Spirit of Tattoos

A TATTOO DESIGN THAT IS UNIQUELY YOURS!

Tattoo is permanent and you will have to carry the design on your body for the rest of your life. One of the hardest things about getting a tattoo is choosing the design thus selecting the perfect piece of art to wear on your body for the rest of your life should be an involved, concentrated process.

The problem, though, is that too many people are lazy when it comes to choosing their tattoo design. They relied too heavily on flash (ready-drawn tattoo designs/templates) and will pick something right off the wall in a matter of minutes simply because they liked it and even insist that the artist do the design exactly as it is on the flash page.

When a flash artist sits down and creates a page of designs, he knows (or hopes) copies will be sold to numerous tattoo studios and will be used by potential patrons for tattoo designs. This is how he makes money, and it can also be how the studio makes money if the designs are popular. The more “sellable” (popular) a particular sheet of flash is, the more its worth. The prudent flash artist will fill his flash sheets with roses, dolphins, hearts, tribals and other trendy pictures that draw the eye of the lazy consumer looking for a quick-find.

Don’t know how to draw? Well, that’s what the tattoo artists are for! If they can’t draw, then you are in the wrong place. Find someone that can! We at SPIRIT OF TATTOOS will always recommend that you use your imagination and make some changes to your chosen flash design and we would be glad to customised a design of your choice to make that tattoo uniquely yours.

No two tattoo designs will ever be the same!

Don’t be in a rush to make such a major decision – some people have been known to carry around a picture for months or even years while they contemplate whether it is the design they really have in mind. If you’re in a big hurry, you might want to consider why. If it’s just because you want to join the crowd and be “CooL”, that is a great big permanent mistake. A tattoo can't simply be erased or washed away! Think about it!!

Copying Just Isn't Cool!

Imagine that you have spent weeks deciding on the perfect artwork for your tattoo. You spent days perusing pictures and designs in books and online to find something that will be uniquely “you”. You spent hours consulting with your artist, drawing and re-drawing to make sure it turn out just right. Finally, you endured the pain for the whole tattooing process and walked out of the studio with a perfectly 100% customized tattoo that was made for no one else on this earth but you, and you alone.

Now imagine that you are so proud of your beautiful tattoo that you want to show it to everyone. You post your tattoo picture online and on your own website or even a message board. Everybody seems to be complimenting the fantastic artwork and you feel happy because it’s so special since you put so much of yourself into it.

And now imagine that a few weeks later, you find out that someone took the picture of your tattoo that you posted and had a copy of it made on their own skin. They didn’t ask for permission and they didn’t take your feelings into consideration at all. They don’t care how much time you spent working on the perfect design. They just ripped it off and copied it, and now your tattoo is no longer an original. How do you think you would feel if this happened to you?

Before you think about copying someone else’s tattoo, think about the feelings of the person that’s wearing it. And no, asking for permission to copy does not make it OK. It’s just not cool to duplicate someone else’s art – in fact it’s disgraceful. Don’t be lazy! Online tattoo galleries and flashes only provides you with inspiration and ideas, not templates to be reproduced.

Some people have such a lack of creativity that they actually don’t care if a thousand other people are out there wearing their exact same tattoo. Most probably this is the difference between people that get a tattoo because tattoos are “kewl” and the people that get a tattoo because they appreciate it for the artistic quality. That is also going to be the difference between the people that regret their tattoos in 20 years, and those that still love them. Always choose the design that you really like and would want to live with the rest of your life not in a moment of FOLLY especially during a stupid true or dare session OR when you are drunk!

Think back about, oh, say 10 years or so, and what were your favorite things at that time? How about 20 years (if you were alive then)? We can assure you that major life changes like marriage, children and simply ageing can have a big impact on the things you find important. The key is to find out what is deeply important enough that it will still be with you many, many years down the road. Your favorite cartoon characters, music band, celebrities or even significant other may change drastically over time and are generally not wise choices for tattoos. What if you were to put your current boyfriend's name and then broke off? You will most probably have to live with the tattoo for the rest of your life.

Going back to the original point of this article, flash does have its place in the tattoo world. It’s great to look at for ideas and inspiration. If you see a piece of flash you really love and you are sure you want it for a tattoo, fine. But for goodness sake, be creative with it! You could just use the flash drawing as the base.

Take the time to think about it and make some changes to the original design to make it a better reflection of your inner self. Change the size, remove a few things, add a few things, change the colors, etc. Make sure that your tattoo – the picture you will be wearing for the rest of your life – is unique and special, not something you’re going to find as an exact replica on someone else’s body.

Come down to SPIRIT OF TATTOOS for an no obligation chat today!