Anyone have suggestions on where to get a great quality Tattoo at a reasonable price?

ricks tattoo arlington

Marlow's ink in Old Town Fairfax

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W.W.S.D. what would Scooby Doo

Though I don't (yet) have a tattoo I would think "the best tattoo artist" very much depends on what type/style/whatever tattoo you want to get.

For example, it is rather unlikely I would get ANY "asian" tattoo anywhere in Northern Virginia - the bastardizations I've seen of, for example, Chinese characters are laughable at best, a true sob story at worst. I have a character I went to a back-alley calligrapher in a southern port city in Taiwan to draw - after explaining (via interpreter) what I wanted and what I wanted it for, he drew it multiple times, then pointed at one try and said "Use that one". He gave the drawing to me free - and there is NO WAY I would use a tattoo "artist" who isn't INTIMATELY familiar with Chinese calligraphy to even COPY that drawing onto my skin.

If you want a boilerplate tattoo - one out of a book tat thousands of people before you have gotten - then any tattoo artist who is a GOOD technician will do.

If you want something custom - maybe REAL custom to the point of absolutely no hard examples to go from - then you need a tattoo "artist" who is an ARTIST =and= a good technician - a rare breed.

In any case, good luck with your search - since your skin will be with you for the rest of your life you undoubtedly can take your time picking both tattoo and artist. If possible, I'd suggest getting the tattoo you ultimately pick done TWICE - once using something like henna or equivalent, then the final version done the permanent way. That way you can say "Uh...maybe not" if you so choose.

As you can tell from this message, I've done some serious LONGterm thinking about a tattoo I may eventually get. Maybe. But CERTAINLY a temporary version FIRST.

Like Tattoo Novice said...good advice

Pardon the minor followup - up above I mentioned "good technician". What this means is someone who is good at the actual mechanics of tattooing skin - from A to Z. Tattooing someone isn't just getting ink on a needle and sticking it into someone. It's knowing how deep to go (depending on skin type), how many passes to make, angle of pen holding, etc etc etc. A good technician is mandatory for a tattoo that looks the best and lasts the longest (tattoos can spread and fade - and will do that faster - maybe immediately! - if you don't have a good technician doing the work). This doubly applies to tattoos that use, for example, shading - get that wrong and...yuck.

i was going to comment but , Tattoo novice said it all...good advice. please read his post.

This is kind of interesting w.r.t. temporary tattoos:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=temporary+tattoo&aq=f

I question the idea of wanting a reasonably priced tattoo - what does this mean?

Trying to find a discount tattoo artist is not a good idea. Pay the extra to have a really nice piece, it IS going to be on you forever, why would you want to buy cheap art?

Yes, you can find someone that will ink you in their kitchen for $100, or you can go to a legitimate licensed business where the equipment is sterile, you aren't going to get any nasty diseases, and the artist is an actual ARTIST who will make a beautiful piece for you for $300.

My advice is to find the best artist out there and deal with the cost issue later.
Suck it up and pay the extra for good art, you will be happy you did.

You should just catch a case and serve federal time, the man who'll pound your ass can tattoo his name on your chest... i have friends in the pen who say the tattoos in there are better than anywhere else they have gone.

Is his name pedro? or jesus?..jose?

Go to the Lamb Center, I hear it is top notch at providing all types of services.

tattoos are for fags

I've been inked seven times, and the best one in the area, along with the most reasonable is Patriots Tattoo on Main Street in the City of Fairfax. Ask for Ty, he did a fine job on the last work I had done, and is an excellent artist. This is a clean, sterile place that I recommend to anyone.