Video Game Tattoo Chronicles Part 1

When it comes to tattoo’s most people, non gamers, scoff at the idea of having something video game related inked on their body for life.  Not me though, I’ve always known that one day, when the time was right, I would get my very own video game tattoo.  Of course though, just like video games, one isn’t enough.

I started my journey a few years ago with my Mass Effect Paragon tattoo on my left wrist.  At the moment it’s not complete and doesn’t look how it should, try not to get tattoos people at comic book conventions, it’ll get there some day thanks to my fabulous tattoo artist.  For me though, the tattoo has so much more meaning than just a symbol representing Mass Effect.  Just like in the game, the paragon symbol represents Shepard making good choices and my tattoo represents the good choices I’ve made in my life.

Now for my next  tattoo, I could have worked on fixing up my paragon symbol to how I wanted it, but I decided to go big.  Big meant getting an Athena (Borderlands) tattoo that covered my forearm.  So why this?  Mostly because I can relate to Athena.  Not the whole assassin thing, but the way people perceive her and the way she comes across to people.  Can I also relate to the fact that she is a prominent gay character in a huge video game, sure, but for me it’s so much more than that.

So as I take my journey on getting this tattoo, I welcome you to join me.  Below is the original outline of what my tattoo artist came up with.  I had a different idea in mind, but when I seen this image I just fell in love with it.  When things are right they just fall right in place you know? Pretty sweet right?  So far, this tattoo which covers my whole outer forearm will take two sessions to complete before we move onto the inside of my forearm.

I had my first session this past Saturday and my five hour session was no walk in the park.  My tattoo artist first worked on a thin outline of the whole image before going in and doing a heavier outline to highlight some of highlights of the tattoo itself.  After that came the shading.  While he was shading we came up with the idea of doing a space theme since my inner forearm was going to be dedicated to Mass Effect, which was where the background scenery to go with Athena came along.  When everything is done both images will blend together and white ink will be added to the darker areas as stars.  Take a look at what was done so far below.

My next session is next month and after that it will be fully colored in before moving on to the next design and getting my Paragon tattoo fixed.  I’ll let you know how things went next month.