Hibiscus Tattoo Design

Tattoo Designs

A tattoo design is crucial in the success or failure of your body art. Find out how best to choose your design, as well as where you should begin your research.

Introduction

Tattoo designs are by and large the basis of a piece of tattoo art's success or failure. While tattoos always start as ideas, how they translate onto paper and skin is what people see. As such, tattoo as an art will be evaluated and appreciated more because of their designs, not their concepts. However, this is not to claim that the ideas and meanings behind a tattoo design are unimportant. The reverse situation is equally possible. A tattoo design may be fabulous but harbor no meaning, and because of it may also fail as a tattoo piece.

Choosing Your Design

Because of the ballooning popularity of the industry, countless tattoo designs are offered and featured everywhere - in books, magazines, and the internet. Because getting a tattoo is serious business, you would naturally want to browse through as many sample designs as possible. Given the volume of available designs everywhere, it might take a decade to finish your research. To narrow down your items of study and cut your research time in half, the first thing you need do ask yourself why you want to get a tattoo. Your intention would set the right path toward the design for you. For instance, if you want to get a tattoo to remember a loved one who just passed away, you could get a realistic portrait tattoo or a tattoo lettering design of his or her name or initials.

To further trim down your search, you might want to answer the following questions:

1. What inspires me? Identify your sources for motivation - Is it your religious belief system? Or perhaps a particular set of principles that you are most passionate about? How about a cause?

2. What do I aspire for? We all want to make something more out of ourselves and the world around us. What do you seek in life?

3. What gives me strength? Where do you draw your energy and determination for every day? They may serve as clues as to what elements your tattoo design should possess.

These questions intend to get you thinking about your innermost ideals and wants. These things, above others, should steer you to the tattoo design that is right just for you. After all, tattoos are very personal statements - they talk about you and the things you value in life.

Where to Look for Tattoo Designs

Once you've armed yourself with the steady conviction of what appeals to you, the next step is to look for ideas and inspiration from various sources of tattoo designs. Most end up getting a custom tattoo design of their own, but browsing through what is available helps you visualize what you want and give you a view of what doesn't work in a tattoo.

Magazines - You might want to check out the following tattoo magazines:

Skin and Ink

Skin Art

Tattoo Flash

Total Tattoo

Tattoo Savage

International Tattoo Art

Skin Deep

Tattoo Revue

Tattoos for Women

Books

There are a few decent books that not only include pictures of tattoos but also important information about tattooing both as a science and an art form. You might want to see Terisa Green and Greg James' book titled "The Tattoo Encyclopedia" and "Tattoo" by Dale Durfee.

Internet

There are literally hundreds of tattoo galleries online. A good gallery is operated by a tattoo professional or a hardcore fan. Reputation, volume of designs, and range of available related information are also factors in assessing a good online tattoo gallery.

Good versus Bad - How to Tell the Difference

The tattoo design is good when it first and foremost conveys what you intend it to mean. It may look fantastic as a piece of art, but it should also be able to more or less translate your idea into a picture.

Second a tattoo design works when it looks as good on your skin as it does on paper. Some tattoo designs are fabulous in an even stretch of paper, but when applied on skin, they lose their form because of the grooves and curves of the body. A good tattoo artist would discuss the appropriateness of the design on the desired body location with you to ensure that the tattoo would look as it should after being inked.

A bad tattoo design, on the other hand, is much easier to spot. First, it is poorly drawn. The fault lies on the tattoo artist, of course. When a tattoo sketch is substandard, the design would end up looking much more terrible on skin. Second, a tattoo design is bad when its central idea speaks of racism, gender discrimination, Nazism, and the like. That's not just bad taste; it is flaunting bigotry.

Top Classic Tattoo Designs

The following are the most sought after tattoo designs of all time and their brief general meanings:

Birds: Eagles are the most popular tattoo designs, symbolizing patriotism, might, and freedom. Hummingbirds and doves are also in demand, standing for love charm and peace, respectively.

Dragons: Arguably the most popular mythical figures of all time, dragon tattoos are general statements of strength and power. However, their specialized meanings will differ depending on whether you choose an Eastern or Western dragon design.

Skulls: Skulls have long been a symbol of pirates and stood for rebellion. Though mostly perceived as bad omens and symbols of death, skulls also represent change.

Hearts: They usually stand for togetherness and love, but their meanings vary depending on representation and the sentiments of the bearer.

Butterflies: These winged insects are sought after by mostly women. Fragile and beautiful, butterflies are symbols of freedom and rebirth.

Tribal Symbols: They actually mean something. But just as with Asian symbols, exactly what they mean can be a bit tricky. Traditional and primitive, these forms come from all sorts of different tribes and it's hard to tell just by looking at them. These obscure but striking looks are not recommended for those who may become annoyed by constant questions about the meaning behind the body art.

Asian symbols: Chinese and Japanese characters are massive favorites among American tattoo buffs. However, translation can be more than a little difficult at times, so you have to extra careful.

Flowers: Singled out by women, flower tattoos symbolize different things, depending on the flower used. Roses stand for love; daisies denote innocence; buttercups represent riches, while sunflowers symbolize enchantment.

Religious Symbols: Though some think it's blasphemous, tattoo art used to be part of religious ceremonies in certain ancient cultures. That's why it comes as no surprise that religious symbols are second on the list.

Words: They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but tattoo lettering is still the most popularly-requested design around the world. Names of loved ones, significant phrases of meaningful quotes as tattoo designs are also a big trend.