Jaguar Face needed for new Tat.

[mischief]

Hello all you wonderful image hounds!

I've had a Back-piece stuck in my head for about a week now. I don't have the time or high speed connection to do a thorough search for the right face to meet the spec so I'm going to ask all of you for some help.

Here's the spec:

I need a Full-face photo of an adult jaguar. Must be spotted, not black.

This will be across the top of my back so it should be large enough for good detail when blown way up.

I'm looking for a shot dead straight on, not profiled or 3/4.

I'm also looking for a bit of down-angle for a slight hooding of the eyes by the top of the orbits.

The image will be cropped down to just the eyes, center part of the forehead and the bulk of the bridge of the nose, as if the rest was obscured by shadow.

I'm looking for an attitude shot somewhere between stalking and examining the viewer.

Good colour is important to give the piece life.

Any and all help appreciated! I'll post pics of the piece as I get it done to show my appreciation.

Thanx!

-M

 

[jimsowden]

 

[mischief]

Gorgeous! Thanker!

I've looked around a bit more since listing this thread and I think I'll have to find up to five good photos that I can then take into photoshop, tweak for perspective and light, then do some original work from the edited files to create the base piece.

 

[mischief]

Gotta Love National Geographic...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/photogalleries/jaguar/photo3.html

One with the right angle, two with the right expression.....

Too bad I'm picky... But hell, this one don't come off!

 

[evilernie]

How about this?

I did a search at http://creative.gettyimages.com for "jaguar". Many cool photos.

 

[mischief]

I did a search at http://creative.gettyimages.com for "jaguar". Many cool photos.

Goddamn. There's at least four there I can use. There's at least two that raise the hairs on the back of my neck and one in particular that speaks to me. I'll be DL'ing them and beginning my photoshop work soon.

Thanx to both posters for excellent finds!!

 

[mischief]

Here we are eight months later...

I've got an appointment to get it inked!

It took me some serious time to get the right colours and get the sketch right. The below is the quarter-scale sketch I made from studies of the original cat image and measurements of my back. It's spots differ in some fundamental ways and the eyes will be unique: They'll be feline versions of my own irises.

The scaled up sketch and sample images are sitting on my artist's desk waiting for me. She's booked into next month but she did my wife's pieces so I know her work's worth the wait. Thanks for the help!

 

[dejo]

mischief, please posts pics of the final result when you can. Very interested to see how it turns out.

 

[2nyRiggz]

thats nice, u got skills man...indeed post your finish art.


Bless

 

[mbopy22]

More than skills I think he has big COJONES... LOL

That's definatelly gonna HURT!!!

 

[iGary]

Will this work:?

 

[stonyc]

Will this work:?

Me-ow.

 

[2nyRiggz]

hold up, thats going on your back?......yea u do have guts good luck with that.


Bless

 

[mischief]

hold up, thats going on your back?......yea u do have guts good luck with that.


Bless

Correction: it is on my back.

As soon as I can fix or replace my digital camera I'll post some pics.

 

[twoodcc]

Correction: it is on my back.

As soon as I can fix or replace my digital camera I'll post some pics.

wow. can't wait to see it

 

[mischief]

Okay,
So here's the Tattoo after the second session (Second of three two-hour sessions). The first session was just the eyes and the outlines so it wasn't that photo-worthy. That and the two weeks in between sessions only left 24 hours or so in which the first session was fully healed. This is about ten days after the second session. As you can see the skin is still a bit dry with patchy areas of more stubborn scabbing left here and there. As time goes by the skin will smooth out with only a fine relief of scarring evident to the fingertips.

The third session will add fur to the center where the edges are fuzzed and add a translucent yellow wash to the eyes to change the tint slightly.

A total of four (of six) hours under the gun is a lot I should add and by the time I'm finished with this I'll have spent about a grand on the hourly plus tipping. It's worth it though, this artist did two of my wife's four pieces and the detail is incredible so I knew she was the lady for the job.

Special thanks to all of you who pointed me in the right direction a few months ago when I first asked for help. As you can see your aid was well appreciated and put to good use.

 

[calebjohnston]

I'd like to see the final outcome too, but those eyes are very well done. I'd say high five to the artist.

 

[vniow]

Wow, the detail is incredible. Your artist did an excellent job. May I ask who's the lady doing it? I'm still designing mine and it'll be awhile before I start but I'm trying to narrow down my search for detail-oriented local artists and it looks like she may be a contender.

-Ani

Edit: Holy ****, you changed you avatar! It must be the first time in years!

 

[mischief]

Wow, the detail is incredible. Your artist did an excellent job. May I ask who's the lady doing it? I'm still designing mine and it'll be awhile before I start but I'm trying to narrow down my search for detail-oriented local artists and it looks like she may be a contender.

-Ani

Edit: Holy ****, you changed you avatar! It must be the first time in years!

Heh, Yeah. She did a full colour dragon curled like a sleeping cat on the small of my wife's back. It's seven years on her back and i can still see the clear stippling she used to pattern the subtle refractions of tiny scales, musculature and the colour is still incredible.

The artist is Teresa at Staircase Tattoo. When I made my three appointments she was booked out three months and she's feeling a bit overwhelmed by demand so she may have frozen new appointments for a while.

She's quite expensive but well worth it. She's a damn good artist and I was more than happy with the improvements she made to the image (note that she drew in the various membranes, ducts and eyelid anatomy freehand). She was a bit put off by my bringing in such a detailed set of materials but once it was clear I was handing her control from that point on she had fun with it and I'm happy to say it was definitely worth trusting her.

PS: DO go down and see her portfolio as it stands in the front. The full size prints are of newer and better (than the ones on the web) pieces. There's one that's an extremely subtle tribal/paisley pattern worked across an arm and upper torso.

And yes: This is the first change in my 'Tar since the "Pirate" theme a while back. I cut down a second version of the large shot that clipped the right shoulder but had good colour.

 

[w_parietti22]

Wow. The eyes are incredible! Very cool.

 

[vniow]

PS: DO go down and see her portfolio as it stands in the front. The full size prints are of newer and better (than the ones on the web) pieces. There's one that's an extremely subtle tribal/paisley pattern worked across an arm and upper torso.

Will do.

I was also considering an artist at True Art as well, Flip was his name I think. He did a killer arm piece on a friend of mine and I was thoroughly impressed by the vibrancy of the colours but this is top notch. The one I'm designing doesn't cover a lot of area but its high in detail and colour so I'm not looking for someone to do it quick and cheap. If I'm spending this much time trying to get mine right I'm hoping my artist does the same. I have awhile to decide though, currently my funds are going towards other things but I'll definitely keep her in mind. Staircase is pretty awesome though, I remember when Tod did my first piercings.

-Ani

 

[wmmk]

i think somebody should tatoo a finder logo on their arm, thatd be SSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cool