Tattoo Lettering Styles

I've been doing a lot of digging for different tattoo lettering styles for my sleeve. I want the sleeve to be themed, but I also want to mix in pieces of my life that are important to me. Maybe a quote that I live by, and definitely my kids' names and possible birthdates. My son just turned three and my daughter is one, and I really want them to be represented on this sleeve somewhere.

Probably the most traditional style of tattoo lettering is pictured below. It's a standard tattoo font and resembles calligraphy. The forearms, upper chest, and abdomen are the most popular places for this type of tattoo lettering. I can't say that I'm too fond of this style.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leleleoni57/2931533281/

Technorati Tags: Tattoo Designs, tattoo finder, Tattoo Lettering

Tattoo Finder: Why it’s the Best Way to Go

For one very important reason, anyone considering a new tattoo should look for a qualified tattoo finder to help make that decision. That one important reason is to ensure that you get a tattoo that doesn't suck. It's harder than you might expect.

Look at the typical scenario. In fact, look at my scenario when I got my first tattoo 18 years ago.

I walked into the only nearby tattoo parlor that I knew of. This one happened to be attached to a head shop. I was oblivious of the danger at the time, but yikes. Anyway, I paged through the few books they had there, but while I was doing that, I felt people staring at me. This was a small shop, and I was taking up room that could be filled by another paying customer. I didn't really know what I wanted, I couldn't find anything that really appealed to me, and I was getting tense because I thought I was taking too long to make a decision. And I got . . . a Tasmanian devil. I kid you not. It has since been covered up, but that choice haunts me to this day.

Fast forward a year, and now I'm in a clean, competent, highly regarded parlor. Same situation: I'm thumbing through books, looking for a good design, but can't quite find one I like. I wanted an arm band, and 17 years ago, there was a very limited selection of arm band tattoos. I think there were literally 10 designs to choose from. Anyway, I had no other alternatives for a parlor, so I chose one of those stock bands. And to this day, I hate that tattoo.

A tattoo finder could have helped me in both those situations.

A tattoo finder enables you to look through a large amount of designs in a short period of time, exposing you to many more tattoos than you would otherwise be able to see. You can also see tattoos from many different styles, not just the ones that were created by the artists from that parlor. Perhaps best of all is that you can take your time. Look a little now, a little tomorrow, etc.  You can sleep on it, draw temporary designs to make sure you like them. You can use transfer paper to temporarily put the full design on your body for a few days (see this post to learn how). In short, you are able to spend as much time as you want to view and try on as many designs as you like before you step foot in a parlor.

The price to access a tattoo finder is minuscule in comparison to the cost of the actual tattoo, not to mention the headaches it could save you.

So why use a tattoo finder:

• You are able to look through many more designs.
• It's easier to look through designs more quickly.
• You can find a perfect design from the comfort of your home.
• You can look through the top designs from a broad range of artists around the country.
• It helps ensure that you get a tattoo that you like for years to come.
• You don't have to worry about feeling pressured to choose a design quickly, like you do when you're in the parlor.
• To find a killer design that you'll love for years to come.

The top two tattoo finders available are Chopper and TattooMeNow. To see which is best for you, check out our Chopper Tattoo Review and our TattooMeNow Review.

Technorati Tags: designs for tattoos, Pictures of Tattoos, Tattoo Designs, tattoo finder

How to ‘Try On’ Your Tattoo Before Buying It

Choosing a tattoo should be a methodical process. The biggest mistake you can possibly make is to walk into a tattoo parlor, browse through their artwork for a few minutes, and then site down in the chair to get inked.

You need to take your time. Decide what your tattoo should mean to you, decide which types of design styles you like the best, determine what colors work the best for you, etc. That's one of the reasons I like tattoo finders so much: they let you you look through and 'try' thousands of tattoo designs before committing to one. But looking isn't the same thing as having, is it?

For that reason, you might want to 'try your tattoo on' before you actually commit to inking in permanently. There are a few ways to go about this, but here are my tips for doing so:

First, choose your tattoo's location. If you have an idea of your style, great; but if not, don't worry about it. Just try to get a feel for whether you want (for example) a hip tattoo, a shoulder tattoo, a lower back tattoo, etc. When you've made this decision, either draw (or have a friend draw) a relevant tattoo on your skin using a medium-tipped colored Sharpie. The design isn't important -- in fact, it could throw you off by forcing you to focus on the design and not the position -- what is important is the location and size. Keep looking at that Sharpie tattoo over the next few days, and see if you change your mind on position or size. Keep tweaking this until you get it right.

Once you have a design and a location in mind, have your friend draw the design in fine-tipped colored Sharpies. Personally, I think you should get as realistic as you can at this point, and you can do this by doing what the tattoo artists do.

1. Get yourself some professional transfer paper. This is the paper that tattoo artists use to transfer a design from a book to your skin.
2. Trace the design onto the transfer paper. Using a lightbox will make this step much easier, but of course, they cost money!
3. Transfer the design onto your skin with the transfer paper.
4. Pick up a box of fine-tipped, multicolor Sharpies, and have your friend draw and fill in the traced image.

Once you've done that, keep looking at your tattoo over the next several days. Think of this as a little test drive that you can take to ensure that your chosen design is right for you. Really, it sounds simple, but it's pretty powerful. You can see, with a high degree of accuracy and realism, what that tattoo is going to look like on your skin. If you don't like, just scrub really hard and try again with a clean canvas!

Here are some transfer paper examples:

And here are some lightbox examples:

Technorati Tags: practice tattoos, Tattoo Designs, tattoo tips, tips

TattooMeNow Review

TattooMeNow snagged our top tattoo finder honors after just a few short months in operation.

While it doesn't have the breadth of designs that competitor Chopper Tattoo has, it is aggressively adding new designs, features attractively priced membership plans, includes many bonuses of legitimate value, and is more professional in appearance.

Due to the lack of breadth, this service isn't for everyone. Keep reading for details on the hits and misses of this service, and to determine if TattooMeNow is the best tattoo finder choice for you.

Package Contents | Detailed Review | Video Review | Customer Feedback | Product Details | Popular Searches | Tattoo Categories

Package Contents

• Membership to the TattooMeNow web site
• Access to the private members forum
• Access to the members gallery of tattoo photos
• Tattoo Parlor directory
• Tattoo bonus videos (Caring for a tattoo, getting a tattoo, aftercare, etc.)
• 3300 Chines Signs e-book
• You and Your Tattoo e-book and MP3
• Got Ink? e-book
• Learn How to Tattoo in 12 Easy Steps e-book
• Infection Prevention e-book
• Getting Inked e-book
• Xtasys Tattoo Designs e-book
• Assorted fitness, weight loss, and muscle building e-books

The amount of bonuses available is impressive, and they have actual value. The members gallery features over 1,600 tattoo photos, and more than 30,000 users post to the private discussion forum. The Got Ink? and You and Your Tattoo e-books contain good information for those who are new to tattoos.

Detailed Review

TattooMeNow is much newer than Chopper Tattoos, but it is quickly gaining ground. Now featuring more than 3,500 designs and more than 1,600 tattoo pictures, TattooMeNow is as large in scale as Chopper Tattoo. See our full Chopper Tattoo review here.

The most readily apparent thing about TattooMeNow is the sense of community at the membership site. Members actively submit their tattoo photos, and contribute to the discussion forums. You'll find newbies, knowledgeable pros, and professional tattoo artists on the message boards.

The fact that TattooMeNow has cultivated a community bodes well for their future prospects. Not only do they continue to upgrade and expand their design inventory, but they also ask for input from community members on what types of designs should be added. This focus on the member and on attracting high-quality tattoo artists is an appealing characteristic.

You can browse tattoo designs by category, and download, use, and print out as many as you like during your membership period. Browsing is straightforward: click on a category to view tattoos within that category. Tattoos are separated into pages, so if you have a slow internet connection, you won't have to wait for hundreds of pictures to load before you start viewing designs. However, with all of the paging, you might become a bit click-weary after a while.

There are over 40 categories of tattoos, but many categories are under-represented at present. For example, the fantasy tattoo category only contains 25 designs. However, if you are a fan of tribal tattoo designs, you'll find more than 1,600 tribal tattoo designs alone. TattooMeNow's blog states that they are continuing to add to each of these under-represented categories.

There are two membership options available as of this writing: one year access for $27, and lifetime access for $37. The lengthy membership length is a good sign. When you want to pick out the best possible design, you shouldn't be in a rush. TattooMeNow's membership options provide plenty of time for you to find the perfect tattoo.

Pros:

• Active tattoo artist incentives should continue to drive the growth of TattooMeNow's available designs.
• The community is consulted to determine which new designs to add.
• There are over 3,500 tattoo designs and that number continues to increase.
• There are more than 1,600 high-quality member photos to view for inspiration.
• You can download, save, modify, etc. an unlimited number of tattoos.
• The introductory membership option is very attractive at one year for $27.
• You can both browse and search for tattoo designs.
• The community at TattooMeNow really sets them apart from the other tattoo finders.
• The bonuses have legitimate value.

Cons:

• Some design categories are under-represented
• It's easy to become click-weary while browsing through designs

Based on all of the above factors, TattooMeNow gets our top recommendation ranking. While they lack breadth of tattoos in some categories, the focus on the customer, the friendly and interactive community, the large number of current designs, and the prospects for growth are enough for TattooMeNow to pull ahead of Chopper Tattoo for top honors.

TattooMeNow Official Web Site

Video Review

Customer Feedback

"Offers the best bang for your buck when compared to the other most popular tattoo design sites. With its combination of 3500+ designs, an active forum, videos, and other interactive features, a membership to Tattoo Me Now is a great investment."

~ comment from tattoo review site

"High quality tattoo membership site . . . one of the most affordable ways to find unique designs for yourself."

~ comment from an EzineArticles article

"One of the best features we found with Tattoo Me Now is the active and helpful community. . . the discussion forum is a great place to meet other people and get answers to your most pressing questions from professional tattoo artists or from the other members."

~ Comment from tattoo review site

"Excellent tattoo design gallery filled with thousands of top designs."

~ Comment from tattoo review site

Product Details

Author: N/A

Package: access to TattooMeNow's tattoo finder, design gallery, member's photo gallery, private members forum; bonus tattoo videos; tattooing e-books including 3300 Chinese Signs, You and Your Tattoo, Got Ink?, Learn How to Tattoo in 12 Easy Steps, Infection Prevention, Getting Inked, Xtasys Tattoo Designs; and assorted fitness, weight loss, and muscle building e-books.

Price: $27 for two month access, $37 for lifetime access.

Return Policy: 60 days, no questions asked, money back guarantee.

TattooMeNow Official Web Site

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Tattoo Categories Available at TattooMeNow

• Tribal Tattoo designs
• Hip Tattoos
• Shoulder Tattoos
• Tattoos Picture
• Girly Tattoos
• Tinkerbell Tattoos
• Tattoo Lettering
• Wings Tattoos
• Lower Back Tattoo Designs
• Ladybug Tattoos
• Star Tattoo Designs
• Celtic / Irish Tattoos
• Flower / Daisy Tattoos
• Abstract Tattoos
• Angel Tattoos
• Belly Button Tattoos
• Biker Tattoos
• Bird Tattoos
• Butterfly Tattoos
• Cartoon Tattoos
• Chinese Tattoos
• Cross Tattoos
• Devil Tattoos
• Dolphin Tattoos
• Dragon Tattoos
• Eagle Tattoos
• Fairy Tattoos
• Fantasy Tattoos
• Fish Tattoos
• Heart Tattoos
• Horse Tattoos
• Insect Tattoos
• Japanese Tattoos
• Lizard Tattoos
• Lotus Tattoos
• Mermaid Tattoos
• Monster Tattoos
• Other/Miscellaneous
• Patriotic Tattoos
• Religious Tattoos
• Scorpion Tattoos
• Skull Tattoos
• Snake Tattoos
• Sports Tattoos
• Sun Tattoos
• Symbol Tattoos
• Tiger Tattoos
• Various Animals
• Women Tattoos
• Zodiac Tattoos

TattooMeNow Official Web Site

Technorati Tags: pictures of tattoos, Tattoo Designs, tattoo finder, tattoo me now, tattoomenow, tattoomenow review, tattoomenow.com

Another Yakuza-style Full Back Tattoo

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirgrimm86/2400701445/in/photostream/

Technorati Tags: Pictures of Tattoos, Tattoo Designs, yakuza

Tinkerbell Tattoos: Tink and Mickey

This is one of my favorite ones: Mickey Mouse holding Tinkerbell in his hand. Really nice work, too.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/evillittleblue/2228746297/

Technorati Tags: mickey mouse, Tattoo Designs, tattoo finder, tinkerbell, Tinkerbell Tattoos