I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo for a long time now… and was wondering what people who have gotten one have to say.
I want something original, ie. not a tribal, or barbwire around my bicep. I want to get
I AM NOT
WEARING
A SHIRT.
on my back. Yes, obviously to be a smart ass, but I really want to get this tattoo. I’ve been thinking about it for several months now, and it’s still hilarious to me. I’m not sure if it will ever be not funny. I just wanted to get some more opinions on it, notably from those here who have tattoo(s).
Sharpie mock up: of course the real thing would be centered, in Courier.
it’s probably a bad idea to get a joke tattoo. that’s one of the four rules i follow for advice on tatoos.
think of a good idea. wait a year. if you still really want it, go for it.
no languages you don’t speak
nothing that’s just there for humour.
no stock “flash”. be original and at least have a friend to most the design if you aren’t talented. working with the tattoo artist from your own/friend’s design is a good idea. picking a butterfly from the wall of flash is not.
the tattoo is going to be there for a long time
there’s no rush
also remember that a good tattoo is not cheap
and a cheap tattoo is not good
i like the idea
a couple of suggestions u may or may not chew on
have it done smaller, styled like some of the labels u see on T-shirts
if u go for this option, u may want to think about having it ‘stitched’ onto your skin
with or without a melodramatic droplet of blood oozing from one (or more) of the stitches
(a friend of mine sports a self-inked badge, ‘riveted’ to his thigh with just his name, birthday and the word ‘SELFPORTRAIT’ - he has some pretty kewl tattoo ideas)
u might even have it done in a circular badge-style
have it done in Gang-style Gothic lettering in an arc across your shoulders or across your stomach
this way people might mistake it for something completely different at first, amplifying the joke when they eventually get to read it
have it done in a very flowing script in the small of your back
ripping off the current tattoo-craze sported by zillions of ‘i-was-a-teenager-till-yesterday’ girls worldwide
a sharp designer will be able to render that phrase in script and still make it look like one of those very symmetrical tattoos
(i’m planning on getting one of the Rorschag inkblots done there as my personal dig at the fad - and because i love the idea of someone asking me what the tattoo means and being able to say ‘Well, you tell me…?’)
something else that just occured to me would be to ‘celebrate’ the very old-school style of typical sailor tattoos of the pretty girl wearing a very tight T-shirt bearing your slogan
your tattoo makes me think of another of max’s tattoo ideas (the friend i mentioned earlier)
a very realistic yet borderline biomechanical digital watch tattooed around the wrist
and in the time window, just the word ‘NOW’
take your time
it’s going to be there for a very long time
There was a case about 8 years ago in my town of a guy who had something ending with the phrase “or else” tattooed on his chest. Too bad they spelled it “eles”. He had proofed it and approved it first. He sued for the full cost of laser removal but they’d only pay for a cover up.
Anybody watching the show, Miami Ink which follows the life of a tattoo parlour and its customers?
They had a case of a customer who came in to get an Italian word on his arm in a very stylized font. He had misspelled the word realizing it only after the fact. The artist had to figure out how to increase the size of all the letters while turning an “R” into and “E” and visa-versa to correct the spelling error.
markf - I think I’ll apply your first point to the joke. I’ll probably wait a while, still find it funny, and then get it. I am impulsive, but, as a few others iterated, it’s gonna be on there a long time.
Amanda - I think a stock tattoo off the wall, or one someone already has, defeats the purpose. I think a tattoo is supposed to be something original and personal… and in this case, hilarious. (Nothing will trump Steve-o’s tattoo of himself on his back… HAHAHAHA).
Trapper - HAHAHAHA… that’s great!
GILD - tons of good advice… I like the gang style across my shoulders idea… too bad I didn’t think of it. The inkblot idea is hilarious as well… hahahahah
fenboy - “if found face down call an ambulance” isn’t quite my kind of humor… but “if found face down call and ambulance” is funny.
Thanks for the replies… I’ll probably wait a few months and see if I still find it as funny as I do now. If I do end up getting up (and I probably will) I’ll get some pictures on here for everyone
