Tattoo Ideas

[jimtaylor]

Ok so now that I have a good reason too, I am going to be expanding my present tattoo to have it go from my right elbow up to my shoulder and be getting a brand new tattoo on my left bicep. The expansion I already have a pretty good idea for so that's not a problem. It's the new tattoo I am having troubles thinking of ideas for. Just so nobody feels like they are going to post something that's going to go on my body and never come off, don't worry. I have to draw or create it in another art form before I am willing to put it on my body. I have to have a personal connection to it and have it mean something to me.

Now it has to follow a certain form and style. It has to be Asian culture, mainly Chinese Astology and/or Taoism. If anybody has any thoughts or ideas, please post them. I just need something to get the ideas going. Another thing, I am not fully against color but in my tattoos I like gray scales so keep that in mind. I don't mind dark reds and blues and things like that though. It should be calming, passionate, strong, deep, emotional, and powerful.

 

[matchingtattoos4u]

Nice thread man.

In my opinion, you better go for the best artist for tattoos so that you can find a design that fit on your taste.
Also you have a great idea posting this kind of topic.
I will keep in touch in this thread so that I will read what the other poster advice.

 

[#@&5&49]

I thought this one was cool. You could stretch it out, bend it, wrap it around your arm, leg, or whatever.

 

[Kgal]

Ok so now that I have a good reason too, I am going to be expanding my present tattoo to have it go from my right elbow up to my shoulder and be getting a brand new tattoo on my left bicep. The expansion I already have a pretty good idea for so that's not a problem. It's the new tattoo I am having troubles thinking of ideas for. Just so nobody feels like they are going to post something that's going to go on my body and never come off, don't worry. I have to draw or create it in another art form before I am willing to put it on my body. I have to have a personal connection to it and have it mean something to me.

Now it has to follow a certain form and style. It has to be Asian culture, mainly Chinese Astology and/or Taoism. If anybody has any thoughts or ideas, please post them. I just need something to get the ideas going. Another thing, I am not fully against color but in my tattoos I like gray scales so keep that in mind. I don't mind dark reds and blues and things like that though.

It should be calming, passionate, strong, deep, emotional, and powerful.

Year of the Tiger

Years: 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 Element: Wood Polarity: Yang Characteristics: Impulsive, passionate, affectionate, stimulating, powerful, sincere, generous, humanitarian, unpredictable, rebellious, audacious, wayward, temperamental, aggressive, impatient, foolhardy, selfish, restless, hot-headed. Year of the Dragon Years: 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 Element: Wood Polarity: Yang Characteristics: Fiery, passionate, generous, strong, loyal, pioneering, proud, stately, noble, dignified, direct, decisive, self-assured, intellectual, outlandish, loyal, authoritative, brash, impulsive, despotic, chesty, disdainful, aggressive.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/chinese-zodiac-tattoos.html

I could not find a description with all of those characteristics stated as such.
Perhaps you could combine some?

I am the year of the Monkey.

 

[jimtaylor]

Year of the Tiger

Years: 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 Element: Wood Polarity: Yang Characteristics: Impulsive, passionate, affectionate, stimulating, powerful, sincere, generous, humanitarian, unpredictable, rebellious, audacious, wayward, temperamental, aggressive, impatient, foolhardy, selfish, restless, hot-headed. Year of the Dragon Years: 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 Element: Wood Polarity: Yang Characteristics: Fiery, passionate, generous, strong, loyal, pioneering, proud, stately, noble, dignified, direct, decisive, self-assured, intellectual, outlandish, loyal, authoritative, brash, impulsive, despotic, chesty, disdainful, aggressive.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/chinese-zodiac-tattoos.html

I could not find a description with all of those characteristics stated as such.
Perhaps you could combine some?

I am the year of the Monkey.

Thanks @Kgal and @Sadie . Let me explain my present tattoo and that might be better starting place. First off I spent two years thinking up the idea and it wasn't until I did a large metal embossing with the design that I felt comfortable. The work I actually have hanging up in my room because it is the only art I have done that I entered into an art show and got 1st. So that aside, imagine a yin-yang which represents the balance of all things.

Out of the black side, (black is the purest in some eastern cultures because it cannot be stained) is a horse. The horse represents many things; beauty, stubbornness, arrogance, kindness, popularity, etc... and I was born the year of the metal horse.

Out of the white side is a dragon. The dragon as stated before represents a lot of things as well and my older brother was born the year of the dragon. I forget which element though. In the background slighty covered up by the yin yang is my brothers name in Kanji. What this all represents is my brother and I as individuals and the way in which our lives and deaths are connected. This is not just for us two but for all things. There is a balance between life and death. The beauty of life cannot be understood without death. Death is there to help define life, to make it stand out in contrast to the unknown. There is also some symbolism further in the horse vs dragon. The dragon is the only mythical creature in the zodiac and is often associated with the mysterious heavens while the horse tends to represent the opposite. It represents youth, tenacity and a desire for freedom to explore the living world of the present. Contrasting but again, balance.

So with this all in mind, I was hoping to design something similar and I have decided to keep it all on the right side of my body.

 

[Bird]

What is your good reason for expanding your present tattoo?

 

[Kgal]

Thanks @Kgal and @Sadie . Let me explain my present tattoo and that might be better starting place. First off I spent two years thinking up the idea and it wasn't until I did a large metal embossing with the design that I felt comfortable.

The work I actually have hanging up in my room because it is the only art I have done that I entered into an art show and got 1st. So that aside, imagine a yin-yang which represents the balance of all things.

Out of the black side, (black is the purest in some eastern cultures because it cannot be stained) is a horse. The horse represents many things; beauty, stubbornness, arrogance, kindness, popularity, etc... and I was born the year of the metal horse.

Out of the white side is a dragon.

This sounds intriguing. Could we see a picture of this?

 

[Sai]

im planning to tatoo a sword in my arm, a friend is making the design hope to have it done for next year

 

[#@&5&49]

I agree a picture of the existing tat would help a lot as far as coming up with ways to expand on it.

 

[Kgal]

im planning to tatoo a sword in my arm, a friend is making the design hope to have it done for next year

What does is symbolize for you Sai?

 

[the]

Its best to have a tattoo artist just make it for you. Thats what you pay them for after all.

 

[Korg]

I'm not a big tattoo guy but I thought if I ever got one, it would be abstract and devoid of assigned meaning; just angles / aesthetics and nothing more.

Here's something I drew years ago that kinda looks what I'm envisioning (only certain parts, though - namely the hard angled stuff just to the left of the those seven vertical squares):

 

[Billy]

my left arm sleeve is going to be a epic scene of roman legions marching in the black forest with a legates up on a broken buttress surveying the land. My right arm sleeve is not even started yet, but is planned out with a really famous local tattoo artist named Eric Merrill, im doing a whole scene from Hell, in the Dante "Divine Comedy" style. Its going to be horrifying and rife with terror, pain, and misery.

View attachment 13168View attachment 13169View attachment 13170View attachment 13171

pics for reference.

 

[jimtaylor]

Its best to have a tattoo artist just make it for you. Thats what you pay them for after all.

I need to give them an idea before they can draw.

 

[jimtaylor]

I'm not a big tattoo guy but I thought if I ever got one, it would be abstract and devoid of assigned meaning; just angles / aesthetics and nothing more.

Here's something I drew years ago that kinda looks what I'm envisioning (only certain parts, though - namely the hard angled stuff just to the left of the those seven vertical squares):

That is pretty cool. I don't know but I have always liked abstract stuff. I think it is just more fun to look at.

 

[jimtaylor]

This sounds intriguing. Could we see a picture of this?

 

[Sai]

What does is symbolize for you Sai?

Courage, struggle, strength, honor, loyalty, freedom, will, all the things that i try to achieve in life i think

 

[Nixie]

@jimtaylor

How about another dragon encircling it somehow? I think that would look cool especially if you want to sleeve it. It could wrap around and stuff. I kind picture it with maybe a claw or something reaching toward the ying/yang? Or a dragon head above with flames coming out and going around the original design? A dragon eating it's tail is generally considered a symbol for time--although more celtic in nature I think.

 

[Matt3737]

@jimtaylor

How about another dragon encircling it somehow? I think that would look cool especially if you want to sleeve it. It could wrap around and stuff. I kind picture it with maybe a claw or something reaching toward the ying/yang? Or a dragon head above with flames coming out and going around the original design? A dragon eating it's tail is generally considered a symbol for time--although more celtic in nature I think.

Ouroboros

 

[Nixie]

Ouroboros

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