advice for sitting through a long tattoo?

anyone have any tips or advice for being able to sit up to 10 hours to get my back piece started?

if you have them i would love to see pics. especially "in progress" pics!

thanks

Sleep, my only advice :), I sleep through the long ones

naturally sleep? or do you take something?

Lol well.... Talk to someone. After a while it just goes numb. It took about 4 or so hours to do mine. But just keep you mind off of whats going on. Mine didnt hurt much. Only in a few stops did it hurt.
But I have also sat through a 8 piece corset piercing done with micro dermals. Look up how that's done. Not the hole punch biopsy kind either. The 8g needle 3 holes per piercing way lol. Now that hurt a bit lol.
Here is a pic showing off both. If it's to revealing for the mods you may take it off. It dosnt show anything just my back.
http://tapatalk.com/mu/c6e4e19b-ea70-789b.jpg
Well good luck!

Bring a book.

I recommend staying hydrated and get enough food and have someone to talk to. Thats what I do or drift and think long sitting just suck... movie on an iphone?

here is my koi tat on my back.. the outline was the worst part for me because koi are so outline intense he had to use a larger needle. but the only part that really hurt was closer to my spine. but its all a mental game.. talk to the guy to take your mind off it.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file..._7124396_n.jpg

that is a really good tattoo! how long did it take?

that took like.. 4 hours if i remember right.. my longest was 9.5 hours and thats cause he did it 100% free-hand with no stencil (now that is trust) haha here is it

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...39660_1537.jpg

I can fall asleep thru anything, you could take a benedryl to help.

If you're getting your back done I'd bring an iPod for backup just in case you and the artist lose topics to talk about. I jammed out to my iPod for 7 hours on both rib cages and made it through just fine. And if you do sleep...naturally sleep, don't take anything to aid with that in case it somehow effects your blood which in turn would effect how the ink sets in you which would just turn into a bigger pain than need be. Like the others have said, it'll eventually go numb, and then get raw, and then numb, and so on and so forth. Good luck! :gj:

Bring a few magazines, or a book. A few bottles of water, some sugar candies (i prefere tootsie pops) and take some ciggarette breaks (if that applies to you) lol
And just make sure you've slept good and ate a meal before you go in. Thats about all I can say, oh and what are you getting? And when its done we want pics!

Well, you could always do what you told me you wanted to.... :P
10 hours would be fun...
:rofl:

Anyways, like someone said, when you get it, pictures are a must!

My longest was only three hours. I agree, talk to the guy while he's working, but maybe not too much, you don't want to distract him. Don't make him laugh either. I did that while getting another piece done and we had to take a break to settle down, lol.

Just thinking of your comfort level is making me uncomfortable. Good luck! :please:

the best thing i've ever done is plug in some headphones and crank up the volume. the buzzing noise irritates the ever loving crap outta me. make sure to eat well before hand. personally, i don't recommend showering that day unless you really need to (seems like it hurts more when i do, but that might just be me). be hydrated.

i have my own methods that i use on top of these, but i cannot, in good conscience, recommend them to you.

The one on my back took 8hrs , what i did for the pain is drink a couple shots and just concentrated on something else.:d

The longest tattoo I ever got was 3 hours on the back of my neck, the best advice I have is to like your tattoo artist dont just settle for whoever is there bring your phone so you can text ppl, a drink, and stuff to read or listen to.

I've heard at most places they don't let you sleep....just to know if your conscious. Bring an ipod.

I was a tattoo artist for several years and if the guy working on you says you can sleep he's being [a jerk]. Sleeping is great for you and the artist and really easier than you think after an hour or two. My back piece was done in one 9 hour session and after that long laying down it's tough to stay awake but bring a friend you really enjoy talking to. Make sure you truly enjoy talking to them though because if they annoy you even a little there's no escape from them once you start :)

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.. ;)

i have a cyaegha tattoo on my right arm thats the center piece for my H.p Lovecraft themed sleeve, it took two three hour sessions. im not home so i cant post pic and i doubt a pic would do its colors justice(mostly black and grey).plus it took so long cause it was freehanded.

i watched a movie and talked with my tat artist the whole time.
my advice is watch a movie,read a book,bring a psp or play some video games and talk and take breaks as needed to get mota-vated.:gj:
luckily my tat shop has all the above and they're good friends of mine.
i could get any piercing,any for $20 and sweet deals on hourly tats.
what is your back piece gonna be?is it drawn up yet?

oops i just skimmed the thread and seen it.
nice i like anything with tentacles!!

looks like you've got more sessions to go! so i'm sure you've got it figured out by now, but just in case.

my tips are to make sure you get a very good sleep the night beforehand. take some melatonin if you have to (it's natural and won't give you that gross groggy/chemical-y feeling in the morning)

DON'T DRINK ANY ALCOHOL, because as others have said, you'll bleed. alcohol things your blood, and bleeding means the ink is also leaving your skin, so you'll end up with a patchy looking tattoo. and if you drank for your tattoo, you can bet your boots the artist won't be offering you free touch-ups.

don't sleep during the tattoo!!! i really hope that the artist does not let you sleep. imagine jolting awake while the needles are in your skin, then you'd have a really awful "oopsy doopsie." every artist i've ever been tatted by/spoke with says they do not let their clients sleep.

keeping your bloodsugar up definitely helps so bring some Werthers or something, and make sure you eat a nice big meal beforehand.

when i had my ribs tattooed, i found that being cold made it much worse. it seemed to hurt a lot more the first 2 sessions, because the studio was cold. also i did 2 consecutive sessions of tattoos, and didn't get much sleep before the second. so yeah, torture. the next 2 sessions were done out of my artists house, where it was nice and warm and it was a breeze. i think trying to hold back shivers really wears you out, so if you're cold mention it and hopefully they can crank up the heat.

here's my masterpiece, i'm sure some of you have already seen it, i think there's a tattoo thread on bp.net already.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...ofinished2.jpg

That is really amazing! :)

best thing to do is just take it how it comes, the pain is all a part of the experience and makes it so much sweeter when its done. like a few others have mentioned its all a mental game, do wat it takes to keep your mind off it naturally, but dont take any painkillers or numbing creams they are no good for the end outcome of your tattoo. try not to psych yourself out either, the pain is as bad as you make it out to be. and also, do your research on the artist you decide on, there are alot of artists out there that hurt you because they have not been properly trained and do no know how to work the machine correctly, also known as scratchers. here is a pic of some work i just got done a week ago at tattoolapalooza in miami. 6.5 hours n felt like bliss. Artist is Phil Garcia from California, we won tattoo of the day with this piece.
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...6/P6250343.jpg

when I got my right arm done I got the upper half done in 6.5 hours. The weird thing is the only time my arm bothered me was when he was cleaning it. I talked to my guy the whole time and I think that helped it go quicker and I was more relaxed. Getting tattoos when your sleepy or stressed to me seems to hurt more. Just remember to breath, I've had a lot of friends pass out cause they think holding it will make it hurt less.

Looks cool! The not completed arms thru me off... thought your guy had miscounted... that would be a big D'OH! :D

As far as what I do to relax during the tat... drink lots of water, talk to the artist, listen to some tunes... the place I go loves to crank some metal and this seems to keep my mind busy. I went for 2 three hour sessions for the koi on my ribs. People hanging out in the shop were all trying to psych me out... "ooh, those cherry blossoms in the middle where he has already colored around are gonna hurt!" and so on... was pretty fun. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

Looks cool! The not completed arms thru me off... thought your guy had miscounted... that would be a big D'OH! :D

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a lot of people have mentioned that. a squid actually has ten appendages. they have the 8 tentacles and then 2 arms. he has 9 total started. hes going to add the 10th when he starts filling in the background.

i just love the meaning and symbolism of the squid.

I take along something to drink (H20) no booze thanks, something to snack on and take a couple breaks. Just getting up to move around for bit helps me last through the longer sessions. Looks like you've got a good start on your back, should look pretty wild when it's done.
This isn't the best 'tat' pic of my arms, but it shows off some of last winter's project. :D

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/3131/1001749x.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SquamishSerpents

looks like you've got more sessions to go! so i'm sure you've got it figured out by now, but just in case.

my tips are to make sure you get a very good sleep the night beforehand. take some melatonin if you have to (it's natural and won't give you that gross groggy/chemical-y feeling in the morning)

DON'T DRINK ANY ALCOHOL, because as others have said, you'll bleed. alcohol things your blood, and bleeding means the ink is also leaving your skin, so you'll end up with a patchy looking tattoo. and if you drank for your tattoo, you can bet your boots the artist won't be offering you free touch-ups.

don't sleep during the tattoo!!! i really hope that the artist does not let you sleep. imagine jolting awake while the needles are in your skin, then you'd have a really awful "oopsy doopsie." every artist i've ever been tatted by/spoke with says they do not let their clients sleep.

keeping your bloodsugar up definitely helps so bring some Werthers or something, and make sure you eat a nice big meal beforehand.

when i had my ribs tattooed, i found that being cold made it much worse. it seemed to hurt a lot more the first 2 sessions, because the studio was cold. also i did 2 consecutive sessions of tattoos, and didn't get much sleep before the second. so yeah, torture. the next 2 sessions were done out of my artists house, where it was nice and warm and it was a breeze. i think trying to hold back shivers really wears you out, so if you're cold mention it and hopefully they can crank up the heat.

here's my masterpiece, i'm sure some of you have already seen it, i think there's a tattoo thread on bp.net already.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...ofinished2.jpg

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This is EXACTLY the tattoo I want, like to a T.
I guess Ill have to make some adjustments to mine so it doesnt look like I copied yours. :oops:

Awesome piece!

Don't fall asleep! I went in to get a sweet barb wire tattoo around my guns, fell asleep, and woke up with these. That'll learn me...

http://ugliesttattoos.files.wordpres...d8402cbfb4.jpg

http://ugliesttattoos.files.wordpres...2d84cefecf.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robyn@SYR

Don't fall asleep! I went in to get a sweet barb wire tattoo around my guns, fell asleep, and woke up with these. That'll learn me...

http://ugliesttattoos.files.wordpres...d8402cbfb4.jpg

http://ugliesttattoos.files.wordpres...2d84cefecf.jpg

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If that's the case then how are they on the same leg in the same general area?!:colbert:

bring candy lol and a friend to BS with or a book, psp, any sort of entertainment will suffice for a long tattoo my last tattoo session was 9 hours and my tattoo artist has a flat screen in front of me so I watched Nirvana live at reading and good stuff like that.

Lance

I just scheduled the first sitting for my half sleeve to do the outline. it's a complicated design so I'm told to expect to be in the chair from 10:30 to 5!
Should be quite an experience~
I've arranged for a ride home since 6+ hours is supposed to mess ya up good.
So pumped! Monday the 8th~!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cecilbturtle

anyone have any tips or advice for being able to sit up to 10 hours to get my back piece started?

if you have them i would love to see pics. especially "in progress" pics!

thanks

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wow, umm. enjoy it! The first 20-30 minutes is painful (depending where you're getting it), but after that the endorphins start to kick in and it's like a natural high!

this site has the same basic advice, though badly translated from some other language. the later comments are quite hilarious!
http://tattoobody.info/bodytattoo/6964

im going in this sunday for some more work on it :D

:banana::gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Quickone4u

If that's the case then how are they on the same leg in the same general area?!:colbert:

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I have two right legs, duh!