Hello, I am just wondering if I can post here for some advice. I’m sorry if I’ve missed anywhere, but I’ve had a wee look and couldn’t see anything saying no posts about ideas/drawings.
I have a tattoo for my Nonna and Grandmother, which is a lily (Nonna’s name is Lily) and an Elizabeth rose for my gran who is called Elizabeth (or Betty now in her old years!)
I would really love one that represents my grandad however I’m having extreme difficulty thinking of a design, mainly because I am absolutely hopeless at drawing, I can’t even draw stick men properly.
I suppose I will add more later once I know if this post is even allowed/ok first!
So my 1st question really is, are you guys allowed to give design advice without me having an original plan?
Thanks!
Alana
Allowed? We can give you all sorts of advice, but it won’t be good without knowing what you want first 🙂
If you want to create a memorial tattoo, my only suggestion is to find something that reminds YOU of that person or is something that brought you together. It doesn’t matter whether or not somebody else gets it (like the Rose and Lily), but what DOES matter is that YOU feel the connection. You can always tell people the meaning if they ask, anyway.
It was just in case I wasn’t allowed to ask for some drawing help, I was just making sure :).
Well my grandad is going to be 70 this year, he rides motorbikes and is the coolest, funniest person in my life. I spent my childhood constantly going climbing, exploring and travelling with him and I have lots of things that would remind me of him! The most distinctive thing about my memories and even now, my grandad always made up stories and told me fairytales that he made his own. I’d love like a fairytale-esque kinda tattoo but have no idea how to portray that. I can’t think of anything to draw myself and I find tattoo artists I’ve been to expect that I’ll go with them to do the tattoo. My cousin did my lily/rose tattoo (he is a licensed tattooist btw, he works in the Comedian Tattoo in Bathgate – I found him really good at what he does and it was free) but now we don’t get on very well so I would probably have to find someone else to do it.
Anyway, the most obvious thing is the motorbikes but I’m not into bikes myself and wouldn’t like something so “masculine” on me. I would post a pic of my lily/rose because it kind of shows what art I like, girly but with a bit of edge, however I don’t want it to be torn to pieces by people saying they hate it lol! It’s important to me and I wouldn’t want to be told that it sucks, so I don’t think I’ll bother ha!
I would greatly appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction to finding someone to draw/give me ideas on what creating a “sleeve” type fairytale tattoo would involve as I have no idea with even where to start on a design like that. I’m not wanting to go too big but was thinking my back (the top, not the “tramp stamp”), or I’d love a leg piece (the lily/rose is on my foot up my ankle to my calf almost). I would like it on my arm however I do criminology at uni so I don’t think visible tattoos would be a good idea right now since I’m only 19 I’m not sure what career I’d be in!
Is there anywhere online I could get someone to sketch something for me? I’m not really sure what to do, I mean when I wanted my lily and rose, it’s obviously really easy to just pic images of flowers in positions that I liked etc, but with this I’m not sure where to start. It’s not like “disney princess” fairy tale, as his stories usually involved swearing and were more Glaswegian than that! But I was thinking maybe like a “creepy” kinda fairy tale. My granddad is probably the one who has influenced me to go into criminology, as he drove ice cream vans when Fred West did in our area, and he knew his first wife and a girlfriend of the yorkshire ripper so I’ve always been brought up around those kind of stories… I suppose I’m just trying to give a better idea of the kind of granddad he is! He’s not your average old man :).
Sorry for the long post, I hope its a bit more detailed than before 🙂
Well, to start off, we wouldn’t necessarily tear your tats to pieces, but the possibility is of course there so your move is a wise one 😉
Now, here’s my take on the whole thing, and sorry for the long-windedness:
A tattooist is a person learned in the art of applying ink into the skin of a person. They can be good and they can be crap. A tattooist will probably do well with Flash imagery and simple designs, and a good one will be able to accurately transfer an image of choice into the canvas (the body).
A tattoo artist, however, is actually that. An artist. By the very definition (for me at least), there can be no bad tattoo artists, because then they’d simply be tattooists. 🙂 These artists will generally also draw or paint, creating inspired art themselves. If you give them an idea, they will use that idea to create for you the image of your dreams, hopefully bringing it to life for your enjoyment for the remainder of your life.
The question that faces tattoo collectors in general is whether they want a very good tattooist or a tattoo artist to do their ink. Sometimes you just want a really good rendition of whatever piece of completed art you have found, and sometimes you want something created. Something new. Something (for myself at least) unique and special.
Right now you’re looking for some artist to create a design for you. If it’s anything good, it will probably cost you money. Then when you bring that design to your chosen professional, depending on their level of quality and interest, they may want to change up the design, even re-do it completely to fit them better. This, the ‘design work’, will invariably be part of the price you’re paying them for your ink. So now you’ve paid twice for the design, and might even end up clashing with them on ideas and finding out that you can’t work together anyway so you have to go find another one.
This then brings me to the pertinent point. What I would recommend you do at this stage, is to take some time to really think about your future design. Forget about sketches. Talk to people (like you are doing in here, for instance) and browse DeviantArt and tattoo magazines and tattoo portfolios and find what it is that you would like done. There are countless people in here that have such family-devoted/ memorial tattoos that can hopefully help you better with the thought process department (I suck at such things :)). You want a fantasy-based tattoo? Fabulous! I love fantasy. But fantasy is very broad a genre, so you need to narrow down the list of subjects to be included.
Then when you’ve found more or less where you want to go with your tattoo, find someone (preferably a tattoo artist) that you like to do your ink. Someone who’s portfolio is full of work that interests you. Talk to that person and discuss the work and let them draw it up for you. You will probably have to pay them for it, but if you like it then that price will be part of the actual tattoo price. If you don’t like it, you move on to a different tattoo artist, but if you DO like it then you will hopefully end up getting the best possible ink you could get. Something that was designed in collaboration between you and your artist, and the outcome will be that much more meaningful and special for you.
Thanks ArniVidar! Yeah I don’t think I’m ready to have my tattoo slagged 😛 if someone pointed out a flaw I hadn’t noticed, it would probably drive me insane forever and I’d cut my foot off lol! I’m THAT picky.
My cousin who did my tattoo freehanded (with the pen obviously, not the actual gun) it so it is unique in a way, I told him to just go with what he thought would be best in positioning and joining the two flowers together… I ended up with something I would call tribal (which I really don’t like) but instead of black ink, it is a purpley colour so isn’t as severe and in a way suits me and the people I was representing, so I was happy in the end I gave him that freedom.
It’s the designing part that I’m stumped with, I’ve tried looking on deviantart and google images etc, but I don’t really want anything that I’ve seen, I want to be able to make it unique like you said. I love fantasy, but not dragons etc, that’s what seems to come up when I type in fantasy for tattoos :(. I mean like mystical/horror type things.
Hmm hopefully someone who has some of the tribute-like tattoos will be able to give some suggestions then :D!
Kinda like… http://radness-madness.deviantart.com/art/Alice-in-Wonderland-Tattoo-192203770
(I think that is drawn on with a sharpie but the point is the kind of fairytale mixed with madness kinda thing that Alice in Wonderland has.)
Thank you for the advice, I have no idea where to find a good tattoo artist where I live! I find portfolios online don’t do any justice, and I’m not a fan of any the work I see on the walls in shops!
That thing is freaky and crazy. 🙂
So you’d lean more towards cartoony rather than realistic, and mad rather than calm? That’s good.. gives you a focal point 🙂
As for the tattoo artists, we have people here from all around the world. If you’re willing to travel a bit, tell the guys where you live and ask them whether they know of any artists that work in your genre and in your area. Of course, first you’ll have to find your genre 😉
AAH! Now you’re starting to sound like the Cheshire Cat “He went that a way ” :p
Yeah more cartoonish I suppose! I like clear lines on a tattoo, not chunky and cartoony in a way where they look like crayon drawings, but unrealistic is what I’m all about, I’d prefer to live in a fantasy land haha!
I like bright colours and like I mentioned, a kind of “creepy” feel to it. Something to link the fairy tale to the horrors and criminal stories my granddad tells me today!
Hmm ok so do I just PM anyone kind of local and ask? I’m from Scotland and when I checked the Scotland link on here nothing came up BOO! What’s wrong with the haggis land??
I’ll have a wee gander and see if I can find anyone!
Thanks WardyInk :)! The thing that mostly reminds me of my granddad is his silly stories, so I was wanting a kinda crazy fairytale themed tattoo, but can’t think of anything. Haven’t had any response about tattoo artists in Scotland, so don’t really know of who else could draw something up for me! 😮
Do lots of research on artists style you like, and then tell the artist that u have narowed down to what you want and have the artist draw and tattoo you. You dont need a separate artist to draw the sketch and another one to do the actual tattoo. Tattoo artists all started off as artists first, tattooing second (well the real ones, anyway).
I like the fairy tale idea, the possibilities are endless! Where are u located? Maybe we can recomend a good artist in your area.
It’s just I don’t know any good tattoo shops or tattoo artists. Everywhere I’ve been to in Dundee (where I am for uni) isn’t as good quality as I’d like. I don’t know how to explain it but their tattoos looked like the really old tattoos of little red devils or tweety pie, I want something more clear lined and “new” looking.
I like the idea of the old man lol! But my granddad isn’t a typical old man, he’s crazy (in the good way ha!) and rides motorbikes even though he’s 70 and my grannie hates it :p ! He’s kinda like a fairy tale character, crazy, funny, not like any other granddad I’ve met!
I’m in Scotland, and I posted a thread on here about artists in Scotland but I haven’t had any replies.
I’m just not sure where to start really, I’m trying to think of things that would be included in a fairytale-esq tattoo but I always just go blank!
The styles I like are things like sugar skulls, zombie pin ups, “scary” things but with a girly twist? I wouldn’t get either of these tattoos though just because they seem so popular now, but it’s that kind of colourful but strange style I like if that helps anyone get a better idea haha? It doesn’t help me 😛 I’m still confused as where to start!
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