Artistic Skin Designs

I have had an idea for a tattoo that I have been wanting to get for the past 2 years.  I usually wait a year after I have a tattoo idea to make sure that it's not a passing impulse I am going to regret later.  Once I was positive I was going to get this tattoo, unfortunately it took me another year to find a shop in Indy with an artist that I felt comfortable with permanently inking my body.

I admit, I am kind of a tattoo snob, and extremely particular about what I like and don't like about tattoos.  Yes, I will judge the shit out of your tattoo, but I don't think that is a surprise to anyone considering how much I Yelp.

Anyway, back to Artistic Skin Designs: Fountain Square.  I happened by the shop one day and saw someone inside, and decided on a whim to go talk to him and see what he was like.  I ended up meeting Dane Smith, one of the tattooists who work there, and I told him my tattoo idea.  

After looking at his portfolio and being extremely impressed by his work, I was happy to hear he had gone to art school, knew the artist I was referencing in my tattoo idea, and seemed pretty into the idea of drawing a custom piece for me...I was excited.  A $20 deposit later, and I was in business.

When I came in for my appointment and saw what he had came up with, I was overjoyed, it was even better than what I had envisioned for my idea!  He explained why he made the changes he did, and we talked about the coloring and then got started.  Dane works very fast and a tattoo that covers my side from ribs to hip was done in 3.5 hours.  He is extremely easy to talk to, and did a really good job making me feel comfortable and distracting me from the pain.  Towards the end, when I was hitting the limit of my pain tolerance and I didn't want to talk anymore, he was really nice about it, and gave me updates on how much more he had to do before it was finished.  

Dane was really knowledgeable about his craft, and very thorough about explaining the process from beginning to end, including aftercare.  He is super talented and professional, the shop is extremely clean and bright and welcoming, not intimidating at all.  They use gloves and everything was sterile.  I felt very comfortable getting a tattoo at this shop.  I highly recommend going to see him if you are interested in a new tattoo.  I had a great experience here, and will definitely be going back for more work in the future if the tattoo bug bites me again.