Saturday, March 03, 2012

How to Choose a Tattoo Design

How to Choose a Tattoo Design

Many people struggle with the design of a new tattoo. This is understandably so since having a tattoo is a lifelong and permanent commitment (removal is always painful). There are 2 aspects to choosing the design of your tattoo, the logical aspect and the emotional aspect.

Logical Aspect of choosing a tattoo design
The logical aspect is the simpler part. In order to ensure you choose the right design, ensure the follow steps are taken

  • See as many tattoo designs as possible: read books, check out templates at your artist etc
  • Ensure the design and your skin tone matches
  • Think of yourself 5 years into the future and imagine if you will still like the same design
  • Give yourself at least 2 weeks cooling off time after choosing a design before you get the tattoo done
 Emotive Aspect of choosing a tattoo design
Understand why you want to get a tattoo in the first place. Is it because
  • You want to express your free spirit
  • You love the design
  • You want to honour someone
  • You want it as a symbol of status
  • You want it as a reminder of certain events
The reasons may be even more than the above. Your design should then reflect why you choose the design. For example, tattoo artist generally do not encourage cartoon characters as tattoos as people tend to like them for a period in their lives and live and regret the tattoo. However, if the cartoon is meant to say mark the death of a spouse, it may well be worth the effort.

Finally, always remember that you can come out with your own designs. If you can't design your own, you can always ask your tattoo artist for help.

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