Hi :)

To get to it, I've always wanted a particular tattoo on my back. I want it to be a representation of an armillary sphere. I am going to pretty much devote my life to a job that would require that I travel a lot and I wanted a representation of that. I've gone to about four or five of the top-rated tattoo artists in Los Angeles and they've all told me that it is not something that they have done before, though they are willing to give it a try. The only problem is that they all charge approximately $50-100 to draw it out and work on it with me, not including the price of getting the actual tattoo. As I'm a student, $50-100 is kind of a really steep price for me. 

At the same time, I am terrible at trying to voice aloud how I want the tattoo to look. An armillary sphere is kind of a complicated thing to draw and I want to mess around with it. 

This is a link to a picture of one: http://en.wikivisual.com/images/8/82/Armillary_sphere.png. 

Rather than having the circles on the outside, I want to convert those to arrows that look like they are in motion. And I wanted it all in black and white except for the globe in the middle, which I want to be in full color. 

Does anyone have any advice on how I might go about getting this picture drawn out? I don't want it to be complicated. Rather, I want it very stream-lined and about the size of the palm of my hand. 

Is it a good idea, overall? 

Jenny

We have some great artists here, including a few from your area, I believe ... hopefully one of them will see this question and give you an answer! Welcome to tatbook.

Thank you ^_^ I'm hoping I can get an idea soon because spring break is coming up for me next week and I wanted to get it done then.

honestly, i wouldn't personally have a hard time drawing that thing at all and im only 18 and never drew one before, especially using that picture (that's a good one). so putting your trust in the artist you choose is the first step. the second thing is knowing that sense you went to who you said were "top rated" artists, that's a big part of the reason the price is so steep; another thing im sure is your location. find the artist you want to do it, have faith in their abilities, and you should wind up happy. i understand being a student and its hard on the wallet, but just keep in mind that you get what you pay for (not saying that some places are outrageously overpriced and you should fork over the money anyway), a cheap tattoo is just how it sounds...cheap.

(also, if they cant seem to draw it out, you don't have to get it from them...get it from who can do it. if the drawing is crap, so will be the tattoo. so good thing you can see it first :D ) Good luck on that.

I've gotten a couple of sketches from some artists and I suppose the way I explained it confused them. It turns out looking too much like a logo and not much like something I want tattooed on my body. I've looked around and gone to a lot of shops and the prices are around the same, so I'm okay with that as long as they don't charge me 100 bucks to just draw it out. That's a bit much for me.
I've asked a couple friends who have some artistic ability to draw it out but I haven't really liked anything that they've come up with much. It's odd, I suppose I just can't properly explain how I want it done.