Tattooing.Tattoo Designs

Tattoo Designs

One of the basic foundations of tattooing is the tattoodesign. Without them, what is there to tattoo? A great bonus to tattooing is the endless amount of nice artwork out there to use as designs and this in itself is a sort of “job security." Printed design sheets, made readily available by tattoo suppliers, are called "flash'' in the tattoo trade.
The starting Ш twist, or any tattooist for that matter, should have a vast store of these on display for the customer to choose from. Flash sheets are an excellent value for your money and are a uuick way to stock up on designs that may take ten years to draw yourself. There are not that many great artists out there tattooing, and you don't have to be a fantastic designer to he a great tattooist.
These sheets are drawn by designers for the tattooist to work from. They range from the traditional to the totally bizarre and you can find just about anything you like. For starters, at the eml of each chapter in this book is a good tattoo design to use A good selection of traditional designs is a must because this is what people expect and more often than not. are what will keep you busy. If you happen upon some particular design theme or style that suits you, you may even want to just specialize in that.
A common mistake in the field is that a tattooist who can draw feels that their shop won't be respectable if they carry “storebought" fiash and insist on hand drawing every design on their shop walls. Don’t fall into this category, because people have really different tastes and a good stock of all types оГ designs from all types of artists will ensure something for everybody, [t is good business sense to have a variety. If someone wants a custom design for themselves, no problem.
Personalized tattoos a re great for sales and the customer walks away with a “one-of- a-kind. Ifyou can't draw it. ask them to bring the design in themselves, or have a local artы <Ь> it for you (tack on the extra price with the tattoo.) You can spend hours and hours on special designs for people who ordered them and might, not ever return. So, if you’re smart, get a deposit when someone wants you to draw up something special. Charge them for the time spent drawing Л up. If they don't want to pay for that, tell them to find a design already made up and you'll be happy to put it on them. ’
Designs for tattoos are found everywhere. You should be able to copy just about anything and transfer it to the client (consult Chapter on Stencils). Ifyou look around, good designs can be found from many sources; books, photos, cards, brochures, wall paper, posters, comics, advertisements, television, magazines, etc. The size usually needs to lie changed and often it will need to be modified for tattooing in some way. Not everything looks good on skin. So experiment a little and try to use an artistic eye when judging these matters.

When you walk into a tattoo shop, there is color everywhere. Unless you specialize in black only, people expect to see designs in some sort of color, Flash sheets normally come in black shading only, and it is your responsibility to color them. The most common way is water color, magic marker or colored pencil. Colored pencil is the easiest because it is cleaner to use and the colors are already visible just sitting on the table {making it easier to visualize). Good advice here is to color the designs simple and eye catching. If in doubt about how to color something, color it with just black and shading- It's very acceptable and always looks good.
If you make a super colorful flash sheet and cannot tattoo it like it is, your business will suffer and people will be letdown. Color them just like you plan to tattoo them and everyone will be happy.


Plan to order two sheets of each flash sheet. One is for the walls and the other for stencil making and showing customers variations of it. (This saves taking down and putting it tip again all the time.)
Most tattooists. after coloring their sheets, either frame them or wrap cellophane around them before hanging them up. This keeps dirt off, looks very professional and makes cleaning them easier without ruining designs.
Purchasing the larger designs is sometimes the better deal, because a local printer can reduce them, making them any size you want. Enlarging costs more, and for a small fee, you can have all the sizes you want of a particular design. Cut them out, paste them on a sheet of paper, color them in and hang them next to the larger designs they are reduced from. Some customers have a budget and if they like a design but if it is too big and costly, you can still have their business if you have smaller, less expensive duplicates around for them,
The standard designs that everyone is interested in, and you should have a large selection of. is as follows: Roses, flowers, eagles, parrots, birds, Chinese birds of paradise, sea themes and ships, vikings, skulls, dragons, snakes, tigers and lions, carp and fish, grim reapers, unicorns and women.
The Rash sheet is the tie between you and the customer, so choose it carefully. Start collecting it immediately and it won't be long before you have an assortment for everyone.