You can do a number of things to find a good tattoo design. I'll show you the quickest routes for finding a great design, and then how you can research that design.

1. Tattoo Parlor.

And obvious choice for finding designs is a tattoo parlor. They will have catalogs filled with design ideas as well as photographs of individuals who have gotten inked, so you can see designs on actual flesh to get a taste of what they will look like. You can then research by asking the artist what the designs stand for, the symbolism and the history behind the certain style or image you are interested in. While this is a decent way to find a tattoo design and do some hands on research, you may be pressed for time and not able to view as many designs as you'd like, let alone research them.

2. Tattoo magazines.

These are great choices to get some great ideas on different styles of ink, as well as some of the new designs out there. You will also see some excellent photos of different ink styles. This can be a great tool to get inspired with. For research, you may find some articles on what certain styles or designs represent, but it will likely be difficult to get all the details surrounding all the designs you see. In this case, you may want to get online and try to look up and research the particular design or style which you are into.

3. Tattoo Galleries Online.

This is an excellent choice for finding amazing, high quality tattoo designs. You not only get to see the latest and greatest designs available, but you will be able to do it online, in the comfort of your own home, or office. Many galleries are a one stop shop for finding tattoo designs. Not only will they have hundreds of designs available to browse and print out, but they'll also contain all the research on the particular style you're into.