Black And Color Tattoos

Getting a tattoo is a personal decision. Once you decide to make the leap of faith, the next question is what design you want to go with. Part and parcel to this question is whether you are going to go with color or not.

Tats were originally created in the islands of Polynesia. They were universally black and symbolized everything from the passage of a boy to manhood as well as various designations in the society, such as one's place in the hierarchy of the group. The tattoo was introduced to the Western world through men on ships who got tats in Polynesia and then returned to Europe. For a very long time, tats were considered something of a fringe art. They were associated with fringe groups such as sailors, bikers and grunts in the military. Regardless of their use, they were almost always black.

The only place where this was not the case was Asia, where members of the underworld wore tats as a sign of their affiliation. Depending on the group in question, tats were small, limited to a particular part of the body or covered all areas of the body that might be covered by clothing. Regardless, color was often incorporated to depict images of dragons, koi, women and the particulars of the design in question. Still, this was just about the only area where one saw color tattoos.

As we 1990s began, a strange thing happened. Tattoos began to become mainstream. People who would not have been caught dead wearing ink were lining up out the door of tattoo parlors. As the tattoo industry exploded, the idea of using color picked up speed particular when women were involved. Soon, the idea of a color tattoo was acceptable for men as well.

When making your decision on a tat design, the issue of going with an old school black tat versus one with color is a big one. The advantage of a black tat is you tend to get cleaner lines and a more subtle look. In contrast, a color tat is going to be more eye catching because of the color contrast used.

Hebrew Tattoo Designs

Hebrew (called Ivrit in Hebrew) is said to be one of the oldest languages in the world. It was originally written with a pictographic script but has evolved over time. There are 4 periods of Hebrew throughout history. It has always been known as a holy language and has been used in prayer, sacred study, meditation and other spiritual and religious outlets for the past 2000 years.

Even the word for letter, which is "Ot" means sign or wonder, so you can begin to see the many religious affiliations. It's also becoming a pretty big trend in the tattoo industry. Hebrew started out with no vowels and they weren't introduced into the language until the 2nd half of the first millennium, therefore there are no vowels found in the Torah or in most ancient religious documents.

The four main periods of Hebrew are:

* Biblical Hebrew also known as Classical Hebrew which was used in synagogues and temples for worship and studies. It is not commonly spoken in it's pure form anymore but it is taught in many public schools in Israel and it's use continues in religious texts.

* Mishnaic Hebrew is the next phase of the language and it descended right from Biblical Hebrew. Although there are similarities, the differences are found in some of the grammar and vocab. Later, it was no longer in use as an oral language.

* Medieval Hebrew came next and it was used to translate Arabic works into Hebrew. It was quite different from the older forms of Hebrew and was created out of a desire to express scientific and philosophical ideas and concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic and consequently borrowed grammar and terminology from these languages.

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.