Hi Safe

Well you chose a massive area to cover so will try and break it down.

Tattoo Design

There are usually 2 main forms of deciding a tattoo design. The first is custom design and the second is a flash design.

Custom – This is a design unique to you and can be drawn up by yourself or the artist. Inspiration can come from the internet, books, art etc and is something personal to you. Custom designs can be sometimes a little more expensive because they are spending time on design from scratch.

Flash – This is a pre-drawn design that most artists have on their walls. These can be done usually straight away and you will likely see many other people with the exact same tattoo.

Whether you choose a custom or flash piece you need to take into account the following factors;

1. NEVER RUSH YOUR INK! I really cannot stress this enough. What you think looks cool/sexy now may not be the same in 30 years. Take your time and look at your design every day for a month and think do I want this for life?

2. Placement of the tattoo. Again this is something you have to consider strongly. Will visible ink affect your job or future career? Will you have to wear long sleeves in summer?

3. Size – The bigger the tattoo the more expensive they get – this is because they take longer to do. That said a very small tattoo may blur into a blob in years to come. Make sure that you are comfortable with the size of the tattoo.

4. Tattoo content. Yes it does matter. It taks brass balls to have a visible tattoo that will cause controversy. I have been in a serious bar brawl over my Lion of Judah tattoo. If you want to get something that is going to cause conflict be prepared to put up with that for life.

5. The right artist. There is no sense in going to a crap artist who will do a shit tattoo – even if they are cheap.

6. Make sure they are sterile. Last Friday I buried a good mate who died of Hep C he was 33. I am convinced it was from the tattoo he had done in petshop at 14 – basically run from anybody who does not have an autoclave and fails to break out the eq from sterile in front of you.

I hope this at least answers some of your questions. If you have anymore queries feel free to PM me or post up.

Take care
Matthew

Hi Safe

That is certainly a way to do it. The main thing is to either get teh full design downloaded or take the picture(s) or inspiration to your chosen artist to draw up for you.

There are several free sites you can use as well as google images, deviant art and even books from the library filled with tattoo designs.

What are you thinking of getting done – I might be able to help you in putting you in the right direction ideas wise.

Take care
Matthew