by 64 people |
Dragons are one of the most popular images in modern tattooing
Whether it's a Japanese dragon swirling down an arm, a medieval dragon battling a wizard across an entire back piece or a tribal dragon design wrapping an ankle, these mythological creatures are represented in all the major tattoo styles.
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all about dragon tattoos
lens table of contents
- Dragon Tattoo History
- Dragon Tattoo Design
- Poll Into the Heart of the Dragon
- Dragon Tattoo Design Resources
- Books About Dragons and Designing Dragons
- Dragon Arm Tattoo Photos
- Dragon Tattoo Clothing
- Angelina Jolie Inspires A Tattoo Trend... then ditches the designs!
- Dragon Leg Tattoo Photos
- The Tribal Dragon Tattoos of REIGN OF FIRE
- Dragon Tattoo Videos
- Yin Yang Dragon Poster
- Dragon Back Tattoos
- INK CITY
Dragon Tattoo History
In 1882, the young Duke of York, later to become King George V of England, got a tattoo of a dragon while on a visit to Japan. He was a midshipman on the H.M.S. Baccante at the time and traditional tattooist Hori Chyo executed the work. Whether perceived as creatures of air, fire, land or water, dragons have been popular across many styles of tattoo designs for a long time.In Eastern traditions, dragons can be powerful allies and protectors as well as creatures of menace. They are often seening clutching or chasing the Pearl of Wisdom. In Japanese tattooing the dragons often cover an entire arm or leg, where their twisting body shapes wrap well around limbs, colorfully contrasting against dark backgrounds meant to symbolize wind or water.
Western dragons are often perceived as a threat, and tend to do battle with knights and wizards. They more often have wings in these interpretations and are often seen breathing fire. As with any creature or animal worn as a tattoo, many people wish to take on some of the qualities of these mythical creatures through their skin art.
Dragon Tattoo Design
by Don Ed Hardy
And then the book just does what it does so brilliantly: it offers up page after page of Hardy's dragon designs. Some are large, some are small, some are very Asian, some are tribal. You get dragons that swim, ones that fly, some are drawn full-bodied and some are just close-ups of the head. If you need a finished design or are just wanting some inspiration, you can find plenty of both in this book.
You might also like 2000 Dragons also by Hardy. This was a fine art project done in honor of the year 2000, a year of the Dragon. Hardy painted on a 500 ft. continuous scroll of paper, producing 2000 different images of dragons. I had the chance to see this on exhibit in San Francisco and it's a fascinating exploration and journey.
Dragon Tattoo Design
Used Price: $54.99
At present, this book is out of print and you will have to get a used copy if you wish to own it. I feel this would be entirely worth it given the quality of the publication, put out by Hardy himself in an oversize hardcover edition. This is THE dragon book and it's of value to both tattoo artists and tattoo collectors.
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Poll Into the Heart of the Dragon
a quick dragon tattoo question
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Dragon Tattoo Design Resources
- Dragon Tattoos - Body Art
- Whether perceived as creatures of air, fire, land or water, dragons are popular across all styles of tattoo designs. - Dragon Tattoos - Body Art is a personally written site at BellaOnline
- Dragon Tattoos
- Whether you pick a design out of a "flash tattoo" book, have a friend draw one, or have the tattoo artist do it freehand, they are very permanent. They are also very beautiful. Please click on the thumbnails below and look at what these awesome needle and ink artists can create! You can check out some of their links at the very bottom of the page!
- Dragon Tattoos
- The Dragon, typically depicted as a large and powerful reptile or serpent with magical or spiritual qualities, is one of the few, if not the only mythological creature to be known around the globe. Some dragon enthusiasts believe that the dragon may have had a real-life counterpart from which the legends around the world have been based. Some have said that they are possibly sightings of surviving dinosaurs.
- TattooFinder.com: Dragon Tattoos
- Dragon tattoos can be tattooed as armbands / arm bands, lowerback / lower back pieces, on ankles, shoulders, the upperback area, chest. . . just about anywhere as body art.
- Dragon Tattoos and Tattoo Design Guide
- The history meaning and mythology of the Dragon Tattoo from TattooJohnny.com
- dragon tattoos
- dragon tattoo pictures from MyTattooInk.com
- Japanese Dragon Tattoo Pictures Gallery
- Japanese Dragon Tattoo photos submitted to RankMyTattoos.com
- Dragon Tattoos
- Winged and breathing fire... dragon tattoos have been popular for a long time. Learn more about dragon tattooing, see pictures and watch videos of live tattooing.
Books About Dragons and Designing Dragons
Here are a series of books on dragons, something to help you with the design aspect of your tattoo.
Great Book of Dragon Patterns: The Ultimate Design Sourcebook for Artists and Craftspeople
A superlative resource if you're working on your own custom dragon tattoo design.
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $15.61 (as of 07/06/2009) 
Used Price: $13.84
Usually ships in 24 hours
Dragons: A Book of Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
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Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
Used Price: $4.20
Usually ships in 24 hours
DragonArt
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Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 07/06/2009)
Used Price: $3.96
Usually ships in 24 hours
Dragon Arm Tattoo Photos
Your dragon might live on your upper arm, or take the entire limb
Dragon Tattoo by Kritha
Hers Dragon Tattoo by shna12
My Dragon tattoo drawn freehand
Pupa Tattoo Art Gallery
Dragon Tattoo Clothing
t-shirts, long sleeve, jackets and more
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Angelina Jolie Inspires A Tattoo Trend... then ditches the designs!
From one dragon to two dragons to no dragons
Angelina Jolie has twice had dragons tattooed on her, and twice she's gotten rid of them. I wonder if the supposed 15% of teenage girls who want a dragon tattoo because of her know this yet.The following quote can be found on several quotation web sites under the topic of tattoos, but there's notation to when it was said or where:
"I dropped my pants in a tattoo parlor in Amsterdam. I woke up in a waterbed with this funky-looking dragon with a blue tongue on my hip. I realized I made a mistake, so a few months later I got a cross to cover it. When my pants hang low, it looks like I'm wearing a dagger!"
So, when you see that large black cross on her belly, remember there's a dragon under it. In this picture, you can see a pair of tattoos on her left upper arm. It reads "Billy Bob" and there is a dragon underneath it.
Both of those tattoos are now gone. The name and dragon have been lasered-off and replaced with the tattooed latitudes and longitudes that correspond to the birthplaces of all her children.
See the full history of all of Angelina's tattoos!
Dragon Leg Tattoo Photos
tribal, asian, full leg dragons
This is my second sitting of my green dragon
dragon done by john at bizarre ink
Dragon side (aka Tattoo #3) by KaylynStar
Dragon 1st session
Dragon - flames tattoo by Rubys Host
Red dragon by Fabi Dorighello
witch leg - dragon tattoo by Chickpea981
monochrome dragon by shbnggrth
Finished Dragon by Shane Brogan
dragon by Fernando Meyer
dragon by bigdumbfk
Dragon on Sword by undergroundtattoomd
The Tribal Dragon Tattoos of REIGN OF FIRE
In REIGN OF FIRE, actor Matthew McConaughey plays Denton Van Zan, an American soldier come to England to hunt down the source of the plague of dragons that has scorched the Earth.His character is pretty well covered in dragon-theme tattoos. The blackwork on his arms looks like dragons in flight or wing shapes and when he takes off his vest, you can see stylized dragons curling up his chest and around his pecs. It's as much a fantastic design job as it is a testimony to his personal trainer. You don't look that hot if you have tattoos like this but don't have the cut pecs and a six-pack to support the artwork.
Van Zan is a dragonslayer who has chosen to wear symbols of dragons to signify his ability to overpower them. In addition to his ink, he also wears a dragon's tooth necklace.
Click for more info or to buy the DVD of Reign of Fire
Dragon Tattoo Videos
Yin Yang Dragon Poster
Tao Dragons - 24x36 Wall Poster
Buy From Art.com
Dragon Back Tattoos
These are pictures of dragon tattoo back pieces, where most or all of the back of the torso has been allocated as the space for the dragon.
dragon tattoo by emptyhighway
Dragon by Shotlivephoto
rodrigo the dragon by swankspike
nfinished dragon by Fabi Dorighello
Back Tattoo Fifth Session by A Friend Called 5
dragon tattoo by evissa
Tatuagem de Drag%uFFFDo ,Dragon Tattoo Backpiece by Pablo Dellic
john's back by BobVB
Final Tattoo by dr. huxtable
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by relache
Rae is a long-time body art enthusiast and tattoo collector, who's held Bellaonline's Body Art Editorship for seven years and facilitates Squidoo's In...
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