Chopper Tattoos

One of the bigger sties may actually be the best. It is called Chopper Tattoos and they certainly seem to have the biggest and most kick ass selection of flash. As with most of these sites, you cannot get to the artwork without becoming a member. That is understandable seeing as they are selling you their designs. What this site does (as do a few of the others I will talk about) is they show some examples on the front page of the site so you can get an idea of what to expect as far as quality. Also they give a full list of the general categories of art they handle, which is quite extensive. I definitely give them a thumbs up! Heck, they even have free music downloads on the site to add to the value of their services! Nice!

Check them out here: Chopper Tattoos

Custom Chinese Tattoo Design

The next site is a specialized site called Custom Chinese Tattoo Design. They are just that. I went here looking for Tibetan art, but it seems they don't have much of anything but Han related art, focusing on Hanzi or Chinese language characters. It also appears that they prefer traditional characters to simplified ones, leaning towards calligraphic designs, but they are open to other forms of characters, too. The site is great for those wishing to get a Chinese character oriented design or something Han Chinese related that may have a character involved. The site features wonderful work and loads of pictures on the front page to show the quality of the work. Absolutely great site for those looking to get a design of this nature!

Design a great Chinese character tattoo here: Custom Chinese Tattoo Design

Many people have asked me how I came about deciding on my art work for my tattoos. It is a strange story and I am not sure that it is method which I would recommend to anyone, but having so many requests and this being "my" lens, here is the tale:

I had a lot of trouble making the crucial decision of to what artwork I would commit for my first ink. I thought about it for years! I looked at Godzilla monsters, Gothic themed vampires and werewolves, music related art (being a drummer and a composer, that sounded like a good idea), and many other things along these lines, but I kept coming back to the same problem. They were all me, but did I want this artwork on my body permanently?

I milled it over in my head so long, I finally gave up. I decided that I was never going to get a tattoo and I was just going to have to live as a blank slate, as it were.

Well, one night, months later, after I had forgotten all about getting a tattoo, I had a dream. I was in a bedroom and the sun was just coming up. I was watching myself from across the room, getting out of bed, naked (sorry for the scary image, folks) and I walked across the room and opened the drapes. As I stood there looking out the window, I could see myself covered in tattoos!

I had full sleeves, most of my legs were covered, a full back piece, and some work on my neck. In the reflection in the window, I saw the work on my chest and forearms. The tattoos were finely detailed and I recognized some, but not all of the art. I woke up suddenly, probably because of excitement of seeing myself with so much ink, and I knew that these were the tattoos for which I had been searching!

I grabbed a piece of paper and drew a diagram of me and started writing down and sketching every tattoo I could remember, which luckily was almost all of them. They were all Tibetan and each of the ones I recognized had some specific meaning that matched a live experience I had or wanted to have. The ones I had not seen before went into a pile of things to research, all of which turned out to be yet again something that fell into these categories above. Music, heroes and heroines, goals and accomplishments, religious (or rather spiritual) representations, et cetera were all there. It seemed that my unconscious mind knew me a lot better than my waking mind! No surprise really, but it was a great feeling to finally realise what my tattoo plan was going to be and that I had revealed it to myself!

The next day I got artwork together and approached my artist-to-be. I had recently been accepted to Master's school at the University of Hawaii to study Tibetan music and so I settled on getting the Tibetan patron saint of students as my first piece to send me on my way to finishing my degree. It came out great and you can see my arm with the image tattooed by Blue Flame in Raleigh, NC in the picture at the top of this lens.

When choosing you tattoos, you may not have a dream about yourself that helps you along, but I would say that thinking in terms of your life, your personality, what it is that you want to show the world and the flag you desire to fly on your body in the form of ink and artwork would be the best starting point, dream or not, and you will find that should lead you to enjoying the artwork that you get for the rest of your life!

Happy inking!

Tattoo Me Now

Close to Chopper Tattoos in value is Tattoo Me Now. This site seems to have the best instructional material for making sure you get the artwork you want. I HIGHLY recommend this site for those getting their first ink job!!! They have loads and loads of designs and a great series of instructions on super important things like picking your artist, placing your tattoo, et cetera. Not much art on the front page, but the quality of the art on the inside is ace! The amount of information you get on the front page will give you an idea of the seriousness of the artists involved. There is also a free emailing service to sign up for that sends you tips on designing and maintaining your tattoos plus a few free extra ebooks in the deal, all worth having. I definitely recommend this page, especially for the walking blank canvases out there ready to take the tattoo plunge!

Get your first ink design here: Tattoo Me Now

Tattoo My Brain

The last one for today is Tattoo My Brain. This site also seems quite concerned with making sure the custom is pleased with their choices. It is somewhat directed to first-time customers, but it definitely holds many designs for the person looking to get something special. They encourage taking the designs on their site and using them to inspire original, custom work. Like Tattoo Me Now, they also give lots of instruction of selecting artists, parlors, and other important health and satisfaction tips. I would definitely check them out if you are wanting to get ideas for an original work and want more insight into the whole process of getting inked!

Go to their site here: Tattoo My Brain

Find Your Tattoo

The next site is a great site for basic design work. It is the Find Your Tattoo site. The page is a little hard to find, so follow the link below to go straight to it. There is no artwork on the front page, but there is a video of the art and the package that you get. It is a download of images to plough through and that is about all, but it does have great standard flash work and it is cheap - less the ten dollars. The site holds great value for what you get if you are in the market for something basic or standard, but still high quality. I recommend checking out the video on the front page and see if it is right for you.

Visit them here: Find Your Tattoo

Getting your first tattoo can be the most important decision you may make regarding your personal aesthetic and the statement it carries to the World. It should not be a rushed decision, nor should it be one made lightly. People that stumble into a tattoo parlor and randomly pick flash off the wall that semi-interests them late at night after a few pints at the local pub, often regret their decision for the rest of their life. The process may not be exactly the same for any two people, but the tips I outline in this article will give you a guideline of things to consider when settling upon your first tattoo design that will lead to you being proud of your artwork whenever you look at it or show it to someone else - even years down the road when you have almost completely forgotten that you even have a tattoo!

The first tip is patience. Do not rush into a design decision. Be sure that the design you settle on meets all of the emotional requirements you will place on your first tattoo. Remember, painful surgery or cover-ups are the only ways to get rid of a tattoo once you have it and both options take a lot of money and thought to implement.

Think of a theme. Here I do not mean that you need one, but you should consider it early if you decide that you do what to embrace a theme. If you get a permanent piece of art that doesn't fit your theme idea, it will either be out of place on your body in contrast to future tattoos or you are back to cover-ups or surgery. Some people only get one tattoo. That is fine, of course, but most people that get ink once get the fever (like I did) and plan out many return trips to their favorite artist to balance out the tattoos they already have.

Choose your artist well. Be sure to shop around for someone that has consistently great art. All artists will have a portfolio of their own designs and final tattoos in their parlors. If they do not, avoid them!

Talk to other people who have tattoos you admire. The do not have to have tattoo styles or designs that you want yourself, just decent solid art of which they can be proud. Word of mouth recommendations are usually the best for an artist. Things to ask about an artist include cost, cleanliness, and heavy-handedness. Good artists usually charge less for art they like, design, or rarely get a chance with which to work. Once you get a good recommendation, talk to the artist about cost in terms of what they enjoy and their own designs if you do not already have one in mind. Be sure to discuss the health code issues, as different states and countries have different health regulations. Always go to the artist and parlor that adheres to the regulations or exceeds them.

Some artists are more "heavy-handed" than others. This works for and against you. Artists that place the ink deeper into your skin will cause slightly more pain (if you have any pain at all - more on that below), but they will also be giving you a tattoo that will last longer and stay brighter with proper care.

Placement is a major factor. Be thinking about if you want other tattoos and how the one that you ill get first will interact with tattoos you may get later. Certain areas of your body will be much more sensitive than others. This can be an attraction for some as well as a turn of for others. Know you body's limits and think about where you are going to have your design placed. Test placing is standard. Pay close attention to this step. Don't let an artist rush you through it (although usually they are quite helpful with this step.) Again, this will be there permanently, so do not take this step lightly.

Make sure you design says something emotionally to you. Do not just get a cartoon or a heart with a name on it on a whim. Take out a piece of paper and write down all of your favorite things, artistic or otherwise, and try to narrow down what you are attached to personally. I am a Tibetan music specialist and I have a love for old bad monster movies and therefore I have a theme of Tibetan art featuring Tibetan mythological creatures, for instance.

Back to the artist and the design: some artists specialize in a particular type of art. Seek these artists out if you have a theme or special style in mind. In my case, I found a great artist that studied Tibetan art informally. His work converting my designs to flash was superb and I am very proud of my tattoos because of it (as is he, for that matter.) Let me say again, shop around and do not rush into anything.

One way I found to seek out a great design is using custom tattoo design software and images found online. I provide a review of some of the sites I have looked into on the website listed in my by line resource. Play around with images you find online, especially if you do not have a local tattoo artist to visit. That way you can be prepared to drive to an area that does have many tattoo artists and shop around in one trip. Show the designs you are considering to someone that has a tattoo already and if possible take them with you to get your first tattoo. Assuming all goes well, you can be that person for someone else next time.

Once you get the tattoo, he artist will provide you with heath and care suggestions. Pay attention to these as the tattoo will heal properly and last longer. You can avoid fading, blotchiness, infection, and a myriad of other undesirable things if you merely adhere to the care tactics presented by the parlor. I regularly get compliments on my tattoo as being bright or new-looking, and I got my first tattoo over four years ago.

A well-thought out, well-placed piece of quality artwork will be your pride and joy for years to come, if you exercise patience and do a bit of online and word-of-mouth research. It is as simple as that! Have fun with your first tattoo and welcome to the World of sporting a stunning, inspiring tattoo!