The lengths we go to. (A blog about my trip to NYAdorned)

Ok, so today was my appointment with NYAdorned to see what I'd be able to do for my birthday in terms of a large scale tattoo. Just finding this place was difficult in and of itself...actually, that's a very large understatement.

Their address lists them at #47 Between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York. I took that little 47 to mean "47th street", and oh dear lord did that cost me, big time. I took my time getting to Manhattan because my consultation wasn't until 1:30 PM. In my previous post, "What do you do when you can't sleep?", I mentioned that I didn't feel I was going to be able to sleep for another couple of hours; this turned out to be true as I eventually got to bed at 5:30 AM. My Mom was nice enough to shout at me to wake me up, as she had taken a confirmation call from NYAdorned the day before as to whether or not I was coming.

Anyway, I arrived in Manhattan itself at about 12:20, which I felt left me with plenty of time. As I walked through the avenues to 2nd, I passed most of the panhandlers you come to expect in the city, as well as a guy blasting "Jungle Boogie" on a boombox with a sign next to him that said, "Tell me off for a dollar." I even passed the Mitzvah Tank, and I laughed....(All my Jews in NYC know what I'm sayin' ya'll)

ANYWAY, I got to 47th street and realized that the address was wrong. I looked around for a bit and could not find this fucking place for the life of me. I eventually found a working payphone and called the shop; it was then that I was informed that the shop was located at building #47 on 2nd Avenue BETWEEN 1st AND 2nd STREET. I looked at my Ipod and saw that it was 1:02 PM and I had to be there in twenty-eight minutes. I found a few cops, one who was heavily tattooed ironically, and asked them if they knew the place and which bus could take me there. After a little head scratching, they pointed down the street and I literally ran to catch the M15. The driver was slow as all hell; the bus made stops seemingly every block; and, well, let's say that a gay gentleman offered to have us leave the bus together >_<.

I made it to 10th street before jumping off of the bus in frustration. I called the shop from a payphone and asked if it was OK that I was going to be a bit late, they said it was fine. I got lost for another twenty minutes, as a local post-man sent me in the direction of ANOTHER tattoo place, (a rather shitty one too) and it was like 2:15 PM when I actually got there.

The shop itself is really nice. All of the people were smiling and didn't seem to mind that I was late. I sat down for a bit. The place has these really odd, almost medieval style couches (WE HAVE 200 COUCHES WHERE YOU CAN....) and the general vibe was layed-back. When the artist finally came out from the back to see me, he looked like John Goodman (of Big Lebowski fame) and was about 6'6. I was a tad intimidated, but I went with him and we started talking about my design. He was very modest about himself, and very quiet; he wasn't the type of guy you'd expect him to be from his work/appearance. ANYWAY, he asked me what I wanted, and I showed him my current Tattoo and said that I wanted something bigger, something better, and something completely original. I tried to be very loose with the guidelines, but he wanted to know what imagery I enjoy. I told him that I love the background clouds/waves featured in most sleeves, especially the Japanese influenced ones; and that those scenic sleeves involving an animal with some nice background floral designs were my favorite. He said that what he could do, within my budget, was cover the entire inside forearm. He suggested a Japanese-style Tiger, which if you're not aware, basically looks like a Dragon. I was OK with it for a while, but then I thought about it and decided that I wanted something with wings, so I asked if it would be a problem to keep the same Japanese Penoy/Cloud/Wave scenic design, but just change the Tiger out for some sort of mythic Bird, (I hate Dragons) perhaps flying through it, he said that he'd make it work and he was even able to squeeze me in for this Monday at their Brooklyn affiliate due to a cancelation. Bird imagery, and I hate to be redundant but again, the Japanese style, has always been something I've loved in sleeve designs; therefore, I can't wait to get this done.

The Tattoo will cover the entire inside of my forearm, and be done in one four-five hour session, depending on breaks. He was pushing me to do two sessions during two days, as he thought I was new to the whole thing, but when I told him that I already had a Tattoo and that the pain was not an issue, he said that we could knock the whole thing out in one session. I'll be posting pictures of the thing when it's done, and also a little guide on how to get a (first possibly) Tattoo for those of you who may be interested. And don't leave any of those bullshit, "You'll regret it.", "You'll blah blah blah." comments; I already have one, and I love it. And I just realized as I'm writing this that this is probably the first real blog I've done since I've been on GiantBomb >_> oh well.

http://www.nyadorned.com/tattoo/artists/dana/gallery.html

That's my artist for those of you who are curious. My Tattoo will be similar to that of his larger scale arm work.

Ok, so today was my appointment with NYAdorned to see what I'd be able to do for my birthday in terms of a large scale tattoo. Just finding this place was difficult in and of itself...actually, that's a very large understatement.

Their address lists them at #47 Between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York. I took that little 47 to mean "47th street", and oh dear lord did that cost me, big time. I took my time getting to Manhattan because my consultation wasn't until 1:30 PM. In my previous post, "What do you do when you can't sleep?", I mentioned that I didn't feel I was going to be able to sleep for another couple of hours; this turned out to be true as I eventually got to bed at 5:30 AM. My Mom was nice enough to shout at me to wake me up, as she had taken a confirmation call from NYAdorned the day before as to whether or not I was coming.

Anyway, I arrived in Manhattan itself at about 12:20, which I felt left me with plenty of time. As I walked through the avenues to 2nd, I passed most of the panhandlers you come to expect in the city, as well as a guy blasting "Jungle Boogie" on a boombox with a sign next to him that said, "Tell me off for a dollar." I even passed the Mitzvah Tank, and I laughed....(All my Jews in NYC know what I'm sayin' ya'll)

ANYWAY, I got to 47th street and realized that the address was wrong. I looked around for a bit and could not find this fucking place for the life of me. I eventually found a working payphone and called the shop; it was then that I was informed that the shop was located at building #47 on 2nd Avenue BETWEEN 1st AND 2nd STREET. I looked at my Ipod and saw that it was 1:02 PM and I had to be there in twenty-eight minutes. I found a few cops, one who was heavily tattooed ironically, and asked them if they knew the place and which bus could take me there. After a little head scratching, they pointed down the street and I literally ran to catch the M15. The driver was slow as all hell; the bus made stops seemingly every block; and, well, let's say that a gay gentleman offered to have us leave the bus together >_<.

I made it to 10th street before jumping off of the bus in frustration. I called the shop from a payphone and asked if it was OK that I was going to be a bit late, they said it was fine. I got lost for another twenty minutes, as a local post-man sent me in the direction of ANOTHER tattoo place, (a rather shitty one too) and it was like 2:15 PM when I actually got there.

The shop itself is really nice. All of the people were smiling and didn't seem to mind that I was late. I sat down for a bit. The place has these really odd, almost medieval style couches (WE HAVE 200 COUCHES WHERE YOU CAN....) and the general vibe was layed-back. When the artist finally came out from the back to see me, he looked like John Goodman (of Big Lebowski fame) and was about 6'6. I was a tad intimidated, but I went with him and we started talking about my design. He was very modest about himself, and very quiet; he wasn't the type of guy you'd expect him to be from his work/appearance. ANYWAY, he asked me what I wanted, and I showed him my current Tattoo and said that I wanted something bigger, something better, and something completely original. I tried to be very loose with the guidelines, but he wanted to know what imagery I enjoy. I told him that I love the background clouds/waves featured in most sleeves, especially the Japanese influenced ones; and that those scenic sleeves involving an animal with some nice background floral designs were my favorite. He said that what he could do, within my budget, was cover the entire inside forearm. He suggested a Japanese-style Tiger, which if you're not aware, basically looks like a Dragon. I was OK with it for a while, but then I thought about it and decided that I wanted something with wings, so I asked if it would be a problem to keep the same Japanese Penoy/Cloud/Wave scenic design, but just change the Tiger out for some sort of mythic Bird, (I hate Dragons) perhaps flying through it, he said that he'd make it work and he was even able to squeeze me in for this Monday at their Brooklyn affiliate due to a cancelation. Bird imagery, and I hate to be redundant but again, the Japanese style, has always been something I've loved in sleeve designs; therefore, I can't wait to get this done.

The Tattoo will cover the entire inside of my forearm, and be done in one four-five hour session, depending on breaks. He was pushing me to do two sessions during two days, as he thought I was new to the whole thing, but when I told him that I already had a Tattoo and that the pain was not an issue, he said that we could knock the whole thing out in one session. I'll be posting pictures of the thing when it's done, and also a little guide on how to get a (first possibly) Tattoo for those of you who may be interested. And don't leave any of those bullshit, "You'll regret it.", "You'll blah blah blah." comments; I already have one, and I love it. And I just realized as I'm writing this that this is probably the first real blog I've done since I've been on GiantBomb >_> oh well.

http://www.nyadorned.com/tattoo/artists/dana/gallery.html

That's my artist for those of you who are curious. My Tattoo will be similar to that of his larger scale arm work.

Heh, looking at those pictures, tattooing buttcheeks must be an awkward experience

I made it through the Navy without any ink, but I gained an appreciation for the art. There's some ink guys here Jakob187 and EpicSteve.

My wife has a tattoo on her ass, no shaving necessary. She said she talked about the weather and other crappy stuff. She also said the artist acted like a doctor, been there done that.

Looking forward to some pics of art.

How much will it cost you?  I know nothing about tattoo pricing; I'm assuming both the bigger and more detailed the more expensive, but are there any other factors? 

" @kmdrkul:

With small tattoos, it's all about the following.

1. How big is it
2. Will it have color, and if so, how much.

For larger Tattoos, and with quality artists, it usually only is determined by the time you're taking from the artist's day. A one hour tattoo that's only two inches or so may only be 100$ or so; but a four-five hour tattoo covering a large portion of skin with multiple layers and color, easily 500-700$. Typically, most people go to shitty parlors in their local Malls for their first Tattoos, which is where you get the cliche "Boyfriend/Girlfriend's name on neck". Those type of Tattoos never usually run more than 90$ "

I'm still on the fence for tattoos. I still have a long time to decide what to get if I ever do get one anyway.

The art that guy does is pretty amazing. I'd like to know the symbolism behind the ones that stand out like the cool reptile looking bird. I stand by this idea since I don't see much oriental-type artwork on people. Nowadays it's all tribal tattoos and butterflies and crap like that. Goodluck with this.

At least I didn't have to go through it for my tattoos. Walked in, handed my designs and was done by 5.

I was thinking of getting a tattoo of my Dad's initials as a tribute of sorts, but Im too much of a pussy to be decisive about it..

HopStop.com is your friend for getting directions using the Subway, etc.

His work is quite nice; considering a Reaper on my right leg and have been considering it for a while. Need to research artists in NYC as i don't want to travel for it to be done. Need to find someone that can do dark/fantasy in black and gray quite well.

Ya i'll take a look at them. Someone I know recommended Rising Dragon. Also saw another place which name escapes me but it was more "metal" and being what I am looking for is dark I was considering speaking to them.

Rising Dragon, NYAdorned, or Dare Devil seem like who i'll end up talking with. Just something in my mind though, because being raised Jewish and Tattoo's being against it (something which I was never into and consider myself Agnostic) I am still really undecided.

That's what it is really with the burial stuff. However with my idea the reaper really represents "Death is always behind you, live your life" meaning I really shouldn't worry about it and do what you want as you only live once. However looked it up once online and a Rabbi said it wouldn't be held against you in certain places, so ya..

My mom would probably be shocked and kinda disappointed but she would get over it, my dad wouldn't care and that's really it. My orthodox uncle would probably make some comments but I couldn't care less about his opinions the 1 time I see him a year.

Also I work in the Video industry so I don't need to hide the tat and going with my right leg just because I feel my legs are well built. I am tall and skinny, so yea I want an area where it will look well good.

Well I was not worried about, I know a few guys who are editors or techies like myself in the Video industry that have tats, piercings, etc. I love being able to wear a T-Shirt, Jeans and my Yellow/Black adio sneakers to work lol.

Yup. I think some parent's would while some wouldn't, as that this generation it also comes down to what age you are teaching.

Fucking endorphin addict.