Tattoos

They can be intimidating—especially if it is your first time. For one, it’s something that is waaay easier to put on your body than to take off. So if you’re the kind of person who likes to check, double-check, and triple-check all the possibilities before making the commitment, I’ve got you covered.

Before a single needle ever touches your skin, I would create for you as many digital variations of your tattoo(s) as you wish on any part of your body. Afterwards, you can bring to your tattoo artist all the tested ideas and be confident that you’re making an informed decision—potentially saving you a lot of time, money, and regret.

Over the years, people have come to me for 3 main reasons:

1. They would like to get a tattoo but are not sure how to start thinking about it. Sometimes it’s their first tattoo and would like guidance on what it could be. Occasionally, this spills into reason #2.
2. They have already a strong tattoo idea in mind but would like a designer (myself) to help illustrate it. This way they can show their tattoo artist the artwork to better help explain their vision.
3. They have already decided on an exact tattoo design. Before showing up to their tattoo artist, they simply want to first see the design digitally on various parts of their body—just to be sure.

If you are any of the above reasons or variations of them, let’s talk!

Interested to book a session with me or have questions? Head over to my Contact page.

Pheasant Feather

The client wished for a pheasant feather tattoo on his forearm to commemorate a family member who has passed away. Instead of a photo-realistic rendering, he wanted the feather to have an illustrated-look—like somebody sketched it with a fine-tip graphite pencil. This is an example of Reasons 1 & 2.

Pheasant Feather

Forearm tattoo commission to commemorate a family member who has passed away.

Details

Left — Client after his visit to the tattoo parlor.
Right — Detail of illustration.

Coat of Arms (Irish)

This commission was looking my take on modernizing the original design of his family’s coat of arms. He wanted the original illustration (few images down) “updated” by reinterpreting a few elements and adding a sense of lighting to give more three-dimensionality. He is now discussing the design with his tattoo artist. This is an example of Reasons 1 & 2.

Coat of Arms

My redesign of client’s family Coat of Arms.

Coat of Arms Details

Left — Fig leaves.
Right — Handle of Irish longsword.

Design Process

Left — Original design of coat of arms provided to me.
Mid — I redrew and added new elements client wanted.
Right — Finished “modernized” version it based on original.

Placement Variation

Client wanted to be sure of the placement on his thigh so we tested a few variation—these are his top 3 favorites. Each have their unique feel, presence, and cost.

Pac Man & Cherry

Sometimes a seemingly simple tattoo can present its own set of complexities. Take this commission for example. The client wanted a tattoo on each wrist that’d interact when his wrists are parked side-by-side—like a split-heart necklace. Sounds pretty straight-forward right?

Well, there are some small decisions that can really make a difference in the overall impact of a small tattoo. To name a few, we discussed considerations like:

1. Tattoo size (given the small wrist area).
2. How the size/resolution affects the tattoo’s legibility over time.
3. How it affects the ability of their tattoo artist to apply it.
4. Positioning it so that it looks good both when the wrists are together and apart. See below for more details! This commission would be an example of Reason 3.

Digital Overlay On Wrist

Left — Pixelated Pac Man digitally applied w/ wrists together.
Right — When wrists are apart.

Initial Draft

Post-it sketch from client. Of course, these aren’t required but these sketches help me immensely to understand where to start the conversation—saving tons of time.

Moodboard As Reference

Gathered found images from a quick Google search of Pac Man tattoos. Before creating anything, seeing what exists out there is important—learning from good and bad examples. Since Pacman himself is already designed, it’s mainly a question of which art style of Pac Man will create the most impact on the wrist. The original thick pixel outlines, thin outlines, or without any outlines?