Hello there! I’ve been looking for what I think would be fairly basic information, but haven’t had much luck.
Back story: At the moment I’m un-inked, or whatever you guys call it, Ink virgin?
Anyway, I’ve wanted a tattoo for the last decade, but I’m not an artist, so I ran one of these online competitions to get a design that I liked.
It was good.
But it wasn’t perfect.
So after spending days faffing about with photoshop I’ve managed to tweak all of the little things I wasn’t 100% happy about.
I have my design, I know where I want it to go.
Only whilst I love it as a design, I’m not 100% convinced that the original design (that I’ve only slightly adapted) was ideal for a tattoo in the first place, I’m concerned about how it’s going to age.
I don’t want to waste someones time on completely overhauling a design, that I might then decide not to get because I’m still not happy; So I’m happy just tweaking the design further until it’s perfect.
To do this I would love it if you experts could help me with some of the basic info, that I seem to be so incapable of finding on search engines, and just clarify I’ve got things right.
To help a design age well…. (And this is to do with DESIGN, not aftercare)
Go big, because any ink bleeding will be less likely to interrupt the integrity of the design, yes?
How much space would you leave between detailed features to prevent them melding together into a Rorschach?
I’m aware that the colours will affect the aging, but how well does shading age over the decades? I don’t mind a touch up, but can’t afford it every three to five years or so, and I’m curious about the ink bleeding affect on shaded areas.
Seems to be that tattoo’s in recent times have lost some of their defined edges, more watercolour than paint by numbers (Not an insult, I love paint by numbers! Just can’t think of another way to describe it). If I’m looking for a defined edge I’ve found contrastic opinions on whether a thin outline, or thick outline ages more gracefully. Any views?
I’m also curious, for later designs, how well dotwork is likely to age?
If you got this far, thank you so much! I’d be chuffed if I get any answers, views and opinions on this. 🙂
(TLDR: Oh you lazy moose. Goto 1.)
Welcome to the forum!
Take your designs to a great tattoo artist. They will work with you on a final design.
Utilize the artist’s creativity. You’ll end up with a kick ass tattoo.
(If I were a tattoo artist and you handed me a design and said “I want this done exactly like this” I’d tell you to go fuck yourself)
I know that when you are planning your first tattoo you want to figure it all out to the smallest detail before you go see an artist. You feel like you need to have it all nailed down before you, as you said, waste someone’s time. But what I, and a lot of others, have learned is that you should be spending that time finding the BEST artist that you can. The absolute best. Then present them with not a design but an idea and let them use their creativity and skills to personally design something spectacular for you. They are artists, they know what works. And they will amaze you.
So, start with Peter’s list so that you can see what is possible, and what great tattoo artists can do. Then find one that good. If you give a great tattoo artist a good concept and some freedom to design they will BLOW YOUR MIND. You have a good rendering of your concept already, let a really good artist start there and run with it.
They will know what lasts. And if you have given them enough freedom to come up with a piece that they love then they will be excited to do it, too.
Welcome to the forum! And post pics when it’s done.
Thank you so much guys for answering.
I do plan on letting the tattoo artist have most of the input…. you might have guessed but I’m not an expert on tattoos, but at least I recognise and understand that.
I’m not looking for perfection in my ideas, just to have an understanding of the basics, after all, I’ve regretted many, many haircuts and they’re not permanent. If I’ve done everything to minimise unhappiness with the finished tattoo, then I won’t beat myself up if it doesn’t look quite right in ten years time (“If only I knew THIS then…Darn it, if only there had been a way to, you know, research it”)
So I’m still curious as to the answers to my questions, I would have thought this info would have been easy to find.
The artist I’m considering is the one who has done my partners most recent chestpiece… Nothing epic, but quite reasonable work, but I have time to make sure that whoever I end up with be the right one.
The reason I’m not keen on getting an artist more involved at this stage is due to first off, being turned away by a couple of tattoo artists when I’ve gone in to speak to them before. “Sorry, we don’t have the time to design anything…”
That and having mental health problems, I’d feel so much more comfortable and less likely to have an anxiety attack, if I have a rough idea of the basic principals in advance. 🙂
Pretty much no good artist is going to design anything for you until you book an appointment. No one. They really do not have time. Creating a design takes a lot of time, and good artists don’t exactly have a lot of time to spare. So that part, you’re going to have to let go off. It’s scary, but it has to be done.
There is a bit of a shift in attitude going on. For quite a few years, artists have been happy about all the new work, happy to do it, and accepted that customers started treating them more like service personel than artists. This, is fortunately starting to change back. Now, the good artists will expect you to have done your research prior to seeing them, and that you choosing them to do your tattoo means you trust them and their work. They will not bend backwards for you. They will take your idea and create the best possible image they can that fits you, and it’s a “take it or leave it” kind of thing. Which is also why many are doing consultation and deposits; A chance to sketch, talk and figure out the details together, you pay a deposit, and if you have suddenly changed your mind on the day of the tattoo you lose your deposit, and they can’t just magically make you a new design, so no tattoo. I love this attitude, because I have such huge amount of respect for artists, and I think it’s great.
But it’s scary. Especially for newcomers who have no idea what to expect. So, what you do is figure out what style you want (traditional is a classic because it typically holds up better, realism will in 90% cases look like shit in 10 years), but there is a ton of styles to choose from. Find an artist that makes you go WOW, who has a style you love, who displays pictures of healed work, and talk to them. Bring reference photos, mention pieces they have done that you love, even if it’s just the way a rose was shaded, the way an eye had a special “glance”, whatever. Talk to them, let them bring you their ideas, and make sure they understand your idea.
Thick lines do heal better, and leaving some space between tinytiny details is usually a good idea. But here’s the thing; You may have your design. Then you bring it to an artist, they transform this into their own art work, see what works on your body, technical details etc, and most likely.. They’ll give you something so amazing that you didn’t think it was possible. Most heard line in a tattoo shop? “It’s so much better than I ever expected”.
I’ve got anxiety too and I know it’s not easy, and when I first started I wanted details, pictures etc, now? I tell the artist “here is my idea”, get an appointment and let them do their thing. My next tattoo is in January, and I don’t get to see the design until the tattoo is finished 😉
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