My finished tattoo :D

Hello PD members,

Well, the time has finally come for me to get my memorial tattoo. It will be a year since my friend's death on Oct. 18; I decided to wait a year, just to make sure I was absolute in getting it. I've also spent alot of time tossing around ideas and coming up with something I know I could tolerate being on my body for the rest of my life.

So, on to the tattoo. It's very simple and will be on my ankle (and up my leg a little I'm sure). I'm not looking for anything big and will want the characters to be slimmer than they are in my hodge podge sketch-thing. I'm wanting some feedback on the design as the only other person I've shown this to aboslutely abhors tattoos and is therefore not a good source of constructive criticism. And mind you the image I'm showing you is just the basis; like I said before, I want the characters to be much thinner and the whole thing will be altogether smaller. Also, the sunflower and chinese characters (which sound out Su-tei-shi) must be in it.

So, any ideas for improvement?

Ooooo that looks nice! If it were me though, I'd change the color of the flower, maybe a nice blue ^^

Thanks Keen!

The sunflower in the background is the piece that represents my friend (she was going to have them in her wedding), so that part will likely stay the traditional yellowy-orange color.

But do you think the general concept is 'tattoo' based enough?

I think it looks great! The only thing I would think of changing is maybe simplifying the flower a little. Perhaps make it less petals. Also adding a thin outline to the petals and center might be good. otherwise it may just end up looking like a yellow blob on your leg. the yellow itself may not look good on the skin so you may want to go with only the outline and no color. but i don't really know much about these things. but i think it looks great and i hope you take pictures of it when its all healed so we can see how it turned out!

I think the tattoo looks great, too. I agree with BogusRed, about the yellow mass of blobiness and whatnot.

Also, I've heard getting a tattoo on your ankle hurts like crazy, because it's right on a bone. Perhaps you might want to consider getting it somewhere else? (That, and even if it's not so bad getting the tattoo, it's going to be really hard to wear shoes and socks for a while! Lol.) Maybe on your back? I dunno. I'm not really a tattoo expert.

Thanks everyone!

I've been quietly asking people around work (those I think might have tattoos ) what their experiences were with pain and whatnot. Many have said that uniformly they hurt but that the ones on the back are excrutiating. I thought like you did Dollmaker and assumed, being over the bone, it would likely hurt more. But the more people I talk to, the more I get the idea it's not quite as painful as some other places.

One co-worker I'm close with has a tattoo on her ankle that she's currently in the process of getting rid of (I saw it and I don't blame her ) She gave me some insight into the whole color debate and I think you've all made valid points about the blobiness of it being yellow. She told me I'd be best to use more of an orange, and to have it blend with some other bold color.

I'm a litte afraid on the outline front around the sunflower because I don't want it competing with the Kanji in the foreground. Perhaps to do it in a color, something to make it pop, would do the trick.

And finally, I did some researching at work today (I know, bad Heidi! Pay attention to your boring job!) and found a place that will work with me to make a custom tattoo.

http://www.shodokai.com/Custom+Body+Art/Custom+Body+Art.html?osCsid=6cc31830fdd297187f74d7f8f43acf18

I'll have to figure the price of this service in with the final tattoo...so perhaps the sunflower won't be in it in picture; I may just have it written out. I feel like if there was ever a thing to spend this much money on preparing for, a tattoo is it.

You guys think it's a good idea?

Okay ladies and gents,

This is the final tattoo, on my left outer ankle. I decided to go with that service that allowed me to work with a professional calligrapher to get the design just right.

It didn't hurt too badly and I had friends there to support me, so the experience was an overall good one

It says "Suteishi- eien no wakasa" which translates to "Stacy, Forever Young".

Thanks so much for all your input!

Wow it turned out really well. I think you made a good move going with that calligrapher. And the little flower after Stacy's name is a nice touch too! It looks almost like its part of the Japanese text.

Thank you X) I've been ooing and aweing since I got home; I love how it turned out! Now we'll just have to see how my family accepts it; no one else in our clan has one

Super special awesome tatoo!

Very impressive!

Thank you guys so much ! I really do love the way it turned out, and know I'll be getting another one some time in the future

Beautiful tattoo, indeed! I'm sorry about your friend, but that tattoo should remind you of... uh... him/her (that, and those fond memories in the vortex of your mind).

Aand i agree, you just can't stop to that one tattoo! XD