I'm waiting to get paid so I can get my tattoo designed. I know in my head exactly what I want but can't draw it for ****. So I'm commisioning it, I just really don't want a standard tattoo. I'm getting a cheshire cat(non disney style) on my back. Hopefully more American McGee style, but sorta a new take altogether.
Still not sure whether to go for colour or not.
It's a great idea to talk to as many artists as you can and evaluate their work to make sure you find one that can help you realize the vision you have. There are a lot of hacks out there who will say they can do whatever, but once you really start digging into them and asking a lot of questions, you'll find out whether they really can or not.
For example, I talked to nearly every damn artist in my town and none of them were really up to the task. They really didn't grasp what I was after or understand the subtleties of jaguars versus leopards. I finally drove past a little ink shop one day that I hadn't seen before and I figured "Why the hell not?" so I pulled into the parking lot and went in to chat. I looked at his previous work and was impressed (he'd done a couple of leopards that were very well done) showed him my ideas and asked him what he thought. He immediately turned around and picked up this GIANT book on big cats, opened it up to the jaguars and started pointing out the distinct musculature, thick necks, head shape and the size of the rosettas they have. When he did that, I knew I'd found the right guy.
The other factor for me was chemistry. It was important to me to find someone who I had good chemistry with and liked. Many tribes that are heavily into tattooing believe that the tattoo artist is a conduit to the heavens or to the universal energy that links us all, and having an artist you like and are compatible with opens the gate to good energy being infused into your tattoo. However, if you find one that you aren't really compatible with, even if you like their work a lot, it will taint the tattoo with a negative charge that will be detrimental to you and your life. It's superstitious, I know, but there's something about that idea conceptually that appeals to me on some level.
Of course, proper hygenic conditions, single use needles and an attention to safety in general are ALWAYS important.
Good luck and don't agree to getting your ink until you know you're going to get EXACTLY what you are looking for (a good artist can help you unlock that and even show you things you didn't realize you wanted). Don't get in a hurry. Take your time and don't settle. It's going to be on you FOREVER, so you want it to be what you wanted in the first place.
Look forward to seeing your ink when you get it finished.
jag
I was doing this deal through a tattoo commission site 
