My First Tattoo

So, yesterday I got inked. I’m almost 42 and this was my first (surprising since I made it 6 years in the Army without one). I had been thinking about getting one for years, and in the last few (in large part thanks to my wife’s influence) I have been actually planning it. Yesterday, I finally went in and got it done. I’m not going to lie to those who don’t have any; it hurts like hell. I was told that it feels like a cat scratching a sunburn, and that’s a pretty accurate description of the pain, both the feeling and intensity. But, it’s bearable, and very worth it.

So, what did I get? I got a dragon. But not just any dragon, or something chosen from a catalogue of tattoo designs. I got a western fantasy dragon, based on an interior art drawing of Skie, the blue dragon mount of Kitiara, from The Dragonlance Chronicles Vol. 2: The Dragons of Winter Night. It’s always been one of my favorite dragon drawings, and it struck me a few months ago how great of a tattoo it would make.

So, I printed a copy of the drawing and took it to our tattoo artist (he’s already done one for Michele, and will be doing all of our future ones as well) on our consultation appointment. He had some cool ideas, and I told him to run with it. Yesterday, I sat down in his chair, and after a little over an hour, I saw the final result. It is amazing!

As you can see, there are some major changes involved. First of all, since I got it on my left shoulder, he flipped it so the dragon is facing forward. Second, he added a lot of detail to the moon, and some cloud cover for atmosphere. And finally, he added some shading and depth that really make the dragon stand out. I am very happy with it.

I’m also already planning my second one. I want to get my last name done in the style of the logo for the 1982 Conan movie. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies, and was highly influential on my future reading and hobby choices. So, I thought what better way to pay homage to the film, and still personalize it?

Imagine it saying "DOOLAN" instead of "CONAN"

However, this one has to wait, as the next one is my wife’s. She’s a music fiend and is planning a sleeve of artist and band logos and names. Her first will be David Bowie, as he’s her all-time favorite.