Koi Sleeve Tattoo

So, I've made the massive decision of making my next tattoo a 3 quarter sleeve.The reason I decided on a 3 quarter sleeve is because one of my very first tatts wasn't very well thought out. I chose the design from the flash on the wall, and have since learned this isnt a very good idea. Unless you really do love it, that is. I was just young and "needed a tattoo" that day. Oh well, chalk that one up to experience.

The design I got was a tribal armband around my forearm. Im hoping the artist I choose can incorporate it into the design and maybe even have the sleeve extend past it a bit too.

So now I just have to get some ideas together.

Ive chosen Koi as the main theme. Lately I have just been reading a lot about the story of Koi, or legend if you like, and I love all the symbolism involved.

Im thinking of having; an orange Koi swimming upwards on my forearm, a green Koi dragon also swimming/flying upwards but on my bicep/shoulder, maple leaves as background, and some black and grey background shading. Im thinking the bright colours from the koi and the maple leaves will really show on the background. Since actually starting this Hub I've also become familiar with Hannya masks from Japan. So now I will incorporating one of these into the sleeve. Ive put examples of what will be in the sleeve below.

The reason Ive decided to go big with a sleeve is pretty simple. I was reading a page by a guy call Keith Alexander, on getting a back piece done which covered his entire back. It was an awesome story of everything he went through and really showed how much commitment is involved in a massive tattoo. Also how much it can mean to you. If you want to have a read, I've put the link down the page a bit. Here is one quote I've chosen which gives you something to think about:

"And here I now sit, knowing that the work will still be happening as winter falls. And that one day soon it will be finished. 36 hours or so total. Resulting in one amazing piece of art. Living art. Art that both empowers and humbles. Art that will die with me and in that way alone, a most intimate piece of art. Art that I can't readily see yet is with me at all times. Inseparable. And if I am mindful of the lessons the Koi teaches, an enlightening form of art."

With all this said, I still don't want a repeat experience of the dredded armband. So I've promised myself that I will plan this piece to every last detail to make sure it turns out perfect.

I made it in to Voodoo Tattoo in Gosford (NSW, Australia) to have a chat to the artist, Davo. It went pretty well. After I was showing him my ideas that I had printed off he took me over to his portfolio on the computer and there were Koi everywhere. Apparently Japanese styles are his specialty and he's won an award for a Koi sleeve he has done on someone else. So far so good.

Now I was still planning on a 3 quarter sleeve when I walked into Voodoo, but as soon as I started talking about everything I wanted involved in the design all the artists there started saying I would need a FULL sleeve. Now I dont know how keen I am on that idea. I would still like to be able to see part of my original arm. Anyway, more food for thought I guess. Either scale my idea down a bit, or man-up and get the full sleeve. We'll see...

Davo did also mention that he could do the whole outline, for a full sleeve, in 1 day. Then we would just work from there. I was really hoping to get some layouts drawn up today so I had some time to play around with it before actually getting it done, but apparently Davo wont do the design until the day before my first session.

AND, it turns out Davo is booked out until 21st February '09. So I just had to accept that booking. It sucks having to wait this long, but it'll be worth it.

Finally I turned up at Voodoo on Saturday 21st February '09, after 6 months of waiting and planning, only to be shot down at the last minute.

I arrived and Davo wasnt happy with the cover up idea. It wasnt working out well with the fact that the armband is solid black. Now back during one of my first visits to talk about he said "no problem, when im finished you wont even know it was there". I guess he was just really optomistic that day. Because this day he wasnt. Long story short, I went away, came back, he still wasnt happy, so we decided we'd do the other arm and I'd come back next saturday 28th February. Done.

I was absolutely spewing, that after 6 months of counting down and waiting, it could be postponed at the last minute. But hey, at least the art doesnt have to be compromised for the sake of the cover up now.

Im F*cking stoked! The results are better than I expected. The hannya mask is awesome. It took about 6.5 hours in the chair to do the entire outline. When he first started it was more painful than I remembered, but you soon settle into a groove with everyone chattin around you and the music in the background. Although they obviously love they're heavy metal in Voodoo, and Im not such a fan. But I got used to it I guess.

The design changed from the idea I described in the begining. We thought that it might look too seperated with a Koi and the Koi Dragon in the one piece. The reason I wanted both of them was to symbolise a transition in my own life, so I wasn't overly keen on compromising this idea. However, after some thought, I've realised that the Koi Dragon does symbolised the transition by itself. And I'm definitely happy with how everything turned out.

The only parts that really got to me in terms of pain and made me wince a little, would be, on my veins like wrist and arm, my chest (the tiny part that actually got tattooed) and my elbow. Again he barely touched the elbow but I definitely felt it.

At the end it was a weird sensation. When you spend all week (or all month, year, whatever) with your thoughts cluttering your head space, then for a day you sit under a needle concentrating on the pain/discomfort, It really brings you back down to the ground. In a good way. I was very relaxed when I walked away from there, and absolutely stoked to have it started after all this time.

Davo reckons it will be about another 4 or 5 more sessions to complete it. Possibly 1 session every 8 weeks if I can afford it. So it'll be about a year before its finished. So stay tuned I guess! It'll be a while, but at least we've finally started!

Ok it took a while to get this next session done, but tattoos aren't cheap, credit crisis, blah blah blah. Even though I think K Rudd is an idiot for thinking that throwing cash at the public would sufficiently stimulate the economy, I will still happily take his money and spend it on my tattoo. I couldnt have afforded this session otherwise.

So this was 11th June '09. To start we had to finish some more line work on the inside of my bicep. He just drew it on free hand first and then tattooed over it. There was 2 more maple leaves to be done, clouds and background water. Its almost like I had tricked myself into thinking tattoos weren't painful, but as soon as he started on that tender meat on the inside of the arm I soon remembered it can be. It kinda feels like the flesh is tearing, rather than the normal sensation of a mild burning. I think thats the best way I can describe it. That section only took an hour or so then we got stuck into the shading.

Shading was so easy to sit through. No where near as irritating as line work can be. Its really brought the piece to life too! We got about 3 quarters done in 5 hours. So thats about 11.5 hours in the chair all up now. Still too much work to be done. I just cant wait for colour because you can tell its just gonna make it pop.

I've been a bit slack with pics for this section, but I was kinda waiting on it healing all the way first. So should have some pics up in the next few days. Very happy with the results so far.

This section has taken me far too long to get up on here. Lots of things have been going on in my life recently, and just haven't found the 10 mins required to update this page. Bit slack I know, but here it is.

I actually got my last session done, I think, in November '09. It was just more shading, but this time inner and outer bicep and finishing off some forearm. I wish I could just go back to Voodoo every 2 months and just get this piece hammered out in a few quick sessions, but no money is a problem. Also, Davo is booked out for 6 months at a time now. So the whole sleeve is probably taking more time than most. But more importantly than that im still heaps stoked with the results, so dont mind too much about the time frame.

To top things off last time, Davo threw in some colour to get me pumped up about the whole piece again. It definitely worked. He did the red of the hannya mask and it looks incredible.

 Ok I'm finally booked in for my next session! It's been over a year since my last one and I'm way too keen. But as usual I couldnt book in straight away. He's too busy still. So March 21st is the date. That'll be 2 years and 1 month since I had my first session. It's amazing to think about all the things in my life that have changed during that time. How I've changed. But the tattoo remains and evolves. Cant wait for this session...

So please check back after the 21st March 2011 cos I will have photos n stuff up ASAP.

So well overdue, over a year since my last session, I finally had some more work done.

Today we finished all the remaining outline under my arm, all the remaining shading on clouds and waves, colour on all the maple leaves and the colour in peonie flower. The peonie isnt completely finished though. Still have some dark blue to add at the bottom o the leaves which will make it seem a bit more three dimensional.

After that its just the koi dragon left, and that will be a few shades of green. I think its gonna be amazing. Im so stoked with it so far.

I just wanna say thank you to everyone following this Hub/blog, and Im sorry for all the delays in between entries. I hope you all enjoy seeing the progression in the tattoo as well as my account of what happened. Keep following to see the end product.

Cheers guys.

My final session is done. Only took 2.5 hours too. The break in price was much appreciated! Anyway, went into Voodoo today 30th November 2011 at 3pm, not really knowing how long it was going to take. I thought we might have been adding to the Peonie flower to give it some depth, but Davo said if we tattooed over it again with a dark blue like I was asking for (at the base of the leaves) it would just get lost in the dark background. Also, in traditional Japanese tattoos the Peonie is usually a flat colour throughout, so I'm happy to stick with that. Moving on to the Koi Dragon. Man... I am so stoked with it, you have no idea. I pictured it a lot like it turned out, but the reality is so much better.

After 24.5 hours under the needle, 2 years 9 months out of my life and $3930 out of my bank account, my tattoo is finished... The whole experience has been great. It took so much longer than I expected, but that's due to all sorts of things. Davo being booked solid, me having no money, trying to coordinate the two. Now that it's done though, I couldn't be happier with the work I've had done. Maybe all the waiting between sessions has made me appreciate it more in the end. Either way, I have a piece of art on my arm now that I'll be proud to wear for the rest of my life. Thank you to everyone that has commented on my Hub or even just kept checking back to see if I'd updated. It means a lot to me that people were interested and enjoyed what I had done. And a final note, if anyone reading this lives anywhere near the Central Coast (N.S.W, Australia), I highly recommend Voodoo Tattoo (118 Mann St, Gosford). They do awesome work as you can see. Cheers! - Cam.