Viking Tattoo

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Anton the doctor from  Philippines 

Anton had previously come in to get a tattoo on the back of his neck. He was a walk in, he was very calm and polite, and I resonated with his energy, as soon as he walked in the studio. 

He requested a cover up on the back of his neck which I was happy to work with his cover-up tattoo request. His requested was accepted based on his idea he had to cover his tattoo. He showed me a Viking raven, it was dark and it had detail on it, and I thought it would be the perfect design for his cover up. 

Cover up tattoos are quite challenging, so I need to get my head down and focus on my work, however, me and Anton still managed to have a little chat and have a laugh as well. He was very calm, he sat really well for his cover up tattoo in the back of his neck, as he had to bend his neck down during the tattoo process, I was sure to give him a few brakes, so he could stretch his neck. 

A few months later, Anton messaged me on what’s app, as he had previously been to the studio, he had my what’s app business number, he messaged me and I was happy to hear back from him, positive vibes! 

So this time Anton requested a Viking ship on his forearm, completely different design and different part of the body, that’s one thing I do love about tattooing, is how different everyday is, everyday is a different person, a different design and a different part of body. So I was exited to get Anton back in the chair. 

The design was pretty straight forward, a solid looking, Viking ship. The design had big bold simple lines, which is also very good for longevity. Simple and bold designs age really well, as they are really solid and straight forward. 

Anton is from the Philippines. He became a doctor before coming to work in the UK. He works for the NHS, and he says he lives his job, when he came to get tattooed, he said he was on holiday, well deserved time off, as with his work it must be so demanding. So he was happy to take time off and coming to get tattooed. 

While I was tattooing Anton, he had some special coffees from the house, I always like to treat my clients with good quality coffees straight from the beans. I believe in the comfort and experience of the clients when they come in to get tattooed. Some clients have mentioned that drinking coffee while getting tattooed, has helped them, to last longer in the tattoo sessions. That’s why I make sure I always have the best quality coffee for my clients, and we also offer tea for those for prefer tea instead of coffees. 

Anton was watching a few movies while getting tattooed, that’s one of the other experiences I offer while getting tattooed by me, I care about the client’s experience, even when they are just having a small tattoo, the experience also counts, and while the client has something to watch, I believe they sit better for the tattoo, as their mind is distracted with something else. So, it doesn’t matter witch side of the body my client is sat, they have a to in front of them to watch whatever they want. 

Overall, I was happy to tattoo Anton, definitely a good experience, I liked his energy, and I also look forward to do his touch up session, as we did a cover-up tattoo on his first visit, which it has healed well, however we are doing a second pass to make sure everything is as solid as possible, and as i mentioned previously, with a cover-up Tattoo, a second layer is very important to achieve the cover-up.

Thank you Anton, I really appreciate you getting tattooed by me, and hopefully one day I would love to visit your country, The Philippines, and get to know your culture, as I have always felt the warmth from the people of Philippines. You welcome in the studio anytime you want, even just for a coffee and a quick catch up. 

Until next time 

Customer Experience with Michael Durham

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In this blog I would like to talk about my experience tattooing Michael. He approached me around 10 years ago, it was his first tattoo, so we spoke a lot before we made a choice about going ahead with the tattoo. We connected a lot with a few things, including music and movies. Michael loves the lord of the rings and the Hobbit, so that brought us close together, including that we had the same music taste. He enjoyed to listen to similar bands that I did, so we started to introduce each other to new bands. 

His Request 

I was really happy when he requested a fantasy dragon surrounded by gold, which it really resonated with one of our favourite movies, The hobbit. In our consultations, we looked at my fantasy books, we didn’t at least 3 consultations looking at fantasy books, until we found the right image for him. 

During his consultations we built a connection between tattoo artist and client, and those 3 visits to the studio, enhanced his decision to come and get tattooed by me, as he could feel the relaxed vibe in the studio, and it was a place where he wanted to spend time in. 

Getting the design ready

 I drew everything by hand, as it was a fantasy dragon, he wanted a custom design just for him, and when I drew the design by hand, it came from a genuine place. 

I can still offer tattoo designs, completely drawn by hand, I think the client get something more personal and genuine, and only you can have the tattoo, that is still possible to get done. 

The Tattoo process 

Tattooing Michael it brought us close together even further, his calmness and patience it allowed me to work in a great frame of mind, I remember tattooing his half sleeve, and it took around 2-3 sessions, then he took a brake from getting tattooed, which I completely understand, I think he became a father, so responsibilities arrived in his life, I was really happy for him, however he let me know that he would be back for more. 

10 years after, Michael got in touch with me, and I moved from Leeds to Manchester. It was a really big move for me to make, and I do still get a lot of my cleaned friends coming over to Manchester to get tattooed by me, I guess when you build a connection with your tattoo artist is not easy to let go. Specially because I really take care of my clients to make sure they are comfortable and enjoy the experience and process, as much as possible. 

I believe to give to my clients more than tattooing, I think when someone chooses to get tattooed by me, I want to repay them with good coffees, good chat and positive experiences. 

So 10 years after tattooing Michael, he still follows me from Leeds to Manchester, and this time I saw him after 10 years, I was looking for someone, who would be good on the camera, and be able to share their experience about getting tattooed by me. 

That’s when, I called my friend Anthony from Manchester to do a video for me. Anthony was great with the video and he captured Michael’s Tattoo experience where you can watch on this you tube video below. 

I hope you enjoy Michael’s client experience video, it was a pleasure working with Michael, and we are going to be doing more work on his fantasy sleeve. 

Keep and eye for more updates. 

Client Experiences

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Life Lessons with Martin Pemberton

I have been tattooing Martin for a few years, since the days I was in Leeds. Martin is an ex football player, he was a defender, here are some of the teams he passed through his career. 

Career highlights

Oldham Athletic (1994–1997)

Doncaster Rovers (1997–1998)

Mansfield Town (2000–2002)

Stockport County (2002–2005)

Farsley Celtic (2005–2007)

He also played for Scunthorpe United, Hartlepool United and Rochdale. 

After his football career, Martin Pemberton, started his new journey with motivational speaking, and coaching footballers. He’s a teacher, and he is a good person to spend time with, his positivity and wisdom makes our tattoo sessions very special. Our conversations are quite deep and inspiring, so that’s why I have chosen to share with everyone our last session we had. 

Martin wisdom about life inspires me. I remember when I first met him, it was in my first studio I had in Leeds. I think we were only doing him a small tattoo, however, when the tattoo was finished I had a feeling that I wanted to see him again, he was very inspirational and motivational. Our conversations can go on for hours, and I feel like I can speak to him about anything, maybe because we are both open minded. The freedom I feel when I speak to him is the reason why our conversations can be interesting, as there’s no limits with what we could talk or discuss. 

We have a very healthy discussion where sometimes, we could have the opposite conclusion to a subject, however, we can consider both sides of what we are trying to discuss about, and have a good lesson with each others point of view. 

I hope you enjoy this video where I’m tattooing Martin, and free handing a tree on his forearm, I’m doing a cover up tattoo for him. He requested to cover up an old symbol he had, and when he requested a tree I was happy to accept his request as trees are really good for cover-ups, based on texture. Any images with texture helps with a cover-up, including dragon scales, snake scales, nature textures, all those ideas are really good for cover up tattoos. 

Thank you Martin, sometimes when you meet some people, you think the universe brought you together for a reason, and if I could pick one reason why I met Martin, it would be based on the wisdom he passes over to me, when I see him, I feel like he’s my old time brother from a past life, who I was waiting to meet in this life.

I’m going to share more clients experiences on this website, i have some amazing experiences with my clients, some of them do become friends, and i almost feel like they crossed my path for a reason. Everyone will cross your path for a reason, and all of them will teach you a lesson.

Enjoy 

Bury Tattoo

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In this blog I would like to guide you on how to find the best tattoo studio in Bury, Greater Manchester. 

It must be overwhelming to choose the right tattoo studio for you. Tattoo Artist’s nowadays go out of their comfort zone to let you know how good they are rating their own work. Any tattoo artist with any respect for their clients would come to the profound realisation that, the client has the right to choose where they want to go. 

So if you encounter a tattoo studio rating their own work, you know that is a clear red flag. A tattoo artists role in the tattoo industry is to study art, study tattooing, focus on their clients, give the best tattoo they can, post their tattoo online and if someone resonates with it, that’s how you succeed. The client or tattoo fans, are the one’s who rate with their own perception and taste, with tattoos they appreciate it or not. 

The best tattoos I have done it’s been on clients who I have felt most comfortable with, so I do believe that having a good connection with your client helps a lot. I know you mite be thinking, but how do I find out if I have a connection with a tattoo artist or not? Have a consultation with them, even nowadays tattoo artists do a lot of videos speaking online, and you can get the vibe if they are calm, hyper, chilled, talkative. If you find a tattoo artist who does the style you are looking for, and you have a connection with them you will have the best experience ever. 

So it’s possible for you to have the best experience ever with a Tattoo Artist, however there are some tips to be followed, and that’s what I’m going to bring you in this blog with my 20 years experience. 

 I’m sure if you search online for a tattoo artist who specialises at the style you are looking for, you will find a few online, and you will probably resume your search in 3-5 different artists. So that’s when the decision start to arrive, and that’s when people considering getting a tattoo, starts to choose their artist by prices and location. 

And I believe prices and location are the reason why not everyone has got a good tattoo. Because if an artist is the closest to you, it doesn’t mean they are the right artist for you. Considering marking your body for a life time, would it not be better to travel to the artist who fits you best, independent of their location? Travelling for an hour to make sure your tattoo will be the best quality as possible and you will have the best experience as possible, I believe that’s worth the extra mile. 

And prices are another factor that separates, people who invest in their tattoo and body, and people who does not invest in their tattoos and body. And that is one main factor why, there are so many people requesting for their tattoos fixing or covering up. So choosing the right artist for you it is key. 

Good quality tattoo equipment costs a lot of money. So tattoo artists who care for the quality of what they are providing, will invest good money in their tattoo equipment.

I know having a great experience with your tattoo artist and getting a really good quality tattoo, is not easy to achieve. However, if you put aside how much your tattoo will cost, where your tattoo artist is located, and focus more on having a connection with your artist, in this case having a consultation, and travelling to the artist who will deliver the best quality tattoo for you, your chances of having a great experience will increase. 

In our studio at Odin’s Eye Tattoo we can offer a consultation with you, come and have a chill in the reception, we know you are coming when you make a consultation, we will have a chat and let’s see if we get good vibes from each other. We offer a private room for each client which it will increase client privacy and tattoo artists focus. 

We are Tattoo Artists,  we focus on art outside of tattooing to give you the best quality tattoo possible. 

Thank you so much for reading our blog. 

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Black and Grey clock tattoo in Bury Manchester
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Black and Grey Tattoo

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Black and Grey Tattoo in Bury 

Hey everyone, thanks for looking at my tattoo blog, in this blog I would like to mention about the latest black and grey tattoos I have been up to, and also talk about black and grey tattoos in general, black and grey is a style that has been done a lot lately, it is the preferred style by most of tattoo collectors nowadays. 

I was approached by Mark for a thigh black and grey tattoo. He loves heavy metal, so he wanted the album cover of the Slipknot album “lowa” on the front of his thigh, the lowa album was released in 2001, so the art work of the album is a little dated in my eyes, but I was glad when Mark was open minded to listen to me, and allow me to re-design the Slipknot classic second album. So I designed to album for him, and he was happy with the end result. The front of his leg, the Slipknot part, was done in 2 sessions, working with Mark on the first session I was really happy as he was so patient and chilled, so I knew it was going to be a success. A successful tattoo also comes with a lot of patience and having a good attitude when getting tattooed. 

After we finished the Slipknot front of his thigh, his second request also brought a smile to my face, which it was, a Five Finger Death Punch album cover or logo, I believe it was a logo more than an album cover. Craig was sure to request that around the skull logo design, he wanted all bio-mechanical, I knew it was gonna be fun, as soon as he mentioned that, as I love to free-hand bio-mechanical on the human body, you can make it look like the client was already born with the tattoo on their body, following the human body shape. 

Studying Victor Portugal’s work, which I’m a fan of his work. I was able to free hand that bio-mechanical around my clients thigh tattoo. Studying textures really help when you are about to tattoo objects that requires texture, and as we know most objects contain textures, we can not see texture in every image we see, or use for tattoos, however, most objects when observed in real life from close they do have texture. So when approaching a black and grey tattoo, it is important to understand texture. 

Me and Mark had a similar music taste, so during our tattoo sessions, we were introducing new bands to each other. That is one thing that is so positive about tattooing someone, is that you always end up learning something with your client, and music ends up being one subject talked about in tattoo sessions, as I’m a big fan of music, when clients requests music related tattoos, the topic of the conversations in the tattoo sessions is music. 

Black and grey tattoos are very peaceful to do, as a Tattoo Artist, it is less stressful than colour tattoos, and it does flow a lot more natural in a tattoo session. So tattooing Mark, he was so calm and the session was very peaceful. Mark’s tattoo healed really well, he had good skin for tattoos, and he followed the aftercare for his tattoo.

Nowadays we see a lot more black and grey artists, and a lot of good ones as well, so many that sometimes I forget about those classic guys who first inspired me, however, as soon as the love for black and grey tattoos does not die out, I will have the passion to learn and study black and grey tattoos, as it’s infinite to enter a journey about shading and to really learn how the shadow falls in the object, it requires a lot of study and interest in the subject, however, only the passionate ones, will sacrifice their free time in order to learn something new, or what they are passionate about. 

I believe black and grey tattoos are always going to be a part of Tattooing, however black and grey tattoos may evolve. And hopefully i will have more amazing client’s like Mark to express my black and grey tattoos.

Fine Line Tattoos

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Fine Line Tattoo

Fine line tattoos, are the new and favourite tattoo style most asked and admired nowadays, therefore, we would need a full blog on that subject, not only to explore about this new tattoo style that has taken the internet by storm, but also find out the truth behind fine line Tattoos. 

The Tattoo world is like a wave it’s always going up and down in styles and what people ask for. Back in the day realism was the style that everyone was asking for, however there was a big debate about longevity in realism, and that is the same discussion that we have with fine line tattoos. 

Fine line tattoos are temporary- A lot of tattoo artists are doing fine line tattoos, and i doubt they will last more than 10 years.

Why will they age not well? They will not be in the skin, as the lines are so thin, it will disappear over the years, in tattooing, contrast is so important, and so is a solid line, strong edges. I know you mite be listening to this and think, but I want a fine line tattoos, I would say, you have the right to have a fine line tattoo, however, you will have a temporary tattoo. 

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why people get fine line tattoos, as it does looks nice, it looks very delicate and subtle. And that’s why so many people get them, because people buy what they see, and with online platforms like TikTok nowadays, it’s so easy to start a TikTok trend, and make tattoos look good online that looks nothing what it looks on skin. 

Is it worth it getting a fine line tattoo? If you really really want it, I would completely understand, however, please consider that in 10 years, the fine line tattoo will fade a lot, so you will have to cover it up with something more solid in the future, re-work the same tattoo with a solid line, or laser the tattoo off which it would be a quiet painful experience best to be avoided. 

We get a lot of requests on fine line tattoos, and we try to guide the client as much as possible, so they are getting a solid tattoo for the future, and not something that will be gone eventually, so we try to be honest with our clients, so they know the truth of what they are considering getting.

If you have any questions about fine line tattoos, we are happy to answer.

Fine line Tattoo

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Cover Up Tattoo

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Cover-up Tattoos

Hello everyone, thanks for reading my blog, in this blog I would like to focus on cover-up Tattoos. Cover-up Tattoos is a type of work that I have been dealing with since the beginning of my career, and the more experience I get on in covering up a tattoo, the more I realise I can never stop learning. So lets dive in deep in to everything you need to know about getting your tattoos covered up.

I do enjoy doing cover-up tattoos, and that’s only because I like the challenge, however with my experience over the years, i have learned that i have to approach a cover up tattoo, with a lot of planning. So in order to achieve a successful cover up, I’m happy to share with you some key elements and principles on how to approach a cover up tattoo.

One important foundation for a successful cover up tattoo, is the balance between dark and light. Where the tattoo that needs covering is placed, that’s is where your dark is going to be, so now in order  to make a successful cover up tattoo, you must make sure the light is the same amount or more than the dark area. It has to be at least 50% dark and 50% light. Or even 50% dark and 60% light.

If your cover-up tattoo is 60% dark and 40% light, you will not achieve a successful cover-up tattoo. So as you can see, the light area has to be greater than the dark area.

Cover-up Tattoos require a lot of patience from both tattoo artist and customer or tattoo collector.

I make a decision if I should take a cover-up tattoo job on or not based on the client’s patience. Cover-up tattoos are challenging, and it requires a lot of time spent on it, if a client requests a cover-up tattoo, and they do not seem patient or willing to put the time necessary to achieve the cover-up, I prefer not to take the job on. The client has to understand that, taking on a cover-up Tattoo, it means, having to put more time than necessary than a normal tattoo, so in order to take on a cover up tattoo challenge, you as an artist have to evaluate if its worth giving all this extra time and effort, therefore as an artist you have to be honest to yourself and make the decision, so going ahead with someone patient it really helps.

If you are looking for a cover-up tattoo, you must realise that, the tattoo artist has to make a decision if it is worth or not, to take on the job, based on how dark your tattoo is, based on your patience, and if you are willing to spend time and money on it. It is important to mention also that cover-up tattoos are more expensive than a tattoo that is not a cover-up. A tattoo that is not a cover-up or fresh skin, the process is a lot more simple than a cover up process. So the patience required is a lot greater.

See a cover-up tattoo, like painting a black wall white, you know it will need a few coats, in order to achieve the white wall, a cover-up tattoo is a similar process to that. Of course to paint a black wall white, it would take around 3 coats for instance, as you are going from extremely dark to extremely white. However, if you are painting a Grey wall to white it will not take as many coats to complete, as if you were painting from black to white. So a cover-up process works similar to this, it depends on how dark the tattoo is, it will dictate how long the cover-up will take to complete.

So if you are looking for a cover-up tattoo, there’s a lot to consider, you definitely need a consultation with your preferred artist, an a lot and a lot of planning, patience and time spent.

If you are looking for a cover-up or re-work tattoo, I’m happy to help, of course a consultation would really help, so if you get in touch with me on what’s app, just click the what’s app link on my web site and I’m happy to help, thank you.

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Hand Tattoos

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Fully Healed Hand Tattoo

Hand Tattoos

Hello everyone, and welcome to Louis Santos Tattoo. Winter is coming and it is time for me to get my pencils and painting brushes ready, as I love to paint and draw in winter time, its my pleasure to stay in and enjoy my art.

In this blog, I would like to talk about hand tattoos. Hand Tattoos for sure it deserves a entire blog focus on the subject.

Hand Tattoos, in my point of view, is the hardest area of the body to Tattoo. If you ask a majority of Tattoo Artists, which is the part of the body that is the hardest to tattoo, they say hands. Tattooing hands, it was the part of the body where it took me longer to learn to Tattoo, why is that? Because when you tattoo a hand is really easy for the ink to fall off. Why is it easy to fall off? Because you can not ask your client not to move his or her hand after the tattoo session.

One thing I have learned about tattooing the hands, is that, it does not matter, how good the Tattoo Artist is, it is more likely the tattoo is going to need touching up. Everyone works in different conditions, some people work with their hands, so it is more likely to affect the healing process. Is it possible to do a hand Tattoo without needing touch up after, yes it is, I have done some hand tattoos where it went in first time, however, to be on safe side, as soon as I book a hand tattoo, I make sure the second session is also booked, to ensure I get the opportunity to do a second pass.

There are 30 small muscles located directly inside the palm and the base of the hand. Not all muscles in the hands are located between the bones. Some muscles are based in the palm, but the area that gets tattooed, it doesn’t have many muscles, so maybe that’s why tattooing hands it doesn’t feel the same as other areas in the human body, and it is so challenging to tattoo.

So if you are considering getting your hand tattooed, please bear in mind, the patience you will need to achieve a successful hand tattoo, and your Tattoo Artist in Bury, could have 5, 10, 15, 20 years experience, and it is more likely that you will need your hand tattoo touched up.

As Tattoo Artists we can not predict in which condition the client will be in once they leave the Tattoo studio. If you get tattooed in your hand, and you work in a building site, or you work with food, or surrounded by hot temperatures it is more likely that your hand tattoo will need touching up. And we are happy to provide your tattoo touch up, after you have paid for your tattoo, we are happy to offer a free touch up session, as I’m about the end result, what it matters is what the tattoo will look like after healed.

 

Thank you for reading my blog, until the next one.  

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