Tattoo in the works....

I figured I've been a member on this site for long enough....at least it seems like I've been a member for a long time....that I'll share one of my favorite tattoos. It's still not finished. I still have quite a few more hours until it is.
The background/waves are going to stay black and gray. While the fish and flowers will be in color. It still has got a LOOOOT of detail that needs to be put into it. I absolutely cannot wait until it's finished though!
This tattoo is completely filled with meaning to me....but I won't get into that.
And I wasn't sure if I could get in trouble for posting some of the pictures that kind of showed little pieces of certain body parts...so I used trusty paint and fixed that ;)
P.S. it was ridiculously difficult to get a picture of it from the back! So it looks a little warped because of how I had to turn my body and position my arm.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...P4131173ab.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...P4131179ab.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...P4131178ab.jpg

Nice! That's huge!

Regards,

B

It looks great so far and I think you made a good choice with keeping the background colorless when it's finished. Looks like you made a nice choice in choosing your artist, the lines look smooth and the shading is beautiful!

Thank you both. And yes, it's huge! Haha.
The line work was done by someone different than the person that did the shading and will be doing the rest.
I debated for a year whether or not I would go back to the original artist...but finally decided against it, for many reasons. I did not feel comfortable around him, he was rude, he talked a lot of trash on people, he does very flat, unrealistic work that has absolutely no depth(although his lines are very clean), and he charged an arm n a leg. I wasn't too happy with how he did the flowers, but my new guy is going to fix them up.
And I drew up the piece, so I didn't feel too bad about going to someone other than the original to complete it.
So I found my new guy and am not looking back.

Rad looking. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Definitely a great decision on sticking with your new artist. Aside from being a horrible person or not, quality in shading (especially when you get to the coloring) makes the piece.

That is amazing, it looks great! I can't wait to see it when it's done :D

The line work is smooth for the most part but the shading is what makes it a great piece!! If he can color as well as he shades it will jump off your body.:gj::gj:

looks awsome!!

Thank you everyone.
He already made it pop, I can't wait until it has some color!
Shading absolutely makes the piece, I completely agree. Which is another reason I went to him and not the original guy. You can do a good outline, but if you suck at shading and/or coloring, the piece [I]will[I] look like crap.

Here's what he had to work with....bare-minimum outline
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n.../P3231103a.jpg

I like it!! Looking good :salute: Looks like your doing 3 sittings (outline, shading, color)? I did the same with the tattoo on the back of my head :gj:

Looks more like a 5 sitting piece to me, especially on the ribs, also considering there's no shading in the actual fish yet... I don't have anything on my ribs YET, but I have a buddy who I consider to be pretty tough who tapped out after 3 hours on the ribs and won't do more than 2 hours in a sitting until his work is done.

Nice piece though! I'm sure it's gonna look great when finished. Post some in progress pics after each session if you would... :gj:

The outline was one sitting. The background shading was another sitting. And all of the coloring will most likely be two sitting..hopefully (maybe 3). The fish still need scales, other details, shading, color and the flowers still need detail, shading, and color. For the shading, around 2+ hours, my body was pretty done. Haha.
It's a big piece and definitely a rough spot....although both artists were completely shocked that I don't budge at all. I sit like a rock. Hehe, I actually have a picture of me smiling while he's tattooing my side :)
And after this is finished, I can finally start on my arms. And a few on my legs...
And the one on the back of your head looks amazing. I love colorful tattoos.

Wow that is huge, it looks really neat! I can't wait to see it with some color!

Very nice. Ribs hurt! Let us see it when you are done please:gj: