"How long does it take" is the question that follows as soon as someone sends me their reference. The answer is almost never one day, and at NARA we are not going to force it to be.
Why does a large piece not fit in a single session?
Past a certain point, a piece does not fit in one day. Skin has a limit before the result suffers: swelling, fatigue in the area and the tiredness of whoever is in the chair bring the quality of the line down long before the design is complete. Splitting a large piece across more than one session protects the final result.
Forcing a piece into a single block to get it done means the detail does not hold up well over time. I would rather do a piece in two or three well worked sessions than compress it into one sitting.
What decides how many sessions your piece needs?
It is not only size. Size is in fact the least decisive part: a large piece in clean line work can ask for less time than a small one loaded with detail. What multiplies sessions is the density of detail: shading, texture, micro detail. That is why two pieces that look alike in a photo ask for very different times on skin.
Body placement counts too. Ribs, neck, hands and feet force slower work, so two pieces the same size in different areas rarely end up needing the same number of sessions. And if your piece is a cover-up, one more variable comes in: the density and tone of what is already on your skin limit what can go on top. That has to be seen in person, not over a message or a photo.
When is the number of sessions decided?
After the consultation, not before. At NARA the process has a step dedicated to this: the design proposal. That is where I present the drawing with its full scope: how many sessions it needs, how long each one runs, and what is left for the final touch-up. The piece gets adjusted until it is the one you want, with a calendar that already accounts for what skin can hold in each block.
That order matters. Deciding the number of sessions before seeing the skin and the area would mean inventing it. Once I give a number I hold to it: it only changes mid process if the piece itself changes.
Does the touch-up count as another session?
I do not count it the same way, and I would rather say so from the design proposal so there are no surprises. The touch-up is the final adjustment, once the skin has healed and you can see how the color or the line settled. It is not a second round of full work. So when I talk about the number of sessions your piece needs, I keep the working sessions separate from the touch-up. They are two different things on the calendar, even though both belong to the same commission.
This distinction also avoids another common misunderstanding: thinking that a piece needing a touch-up means something went wrong in the session. On large pieces, or ones with a lot of color, the touch-up is an expected part of the process, not a correction. I tell you that up front, in the same conversation where I show you the full drawing.
Why do I not give a number in the first message?
Because it would be a promise with nothing behind it. Just as there is no published rate, because two pieces the same size can ask for very different times, there is no table of so many centimeters, so many sessions that works for any skin. What I can give you in the first message is a general idea based on your reference. The real number comes after the consultation.
If your piece is large, or if you already suspect it will not fit in a single day, that is exactly the conversation we settle in the consultation. Write to me with your reference and book your consultation: we will look at the skin and the area, and come out with a session calendar that protects the result.
The whole process, step by step, is on the commission.