....:gj:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...tle59/tat6.jpg
http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...tle59/tat5.jpg

3 hours of needle time. about 5 hours at the shop. lots more to go.

oh, fyi, im packin on some weight so i can compete again...so yeah.. ;)