Some people have great resistance to pain. They think a near severing of a finger is the equivalent of a paper cut. They've broken bones and never flinched. I am not one of those people. In the images below, I am getting my second tattoo. Pain has a short memory; it wasn't until we started this one that I remembered, "Oh yea, these things HURT."
The black outlines are done or at least attempted to be done, in one flowing line as required, so think of it as someone dragging a very fine razor blade over your skin.
In the first picture, I am chewing on my arm to take at least some of my mind off the pain. A day later, my arm was red and sore. Certain parts of my thigh seemed to be more sensitive and at those times, in addition to chewing, I dug my nails into my arm as well. The "reasoning" behind this was I had always heard that the brain can not concentrate on two separate pains at once. It turns out that it can, if one pain is intense enough.
The second and third pictures show the lines being drawn in. 
The artist, Bryan Keinlen, had patience with me. It is extremely hard to lie still, one leg supporting the other while a stranger is cutting ink into you. If I needed a break, he obliged (the supporting leg has a metal plate and eight screws so it tends to get stiff). He "chased" me as I slowly moved away from him until I had no choice but to reposition myself.
Nerve endings are not the same throughout any particular body part. The back part of my thigh was in much more pain than the rest. And, depending on the needle and the pressure used, there can be almost no pain at all. I didn't really feel the coloring in of the rose and stem. This was due to both the wider multi-tip needle and the lack of sensitive nerves.
On the tv shows, you might see some drawing, wiping, drawing, wiping. This is as much to take away the ink as it is to get the blood out of the way. Tattoos, as seen below, are an inky, bloody mess.
This tattoo, which takes up about 8 inches of my thigh, took just over two hours. My previous tattoo, which is half the size and doesn't have all the black shading but has a lot of color, took about ninety minutes. This one cost $300.
There are several ways to choose both an artist and a design. I had this design in my head for about ten years as a tribute to my parents. I visited several tattoo establishments and settled on Immortal Ink, where Bryan works, when I looked through their books. I made a composite of what I wanted and brought that in, then Bryan drew out the final design for the tattoo.
While I was chewing on my arm, wincing and "ow!ow! ow!" ing, a young man in the next room was nonchalantly holding a conversation with his artist while getting inked on his shoulder. I must have looked ridiculous through the opening between the two rooms. I was too busy chewing to care, though.
It will be a few days before this looks like it should. Tattoos should be treated gently and you will be given directions by your artist about what to do. In a couple of days it will begin to peel (it is already beginning to itch just 24 hours later) and the colors will become brighter. In time, the pain will be all but completely forgotten and I "might" think of getting a third one. In time...
