Booking
Size and placement
How big, where on the body, and how many days it takes.
Drawn like the board you measure a catch on.
Size
Realism needs room. Detail like fur, scales and reflections in an eye only holds up over the years if there’s enough skin for it, so Dylan may suggest going a little bigger than you’d planned. The guide above shows how size usually lines up with days in the chair, and the list below breaks it down by piece. A full day is 7 to 8 hours and a half day is 4 to 6.
| Piece | Black and grey | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Full sleeve | 4–6 full days | 4–6 full days |
| Leg sleeve | 6–8 full days | 5–8 full days |
| Back piece | 3–7 full days | 6–8 full days |
| Calf sock (knee down) | 3–4 full days | 4–5 full days |
| Chest piece | 2–3 full days | 2–3 full days |
| Piece | Time |
|---|---|
| Whole throat | 2–3 full days |
| Half sleeve, outside (elbow to shoulder) | 2 full days |
| Outer thigh, hip to knee | 2 full days |
| Outside calf | 1–2 full days |
| Inside calf | 1–2 full days |
| Rib piece | 1–2 full days |
| Inner forearm, full | 1 full day |
| Outer forearm, full | 1 full day |
| Hand piece | About 6 hours |
| Foot piece | About 6 hours |
Placement
- Forearm and upper arm: easy to heal, great for single animals and portraits.
- Sleeves: best designed as one piece from the start so everything flows around the arm.
- Chest and back: big open canvases for marine scenes and landscapes.
- Legs: calves and thighs suit tall compositions like ships, octopus and waves.
- Ribs, feet and hands: more painful and harder to heal. [Dylan’s view on these placements.]
Working with existing tattoos
If you’re adding to a sleeve or covering an older tattoo, send clear photos of the whole area in your application. Cover-ups usually need to be larger and darker than the original. Dylan will tell you honestly what’s possible.
Have a piece in mind?
Books open a few times a year. The waitlist hears first.