Tattoos are getting bigger, Bolder and more prevalant among celebrities and regular folks.

Arizona Diamondbacks stars Ryan Roberts has a large tattoo on his neck, and ink all over both arms and hands.

Actress Megan Fox has several text tattoos, including a quote across her back, and rapper Lil Wayne has barely a square inch of uninked skin left on his body.

Across the Valley, tattoos on necks and chests, as well as "sleeves" covering arms, can be spotted with increasing frequency on people in all walks of life.

As the decades pass, the negative stigma of body art - even over-the-top art - has faded.

"I've been doing this for 21 years, and I have seen the rise of tattooing, the popularity and the public acceptance," said Durb Morrison of Ohio, who's bringing his Hell City Tattoo Festival back to Phoenix on Friday through Sunday. "Most people who walk down the street will see a tattoo. It's accepted."

Walk into the trendy Windsor restaurant and bar in north-central Phoenix and you may be seated by hostess Zoe McMahon, who sports a prominent tat across her collarbone, ink on the back of her neck and behind her ears, a sleeve on her left arm and designs on her shins and feet.

McMahon, 28, displayed her tattoos working in several clothing stores before signing on at the Windsor. She plans to get a teaching degree, with hopes of following in the footsteps of a friend in Prescott teaches without covering her tattoos.

"I go to job interviews in a dress, so they (tattoos) are all in view. This is who I am," McMahon said.

Order a meal at Cartel Kitchen in downtown Phoenix, and it may be prepared by a woman whose right shoulder and upper arm boast a large, colorful inked cornucopia of vegetables and fruit.

"People love it. They respond positively to it," Rebecca Reeder, 30, said.

Cassie Marshall, 20, who's studying at Northern Arizona University to be a rehab counselor, isn't worried about having to cover the large tattoo of the Hindu elephant deity, Ganesh, on her right shoulder and upper arm.

"In my major, most of my profs have similar body art," Marshall said as she chatted with artist Alex Empty about getting additional work at Golden Rule Tattoo in Phoenix.

Empty, who has tattoos on his neck, hands, fingers, arms, legs and in several other spots, sees a growing acceptance of larger and more prominent tattoos. But he acknowledges that displaying ink in the stuffier levels of the corporate world still can be a challenge.

"A lot of young professionals are heavily tattooed," Empty said, but they may be pressured to cover up the work.

Those in more independent fields tend to show off their ink more, Empty added.

"Chefs, photographers, freelance artists, construction foremen, computer nerds - people who have the ability to carve out their own careers," he said.

Reeder said the good vibes she encounters in her restaurant don't always translate to the world at large.

"There's a little bit of aggression that people still feel with a tattooed woman," she said. "There's still a bit of a stigma."

At the Windsor, having body art is a plus.

'We encourage them to expose it, and our clientele loves it," said Craig DeMarco, co-owner of the restaurant.

Cole Duffield, 27, a server at the nearby Postino Central, another of DeMarco's properties, pointed at one of his two full sleeves and said, "Years ago, this would have been a career-ender. Now, it gets me into places (to work)."

But employment counselor Tamara Floyd cautions that people need to consider what type of job they're after before getting a prominent tattoo that can't be concealed.

"It can be an obstacle, depending on what type of job you're going for," said Floyd, who works at Arizona Opportunities Industrialization Center in Phoenix and has a tattoo of a rose and vine on one calf.

"I don't see things loosening up with a lot of employers. They want to keep a (corporate) image."

But Morrison said that his festival, staged at the none-too-edgy Arizona Biltmore resort, is expected to keep 200 tattoo artists from around the world busy. He expects 6,000 to 8,000 people to visit the fourth Arizona edition of his event.

Live bands, a car show, seminars, book signings, an art exhibit and a kids' zone will bring in people from all walks of life, he said.

"Tattooing has lost that stigma that it's had for so long." Morrison said. "It's getting absorbed by our culture."