Erik "The Lizardman" Sprague drove from Austin, Texas to perform at the Am-Jam Tattoo Expo in East Syracuse. Now 40, Sprague said he was 21 when he began his transformation. His body modifications include a full-body tattoo that took more than 700 hours, a bifurcated tongue, sharpened teeth and subdermal implants on his forehead.

It took an artist upwards of 120 hours over the course of a year to complete Jim Viau's full-back tattoo of the characters from Fraggle Rock. Viau, 33, of Fulton, N.Y., said the piece was an homage to a show that he "grew up with."

Ashli Hill, 20, of Rochester, said that having tattoos has made her a more confident person.

Brian Manos, 25, is a tattoo artist at Tymless Tattoo in Baldwinsville.