Tattoo Johnny Tattoo Wiki: Helping Your Tattoo Artist Design a Custom Tattoo for You

Helping Your Tattoo Artist Design a Custom Tattoo for You

Thursday 26th of February 2009 04:47:55 AM [Add To This Article]

Many people really enjoy the traditional tattooing process, which starts out with you making a decision to get a tattoo, leads to you going to a tattoo parlor or online and perusing several artistsâ€™ portfolios, and ends with you picking a tattoo design that you like and getting it inked onto your skin. This process happens thousands of times a year in tattoo parlors around the world, and, for the most part, people leave pretty happy. Of course, you could refuse to settle for a good tattoo and opt for the perfect tattoo by spending a little extra time experimenting with a tattoo test drive, which lets you select your tattoo size and color, then wear it as a temporary tattoo to determine how you will feel about it tomorrow and next week. That sort of extra effort and research often makes the difference between liking and loving your tattoo. However, for some folks, even that is not enough.

For the individual who is not content to select a tattoo or tattoo design from a portfolio of existing designs, the custom tattoo is really the only answer. A custom tattoo is a one-of-a-kind piece of tattoo artwork that is designed for an individual by a tattoo artist. This tattoo may incorporate several different tattoo designs or may be entirely fabricated by the dreams of the wearer of the tattoo and the artistic vision of the tattoo artist themselves. However, even the most abstract of custom tattoos can benefit from some careful interaction between the commissioner of the tattoo and the tattoo artist. One of the best ways that you can help the tattoo artist visualize your dream custom tattoo is to play a role in the creative process that helps formulate your ultimate tattoo design.

One of the easiest ways to help give the tattoo artist a place to start with your tattoo is to bring in visual material. Images should be clear and of good quality. If you are using photographs, then be sure that they are as sharp and bright as possible. If you have several different tattoo designs that you would like incorporated into your tattoo, then bring in images of these tattoo designs. This will help the artist understand not only what you want depicted in your tattoo design, but the style of tattoo that you like best. If possible, bring in stencils and color guides for the different aspects of your tattoo to give the artist the option of manipulating the various aspects of your custom tattoo more freely.

Also, be very clear on where you want to put your custom tattoo. Designing a tattoo for the upper arm is very different from designing a tattoo for the lower back or the dÃ©colletage. If you are having trouble deciding where you would like to put your custom tattoo, then experiment a little bit with a tattoo test drive. This process involves your printing out tattoos in various sizes and shapes on temporary transfer paper. Then, you can try out your tattoo look in a variety of shapes, sizes and locations before you decide what part of your body is best suited to your tattoo. Since you will ultimately be getting a custom tattoo, pick a tattoo that is roughly the size and shape of the tattoo that you are envisioning. For example, if your custom tattoo will involve a coiled snake peering through the eyeholes of a skull encircled with pink ribbons and golden fish, then you should probably experiment with a tattoo design that is dominated by a skull shape, since that will be the largest facet of your tattoo design. This will help you determine where the tattoo design will fit the lines of your body and look the best.

In the end, you need to have confidence in yourself and in the tattoo artist when you are commissioning a custom tattoo. You need to be able to work with that artist well enough to be able to express when you like things about the design and what you would like to change. This is vitally important, since failure to communicate effectively can lead to mutual dissatisfaction with your tattoo in the end. Getting a custom tattoo definitely is a bit more complicated and requires a greater time commitment than getting a tattoo from a portfolio, but if you want your tattoo to be entirely unique to you, it is the best way to go.