I want a tattoo, but I'm hesitant becaue ...

[Deleted]

I just have a few questions for people who have first hand experience or otherwise good knowledge on tattoos, with regards to how they 'progress'.

I could definitely imagine liking having a tattoo on my calf or upper arm - the only thing holding me back is the fear of how it will look if my body form changes...

6 months ago I weighed 116kg, now I'm down to 96kg - I've now set my target on building up a large amount of muscle whilst reducing the fat I have left... so if I got a tattoo tomorrow, and everything goes as planned, how would it look in a year, wouldn't It be distorted and fucked up? There is even the chance that I have to have knee operations within the next few months, so then I might get a bit thinner since I can't work or work out, and me being a person who runs often, I have rather large/noticeable leg muscles/structure, so if my calves were to get smaller as a result of this, what would it mean for a tattoo?

Even worst case scenario, that for whatever reason I balloon up again to my old weight and fall into bad habits... SURELY the stretching of skin due to fat would distort it completely?

I'll appreciate anyone who can make me cleverer in any way, thanks in advance.

[Damerflinn]

I had this same concern when I got mine done. As long as you stay in shape, and don't bulk up too much it will be fine. Unless you put on a LOT of weight it won't affect it at all. I should clarify that when I say weight I more so mean body size, you would have to get REALLY beefy to distort a tattoo.

Getting smaller won't matter, it follows the same logic as what they do in video game art design. They create images way larger then what they need then scale them down to get really good detail.

The surgery could be a killer though. Do not get a tattoo in an area you are about to have surgery on, wait til after it heals otherwise your tattoo will look horrible.

For reference I have two full sleeves and 8 more tattoos in other places of decent size and have had them for a long time and gone up and down in weight and seen very little difference.

[oxymoronic]

if you have a tattoo now i see no reason to start. visible tattoos are not respected by most adults.

[Conspicuous Cultist]

Damer knows what he's talking about, just as long as you don't eat an entire a tray of lindor truffles (guilty) on a daily basis you should be fine.

But yeah, you would have to do some self-maintenance that you'd ought to be doing anyway.

[Feali]

if you have a tattoo now i see no reason to start. visible tattoos are not respected by most adults.

Yea.. if you live in the 60's. Tattoos are very common and accepted these days. For many people (like me) if done delicately even a turn on.

[king of frenchfries]

if you have a tattoo now i see no reason to start. visible tattoos are not respected by most adults.

this is a bit of a stretch, but by god please don't get a tattoo anywhere you can't cover I.E. Hands, neck, face

[blackblade]

Yea.. if you live in the 60's. Tattoos are very common and accepted these days. For many people (like me) if done delicately even a turn on.

Not in most white collar circles.

[Feali]

Not in most white collar circles.

If you have a tattoo on your upper arm.. honestly who cares? It's usually not seen in a work environment so why would it matter?

[tratra]

Yea.. if you live in the 60's. Tattoos are very common and accepted these days. For many people (like me) if done delicately even a turn on.

Id even go and say that tattoos are so in nowadays that I don't get them cause I dont want to go with the modern part that comes with it.

[Kneckt]

As long as you don't turn into a intense bodybuilder or stuff your face of Twinkies and junk everyday you will be fine , i have 7 tattoos now and i workout everyday . ive definitely added some bulk to my tattooed areas and they look just as good as the day i got them, just don't get any discriminative tattoo's that would prevent you from getting a job for ex: weed plants , naked women , racist things etc . i have tattoos on my forearms and have gotten a professional job just fine so that's not that big of an issue.

[Radio]

Not in most white collar circles.

Acceptance in white collar is progressing ever so slightly, my company has let a guy with a visible full forearm tattoo walk around with it on display for months now. The whole professional suit dress culture is a dying one in non-customer facing positions.

[Conspicuous Cultist]

Acceptance in white collar is progressing ever so slightly, my company has let a guy with a visible full forearm tattoo walk around with it on display for months now. The whole professional suit dress culture is a dying one in non-customer facing positions.

Sounds like we need WW III to bring back the style again.

[oxymoronic]

Id even go and say that tattoos are so in nowadays that I don't get them cause I dont want to go with the modern part that comes with it.

funny cause i thought tattoos were more popular in the 80s - i guess everything seems more popular when you're a kid/young adult

only difference i see now is black people get tattoos when before they did not. look at lil wayne...

[Feali]

Sounds like we need WW III to bring back the style again.

Or.. or.. let everyone live the way they want to as long as it doesn't affect others.

[Conspicuous Cultist]

Or.. or.. let everyone live the way they want to as long as it doesn't affect others.

Nein. Shaved faces, clean suits, and unmarked skin for everyone without a vagina.

[Jakexe]

I have a few tattoo's and the one on my upper arm is now slightly distorted because I had terrible fluid retention when I was ill which caused quite a few serious stretch marks. It didn't look too bad when it stretched but when I loss the fluid it looked really messed up and I had to go back and get work done on it. It looks fine now but I can imagine if it happened to a spot where the stretching really hit hard I would consider the tattoo ruined.

[Maxweii]

if you have a tattoo now i see no reason to start. visible tattoos are not respected by most adults.

This is by and large, a huge stretch of the truth. While yes there are some still out there that are "old fashioned" and see them as being something that represents people whom won't listen or perform well, that's a dieing trend. More then likely you will find that most places are accepting them more and more, as when you think about it, you can essentially bring in new business/clientel just by having someone be able to relate to your employee a bit (ie they both have a tattoo, greater chance they feel comfortable chatting them up).

Not in most white collar circles.

Pretty much what I said above is the same answer to this.


To the OP
Pretty much as long as it isn't in an area of extreme stress (torso/stomach/sides or even the back) you will likely have no problems with it. While the skin wills tretch to a certain degree on the calf or upper arm, unless there is massive/extreme weight gain/loss you won't see much difference in it. The muscle there even if built up isn't made in a way as to where it naturally wants to go away from the bone.
On the calf, the superficial gastrocnemius muscle tappers down into your achilles tendon to attach to the back of your foot, when it gets developed more it will widen slightly but really it only has so much room to go, and your bone will only allow it to grow so much. Even with all the muscles deep to it growing as well, you would require either excessive weight gain or unnatural muscle mass growth to make this a problem area. The calves are usually a rather thin/steady area in terms of size/body mass.
For the upper arm you will have the same thing as well essentially. If you get on facing to your side (when your arm is down) whats under that is your deltoid, which while it can gain a decent amount of mass will be spread out and will allow the skin to stretch without too much deformation.

TLDR, the body won't deform TOO much as to where a tattoo on your upper arm/calf will deform to a point that a tattoo becomes far from what it originally was. A side note would be if you want to get a tattoo, use it as motivation to stay in shape. They are good boosts to think of when trying to stay in shape, because you want them to stay good looking as you spent so much on em.

[Organoth]

if you have a tattoo now i see no reason to start. visible tattoos are not respected by most adults.

Yeah, because we should all live our lives based on what ignorant people think.......

OP, if you are that concerned about getting a tattoo, its likely not for you. I say this as someone with four tattoos of my own, not all of which are hidden by clothing. I stand behind everyone of them 100% and wear them proudly wherever I go. But if anyone doesn't feel the same way, they should look into a less permanent form of expression. Don't make your decision based on what other people will think, but it sounds like you are not sure yourself. And that's enough of a reason to not get one.

[Waynhim]

These days tatoos are mainstream, it seems to me, (at my gym anyways), that most men either have tribals, sleeves or one of those calf thingys. Girls having either tramp stamps, neck- or ancle- tats.

Personally I view tats as people trying hard to "be" someone else, (and 99% of the tats I see are either overused, (tribals/tramp stamps/sleeves), or ugly, (yet to see a sleeve I've liked)).

[Cosmic Janitor]

Don't do it because the other guys a the gym are cool or some such shit.
Don't go for a cheap "artist".
Don't get the face of someone as a motif.
Don't get names of people or random asia shit, because misspelling those are among the most hillarious fuck ups.
Don't get names ofpeople in general. If they have a set in stone relation to you (parents/kids) okay, but don't make the mistake that your gf will always be yours.
Don't get some while you still shape your body. Almost everyone looses shape with age, so almost all tats look shit with age, but you are currently trying to find the best shape for yourself and to be frank, most people fail along the way or need multiple tries.
Makes sure where you get them is not a problem for the place you work at.
Be prepared that not everyone will like them or will agree with your particular choice for a tattoo.