Nā wao 'ekolu t-shirts

Nā wao 'ekolu after Christmas sale

$18 with free shipping to Hawai'i and Alaska

(add $5 for shipping to the 48 contiguous states)

This new design pays homage to the three realms of wao akua, the uplands and home of the gods, wao kanaka, the realm of man and kai ākea, the oceans that surround us. The three 'iwa  on the bottom not only represent our family guide, but represents the relationship, parent to child, kupuna, mākua, mo'opuna, past, present, future. . .

E-mail to order: 808idesign@gmail.com

#Moku2011

Technology is the best. Some of the greatest accomplishments were due to the people behind those accomplishments adapting and exploiting the newest technology available to give themselves an edge. The unification of the Hawaiian Islands by Kamehameha was largely due to his ability and willingness to adopt European weapons such as cannons. In a more modern less violent context, Kuhao Zane and his crew along with Sig Zane Designs has brought their simple International Hula Festival in Waikoloa into the new age with the use of technology such as the twitter, flickr, website blogs, and more. To keep up with the happening of this awesome event now in it's sixth year, Zane and his team offer numerous outlets from Twitter, to facebook, vimeo to flickr. They have even simplified the process for you by compiling these different social and media outlets into one website, Mokif.com. Check it out there and follow 808iD on twitter as we help promote and narrate this even using the #Moku2011 hash-tag.

Official Website
Mokif.com

Mokif Twitter
@Mokif

Hash-tag
#Moku2011

Vimeo
Vimeo.com/Mokif

Flickr
Flickr.com/mokif

Thoracic cage

What up girls and boys, todays lesson is in anatomy. The cavity that protects your lungs is called your plural cavity and the thing that protects your plural cavity is your thoracic cage a.k.a your rib cage. Whew. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get to the real reason you're reading this post...The Tattoos! It's amazing the way fads work in this world. It's like the idea of monkey see monkey do except in tattooing, it's monkey get tattoo, monkey get similar tattoo. This is specifically geared towards a tattoo I did on a girls ribs of a dream catcher that she designed based off of Miley Cyrus's dream catcher in the same spot. And to clear the air about people thinking I'm over reacting, she showed me a pic of Miley's tattoo and was like "like this one". I guess what I'm trying to say is, be original guys, fads come and go but at least if you're gonna follow the trend, make it your own interpretation. With that being said, enjoy the pictures of some other rib pieces as well as the "Hannah Montana" tattoo.

This is probably the rippest dude I've ever tattooed...no homo. Cool thing was that he is a chinese major and brought his own characters for this tattoo and it meant something along the lines of "fight adversity" or "charge head forth into challenges"

The Hannah Montana haha I still like the way it turned out, don't get me wrong. My first dream catcher ever but I doubt it'll be my last haha

First sitting done. Big plan is to have them done on both sides. He only wanted the outline for this side but I think I wanna convince him to shade it

Cute little tattoo on a cute little girl haha. She made me reconsider my eating habits. She's also dope because she's a Beatles fan as you can tell by the quotes used!

Hilo 2.0

So this past weekend I decided to head back to Hilo, mostly because I wanted to finish a piece I started on my last trip. I also do a couple new tattoos that I really enjoyed and a bunch I never thought would happen haha. It was also nice to just go home and relax after a kind of hectic week of studying. Can't wait until the next time, which will probably be thanksgiving. If you're interested in scheduling something for my next hilo trip or want to get work done in Hilo shoot me an email at 808idesign@gmail.com or message me on facebook.

Finally got to finish with the color after two long ass sessions of outlining shading and background fill.

Added on to the name on her hip I did for her daughter a couple months ago

Added on to the name she already had on her chest. Name by Naea of Native Flesh Hilo

The eldest and the youngest getting their Kanji in two different styles.(these were the tattoos I never thought would happen, along with the one below haha)

She only wanted to do the online for now. We added the Kanji the family kanji the next day but I forgot to take a picture. Can't wait to add on to this one!

Lines, dots, lines, dots, LINES. and. DOTS.

As artist, it's important to always take breaks and experiment in other styles and mediums. Tattoo artist(in my opinion) are the biggest offenders of this. Most times they dabble in painting, Tim Hendricks does water color, Nikko Hurtado kills it with his oils. Me, I prefer to stick to graphite and ink. However, I do like to dabble in different styles and techniques. I've recently tried my hand at using lines and dots to create value and texture, exploiting the hell out of my micron pens. This is the result.

"always on my mind"

"Fishey fishey of the sea, do you have a crush on me?"

Tattos, music, and birthday

So as I promised, I'm going to try and update this thing a little more often. This past weekend I got to fly home and do what I do, tattoo. Although it was a tattoo trip I had a couple other reasons alternative motives behind this trip.

First of all it was my moms birthday on saturday and last year we flew to Oahu to celebrate because she was spending the year teaching at Kapalama. So this year, because we switched Islands and she's back in Hilo and I'm now in Oahu, I decided to fly back to Hilo to celebrate.

Secondly, it was HILO'S HO'OLAULE'A! If you're from Hilo you know that it's the biggest block party/concert of the year. Nothing beats it or even comes close to its awesomeness because not only is it 3 stages of the best local bands in the state pumping non-stop music, it's also MANUAHI(FREE)! But as I said earlier, I was there to tattoo because funds in Oahu we dwindling haha! So here are a couple pics from the trip, hope to make it out there again soon, maybe next month *wink *wink

Beast Mode

Normally, I have no problem doing bigger tattoos, but with these tattoos, big is almost an understatement. My boy right here is about 5'5" and quite possibly 180 lbs(rough estimation on my part). He's a beast! He embodies the phrase, "go big or go home". For his very first tattoo, he decided to tattoo his entire chest. Most people when they get their first tattoo, get a sleeve or something, or maybe even just one side of their chest. As if that wasn't enough, he decided to start his left arm sleeve only a few days later. I like this guy, Can't wait until we do his upper half of his sleeve.

"Glory to God"

Quote on his wrist: "As for me and my house, we will serve the lord"

Oahu Scrizzles

So when I was living in Hilo, I found that I was doing so much polynesian and asian work that all I wanted to do was so script. Well wish granted, since I've been in Oahu I have yet to do a piece that didn't include script in it. Now, I can't wait to get back home so I can go back to my tattooing roots and work in my natural element, polynesian haha. btw, I apologize for the long breaks between posts, I like to post with themes but I promise I'll start posting more often with up dates on tattoos as I'm doing them.

My boy Bryce, first tattoo for him, first for me here in Oahu

Braddah Kevin Fox(my favorite black kid ever) giving his chest up to his grandma

my boy giving up his WHOLE chest up for his very first tattoo...go big or go home right?

"Ua Lawa Makou i Ka Pohaku" if you don't know what that means, you better look it up! such a perfect spot for the meaning

I think I'm finally getting the hang of this script thing haha Now Oahu, hit me up for some asian or poly work!

Mash up

808 iD's goal has always been to merge the two dominant ethnicities in Hawaii, Hawaiian and Japanese, and bring them together as cohesive entities. I've finished one particular piece recently that matches displays that description. My boy Kyle from back in boy scout days wanted an ulua tattoo on his chest with some polynesian designs as well as his mon(family crest) with in it. I was pretty stoked from the get go although I did get a little nervous when I was drawing the design on to his chest and his girlfriend was like "umm can you fix the shape of the head to make it look more ulua like?" If I were a fisherman like Kyle, she'd definitely be a keep!
There is also Justin's back piece that I've been working on for a couple weeks that is another great example of blending ethnic backgrounds. On one side we have the sun from the legends of the demi-god Maui. within the sun we have two halves of the face, one in a polynesian style and the other representative of a kabuki painted face. Next step is to add the imperial sun and the great wave to tie in the kanji.

Repeat offenders

Tattoos have always worked in trends. Back in the day it was all about fairies, unicorns, barbwire, and tribal bands everywhere. Now days, it seems that the trends are sleeves and feet for girls. I know I've done my fair share of both.

What the H i've been up to

So I realized that I have a really bad problem, I am a chronic blog neglector. So just to let you all know I'm not dead, here's a couple updates for y'all.

First of all, it's SUMMER TIME! which means vacations and a lot more tattoos. Trip number one was to Ohau. Restocked on swag and finished my cousin Josh's leg up. Also, got to see Kung Fu Panda 2, best movie I've seen so far this summer(better than transformers 3 in my opinion)

My Second trip was to Northridge, CA where I accompanied THE Tricia Allen as her assistant. Although I only did one tattoo on braddah Dan O. it was well worth the cost of flying just in experience gained. I got my ass whooped in hygiene and I got a lesson in the tools of the trade.

After 3 weeks of going here and there with my Oahu trip and then my california trip, I was itching so bad to come home and tattoo...So I did, and I did it big!

I guess my friends in Hilo wanted to get tattooed just as much as I wanted to tattoo which led to two full weeks booked solid. I did everything from polynesian hip pieces to script to asian, and even a filipino inspired arm sleeve. Much mahalo to all of my clients both new and returning, you guys are awesome!

In closing I'd just like to announce that starting August 18th, my new residence during the school the 2011-2012 school year will be in Frear Hall on Oahu at Manoa. Haven't quite figured out how or if I'm gonna be able to tattoo out of my dorm room yet  but rest assured my machines will be with me.

Enough talk, enjoy some pictures.


Josh

Andrew D.

J-Lei

adding on to her previous tattoo(done by someone else)

The 12 hour tattoo

Kiley K.

Haku's Memorial for Maka'ala

Lei's Ear

Keha Aiwohi


Check out my tattoo page to see More of my work