If you randomly flip through magazines to look at pictures of tattoos, it is not surprising that you might come away less than inspired.  There are so many different designs to choose from when you look at pictures of tattoos.  Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places for the pictures of tattoos that will really inspire your own design.  Did you know that several web sites cater to the craft of tattoo design?  They specialize in tattoo art and design styles from around the world.  Some sites even offer research on ancient tattoo art, from the Celtic tribes of Europe to the latest tattoo trends of today’s celebrities. 

Pictures of Tattoos

You can browse through almost countless pictures of tattoos in the privacy of your own home.  You will learn about the different categories of tattoo art.  As you search, you will find certain categories of tattoo designs that catch your attention.  Make notes or print out the pictures of tattoos that inspire you.  This is an important step in your tattoo design research.  Making notes and printing out pictures of tattoos as you go long will keep you from getting lost in the vast amount of pictures of tattoos that you will find online.  The more you learn, the easier it will become when it is time for you to choose a design that fits your personality.  Refer back to your notes, and look through the pictures of tattoos that you printed.  You can mix different elements from different designs to create your own unique tattoo design.  In the end, you want to find enough pictures of tattoos that leave you inspired, and that keep you on track to that perfect tattoo design.

Tamatori Hime Tattoos - The Lost Art

Hime hears this and decides to rescue the bead, the problem being that the dragons of the lake believe what ever falls in the lake is rightfully theirs so not surprisingly they attack hime as she tries to swim free. Knowing that the dragons are forbidden from attacking a carcass she cuts herself to virtual death and hides the pearl within her body. As she starts to die she signals for her husband to pull her up on the rope she is attached to. She begins to slip away when back in her husbands arms but is saved by the watching gods. They see the sacrifice she was willing to commit for the sake of the greater good, namely rescuing the bead, and decide to make her immortal, princess hime. She then became the god for all the pearl divers and of course the focus for the Tamatori hime tattoos.

The Tamatori hime tattoos focus on many parts of the legend from the dive to the fight with the dragons to the scene with the gods watching over her. The designs can include the water and the scenery as well as other animals as well as the dragons. The self sacrifice and bravery is important to the scene as well.The dragon is probably the most common part of the Tamatori hime tattoo probably as it can be drawn in so many ways and can be as small or as large as you wish. There are also possibilities for colour and background as well as how the dragon is shown.

As with all tattoos do research first on the actual designs and the tattooists to see if they are up to the job, especially if you want a highly detailed design done. A detailed drawing will look great when done well but equally will look awful if done badly.

You can design a bull tattoo to suit your particular mood.  Do you want to the bull to dominate over something like a mountain, or should he straddle the sun and stars showing to world his rule over the emotions?  The placement and additional elements alongside the bull can describe to the world the way you feel.  The bull as a symbol also denotes masculinity and intellect.  You can choose to have the bull standing with one hoof holding back a crashing ocean wave, depicting strength, determination, and perseverance.  You can easily combine various background themes, or add thunderbolts or other astronomical symbols representing the war god Mars, or the god of play, Jupiter.  Your options are as limited as your ability to use fantasy to express yourself! 

You can look for ideas on the internet if you are thinking about a bull tattoo design.  It is very common now to enter online tattoo galleries to look at all the different designs, but this can be overwhelming with so much choice.  Think first about the type of bull you want in your design.  Do you want the bull to be powerful, perhaps showing steam blowing out the nostrils?  Perhaps you want to the bull to be standing atop a mountain.  Do you want him to reveal your fatherly nature, standing guard over a young calf?  You can decide where you want the bull tattoo inked body where everyone can see the tattoo.  Use your imagination and have fun matching different elements that you find online until you find the perfect combination of elements to create a bull tattoo design that perfectly suits your personality.

The lion tattoo shown above highlights the lion in great detail but in a state of calm. Of course the lion can be shown in action, whether fighting, hunting or simply moving around. Usually when the lion is shown moving the body is also drawn with possibly some added background design as well. The body can also vary in quality as with the head. The body’s fur and tail can be drawn rudimentarily or with finer detail to the fur and to the tails end.

We're finding lion tattoos are growing in popularity

As with all tattoos, the object in focus can be secondary to the actual design. For example, with a lion tattoo there can be added scenery such as jungle or forest and possibly other animals as well. There can be some addition of finer details such as blood on the animal’s claws or blurring to give the effect of the animal running or springing towards its prey. The possibilities are almost endless, there are many variations in many locations - the only limits that you have is the space you wish to cover and the skills of the tattooist doing the work for you; and your own imagination of course.

As with all tattoos its of course wise to do work before hand to find the best possible design and the best possible person to apply the tattoo to you. The consideration has to be how finely you want the design drawn and how capable the tattooist is of doing the work. Try and learn via word of mouth who can do the work and how high their standards are for doing it.

Do the work before hand in terms of research to find the design you want, find who is the best person to do the work and where on your body the lion tattoo is to be applied. All tattoos are hard to hide or to remove so do your due diligence and you will get it right first time.

Once you have decided on the lower back as a location, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by the number of design options out there. Search online for tattoo galleries and make the most of the hundreds of examples to be found there. Some will simply show images of tattoo designs, whilst other sites will carry photographs of real tattoos on real people; seeing designs inked onto other body-art fans can be a great way to get a feel for how your tattoo will look “in real life”. If you chance across a photograph of your perfect tattoo on a shoulder, neck or ankle then don’t dispair; most tattoos can be adapted to suit the lower back.

Lower Back Tattoos Are Sexy

Still not sure exactly how you want your lower back tattoo to look? Why not think about attending a tattoo convention? Details of local meetings and events in your area can be found in the back pages of tattoo magazines or advertised on posters in your local tattoo parlour. These conventions, which often attract hundreds of enthusiasts, are a fantastic opportunity to sneak a peek at other people’s tattoos; if you see one you like the look of then why not ask politely whether you can take a photograph? You can work from this later when discussing your design with your tattoo artist. In fact, it is a good idea to keep all your ideas for your design in one place; keeping a scrapbook or putting together a “moodboard” of potentially useful images, symbols and patterns can prove invaluable when it comes to finalising your tattoo design.

Some of the most popular lower back tattoo designs are patterns or shapes rather than figures or scenes. Tribal-type patterns such as Celtic knot-work, Hawaiian floral designs and Maori lettering are particularly popular for tattoos on this area of the back. Wide designs that range from one side of the back across to the other can look very effective. An animal with a wide wing-span, such as a butterfly or an eagle, would also be a great choice for really impressive and expansive lower back tattoo. You could really go to town on such a design; just because you yourself won’t be able to see a tattoo on your lower back without looking in a mirror it doesn’t mean you needn’t bother paying much attention to the design!

First thing to do is to get the general idea of what you want the tattoo to say or show, decide on a theme and work out the size and whereabouts on your body you want it. The body location is important for many reasons, including how the picture may change in appearance once on the skin. Will the design be affected by muscles and the body’s natural movement, will it be partly or fully obscured by clothing and will it be regretted later in life.

Tattoo Sketches

When you get to the design itself you have to think how complicated it will be in terms of content and colour.  The more complicated the tattoo the more time and money that will be needed to complete the project. The tattoo sketches can obviously be redrawn or thrown away - something you can’t do of course once the tattoo is completed.

The other advantage of drawing like this is that the designs can be original or can be drawn with combinations of other designs. The tattoo sketches can take existing designs and get them combined in any way the wearer wishes.  This way you can experiment with how words or phrases will look in a variety of combinations. This method means that things can be copied and interoperated for the tattoo. The basic design can be a standard picture and then something can be added on or changed. Maybe you can take a basic picture and then add some words on top. Its of course possible that with all the refinement and experimentation you may come up with something different to what you originally thought.  Or you could even start with a small idea of where you are heading and make decisions to flesh out the design as you go.

You can work alone on the drawing before going to the tattooists or if the tattooist has the time you can work together from earlier on in the procedure. This is of course useful if you lack the artistic skills to get the work done. The tattooist and yourself will need to come to an agreement as to what the final design will look like as decisions need to be made on detail, colour and size.

I always suggest that before having a tattoo you look in to it and make sure you end up with the right design and in the right place, though if you go through the tattoo sketch process you will have  probably done all the needed thinking.

Like many ancient tattoo designs, the dragonfly design has appealed to artists throughout history. The dragonfly is an important symbol in many cultures around the world. This style of tattoo is especially popular among young women. To better understand the dragonfly symbol, this brief introduction will provide a few tips to help you create your own perfect dragonfly tattoo.

Dragonfly Tattoo Design

You will find many online tattoo studios and design galleries showcasing dragonfly tattoos. There are thousands of different dragonfly designs, and it can be difficult to know what you really want in your own design. To help narrow that search many online studios have a series of questions for you to answer. The answers to the questions will guide you to the types of designs you find appealing.  Use these tools to your advantage. You will learn a great deal about the different meanings of the dragonfly symbol and about tattoos in general.

The first consideration is whether you want to get a traditional or modern style of dragonfly design. Use the internet to browse through as many pictures and stencils of dragonfly tattoos as you can find. As you search, keep notes on the design styles that appeal to you. Your perfect dragonfly may have extra large wings to symbolize freedom and soaring grace. Dragonfly tattoos are dramatic and beautiful expressions when inked in a black and white style, or in a design, that includes an array of bold colors.

Dragonfly tattoo designs are beautiful symbols of your inner life.  The dragonfly tells the world that you are independent and elegant. A great place to begin your search is online studios and tatoo art galleries. There are thousands of designs to choose from, and do not be surprised if you become overwhelmed. Instead of looking at whole designs, look at specific features in the designs that catch your attention.  Use your imagination and have fun combining the different elements until you create your perfect tattoo.

Design Your Own Tattoo

The very first step in the process to design your own tattoo is to ask yourself this question:  Why do I want a tattoo?  No matter what your answer is, this question is the starting point to designing your own tattoo.  Take into account that your tattoo design is a statement about who you are.  A tattoo is also a permanent mark on your body, and you probably want to make sure that you choose a tattoo design that you will not regret years down the road.  Do you want a tattoo just for the fun of it?  Do you want to make a political or social statement?  Do you want to your perfect tattoo to be something that tells the world about a relationship or a member of your close family?

After you have thought about the kind of design you want for your tattoo, go back to the internet, or go down to your local tattoo shop.  As you look through the variety of designs that are available, you will be better equipped to narrow down your choices now that you have a design of your own in mind.  You can also use this opportunity to look at variations on your own design idea, and add or subtract features in your tattoo design to polish and finalize your idea.  A number of web sites offer tattoo design programs, and help you sort through the variety of design features.  Use these online resources to help you design your own tattoo.

Ok, so who’s been following the US Presidency coverage these past few months?

Me neither, but we obviously can’t question the dedication of the McCain family to their campaign.  So dedicated are they in fact, that Sen. John McCain’s own daughter, Meghan, has promised that she will get a tattoo of “Live Free or Die” if her dad wins the presidency in 3 weeks.

Exactly where she decides to eternalize her dad’s presidency is anyone’s guess…any suggestions?  I can think of a few  

Meghan McCain was thrown into fame recently by her highly publicized blog where McCain, 24, details her personal insights into her dad’s campaign trail…check out her blog here… Meghan McCain’s Blog

And who knows, if enough of us leave a comment on her blog…maybe Meghan will come visit us here at lower-back-tattoos and show off her new ink…

David gets inspired to get tattoos from many sources he says however, the main source of the ink comes from ideas he gets from his wife and kids!!  Kudos Vic!  You may be bad on the mic, but you’re good when it comes to the ink!