As you walk around in public, it seems like everywhere you look, there is someone with a tattoo. People place them on their arms, legs, the small of the back, their feet and ankles. There are a myriad of designs and colors available to choose from. Should I get a basic tribal tattoo, black and white, fantasy, heck they are even doing portraits now! But which design should I go with? This is the hardest part of getting a tattoo, most people struggle with it. They search the internet for hours trying to find ideas, and or stop into multiple shops and thumb through graphics for hours. To get a tattoo that’s right for you, it needs to be meaningful to you. It’s better to choose something that is meaningful and not just an arbitrary design. Getting a tattoo is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. What you’ll remember is when you got it, the artist that gave it to you, and what you were going through in your life at that particular time. It’s kind of like a permanent timestamp, so choosing a design is very important. It could be your child’s name, your lover’s name(watch out, these change), a symbol of something which means a lot to you like a military unit. Some people choose insignia that are patriotic or have some kind of personal meaning in that regard. Look at different designs of things that you’ve collected or are interested in. Don’t just pick a design because someone else did or because it is the latest trend, trends change! You need to make sure you will not ever get tired of it! Remember, this is a permanent mark on your skin. The most popular tattoos appear to be roses, butterflies, oriental lettering, and fancy lettering. If you’re not ready for the permanency of a tattoo and want a “test run”, a temporary tattoo can be made with henna and will last about one month. A henna tattoo is herbal dye that is put on the exterior part of the skin that stains it.
Another thing to keep in mind is to be tasteful. Tattoos are permanent. You do not want to put something on your body that you will regret or be ashamed of in twenty years. The lettering of “Love to Party” with a picture of a drunken woman may fit your personality today but when you’re bouncing your grandchild on your knee you very well might hate it at that point. Once you have chosen your design you can print it out and find a tattoo studio near you. Many Internet sites have a rating system for the artists so you can check if other people were happy with their work that they had done.
A tattoo is there for life so you want to make sure you get a fulfilling result in the end that you will be happy with. People with darker complexions should seek out tattoos with higher contrast or thicker lines. Also a larger design with stronger shading will probably look better. In general darker colors like green, red, or blue will display the design better than light colors such as yellow, peach or pink. On dark skin orange will not show well at all.
Sometimes you’ll print a design, and take it to the tattoo artist only to find out it was not usable. Many times, as in the cases of portraits, it needs to be a larger design. Small designs that are detailed may look great… at first. Wait a few years as skin changes, as we age, and then watch out. Also the location of where you would like the tattoo is important. It should be placed based on what part of your body you would like to show. Also to be considered is how often you would like others to see it. You need to pick a design that will fit the part of your body you would like tattooed, an experienced tattoo artist should be able to guide you in this area.
Overall just take your time. Decide what you enjoy looking at and then find a great piece of art that moves you in some way. We are all creatures of emotion so find something that makes you happy, horny, mellow, or puts your mind in a certain train of thought. If there is someone you wish to honor or remember then go down that road. The worst thing to do is the old, get drunk and go get a tattoo kind of thing. Believe it or not this still happens! So if you want to enjoy that new body art for life follow these guidelines and do it right.
