Straight answers to the things that stop people booking a tattoo — from the first idea to a healed tattoo. Each guide points you at real, credited work in the catalogue, and health guides quote dermatologists who specialise in tattoos.
Shading, if there is any, is soft and minimal — a light wash or stippling rather than solid black.
Thin, delicate skin
Japanese (Irezumi) tattoos: large-scale compositions of dragons, koi, tigers and waves - fit, sessions, cost and how to spot good work.
Realism or fine line? What the two styles share, where they split, how they age and which one fits your idea - with real examples of both.
What a tattoo is: how ink sits in the skin, how permanent it really is, what a session feels like, what you pay for and what makes it good.
Realism tattoos: portraits and scenes that look like photographs - fit, sessions, aging, cost and how to spot a skilled realism artist.
Nine stages from a vague idea to a healed tattoo. Every guide ends with a link to the next step, so you can read them in order — or jump straight to where you are.
The worries people mention most — and where the honest answer is.
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1 guide
Health guides quote dermatologists who specialise in tattoos word for word. New to the words? See the tattoo glossary. How guides are written and corrected: editorial policy.