My One Year Update

A few weeks more than a year ago, I made my first post here about the first tattoo I’d given myself (not including my college stick and pokes) and it turned out pretty alright for having no experience at all.

Fast forward a year later and I’ve accumulated quite a sizable portfolio of my work on my right leg. Obviously, it is far from perfect, and in a lot of ways I like that it is filled with imperfections made by my own hands, reflecting just how imperfect I am in the first place. It’s poetic.

I don’t ever use fake skin for practice, as I much prefer the feeling of just tattooing my own skin as opposed to the rubber like substance. I also find that being able to have the physical feedback of both artist and canvas personally teaches me a lot faster than other methods. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the skill to be a professional, but that was never really the goal. I just wanted to be able to put art onto my body like when I was a kid, and have it last forever like I always dreamed. Overall, I’m really happy with where the year has taken me, and I’m looking forward to finishing the leg as time goes on.

I also decided to take risks and give myself both a stomach and a hip piece. The Saturn piece leaves more to be desired, however I still really love it and don’t think it’ll be hard to touch up in the future to make it better. The bird and bee were done before it and they’re just cute lil things. The Naruto seal on my stomach was a bucket list item for me, and the fact that I did it to myself makes it even more special. At the end of the day, I’ll never be mad at a free tattoo ✨

(Originally I took a video bc it was easier, not realizing videos weren’t allowed so, here’s screenshots of the video along with the other photos. The dragon is most recent, hence her peeling and all)