A back full of Goku.
Getting Levi’s Kid Goku backpiece started in New Plymouth.
I’ve been tattooing Levi for years. I’ve done his sleeve, and I coloured and tweaked his abdomen piece, which another artist had started. He’s a great guy and gives me plenty of freedom to do my thing.
We’d been talking about his backpiece for a long time. Doing a massive Kid Goku tattoo was a bit of a dream project for me. I’d never had the chance to do him on this scale before, so I was pretty excited when we finally got it happening.
I used to tattoo Levi when I lived in New Zealand. Since moving to Melbourne, we don’t get to catch up as often, but I was heading over for the New Plymouth Tattoo Convention and we decided to start it there.
Getting a whole backpiece measured up and stencilled at a convention is a bit of a mission. Definitely easier in the shop! We got the drawing printed out, checked the size against his back and got everything into place.
I also managed to forget Goku’s tail in the drawing. That one’s on me. Luckily after getting reminded by Levi it made it on just before getting stuck in.
We had two days on it in New Plymouth, and Levi sat like a rock. Such a fun piece to get started on, especially after talking about it for so long.
A few months later, I was back in New Zealand and we got another two days in. This time we finished off the background and extended it around his ribs to meet the work on his abdomen. Seeing it all connect into a full torso suit has been a really satisfying part of this project.
There’s still colour to go into Goku, the cherry blossoms and the remaining bits around him. We’re planning to get back into that later this year, and I can’t wait.
Really happy with where it’s at so far. Thanks again, Levi, for trusting me with such a big project!
Nicklas