Yesterday, I sat for the first session for my new tattoo. Growing up playing Tony Hawk and Grand Theft Auto, I got into tattoos pretty young. While I intend to get sleeves one day, for the time being, I must only get halves but the rest of the body is fair game. I loved seeing the artwork, even in a video game, that accentuated the skin and looked beautiful. In GTA, they even managed to make some of the gang tats look artistic rather than scratches done with a dirty needle in someone’s garage. In both games, my character was always covered in them and I’ve wanted them since I was a kid.
My issue I’ve always had with tattoos is obviously that they’re permanent, so I take a lot of time deciding what I’m going to get. Not only must the design be good, the coloring or shading must look good on my type of skin, and the artist has to be the right one for the job. Artists’ styles can be vastly different, not every tattoo artist is good at portraits or color or what have you. The right artist can be the difference between your favorite tattoo and one you see as more of a scar. I have a few friends that can attest to that.
I have to have a design that I love along with something to go behind why I got the tattoo to begin with. I understand why people get some tattoos simply because they’re aesthetically pleasing. People modify their bodies all the time simply for the aesthetics of it: ear, nose, and belly piercings, plastic surgery, and of course tattoos. I simply like to have a little more meaning behind the tattoo I get because, in the event I’ve picked the wrong artist, at least I have something that lessens the blow. Tattoos fade over time and it’s pretty easy to get them touched up, not a big deal. But if you have something that looks like a giant blob because of how dark it is, when it fades, it all fades together and you have a slightly lighter blob. You need an artist who’s good at what you’re asking for so that way while the tattoo might not be exactly what you were going for, you’ll still have a well-done tattoo of a slightly different style.
The design I went with, which I will show pictures of when it’s complete, has both a cool design and some meaning behind it. I chose St. Michael, the patron saint of warriors, paratroopers (my uncle), and police. It’d be hard for you to find a police officer who doesn’t have a St. Michael medallion. I went with an artist who’s done multiple St. Michael tattoos. Yes, it may be a little more common but I didn’t get it because it was a fad like some other designs. After the first session, I’d say things have gone pretty well in terms of how it turned out. It’s still healing so you can’t see all of the finer details but they’re there. I have more sessions planned for the future and am excited to see how it will finally turn out.
What do you think of tattoos? How many do you have? Do you plan on getting more?
Drew Schroeder 