Design concepts of good tattoos

What Works and What Doesn't

♦    How the medium of skin determines design

♦    Concepts to avoid when getting a tattoo

♦    What a tattoo needs

♦    Design concepts of good tattoos

In choosing a tattoo design, the medium of the skin must play a factor. Good tattooists will understand how a tattoo grows and ages with the individual. They will know how to design a tattoo so it will look good after it has healed, as well as 30 years from the initial tattooing. It may seem hard to imagine yourself aging, but time is an unchangeable factor of life and so is the aging of your tattoo.

In this chapter, we will go over the different standards that tattoo designs must have in order to age well. You will learn what can and can’t be tattooed and a few tips as to the concepts of what makes for good tattoo designs. When you enter the tattoo shop to talk to the tattooist, you will be prepared to talk about tattoo designs.

Skin Is Not Paper

Inking in skin is very different from inking on paper. As we saw in Chapter 4, tattooing is poking holes in the skin while forcing ink into those holes to leave a visible mark. Hence, the act of tat­tooing involves depth, whereas a tattoo on paper is just drawn on the surface.

When drawing on paper you can use a lightweight pencil, while a tattoo machine can be quite heavy and will also have the clip cord dragging off the back of it. It also vibrates while in use. These are a few things you need to understand in order see why certain things just aren’t possible to do in the tattoo medium that could easily be done on paper.

Skin Moves When You Move

Skin is one large organ. As we saw in Chapter 4, it is the largest organ in the body. It is a cover that stretches, bends, squishes, and twists with your every movement. Your tattoo will also squish and bend when you do.

Take a look at the first knuckle on your right index finger. Point your finger straight and you will see your skin bunch up and appear wrinkly. Now bend your finger. You will see the skin stretch out and become relatively flat. While your finger is bent, take a non­toxic marker and draw a line over the top of that knuckle so it runs down toward your fingernail. Now straighten your finger. You will see that the line from the marker is now much shorter.

The stretch and squish will happen at different rates of movement all over your body. Your tattoo will look normal while your body is in one position, then it will stretch and warp when in another position. For this reason, and as we will see in Chapter 12, your tattoo stencil will most likely be put on your body while you are standing.

Skin Ages

Tattoos are permanent, and as we have seen, the tattoo will become a part of you. As you grow older and your body and skin change, your tattoo will change and grow with you. If you have a parent, grandparent, or even a friend with an older tattoo, you will be able to see what a tattoo grows or ages into. You can see how, as we saw in Chapter 4, the ink has receded in the skin and spread out, appearing faded and blurry.

Notice how the lines have spread and faded, making the image look blurry. This tattoo on my father was done in 1960.

Aging of the skin and the result that has on the tattoo are partly the reasons why tattoo designs have to have a certain criteria in order to look good. An older tattoo will appear lighter and much softer. Lines that are too close together may blur into one line. Small spaces of untattooed skin that is surrounded by tat­tooed skin will begin to close in and disappear. The entire tattoo will slowly and subtly expand like a sponge in water. If there are any sharp points in the tattoo design, they will lose their sharp appearance. The color will slowly lighten up. The entire tattoo will appear more blurry and out of focus.

It takes about a decade before any real signs of aging begin to appear in your tattoo, depending on how you take care of it and if you keep it out of the sun. Some people decide to have old tattoos done over. Some people with lots of coverage will start on a second layer when the older tattoos have lightened up enough to have a new tattoo put over them. Usually the first layer will consist of unwanted tattoos. Most often people are happy with the aged tattoos, as they are a reminder of younger days, marking a period of that person’s life.

All Skin Is Different

Skin is as varied as individual personalities. Some skin is thick and stretchy, and some is tight and paper-thin. As you know, the color of skin varies also. From Chapter 4, you will remember that the amount of melanin produced by your skin determines the color. The melanin is produced above where the tattoo ink becomes trapped, so it will partially block the reflection of light from the tattoo. For this reason, color is not suggested for really dark-skinned people. Red will usually show the best on dark skin, but it won’t be very bright.

If you are really dark, you will want to get a design that is very high in contrast with a good balance between deep black shading and untattooed skin. Skin tone is brighter than tattooed skin, so untattooed skin will help in creating a tattoo with a higher con­trast. You will want to get a thick outline, as thin outlines will be hard to see or go unnoticed. Large, simple designs are best, as they will be easier to see. For lettering, it’s a good idea to get it large and use a thick outline and a little shading. Solid lettering on really dark skin may just look like black blobs.

Medium-dark skin won’t show color very well, either. The colors that will work best are blues and reds. If you remember from art class, blue and red are primary colors, which can’t be made from combining other colors. This makes them stronger and brighter. Purple and green will work, but the colors can’t be dark or they will look black. Usually adding a little white to the colors will brighten them up in the darker skin. On some dark-skinned people, yellows and oranges have worked, but it is rare. The odds are against these lighter colors working, but it’s your decision if you want to try. Most of the time yellow and orange can hardly be seen once the tattoo heals, but there are always exceptions.

For olive-toned or really tanned skin, most colors will work fine.

It is better to stay away from large fields of yellow and orange, as tanned skin is already orange in hue. It’s like orange marker on orange paper. It won’t stand out and may appear faded or invisible. With olive or tanned skin, it is better to have a tattoo based on a cool color such as blue, green, or purple if you want your color to stand out.

Very light-skinned people will have very brightly colored tattoos. The less melanin in your skin, the more light can reflect off the ink in your skin. If you don’t want the tattoo to be bright but you are pale as a ghost, then you can have the tattooist use more white in the ink color. This will make the color more pastel, but it will also lower the color’s intensity.

The skin on the different parts of your body will differ also. For example, the skin on your ribs is very stretchy and quite rubbery. It is difficult to tattoo due to its consistency. Also, the area is very sensitive, which can cause you to move around while being tat­tooed. It is not a good idea to get a tattoo with a lot of delicate lines in it on your ribs. It can be done, but it is very difficult on both the tattooist and the client.

The skin on the back of your neck is very thick as it covers your spinal cord. It is another place that is more difficult to tattoo. Much of the skin on the torso or around the elbows can take more time to tattoo as well.

Skin on the lower leg is often very taut and easy to tattoo. If you want a technical design with lots of lines and sharp corners, that is the place to do it. Forearms and the outside of the upper arm are also good spots to work on, as the skin is also easier to tattoo. The inner part of the upper arm is easy to tattoo but can be very sensitive. This is a good spot if you want your tattoo to be less noticeable, as the inside of your arm is often blocked from view.

Best if You Didn't...

Not all tattoo ideas are good tattoo ideas. Tattoos are done by hand, so they will not be as perfect as if a computer printer made them. Also, the customer may move or shake a bit, which can also detract from near-perfection. Some designs are more susceptible to mistakes, especially if the client has a hard time sitting still.

The size and shape of the design can dictate its final outcome as well as its ability to age with grace. Let’s take a look at some things to avoid when choosing your tattoo design. You and your tattooist will be much happier with your tattoo if you follow these guidelines.

Perfect Circles and Parallel Lines

You will have a higher chance of success if you stay away from perfect circles. Try to draw one on paper. It isn’t easy. Even Michelangelo used a circle tool such as a compass. There are no compasses for tattoo machines. Circles are done freehand with no physical guide other than a stencil. Any little bump in the line will stick out like a sore thumb. Also, due to the curves, angles, and movement of your body, the circle would really never look perfect.

It is possible to have a relatively perfect circle tattooed on you. However, you will need a very talented tattooist who will prob­ably not want to tattoo it in the first place. You will also need to be absolutely still while the tattoo is being done. One little flinch and the whole thing can be ruined. You can have them done, but be prepared for it to look like it was done by hand. A little shading around the edge can help also. That way, any little twitchy part can be smoothed out. Many tattooists would prefer to not tattoo a circle and will try to talk you out of it or at least explain about possible imperfections.

Parallel lines are like circles: not easy to do and hard to fix if things go askew. Straight lines, like they were done with a ruler, are almost impossible to draw, let alone two of them right next to each other. Straight lines will also not look right on many parts of the body due to the body’s curves and indents, as we shall see later in the chapter.

A popular idea for a tattoo is a barcode. This is a very good exam­ple of a bad design for a tattoo. First of all, the barcode won’t ever work on an actual scanner. To tattoo a barcode, it has to be much larger than an actual barcode and have fewer lines. Considering that the entire design is nothing but straight parallel lines without any shading, the barcode is a very bad idea for a tattoo.

If the design is curved, it is possible to have an equidistant line around it. You are, however, opening yourself up to possible imperfections, which can be very noticeable. Shading placed in and around the lines to fix any imperfections would help out. Again, most tattooists will warn you about the dangers of parallel

lines or just refuse to do the tattoo. It’s best to choose a design that doesn’t have these elements as the predominant aspect of the tattoo.

Geometrical Patterns

Geometrical patterns have some of the same problems as architec­tural designs do when it comes to tattooing. They may look really cool when they are printed out by a computer, and they may seem really simple, but try drawing them by hand. It becomes quite tedious and frustrating, and is almost impossible to do. Any rep­etition of any object is subject to slight imperfections.

Designs like checkerboards are very technical and are better if done in small doses. Checkerboard armbands are possible but not easy. As long as you understand that the tattoo will look like it was done by hand and not by a computer, then you are fine. But it may be a better idea to get designs that work best as tattoos, if you want your tattoo to look as good as it possibly can.

Too Small/Too Detailed

Lots of people just want a small tattoo to see if they can handle it. Small tattoos are generally quick and easy. You must understand that a small tattoo must be extremely simple. The line work of a tattoo has to be a certain thickness. And as we have seen, aging will blur the tattoo, so little details will be lost over time. Who wants a blob for a tattoo?

Many young women like getting fairies. Although many older women like getting their little fairies covered up with more mature tattoo ideas, young women still need their fairies. It seems to be an ongoing circle of life. Fairies are fine, but the major prob­lem with fairies is that they have to be a certain size to get any detail in the face that will last over time. In order for the face of the fairy to look okay, it must be at least three quarters of an inch, and that is pushing it. It will still be very basic. The fingers, too, must be a certain size or else the fairy will have mittens.

Detail is nice in a tattoo but there is a limit. If the tattoo is over­detailed, it will be hard to read what is going on in the design.

The detail will be lost. Little details may blur together over time, which will again leave you with an illegible blob. The larger the tattoo, the more detail you can fit in. Remember, detail is to accentuate the image as a whole, not to distract the eye from the main subject.

All Color

Tattoos that lack in black are a bad idea as far as lasting ability. As we explained earlier, color has a tendency to fade faster than black, and it can get blurry more quickly. Also, it is the contrast with the black ink that makes the color bright. Outlining in color is not a good idea, either. It is possible, but it will never be as bold as black, and it is also usually thicker and more difficult to line with. A little color outlining can be nice to enhance the tattoo design, but a tat­too will always look better and last longer with black as its base.

The White Tattoo

White tattoos are quite popular; however, this doesn’t mean they are a good idea. If you really want an all-white tattoo, go for it, but there are a few things you should know first:

♦   White tattoos will often turn yellow, especially in the sun.

♦    Due to the friction of the needle against the tube, the white ink will turn slightly gray, leaving you with gray spots in your tattoo.

♦    To make a white tattoo look decent, they often have to be done twice.

♦    White tattoos are hardly noticeable in white skin, and will appear to look like scar tissue in dark skin.

♦   Many tattooists will just not do a white tattoo.

Fingers and Feet

Fingers are tricky spots to have tattooed. As explained in Chapter 2, getting a visible tattoo can cause problems for you in the work place or when you’re out on the town. As accepted as tattooing is becoming, there are still those who are against it. Tattoos on the fingers are also more susceptible to infection, as you use your fin­gers to touch or hold various things throughout your day. Also, it is hard to keep them out of the sun’s harmful UV rays. It is easy to knock off a scab by reaching into your pocket. A finger tattoo should only be done if you are ready to take care of it and if you are ready for the change it will cause in your life.

If you are going to get a finger tattooed, more power to you. The skin on a finger is different in that it will appear to age faster. Finger tattoos also have to be done twice due to your constant use of your fingers while they are healing. It is best to only get the tops of your fingers done, as the sides are hard to reach with the needle and don’t hold ink well. The palm sides of your fingers don’t hold ink well at all, as the skin is too thick. If you want a wedding-band tattoo, it’s best to skip the palm side of your finger.

The tops of your feet will hold a tat­too well as long as you take very good care of it. Toes, on the other hand, almost always have to be done a few times and the tattoo will still look old and blurry when it is done. Ink won’t really stay in the bottom of your foot, and it would be excruciating to have it tattooed. It’s better to stick to the top of your foot, above the toes, if you want the tattoo to look good.

Better That You Do...

As mentioned, tattoos can be quite painful, especially in certain areas, and they aren’t cheap. This is why it is so important to do it right the first time. Tattooists who know what they are doing know that one of the most important and key factors to a good tattoo is black ink. It can’t be stressed enough.

I mentioned in a previous section that color ink does not make for good outlines in a tattoo. Black outlines are very important to have. The black will stay in the skin and appear dark the longest. The outlines are the framework of the tattoo. They are the skel­eton and will keep the design legible throughout the life of the tattoo. Tattoos look very faint without an outline. If it looks faint in the beginning, it will look even worse in a few years and you will have to pay to have it done again.

Many people have the false assumption that black shading will make the tattoo look too dark and heavy. Granted, too much black shading will do this, but having no black shading will do the opposite. The tattoo won’t look as strong without the black. If you

don’t want a bold tattoo, that is one thing, but the tattoo will look amateurish if there isn’t some kind of black base. You want to have the best-looking tattoo you can have, so stick with the black.

Better Design

Designing a tattoo is easy. Designing a good tattoo takes more effort and the guidance of experience. Both small and large tat­toos need to have some basic guidelines for them to come out looking great. As we have seen previously, the designs need to be a certain size with a proportional amount of detail. This is to help with the aging of the tattoo. Let’s look at a few concepts that will help you understand good tattoo design.

Fit It to the Body

When you look in the mirror, you will see that your body has lots of curves and plane changes. Your body has a certain shape. In designing tattoos, it’s a good idea to keep this in mind and fit the design to these shapes. The tattoo could appear to clash with your natural shape and look awkward if it doesn’t go with your flow.

An example of this can be seen in symmetrical designs, that is, designs that are identical on both sides. Symmetrical designs will look awkward on a body part that is not symmetrical, such as an arm or leg. The static shape of the symmetry will conflict with the curved shape of the body part. Symmetrical designs work very well on symmetrical parts of the body, such as in the center of your back where the line of your spine is the centerline of the design. Also, the front of your torso will work well, such as on your chest.

A good shape that fits the body well is the “s” curve. When a design is based on an “s” curve, its flowing shape won’t contrast to the curves of your body. The design will meld with the body’s

shape and movement. Many tattooists will fit the “s” curve directly to the curves of your muscles, such as where your deltoid muscle, or shoulder, curves into the beginning of

your biceps. If you must have a symmetrical design on an asym­metrical body part, you can have the artist put a little shading in an “s” curve shape behind the design. This will make the design fit much better and look more professional.

down but the head and shoulders face forward. So if you have a profile of a pinup or a woman’s head, she would be looking forward toward the front of your body. This follows the flow of your body.

If the design is on either side of your chest, it is traditional to have the direction or gaze of the head face the center of your chest.

The design should also face in a forward direction if it’s on your ribs. On some occasions, you may specifically want the design to look behind you, or the design may call for the object to face a backward direction. That’s fine, too, because as we have already seen, you are the one who needs to be pleased the most with the tattoo, and every design can call for something different.

The direction of the face in the design faces toward the front of the person’s body.

Tattoo by Steve Boltz.

Planes of the Body

Just as your body has many curves and contours, there are also many flat spots or planes on your body. It is always best to place a tattoo on one of these planes so the entire tattoo can be seen at once. Of course, there are many designs that will wrap around the body, such as an armband, but for many tattoo designs, they will need to be on one plane to be able to tell what they are.

For example, a dragon’s body can wrap around the arm, curving all over, but the head of the dragon is very important and needs to be seen clearly on one surface. It would be very awkward to only see half the head on one side of the arm, and then having to twist the arm to see the other half. The same goes with a portrait tat­too. The idea is to see the portrait in its entirety. A good tattooist will know the planes of the body and how to design your tattoo so that it will fit your body correctly.

Notice how the body of the dragon wraps around the arm while the head of the dragon is clearly visible. Tattoo by Shinji (Horizakura).

There are many things that you need to keep in mind when look­ing for a tattoo or having one designed. Now you have a basic idea as to what will work and what to avoid. This will help you from choosing a design that may not age well and you may regret years later.

The Least You Need to Know

♦    Your tattoo will move, stretch, and age when you do.

♦    Certain colors such as red and light blue work best on darker skin.

♦    Tattoo designs that work best are designs that have more of an organic feel, as opposed to designs that are geometrical.

♦    For a tattoo to look the best it can, it must have black as a base and outline.

Overall, the best design is the design that you love.