When you think of a tattoo what comes to mind? A sailor with an anchor on his arm, cartoon looking characters, Old English script? If you said yes to any of these then it’s about time you expand your mind and open up to what a tattoo can really be. With a good tattoo artist anything is possible, limited only by your imagination.
Old School Tattoos
What is an old school Tattoo? Old school means exactly what the name implies, old. These are traditional designs very common on tattoo flash sheets. If your grandpa got a tattoo while he was in the military it’s an old school tattoo. Other common forms of old school tattoos are simple flowers, hearts with banners, various script writing, among other similar simple designs.
New School Tattoos
Just as old school mean old, new school tattoos are relatively new in design. New school tattoos can be drastically out of proportion, using a lot of foreshadowing creating the feeling that the tattoo is coming out of the skin. You will find that new school tattoos have movement in the subject matter. Some common examples of new school tattoos would be claws coming out of the skin, comic book style characters and scenes, various three dimensional designs, etc.
Portrait - Reality Tattoos
A portrait tattoo is exactly what the name implies it is a rendering of an actual photograph. It is common for people to get pictures of their kids or loved ones as well as scenes from their favorite movie. I have also included reality tattoos which include realistic looking animals or objects. The beauty about a portrait tattoo is that no one else will ever have that same tattoo even if they would get the same movie scene on their arm the artist rendering of it will be different for each tattooist.
There are some great portrait tattooist out there but there are even more poor ones. Be sure to do your research on your tattooist previous work before embarking on a portrait tattoo. There is nothing worse then a horrible looking portrait on your body.
A Tattoo Is A Form Of Self Expression
A tattoo should be as individual as the person who will be wearing it. There is no excuse for having a tattoo that you aren’t happy with just because you got a deal on it. The cost to have a custom tattoo drawn by a qualified tattoo artist is well worth the money you will spend for a lifetime of enjoyment knowing that no one else has your tattoo.
When thinking about your next tattoo, think outside the box and remember you are only limited by your imagination.
1 response so far ↓
1 Sarah W // Sep 3, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I got my first tattoo in March. I looked for about a month to find a photograph of a lily that was just right. I suppose its possible that someone else used the same picture as a reference, but I doubt it. And like you said, even if that is the case, it would look different. The difference being, of course, that mine is infinitely better. Not that I’m biased or anything.
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