Here's the finished product. We did the half sleeve and chest a couple of years ago. It is a character from the Suikoden (who's name for the life of me escapes me right now) fighting a demon holding a sake gourd. The demon is more of a personal metaphor for him rather than an actual existing legend.
The tiger ties into the top image for him symbolically and was great to actually do in the year of the Tiger. There is a peony on the chest and a chrysanthemum on the lower arm. Although some tattooers believe in not doing flowers representative of different seasons on the same piece (peony and cherry blossom for spring and mum and maples for fall), it can be appropriate in my opinion. I've read and believe that it represents a full year or duration of time. This piece for this client was born out of a series of experiences over a length of time.
Although it sounds cheesy it was a bit of a "journey", and I think his image selections work great for what he was going for.
Really fun tattoo on a very interesting and dedicated client...
