Lettering and Script Tattoos

Tattoo lettering, script tattoos or textual tattoos, however way you call it, they all have one common element - they have words or texts instead of images as the star of the tat design. These type of theme has been getting more and more popular these days both for male and female tat enthusiasts and demands are greatly increasing according to a lot of tattoo artists.

When going for textual tattoos, there are several concerns involved - the words or phrases to be tattooed as being the primary one. They can either be an inspiring quotation, a verse from the bible, a favorite line from a song or poem or even original compositions. What kind of fonts to go for is the second line of concern when conceptualizing this type of tat theme. The most common ones being used for this purpose are the script lettering and the old English type of font.

Of course, there is the decision of what body parts to choose when going for script tattoos or text tattoos. The best locations are the body canvas that has ample space to accommodate several lines for the phrases or texts that will be tattooed. These are the shoulder blade, back, rib, and arm. For 3 - 5 words of tattoo lettering, the foot, wrist, back of neck and ankle can be great options.

Arm Tattoo Designs For Men

Arms are the single most popular area for placing tattoos on men because body art on these areas are visibly appealing to the eyes. For tattoo artists, the arms are the best place to make intricate designs since it usually provides a large area to work on. Tattoos on arms symbolize events, memories, or places to most people, but for some it is just a mere form of art.

When you get body art work, it sometimes requires more than one visit to the tattoo artist to complete. On average, most tat artists require one or more sessions. On the first session, the artist does the outlining of the tattoo. If this goes well, the artist then starts the process, which is begun during the second session.

There are several things to consider when decided on an arm tattoo. First is the location: Are you planning to cover up the whole arm? Or perhaps cover the shoulder down to the forearm. Some simple designs include only the lower arm. These are all considerations you need to think about when choosing the best design for you.

There are different types of body art for both men and women. The main difference between sexes is the way they are placed on the arms. Also, different techniques are utilized when the design is applied to the area. Having knowledge about these differences can help you pick the area where you want your design placed.

Sleeve tattoos are that run from the shoulder to the elbows. They usually wrap around the arms like sleeves. The tattoo's name speaks for itself and like sleeves, there are thousands of designs to choose from, you can even mix and match the designs to make it more unique.

The second type of tattoo that is gaining popularity today is the shoulder tattoo. There are a wide variety of designs that blend well to the shoulder's contour and can create different effects according to movements you make. These types of art encompass the whole shoulder and arm, but it does not go all the way to the shoulder blade. The upper arm is usually the popular area where men would want the shoulder tattoo to connect.

Tattoo Designs For Women On The Side

Most people have been starting to notice that over the past few years the whole world has changed. One segment that has really seen phenomenal growth in the arena of tattoos and tattoo design has been that of women's tattoo designs. It used to be that very few women would get tattoos and those that did often got small designs that would be covered up. However, that is luckily no longer the case and more and more women are getting tattoos these days than ever before. The great part about this growth is that it has lead to many more women getting into the field of tattooing and there are more female tattoo artists than ever before. Thus has lead to many more designs being produced for women. In the past the market was such a small segment that flash artists often would not develop much flash or many tattoo designs specifically targeted to women. These days though it is such a large sector of the tattoo world that there is more and more women's tattoo designs being developed all the time. Now women are starting to push the envelope and starting to create their own new trends and hot ideas in tattoo design.

Here are some of the most popular location and designs for women.

Feminine Wrist Tattoos

Feminine wrist tattoos have been a very popular trend recently. There are a lot of different designs that can work well for the wrist. There are full wrap around tattoo designs that are often done as floral tattoos. Also under wrist single word tattoos are very popular for women these days.

Feminine Upper Back Tattoos

One of the more recent and quickly growing trends in women tattoo designs are upper back tattoos. Throughout the 90's the lower back tattoo was all the rage. However, this tattoo has been kind of overdone and now women are seeking out other locations to get tattoos done. One of the more popular options these days is the upper back and even full back tattoo designs. Some women are still getting lower back tattoos but instead of the small lower back they are getting large designs that start on the lower back and come up mid way and create a whole scene of something like fairies or angels in the forest as an example.

Eagle Tattoos

When you are thinking about your next ink job, or you are contemplating getting inked for the first time, eagle tattoos should be high on your list of favorites. A good tattoo artist will be able to ink you with any type of eagle, but to have one that truly stands out would be the difference between a good job and a great job. Eagle tattoos can seriously make a statement to your body art and can last a lifetime if you choose the design carefully.

There are plenty of eagle designs around, but if this is what you are deciding on as your design then you want one to be unique to you only. Check out as much as you can when it comes to different eagle designs. An eagle in flight or standing high on perch, can give a different meaning depending on how it is designed.

Think about what message you are wanting to portray when you browse the different eagle tattoos that are available. Think about detail, do you want it to be highly detailed, as realistically portrayed as possible? Or do you want a general outline that stands on its own as a representation of your personality.

Whatever the design you choose, ensure that you are completely happy with the way the eagle is portrayed. You are going to have this bird on your body for a lifetime and so eagle tattoos should be thought out rather than rushed into.

Great eagle tattoos come from great tattoo artists being able to give you exactly what you want. If you can show your tattoo artist the design that you have chosen and be sure that they can replicate it for you then your ideas and their talent should translate into a design that you ca be proud of for decades to come.

Learn How to Tattoo

Those who want to learn how to tattoo the right way know that being a pro is about more than knowing the difference between a liner and a shader or how to mix your inks to get the perfect color.

After all, "pro" is short for "professional," and there's a lot that goes into being a true professional in the tattoo industry.

You may have decided you want to learn how to tattoo because you think the work looks interesting and because you like the atmosphere in the tattoo shop. There is definitely a whole culture, or subculture, when it comes to tattooing. Much of this comes from the fact that tattooing used to be considered very subversive. Only the "bad boys" and "bad girls" got tattoos. Getting inked was a sign of rebellion, of not conforming to society's rules.

Many of the people who choose to learn how to tattoo feel like they fit in well within this culture. To be sure, that culture has been changing over the last decade or two. While many people are still not fans of tattoos, they have definitely become much more mainstream. That said, a lot of tattoo artists are still throwbacks to this earlier ideal. You will find that most of them have lots of tattoos themselves. Many have piercings, and there is definitely a bit of a "tough guy" or "tough girl" image that these folks live up to.

Rob's Rite of Passage

I braved a trip to Staples on Sunday, contrary to my notion of self-preservation. September in Staples is one of the outer circles of Hell, at least in my neighborhood, where it seems everyone with children goes for their school supplies. Everyone.

But I digress. On a mission for a printer cartridge, I spotted Rob, who is covered moderately by tattoos. I approached him with a flier, which he was already familiar with, as I had handed him a few weeks back when he was sitting in the front of Brooklyn Ink, a nearby tattoo shop.

If you read Tuesday's post, you can see how many different folks have contributed their ink to these hallowed pages. I estimate that only 1 out of 7 people I approach actually participate, so estimate that in the past year, I've spoken to (conservatively) six to eight hundred people about
Tattoosday. Sometimes I forget a name and or a face.

So, it's amazing to me that I've only, by my best estimates, only asked people about their ink a second time on maybe five occasions.

Once Rob reminded me who he was, I remembered him from the shop, and he told me I could stop by any time and take pictures of his tattoos.

It was then that I qualified one of the things that makes Tattoosday special. I won't go to shops to take pictures. That's just too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel. The sport is in the random stumbling upon a fellow citizen of the inked nation.


So, to make a long story short, he offered up the piece above (posted so long ago, I will show it again).

This was tattooed by Alex at Brooklyn Ink, and the placement on the hand is as significant as the piece itself.

For many tattoo artists, the inking of the hands is a rite of passage. Once you tattoo your hands, it is very tough, nearly impossible, to hide the fact that you are a tattooed individual. The tattoo in theory meant that there was no turning back and that he was fully devoted to his craft.

He chose the sparrow flying through the horseshoe as both are emblems of good luck. I particularly admire the perspective created by the back wing of the bird behind the horseshoe and the front wing in the foreground. This device adds a nice depth to the piece.

Thanks to Rob at Brooklyn Ink for sharing his momentous tattoo here with us on Tattoosday!