Idea and design
What helps turn a rough idea into a finished design: reference images, style, placement, size and composition.
A good tattoo starts with a clear idea, not with a design. Here you’ll learn how to turn “I want something to do with the sea” into a brief an artist can work with.
The articles follow the order in which a design usually comes together: shaping the idea, gathering reference images and choosing the style, placement, size and composition. Lettering and symbols have their own articles, because that’s where people most often go wrong: the font, the translation or what a symbol means in another culture.
You don’t need to have every answer in advance: you can work through a rough idea at the consultation. But the more clearly you describe what you want, the fewer changes the design will need.
All articles on this topic
7 articles
2.1Shaping your tattoo ideaHow to turn a vague “I want something about the sea” into a clear brief for your artist without art training or a finished design.
2.2Tattoo referencesWhere to look for pictures, how many you need, how to show your artist the mood you want and why you don’t copy someone else’s tattoo exactly.
2.3Choosing a tattoo styleHow to make sense of tattoo styles, choose one that suits your idea, skin and preferred size, and find an artist who works in that style.
2.4Choosing your tattoo placementHow to choose where your tattoo goes: body shape, pain, visibility, work, healing, and how the design will age.
2.5Tattoo size and compositionWhy fine details blur together over time, how a design sits on the body, and how to choose a size that will still look good years from now.
2.6Lettering tattoosHow to choose the words, font and size for your lettering tattoo, check the translation and avoid ending up with unreadable text a couple of years later.
2.7Symbols and cultural contextWhy one symbol can mean different things in different countries, how a design can offend in another culture, and how to check it before your session.