It took me several months to work up my dragon tattoo.  It started out as a pencil drawing, which I then scanned into the computer to color in.  Once I printed it out, I realized I didn’t like it.  Back to the drawing board.  I wasn’t all that good with design software in those days (had a precursor to Photoshop Elements, the name of which escapes me at the moment) so getting the colors and the shadings right, once I had an outline that worked, took a long time.  Fortunately, Lantz at Zulu Tattoo was able to translate my design into on-skin reality with no trouble at all.  (The picture, snapped with a cheap digital camera, does not do the artwork justice.)

But what if you don’t want to create your own image, for whatever reason?  If you’re fortunate enough to know a good artist, you could commission him or her to do your design (and remember, any artist worthy of the name is also worth paying).  If you don’t know any artists, go to local art shows and craft fairs–you might spot someone whose work looks like just the kind of thing you want to turn into a tattoo.  If you’re going to have something inked that you purchased from an artist, get the artist’s permission first.  Some don’t want their work reproduced and their wishes should be respected.

But what if you don’t know any artists, don’t want to browse art fairs, and still want an original design?  Enter the world of tattoo-design software.  If you put “tattoo design software” into a Google or Bing search you’ll be amazed at how many sites turn up.  A lot of the software appears to be free, and the ones with a price aren’t ridiculously expensive.  I haven’t tried any of them out, but I’m sure the results are as variable as their creators.  Since there are so many free programs available, it’d be worth while to download and try several to see what kinds of results you get.

Have any of you tried any of these approaches to getting original ink?  What was your experience?

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That often leads to conversations about tattoos, or getting tattoos, or the other person’s ink, which is all to the good.     One of the receptionists at our veterinerians’ office has a star tattoo that looks a lot like mine, so we were instant friends.  

The other day, as we were checking out at the grocery store, the cashier noticed my stars and we got to talking about a tattoo she’s planning to get soon, that has a lot of personal meaning for her.   She’s really looking forward to the experience.   After we finished the conversation and walked on, my husband made the suggestion that it would be a good idea for me to have business cards with the URL of this place, so I could invite people to come have a look.   He was right!   That definitely falls into the category of “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I started designing cards, using a business-card-design app I’ve had for years, but after I’d messed around with it a while I realized that to do justice to a multicolored design I really should get the cards professionally printed on paper that’s better than you can buy at the office supply store.

Which leads me to tell you about a company called MOO. Ayear or so ago, they opened up a LiveJournal, and offered a free package of MiniCards to other LiveJournal writers.   I took them up on that, getting a nifty design with my cat Caliban’s eyes on them.   I still have a few of those left, because I like them so much I have been hoarding them.   I thought the MiniCard size would be perfect to carry around in a pocket and hand out to fellow ink admirers, and when I discovered they had a beautiful multicolored design with a triskele in the center, I was sold.   I also ordered a plastic keychain case to carry the cards in so they won’t get crunched up in my pocket or purse.

MOO is located in the UK, but they can now ship from within the USA as well (and if they’d for pity’s sake open up an office in Los Angeles I’d be first in line to apply for a job) so I should have the cards in hand next week.   Can’t wait!

I wish this had dawned on me earlier, because my stars are a good conversation-starter and it’d be even better if someone with whom I’d been talking could come here and say hello.     Onward and upward!

If you’d like to check out MOO for yourself, they offer a free sample pack of business cards.   Go here and scroll down the page, you’ll see where to click. If you get some, you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.

photo credit: FiveAcres

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Geometric designs are among the oldest tattoo patterns in the world. It was easy to create them with primitive tools (especially using the horribly painful technique of “sewing” a pigmented thread just under the skin to make the designs) and a surprising variety of patterns could be created with just a few simple shapes.

In modern times the tribal tattoo has brought the ancient geometric shapes back into fashion, even though it might be difficult to find an actual tribe out there with any of those designs.     One of the major advantages is that the design’s size can be easily changed to fit the amount of skin available–an arm band can wrap around perfectly, for example, or a bracelet or sleeve be made to fit as though they were clothing on the skin.

The geometric pattern can be made with solid colored shapes, or outlines, or anything in between.   It can be the same shape repeated, or mirrored, or a selection of harmonizing shapes.   It can be created in such a way that small mistakes are not noticeable, which would not be so easy to do with writing or a recognizable image.   Many tribal patterns today are done in solid black ink, but I have seen them applied in a rainbow of colors as well.

The down side to a geometric pattern is that if it is applied by a less talented artist, it can quickly look muddy or blurred.   If the ink is applied too deeply, the spaces between the elements can fill up and destroy the pattern.   If you plan to have a geometric or tribal tattoo done, be sure to check your artist’s portfolio for similar work.   Don’t rely on the selection of flash on the wall–anybody can put flash on a wall.   What’s important is how the flash translates to body art.   If you have a particular design in mind, be sure to bring a clear photo, drawing or printout of what you want, just so you and the artist understand what’s to be done.

Geometric designs are striking and attractive when done right, and their popularity is well deserved   I don’t have any geometric designs myself, but I have often contemplated a bold bracelet in bright colors.   Maybe this will be the year I’ll get it done.

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Sometimes this takes the form of a geometric design, sometimes   a design representing a protective symbol,

infmom and her newly applied dragon

sometimes a design representing a protective animal.

When you think about it, a protective tattoo makes sense–an amulet could get lost, but a tattooed design was with you for life.   That kind of protective marking is widespread even today.

Ötzi the Iceman, the 5,000-year-old mummy found in the Alps, was tattooed with lines and dots over areas of his body that turned out to be arthritic.   Many of the tattoos found on ancient people are straight lines, which might be due to the tools used to make them, or the lines might have had mystical significance of their own. We’ll never know.

In ancient Egypt, as far as we know, women were tattooed with dots and lines that seem to indicate a connection with the goddess Hathor, or perhaps a wish for fertility.   Not many tattooed mummies have been found, so there really is not enough information available to make an educated guess about what the designs signified.

The ancient Celts were described as “painted” by the Romans, and this could have included tattoos as well as paint.   Celtic art is full of mythical creatures that appear to represent protective elements.   Whether the Celts tattooed these symbols on their bodies as well as carved them into rocks is unknown, but given the strong association of those designs with the protection of the spirit world, it seems likely.

In recent years, archaeologists have turned up tattooed mummies in central Asia.   It is very likely that these people were Celts, or Scythians, or closely related people, so there seems to be a good basis for believing that the Celts were tattooed as well.   The designs these people chose were quite elaborate.

Today, of course, people choose protective designs that come from their religious beliefs and their personal history.   I talked about spiritual designs before, and the profound significance they can have.   One of my tattoos is a Chinese dragon and another is an Eye of Horus.   The dragon had special meaning to my grandmother, and the Eye of Horus has special meaning to me.   So, I hope, I am doubly protected.  

Have you chosen a design for protection or for spiritual reasons or for personal protection?   What did you choose, and why?

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Let’s start off the new year by talking about tattoo designs.

Some designs have been around for a very long time.   I have one of them–stars.

No one knows when the five-pointed star symbol was first drawn, nor how our ancestors decided that it represented what they saw in the sky, but it’s a very ancient symbol.   Ancient people saw meaning in the stars, and the rising and setting of the stars throughout the year signaled changes in the seasons.   So it’s not surprising that the star was used for body art in ancient times, and continues to the present day, along with its variation, the pentagram.

The pentagram is also a religious symbol and its orientation changes according to religious beliefs.   (Some people think that any pentagram is a representative of Satanism, but not so.)

The six-pointed Star of David is also used to represent religious beliefs.   This is also an ancient symbol and has deep symbolic meaning.

Then there are other variations such as the shooting star (or comet) and the nautical star, which has been popular for hundreds of years as a sailor’s tattoo.   The nautical star has variations such as the compass rose, and they share a similar pattern of alternating colors on each spoke of the star.   The nautical star also has symbolic meanings for some people.   It is commonly rendered in shades of red and black.

When I got my first tattoo, I chose a design of seven five-pointed stars.   The stars have personal meaning for me and I used them to symbolize something I felt deeply about.   I have never been able to articulate exactly what I meant by them for anyone else, though.   I originally wanted just the stars, but the artist suggested a “swoosh” of multicolored dots around them, and when he drew what he had in mind I could see that it was a much better idea.   So that became my very first ink.   The colors have faded a bit in the ten years since it was applied, so one of these days I’ll go back to the shop and have it retouched.   The meaning stays the same.  

Do any of you have star tattoos?   Would you care to share a photo?   I don’t have a good picture of my stars, but this might serve as a reminder to get one.

photo credit: corvidmagic

photo credit: MAMJODH

photo credit: Allmightymo

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Hanukkah has begun, the Solstice is past and Christmas is coming.  In the USA at least, it seems as though the nation’s focus is on Buying Stuff.  Not that this is a bad thing; it makes people happy and keeps people employed, and we definitely need that!

But the best holiday gift of all need not cost a cent.

Give of yourself.  Spend some time with someone.  Consider your priorities and think about what you might regret later if you missed doing it today.

If you’ve got a long-standing disagreement, be the first one to bury the hatchet.  Call or email someone you haven’t seen for a while.

Take time to count your friends and count your blessings.  Find a reason to be happy and find a way to make someone else happy.

Don’t focus so much on your own holiday that you forget to celebrate other people’s.  December is a month for wrapping up the old and preparing for the new.  You don’t have to make a New Year’s resolution–just tell yourself you’re going to look for the bright side from now on.

I hope you all have happiness and peace, regardless of which holidays you celebrate.  And let’s all work together to see the new year in with happiness and hope!

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However, to make up for that a little bit, here’s some great links.

Evil Tattoo’s Tattoo Gallery
Tattoo Finder
5 W’s Tattoos
Tattoo Art of Pat Fish
TattooArtists.org
BMEInk (a lot of adult oriented material; viewer discretion advised)
About.com’s tattoo and piercing galleries

What are your favorite web sites featuring body art?   I’m always up for someplace new to look!

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I wrote earlier about spiritual designs.   Putting an affirmation of your spiritual beliefs on your skin could be one way of sending a positive message, although in today’s increasingly fractured world other people might not see the message you are trying to send.     But in thousands of years of religious art, there are plenty of examples of designs that uplift both the wearer and the observer.   It’s worth doing research to find exactly the right design.   The usual run of religious (mainly Christian) flash can be found just about anywhere.   You want something that represents you, not a bazillion others with exactly the same flash, right?

Another form of positive design is a memorial to a lost loved one.   I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of fine-line portraits.   I think there are plenty of other ways to honor those we have lost.   Think about what mattered to that person and find a design that showcases that.   I have a stylized dragon on my back to honor my grandmother.   That, to me, is more profound than just getting her name or a portrait inked on my skin.

And of course there is a wide lexicon of images that are upbeat and postitive all on their own.   “Sunshine, lollypops and rainbows” is more than just the title of a 60s bubblegum song.     Well-done Celtic designs can combine the spiritual and the decorative.   The tried-and-true images of four-leaf clovers, lucky horseshoes and the like are popular for good reason.   There are more elaborate designs representing good fortune from pagan beliefs and non-Western cultures.   Once you set your mind to it, the possibilities are limitless.

What kinds of positive images does your ink show the world?
photo credit: showbizsuperstar

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This led to an interesting discussion with one of my classmates, who has several tattoos herself.   She said that all her tattoos have a common theme, something very spiritually meaningful to her.   Like me, her ink is usually covered by clothing, but she described some of her tattoos and explained why they fit her theme.

I obviously never had a “theme” in choosing my tattoos, but all of them have deep personal meaning to me, so in that sense they go together even though visually and stylistically they don’t match in any way.   But the idea of planning each tattoo with one central theme in mind intrigued me.   I wonder how common that approach to body art must be?

Obviously, the people who get whole-body Japanese tattoos are following that kind of philosophy.   But is a gangbanger whose ink reflects gang sensibilities even though not coming together in one unified design doing the same?   What about a person whose tattoos relate to the same general principle (religious art, for example) but are all done in varying styles or by different artists and present a mish-mosh of visual effects when seen as a whole?

What happens if a person starts out with one theme in mind and then goes off in a different direction?   Can the original ink be altered to match the new theme?   Should it be?   I’m reminded of the tattooed lady in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land who starts off as a standard-issue sideshow performer and then has her tattoos transformed into a religious work of art by her husband, the tattoo artist.

And what if some of the art is done by one artist and some of it is done by another artist with an entirely different style?

I guess what I’m asking is whether having a theme results in a “unified field” of body art or not.  

Do you have a theme?   Do you know anyone who planned their ink in advance?   I’d be interested to hear what others think about this.
photo credit: rasseon

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Carl Zimmer’s Science Tattoo Emporium. My daughter the Linguistics Ph.D. candidate would like the tattoo of the glottal stop.

Yet more proof that not all tattooed people are hirsute bikers.

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