Hey, I'm lookin' for a GOOD tattoo artist in the Central Florida area... Any ideas? Also, is it better to have something already designed and what not before you go in to get it done, or have your artist do the design? (Sorry for the weird question. I'm hoping to get my first tattoo in the next couple of weeks.) Thanks in advance for any help!

My advice is to think of something that means something to you. Something you want to see the rest of your life.

I had a caligraphy artist in India design in HIndi script the names of my wife and kids and then gave the art to my tattoo artist and had him turn it into an armband. Totally unique and has meaning to me (wife is INdian btw) - I'll neve runderstand people who walk into a parlor and say stuff like "i want a Koi fish, a demon, a dragon, barbwired armband, tribal armband" - I think those people might get bored with ti long run cause they're just getting a generic thing that everyone has. It's liek wearing the "in" brand of jeans. It totally loses the concept of body art and meaning imo.

I think most good tattoo artists would have this discussion with you. Those who will put anything on you, including a PlayStation joystick are just trying to make a buck.

Think about what you really want and then do some research on getting a design of it. That's part of the fun and process imo.

Hey, thanks! I'm pretty sure I know what I want... It's Kanji for spirit with a butterfly I drew with it's wing spread 'round it... (hard to explain) I just wasn't sure if it is best to show the artist my shody work, or just have them do it from scratch. hehe.

Anywho... Anybody know someplace 'round here?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ever_wandering_soul,

Show it to him/her so he/she knows what you're thinking. Then you'll approve or not the stencil...