how small is to small?

[john cothran]

how small is to small? why am i the a-hole for saying "no"

[conorblue]

A lot of people don't have a concept of what is do-able in a tattoo. And almost all of them regret it saying "i wish i got it bigger". I picked up a good thing to say to people from a killer artist that explains it pretty good to people that just dont get it..., "think of a tattoo needle as a pencil, I cant ask a pencil to make any thinner of a line than it already makes, same with a tattoo needle." That really helps people put it into perspective, but you know that cuz im pretty sure you said it.

Ive had to make some tough choices about just flat out turning people away that cant wrap their minds around a decent design, but doing a poor quality tattoo, in my opinion isnt worth it. One awesome tattoo, ten people will hear about it, one bad one, and 30 people will hear about it. Bad news travels faster than good, so put those people that want one too small out the door.

I show them whats possible, but I dont do "tiny novelty tattoos" , a small tattoo is one thing...but Im into doing the best art I can, andhopefully every tattooer is, and size can't be the largest issue in the puzzle, or else i cant do my best quality work.

[Nicole]

BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER

[john cothran]

i still say that to people. but it falls on deaf ears. my black and white out look is growing dim. never-ending frustration!

[john cothran]

i like the way you think rockstar.

[inkmunky]

rockstar's right.... bigger is better, the bigger it is the more detail you can add while still keeping the tattoo looking good over the years.


but it also depends on the detail you're trying to acheive, also i've done a few very small tattoos (ie. smaller than a quarter) and i always explain to the client that it will eventually need to be re-worked b/c of the size... i can also get into the technical aspects of working a small tattoo but i won't.

[runmonsta]

My brother has a single kanji character on his bicep, about and inch square, that is too damn small haha, looks terrible. (Then he got a band below that, bands in my opinion suck, they don't compliment the arm shape at all.) And that's what it comes down to, too small is when it'll look bad, a small tattoo on the back of the neck looks okay, put that same tat on the arm/leg and it's bad.

[inkmunky]

very true, body posititon also plays a huge part.... it's kinda like those "modern" paintings where its a 1/2" square black dot on a 6' sqaure canvas... this is where knowing how to talk your clients into re-thinking tattoos is invaluable

[resonanteye]

it's not actually a real tattoo if you can cover it with your hand.

for reals yo

[inkmunky]

you can cover a chestplate from nip to clavicle with your hand... that includes your fingers