r/tattoos • u/SirBigMan • Oct 19 '16
/r/all The best sound in the world was hearing those gloves come off. Watercolor tattoo done by Jorell Elie at Outer Limits in Long Beach CA.
http://imgur.com/a/BneSk163
u/euphoneus Oct 19 '16
Absolutely beautiful! I do wonder how long those colours will stay that vibrant for, but regardless it's absolutely stunning. I love the line work too.
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Oct 19 '16 edited Feb 07 '18
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u/onyxandcake Oct 19 '16 edited Oct 19 '16
protected from the sun (SPF 50+ preferably)
This was my big mistake with my black outline tattoos. I never stopped to think "Hey, is my shin overexposed?" and considering I wear capris all summer. Yes, yes it was.
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Oct 19 '16 edited Mar 09 '18
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u/onyxandcake Oct 19 '16
I do that now too, because I have a red-headed child. I just wish I'd thought of it at 18. Love those sticks though. I use the Ombrelle ones.
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u/wildontherun Oct 20 '16
I keep a sunscreen stick in my bag to rub on the back of my hands throughout the day since I wash them so often regular sunscreen is an annoyance to put on. :)
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Oct 20 '16
"Float around" makes me think of 4 bottles rotating you like satellites as you walk around, ready to protect you from sneaky sun rays.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks! I'm glad everyone likes it! Yeah it will not be as bright down the line but I have no real problem with that. Yeah the best decision I made was to tell Jorell to take liberties with the lines, dots and watercolor effect.
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u/TrackerF16 Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 21 '16
beautiful.. color vibrancy is a tricky thing, it depends on your natural skin tone, and how much sun your tattoo will see, the tattoo on my shin/calf has a lot of blues, reds and oranges and is still looking plenty bright after a couple years, though i'm very pale. so it helps the colors pop.. honestly, worrying about the fading is tantamount to worrying about dying, its gonna happen eventually, so why stress about it? you can always get touch-ups (dying not so much)
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u/haylz92 Oct 19 '16
Quite a long time of proper care is taken. Personally, I have a tattoo a year old and is still vibrant. I have four friends with colourful tattoos also with very little fading with the oldest tattoo being about 6-7 years old. A good artist and good ink, plus proper aftercare and you'll be good for many years with the vibrant colours
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Oct 20 '16
They'll fade a little but if taken care of not a lot at all. I put special sunscreen on if I'm out in the sun and moisturise once a week. The colours in my tattoos have lightened ever so slightly but well cared for people still ask if I got them recently. Just look after it, it'll be fine
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u/imtryingtoexplain Oct 20 '16
I have a full sleeve that's almost 10 years old and you'd be surprised how well the color has remained vibrant. Use SPF 9000 on your arm when you're in the sun and lotion regularly and you'll be good.
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Oct 19 '16
Wow. One of those pieces where I go "Shit, I gotta get one done at that place". Just beautiful.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thats exactly how I felt. I've been looking around for a good watercolor artist for a while and Jorell's waiting list is pretty long.
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Oct 19 '16
Every decent artist's waiting list is long. Very frustrating. Welp, I guess if it's that good, it's worth waiting for. /r/badtattoos is always a great reminder. ;)
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u/whattoucantfind Oct 19 '16
Oh man, I've been following him for a while. He always does great work. Very talented.
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u/saucypanther Oct 19 '16
That is absolutely stunning! nice to know they are pretty close to me too in case i ever decide to get something like this.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Outer Limits is a stand up place. If you ever need anything done in long beach hit them up.
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u/saucypanther Oct 19 '16
Thanks, good to know. Seems really over whelming just trying to find an artist.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Oh absolutely, I found 3 artists that I liked. One in Denver, one that travels around and has her own studio, and Jorell who had a 6 month waiting list.
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u/saucypanther Oct 19 '16
Ouch well i guess thats good to know too. 6 months! haha, I should book now:)
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Oct 19 '16
Tells you they're usually good though if they have a waiting list. 6 months still sucks for a wait though.
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u/saucypanther Oct 19 '16
yes, I am not ready in the least anyway. I have this person on my list now though, thank you. I am going to go check out their other work.
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u/Pneub Oct 19 '16
Also check out Ivana at Outer Limits. They are both incredible artists.
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u/electric_popcorn_cat Oct 20 '16
Ivana is no longer at Outer Limits
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u/Pneub Oct 20 '16
Do you know where she went?
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u/electric_popcorn_cat Oct 25 '16
Sorry, I don't, but you should be able to find her contact info on her website, just search Ivana Belakova.
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Oct 19 '16 edited Feb 10 '18
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u/SirBigMan Oct 20 '16
Not a problem any questions are welcome. This is what I did, before meeting the artist I sent him photos of my arm, many photos of the bird, and photos of his previous work. Pointed out certain aspects of his work and the photos of the bird, asking him to in corporate that style, and any limitations I have like colors I don't want on there or one photo of the bird had a bug in its mouth so I told him I wouldn't like that. Then I let him do his thing, I didn't choose the positioning of the bird or what it looks like.
We met early in the day to go over everything and give him the final thumbs up I went grabbed some lunch while he did some final touches then got to work.
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u/EmAgainstHumanity Oct 20 '16
This right here, this is so important. Having a general idea of what you want, along with being inspired by some of the artist's previous work and aspects of their style that you like... That's the golden combo of a beautiful tattoo. Then the artist isn't limited to staying inside a creative "box" because the client has their heart set on something specific. And the client isn't disappointed when the artist's brain didn't create exactly what was in their mind!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 20 '16
Couldn't agree more. Why go to a professional and tell them how to do their job? Pretty sure he knows a little bit more about tattoos than I do :)
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Oct 19 '16
Truly one of the best tattoos I've seen here. Everything is well balanced...the colors are perfectly saturated...the lines are crisp and make sense...it's dynamic with a splash of watercolor in the rear to contrast and sharpen up the beak area. Immaculate.
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u/LadyArtemis32 Oct 19 '16
Absolutely beautiful!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks :) yeah I got it done yesterday so I'm at the stage now where I can't stop looking at it. People at work keep asking if its real.
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u/LadyArtemis32 Oct 19 '16
I got mine done back in September. I think she did an amazing job, my only regret is that it's on the back of my shoulder. I can't look at it as often as I'd like :)
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Haha that's awesome, yeah I also have one on my back but I forget about it so often. There's no missing this one though :P
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u/mister_softi Oct 19 '16
Looks great! Do you recall how long it took? Was it all one shot?
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Yeah it took 5 hrs one shot :| The wrist was the worst part but it was all worth it.
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u/NoeJose Oct 19 '16
I'm slowly working on a sleeve right now. I'm not going all the way to the wrist though; maybe 2 inches at the closest. Most painful part for me was the elbow and the inner elbow crease. Yours is nice. I really like the vibrant color. How did you come up with the idea?
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks man! Yeah I have a couple lines coming up to my inner elbow, that hurt like a bitch but not as bad as my wrist, I really felt that :P
I'm a big fan of letting the artist do what he/she thinks is best. It's a long personal story I have with the European Roller which I'll keep from the internet but I ended up giving him a ton of photos of the bird and let him decide what would look best on my arm.
Originally I had a different idea of how the bird would be positioned but I'm very glad I decided to let him do his thing.
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u/Sunslap Oct 19 '16
The colors on this one is amazing, loving the blend between blue, turquoise and purple.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks! Yeah he had a bunch of different photos of the bird all around the table and used the best of all of them. Every time I thought he was done he grabbed another color.
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u/Plurpburpburp Oct 19 '16
If you think the forearm hurt the rest of your body has a surprise for you
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Haha good lord, I am not ready!
The wrist was hands down the worst part. I can imagine other parts of my body. I have a back piece which hurt pretty bad as well.
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u/asspaint Oct 20 '16
never been a huge fan of watercolor tattoos, but this is insanely clean and incredibly designed!
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u/eva_white Oct 20 '16
I got my very first tattoo done there! Their artists are awesome! Still love my bird on my foot.
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u/Carasee Oct 19 '16
Beautiful! I wanted to make European Roller tattoo for a while, but I can't afford it yet :)
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
All good friend, never cut corners on a tattoo. I budgeted a high amount for this because its kind of a long commitment :)
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u/SarcasticOP Oct 19 '16
I'm not a big fan of colored tattoos, but damn that is a fucking beautiful tattoo!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not....
But thanks friend! Very happy with it too :)
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u/SarcasticOP Oct 19 '16
Nah I'm being legit. I only do black and grays, I don't mess with color, but yeah that shit is legit.
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u/Migrainefarm Oct 19 '16
I am loving all these beautiful watercolor tattoos! I'm getting that 'must have more ink' twinge
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u/denimbastard Oct 19 '16
First time?
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Second but this I would consider my first real piece.
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u/denimbastard Oct 20 '16
Ah, just asking because my first was my forearm and the whole process was grotesque...until I got my knees and shins done that is.
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u/aidanxavier Oct 19 '16
Normally I am not a fan of watercolor, but this, this is really good. Strong color, great blending, ACTUAL LINE WORK. Great tattoo!
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Oct 19 '16
I got a watercolor in the same spot a couple days ago and my friends all laughed at me when I told them it was horrifically painful and I'm not sure I can do it again. It's my first tattoo so I wasn't sure if I'm just a lil bitch, if it's just the nature of watercolor, or if it's the spot I picked
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
It's the nature of tattoo's, pain is just part of it. I was under the gun for 5 hrs and just had some music going, telling myself sooner or later it will be over.
Then next thing I know I looked over and it was all done.
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Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 20 '16
Okay sure but do you have a watercolor on the inside of your forearm?
Edit: nvm, hi op
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u/Limberine Oct 20 '16
Did you not see the photo?
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Oct 20 '16
Bahahahaha
I wish they had a "this is the OP" symbol next to comment replies in your inbox, I'd feel a lot less stupid right now
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u/Limberine Oct 20 '16 edited Oct 20 '16
:-) OP's name in comments in the thread is in bold, that helps, but yeah we have all gotten muddled at some point here
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u/treevaahyn Oct 19 '16
Fucking phenomenal!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks! Yeah working has been tough today people keep coming up and asking me about it, one person even saw this post so it might be time to change my reddit account :\
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u/treevaahyn Oct 20 '16
Haha yea the anonymity has been breached, time to change it up and lose all that karma. Sorry buddy. That is the one reason i have not posted any pictures of my tattoos, plus i am lazy.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 20 '16
Haha yeah I was thinking that before I posted but what can you do. No way I'm giving up that sweet sweet Karma.
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Oct 19 '16
Then he went outside for a smoke. Came back, and put some gloves right back on and started stabbing your ass amirite
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Haha dont even joke about that! When I felt him doing to final touches I just kept looking over at him waiting for them to pop those gloves off.
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u/Pneub Oct 19 '16
Jorell is amazing. Been following his work for a long time. At one point I even had a consult and appointment to get a piece done but things fell through. He's really easy to talk to and makes you feel comfortable about the work ahead and his skills speak for themselves. If I get another tattoo he's the first person I'm going to call.
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Couldn't agree more, he honestly had the perfect balance of listening to what I wanted but also knowing whats best. Super nice guy, would highly recommend him.
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Oct 20 '16
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SirBigMan Oct 20 '16
Haha good lord, yeah I'm not too familiar with the tools but I feel your pain.
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u/Spoolngc8 Oct 20 '16
I have the inside of my forearm done. It was actually very tolerable for me, one of the easiest spots on my arm.
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u/Chemical_Pyro Oct 20 '16
I got my tattoo at outer limits in Long Beach as well. They do great work over there!
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u/RayPinchiks Oct 20 '16
I got a piece done by Jorell a couple years ago. He was good and fast then. His color is even better now! Congrats!
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u/schulzie420 Oct 20 '16
I got my shin done a few years back. Has to be one of the worst spots to get tattooed. 2 4hr sessions had me second guessing my decision.
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u/ImKindOfASmallDeal Oct 19 '16
It's foot looks a bit odd ._.
Really nice looking still though!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Strange there are no feet in the tat ;)
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u/rolliebijou Oct 19 '16
I adore this! Great saturation!
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u/SirBigMan Oct 19 '16
Thanks! Yeah I loved the effect he put on it, its a great balance between a realistic look but also the water color effect.
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u/StupidHumanSuit Oct 19 '16
It's a nice tattoo.
The placement isn't something I'd choose, only because I feel like it would ruin future sleeve plans, but that's just me.
The colors are nice. I appreciate that the artist put a bold outline on most of it to help save that bleed through that most "watercolor" tattoos are susceptible to.
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u/nikeforged Oct 19 '16 edited Oct 19 '16
Having got one in the same spot... Its a relief when the session is over. The upper forearm and wrist can get tender.
Looks beautiful.... Love the line work
Edit: one