No need to stress yourself over the next tattoo design idea, just find your inspiration source in this article! Tips, examples, ideas — all you need to do is personalize the reference.

Whether you are already addicted to getting tattoos and waiting for the next appointment or excited about the first one ever, you may struggle with the design choice. That’s normal — we are used to the thought that tattoos will be on our bodies for the whole life. Despite there are the removal procedures nowadays, they are painful, so we recommend you think out the tattoo design in detail. In this article.

One of the most popular tattoo designs include insignias. It may be the names of your nearest and dearest, some meaningful dates or an inspirational quote that swayed your heart. For any of these ideas you will need a typeface and this choice may be as hard as the design itself. To make your life easier, you can choose the tattoo font from a carefully gathered collection of typography for any ideas. And in this article you will surely find a source of inspiration for it!

1. Consider the meaning behind your tattoo design

As a tattoo is a permanent drawing on your body, it’s important to make sure you won’t get tired of it in a fortnight. First of all, tell yourself why you’ve decided to get it now. Is it a way to commemorate your loved one, family member or closest friend? Do you consider a tattoo as a birthday present? Or maybe you just want something new in your life?

All the reasons above or the ones I didn’t name are valid as long as they have significance for you. No matter why you want to get a tattoo, once you decided what will be the meaning of it, the choice of style, symbols, fonts or even an artist will be much easier.

2. Figure out the tattoo style

That’s rightfully one of the most time-consuming steps on your way to the ideal tattoo. It is also an important one, as here you decide how your design will look like, so don’t rush yourself.

There are tons of tattoo styles. But there is a thing to remember while making a choice — don’t pick the one you find stylish. It’s crazy how one year one tattoo design is considered trendy, but in some time it will be seen as cringy. So there is no use in following the trends blindly: listen to your heart, think of why you want to get a tattoo and what are your values in life.

So, let’s just cut to the chase. How many tattoo styles are out there? Well, that’s quite a question. There are tons of tattoo design styles and in order to help you narrow down the artistic choice for you, I gathered 7 of the most common and popular variants.

1. Traditional

Traditional (or old school) tattoo style has many significant features that help recognize it right away: vivid colors combined with bold lines are its basic elements. There are striking examples of these designs everyone knows: big red roses, lady heads and, of course, anchors. This style is known all around the world and its aesthetics are truly loved by the tattoo community. It’s considered the classic of tattoo history, and the great thing is such drawings age really nicely.

1. Realism

Realism in the field of fine art can be seen from the Renaissance times, but it came into the tattoo world much later, in the second half of the 20th century. As years went by, this style was getting more and more popular, gaining its audience. These days realism in tattoos is usually used for getting flowers, animals, celebrity or family members portraits, both in color or black & white.

1. Watercolor

The name of the style speaks for itself — it recreates the feeling of actual watercolor on canvas. It became really popular among contemporary tattoo lovers, as it looks modern and kinda fits the new millennium. This style is one of the hardest for artists, as working with watercolors isn’t easy even on paper, what to say about the human body.

1. New School

Well, let me clarify — it’s not, actually, that new. This style appeared in the late 80s, based on the love for all the weird things of that time. Though it vanished as rapidly as it got its recognition, fashion is cyclic, don’t be surprised if you see it on top of the trends in near future.

1. Neo-Traditional

Neo-traditional is the style that got the best from its ancestor, traditional style, and mixed with a better illustrative quality. The main inspiration sources here are Art Deco and Art Nouveau, so it includes a wider range of motifs and color palettes. Such tattoos radiate a luxurious vibe and their details are immaculate.

1. Japanese

Inspired by calligraphy, old folklore and mythological creatures, the Japanese tattoo style originated in the 17th century. It is still one of the most popular designs worldwide, so we can state its fame is not groundless. Such tattoos embrace the rich history of Japan, covered with mysterious smoke and giving the refreshing feeling of the Land of the Rising Sun.

1. Illustrative

Abstract expressionism, engraving, fine line calligraphy — the illustrative tattoo style is the most versatile one, based on many techniques. It gives the ultimate artistic freedom, allowing to even create your own style inside the genre. As long as the result looks like it went on the client’s body from the canvas, it can be considered illustrative.

3. Don’t underestimate the importance of size and placement

When you finally decided on the style of your next tattoo design, it’s time to move on to the next question. How big do you want it to be and where to place the drawing? That’s what you need to say to your tattoo artist and therefore think about it before the time of the appointment comes.

It’s not only a matter of beauty, the size and placement of the tattoo affect many other factors. For example, design complexity and the session lengths will fully depend on this decision. Moreover, it will be important to establish pain control techniques.

4. Use the power of social media

It’s time to stop killing time scrolling through social media and use its advantages instead! And the one we are talking about is using it as a source of inspiration. Try to find tattoo artists working in the style you picked on Pinterest, Tumblr or Instagram — they often post their works and you can use it to find something for yourself.

Don’t forget, that we are looking for inspiration, not a tattoo to copy. Personalizing the work you like is fine, but using the exact same design is disrespectful to both the artist and the person who got it, as it may be too personal for them. Why would you want to have someone else’s story on your body?

Now you can see how many resources can give you inspiration for your next tattoo design. Whatever the reason behind it, you shouldn’t listen to anyone whose opinion you didn’t ask — it’s your body and it’s up to you what to put on it.

If you still doubting yourself, take your time, there is no rush in such questions. Think about it, experiment with the style, get in touch with a trustworthy artist who can help you. Do everything in your power that can give you some peace of mind! Heading to an appoinment has to be exciting, not a burden, so make sure you know exactly what you want.