[SSGSF]

I was in the army man and I have no problem with you getting a tattoo honoring your father as long as it's not the Eagle Globe and Anchor cause I feel that has to be earned. I have a tattoo of my father who was in the Air Force and my Uncle who was a Marine and all it says is there rank and branch . IMOP if you really want to honor your dad join the military.

[yazul42]

Kfox,,, chewchew has a good point about an insignia tattoo,, something to consider, it would not bother me, but some folks it would. A good point from a taxi driver for Marines,, heh,heh,heh.

Good luck,
Jeff

[kfox75]

I talked with dad last year ( don't worry, he was sober), and showed him what I had draw out as of then. He said it was nonoffensive to him, but it may be to others. He is the one who told me to ask other Marines that I know, angd get threir opinion. Believe me, I thank him for his service, as well as for being my father. He always says, "I was just doing my job."

I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but one week after talking to the recruiter, I found out I had type-1 diabeties. I went from good to go to no go within a matter of davs. Broke my heart, and my old man's. It changed all of my plans for my future to say the least.

Thank you all for the advice, and for your service to your country. I feel that can never be said often enough. I have some pictures of him from an early hunting trip we both took (the one where he got his first and best buck), I think that may be a better choice. I'll run it by him the next time I see him.
Thanks again.

[trip286]

In general, I'd stay away from portrait tatts, they are hard to do and a bad one is stuck with you forever. Not to mention, the bad portrait tatts seem to be really, REALLY, bad. Worse than any other tattoo mistake in the book (other than misspelled names)

If you decide to do one, research your artist. Ask for references, and ask if they have pictures of previous tatts that are similar in nature.

You don't want someone's artistic translation to turn into a Quasimodo stuck to your skin do you?

[kfox75]

Originally Posted by trip286

In general, I'd stay away from portrait tatts, they are hard to do and a bad one is stuck with you forever. Not to mention, the bad portrait tatts seem to be really, REALLY, bad. Worse than any other tattoo mistake in the book (other than misspelled names)

If you decide to do one, research your artist. Ask for references, and ask if they have pictures of previous tatts that are similar in nature.

You don't want someone's artistic translation to turn into a Quasimodo stuck to your skin do you?

Good advice Trip. I have used the same artist for the last ten years. She is booked 10 months in advance, and most of the work she does is portrait tats. I am on of the few people who she buys wall flash from, so it works out good for both of us. I've never seen a bad tat come out of her shop, and I have been following her work for 20 years. She did the fox on my right arm in 2004, and the medic alert bracelet on my right wrist in 2006. Yep, I was in my 30s when I got my first. I figure the one I do for dad will go on the left arm for balance, Then I'll be done.

Most of the effed up work I have seen in my area came out of one shop. I went to check that shop out when I was looking to get my first one, and was treated rudely when I asked to see the work area. I was told I couldn't unless I was getting inked. His shop, his right, but it is my skin. I thanked him for his time and left. This guys older stuf was great, then about 8 or 9 years ago, his work started going down hill. Two years after that, accusations of hep c infections. Kinda makes ya wonder.

[utf59]

I was in the Army, rather than the Marines, and I know I wouldn't be offended by anyone's tribute to their dad.

Only thing is, a tattoo is a picture, and that means people see it all at once. If you put something like the globe and anchor in it, people will lock in on that. (What can I say? I've been around the advertising business for 20 years.) If it doesn't communicate clearly, you're just going to be explaining the thing for the rest of your life, or take up wearing long-sleeve shirts all the time.

As an example, I was in a drinking establishment some years ago and spied a gentleman at the bar wearing an old Army shirt. It was Vietnam-era vintage, with white insignia, including a set of jump wings. He looked barely old enough to have worn it, but having been a paratrooper myself, I wanted to say hello and buy him a beer — if he was the real deal.

So I sidled up to the bar and commented on his shirt. He said he had picked it up at a surplus store because he thought it looked cool, but that he had never been in the military.

There are some people who would be offended by that, but I wasn't. He made absolutely no claim to having earned anything on that shirt, so he wasn't misrepresenting himself.

The point is that he didn't communicate what he meant to. I'm sure I'm not the only veteran who asked him about that shirt.

As long as your tattoo is immediately perceived the way it's intended, I think you'll be fine and well received. A lot of people are going to think your dad is dead, though, because that's usually when you see a tattoo like that.

[silverado113]

As long as people don't make a claim to something they never did, I have no issues and a lot of the Marines I know don't have any issues with it as well. It is those a$$ clowns that walk around the Wal-Mart parking lot with the Marine Corps Service Alphas blouse, dress blue Cpl chevrons, cammie trousers, and claim they were in. I saw that guy in Charlotte when I was on recruiting duty about 10 years ago. Talk about going high and to the right.