I finnaly convinced my dad not mom to let me get a tattoo. I'm either getting it on my bicep or the back/middle of calf. The design I am getting is either a shamrock or a lepherchan or my family crest. Whatever I get I will have my last name written in a celtic writing below the tattoo.
my question is. for an average artist what would be the price of a green shamrock about 3x3 inchs aprox. with my last name
and my last question is how bad will it hurt? will it hurt like me jamming a push pin into my skin? worse or less?
Price would be about $100 per hour for something good. Anything less and the tattoo will probably look really bad in a few years.
In terms of pain, it will hurt. Depending on where you get it, how heavy handed your artist is and your own personal tolerance for pain, it can vary from wanting to punch someone hurt to a bee sting that happens over and over.
If you really want it, then make 100% sure on the design. You have time, so think about it.
Be 100% sure you found a GOOD artist. I can't stress this enough. Whether you are 15 or 55, you need to find a good artist. If not, you will be getting a cover up in a few years (you probably will anyways).
Oh, I personally find that teens with tattoos look kinda odd. Like they want to be someone they are not. But thats just me.
i got my first tattoo when i was 14 it was of a leperchaun smoking a pipe with a beer it was on my foot and it hurt a lot!!! but my tattoo on my leg didn't hurt at all. It does vary on which artist you get for price the one of my foot was only 100 the one of my leg 165
bigtwinky- "Oh, I personally find that teens with tattoos look kinda odd. Like they want to be someone they are not. But thats just me."
Im not having a pop at you but what do you mean about this comment? I do understand that getting a tattoo at 15 is WAY TOO YOUNG. Also what isyour definition on 18yo's getting first tattoos or do you just mean young teens?
irish - okay, let me just get this out first. You should wait. You should wait not jut because you're underage, but because it is my personal belief that you need to live in your skin long enough before you can truly decide what to put on it - how long that is depends on the individual, but 15 isn't long enough. Okay, end of rant, because my personal beliefs don't run your life.
That said, what twinky said is correct. You need to research the shops in your area, check portfolios, check health certifications, check prices. Don't go for the cheapest, go for the one you're most comfortable with.
How hard are you poking yourself with that pushpin? Probably not hard enough, it will probably hurt more. (If you're concerned about the pain, you probably aren't ready to get a tattoo...)
If I were you, I'd chose the family crest, because I think I might regret the other designs later. I thought long and hard about what I wanted, trying to find something about me that wasn't ever going to change, and I'm glad I did.
So do your homework, take the time, it's worth it. Be absolutely certain of the design, start small, don't go overboard, you can always add to it later.
What I mean is what I said. I think that when I see kids with tattoos, I think they are trying too hard to be someone they are not, to be older. Same goes with smoking, or seeing a 12 year old dress like she is working the street.
There is no right or wrong age. And I admit that I am generalising with my statement. It has to do with who you are, with your attitude, and the reasons why you want to do what you are doing. I can’t say that at 18, its fine. It could be, it could not be. It depends on the person.
Some wait until they are 25, or 30 or 60 to get their tattoo. That’s cool. Some get it when they are 12 or 16. That’s cool to. But it really depends on the person, not the age. And usually, at 15, I think that kids don’t really know who they are or what they want at that age. They are just being kids, which is awesome (and man, do I miss that). But they all want to rush to be older, they do things to make themselves look older and so on.
Ok, I’m rambling.
I hope this makes sense, I sometimes have issues getting my point across. Its all personal opinion, agree with it or not, its up to you.
I completley agree with bigtwinky but I belive that 18 is the earliest age due to a few factors:
1- your skin wont have stoped growing (would be growing at a fast pace at this age) so any intrigate or cool looking design may look distorted due to stretching
2- You could risk a tattoo shop closing down or paying huge fines if you are underage( which you are)
3- I am a firm believer that not every tattoo has to mean something as I feel they are sometimes simple art works ( dont get me wrong, most have meaning and most tattoos have meaning later on), BUT, your views on a cirtain image that youi want to keep for the rest of your life is too big a thought or mental image for a simple 15yo to think about (and NO looking older doesnt mean thinking older)
Plus, getting a tattoo is costly and many young people make the mistake of getting a cheap tattoo instead of a good tattoo. Today's cheap tat is tomorrow's cover-up job. Take your time and save up your money for it. There's a saying in the tattoo world, "A good tattoo is never cheap, a cheap tattoo is never good."
I would never trust a tattoo artist who was willing to tattoo a 15 year old. I would never frequent their shop or suggest them to others. They obviously have no regard for what happens when this person grows up and hates it.
Very well put killerking. If a shop is willing to tattoo a kid, regardless of parental consent, what else are they doing for a buck? Not cleaning properly? Using cheap ink? Re-using needles?
This topic should be a post it, so everyone who's planning to get a tattoo at 15 read it. Great points everyone, I agree with almost averything in this thread.
First, I'm gonna talk about my personal experience, and I'll give you my opinion afterwards. Right now, I'm 26 years old (I'm gonna be 27 the next June 24, yay!!), and I got my first tattoo at 18 (well, it was exactly a day before my 18th birthday, but let's leave like that) is a phoenix in my right bicep. I'm right on that young age line, but I'll never regret of that tattoo. That time even my mom accompanied me to the shop, it was her birthday gift. Is a fairly big piece, and it wasn't cheap in that moment.
Right now? I touched it up 2 times to mantain it's color, and the phoenix will be the heart of my future right sleeve, so regrets? hell, not.
But of course, looking it back now, I could not be so lucky. That time I didn't take the time to investigate and choose the design, fortunately for me I've choosen one of the most famous tattooists in my country by that time, and her design of the phoenix is fantastic even now. Please, don't do like like me and take your time to choose the design carefully; I were real lucky that time (well, maybe if I didn't like the design I would back off)
My question is, why do you want a tattoo of something you can't even spell? The word is LEPRECHAUN, and you are too young for ink. Give yourself a few years to research a design and find a good artist...better yet, a GREAT artist.
i'm getting a pretty big one but later..prolyl when i finsh high school...right now i'm turning 16...but this tatto is gonna mean a whole lot...all of what i learned into one
I will be getting my tattoo once I figure out what I want. Most likley going with the country outlined of Irenland with it colored in Irish colors.
None of your reasons have stoped me, I could see still growing but I am already 6'3 and my doctor said I won't be growing anymore.
Most of you guys are saying your to young, why? If I know what I want and it is something that will always be with me (my Irish heritage) not like some stupid band logo or seomthing.
I think the times have changed since all of your were 15.
I really hope time hasn't changed that much since I was 15... that was only 5 years ago! haha.
In most states (if not all, not sure about that) it's illegal for anyone to tattoo a minor. So that's why I don't think any respectable artist will tattoo someone under 18. That's my major concern.
I am 39 yaers old and waited till this yesr to get my first tat. Even then it took a year and a half to decide what I wanted. In the course of a couple days you have went from a shamrockor leprichaun to the outline of Ireland. I understand the Irish theam as this was the same as mine , but I knew what I wanted when I got there and all that was needed was a little tweeking from my artist........... Make sure you get what you want , not what your think you might like later.
I didn't get my first tat until I was 35. I recently (last Friday) got the design I've been dreaming of (also a Celtic theme). I'm very glad I waited to find the perfect artist for me. My husband got a unicorn when he was 19 and just went through 12 hours of work to cover it up -- big regret. Luckily, the cover came out amazing - but huge.
Our youngest daughter got her first tat on her 18th birthday - we brought her. She got her second one a week later. In most shops here around Mass and New Hampshire, they will not even touch you, regardless of parental permission, until you're 18.
I got my first tattoo when I was 16, but the guy that did mine was not very good. I was LUCKY. He did two of my friends tattoos and he went to deep in their skin and their tattoos got infected. Both of their tattoos are scarred to this day. So just be careful on who you pick and what you pick. I thought about my tattoo for months and months and I still love it!
Irish- Since everyone is rating on you for being so young, let me tell you what happened to me. I convinced my mom to let me get a tattoo at 16. The place I trusted wouldn't do it because I wasn't 18 yet. Well, I went back when I was of age and got the exact tattoo in the exact place in the exact color I wanted since I was 15. If a legit business will do it and it's what you want, go for it.
1) Learn to spell 2) Get some maturity 3) Decide what you really want instead of changing your mind everyday
When you get ink for the first time you had better be damned sure that what you get is what you want to live with for the rest of your life because correcting teenage mistakes takes a lot of cash. Take the time to THINK and stop pouting at the advice from people who replied to your post. They know better than you because they have made mature decisions regarding their ink. It is not a whimsical decision to get a tattoo but a whole life experience and at 15, you just ain't got that quality no matter what you think. We have all been 15 at some stage in our lives and we all thought we knew everything there was to know and the old fogies didn't but you soon find out that it is not true.
BTW - the amount of crappy tricolour tattoos in all their various formats I have seen are enough to put anyone off getting one!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: ricicles,
hey irish man.. times may have changed since i was 15 (im now 26) but good tattoo artists havent.. any good tattooist will not tattoo you if your under 18.. doesnt matter if you bring you aunt uncle and grandparents.. if you find one in ireland who will do it then its not worth getting tattood by them as its against the law. Im also from ireland (tipp to be exact) and while ive been at my tattooist studio kids have come in with parents.. they been 17 'about to turn 18 next wee'.. and theyre all told the same thing... come back next week. incidently i have a some artwork on a band.. and whatever your getting isnt a factor.. its the time your getting it.. your skin is still growing as are you. But hey this is all advice we're giving you.. i personally wouldnt go to a tatooist who tattoos kids as he obviously doesnt care about his work only the money. Hope you take this all into account.
