r/TattooDesigns Feb 26 '24

Please ignore all DMs from people claiming they'll make a design for you, especially new/empty accounts.

91 Upvotes

This is now an official rule, all posts asking for art or offering to draw for people will be removed.

This sub has a huge problem with bots, scammers, and people who have no idea (or don't care) how to find clients. It's not an official rule but this really isn't a sub to hire anyone, people come here asking for ideas and will get bombarded with DMs.

Talk to your tattoo artist about designs, do not hire a nobody with a brand new Reddit account with a name like hungry-aardvark1234 (currently unused name as an example). Most artists worth your time are going to have a waitlist, they will not DM you on Reddit with an immediate offer. And it's part of your artist's job to help come up with what they'll tattoo on you and not all of them will tattoo someone else's art anyway.

If you really want to show them a drawing to help with visuals, check out r/DrawMyTattoo where someone can sketch your idea for free. Ignore anyone trying to charge you, that's money that should go to your artist.

If you're an artist who attempts to find clients in this sub, don't. You look fake and desperate, you're one of dozens spamming people with "I can help, DM me" so OP can't even tell who's legit.

And I'm not here to argue this point, so if you have a problem with this announcement, that's too bad. I'm here to try to keep this sub a friendly place, people shouldn't have to worry about getting scammed.


r/TattooDesigns 3h ago

Tiny custom design

Post image
39 Upvotes

A small fineline design incorporating puppy ears and puppy's birth flower. Disclaimer: I am still learning to tattoo


r/TattooDesigns 10h ago

My take on a anime character (Alucard from Hellsing)

Post image
48 Upvotes

Artist - Ali D from Melb, Australia

@ali.d.ink

Took two sessions 12-13hrs

Had a blast designing and tattooing this!


r/TattooDesigns 11h ago

What should I add?

Thumbnail
gallery
29 Upvotes

Want to add more to my sleeve but at a loss for what to include.

Drop your ideas for me!

Here is what I have:

3 shark teeth

2 scallop shells

1 sea urchinsl test

1 sea dollar

2 starfish

1 spiral shell

1 Nautilis

1 conch shell

1 cone shell

1 shell fossil


r/TattooDesigns 2h ago

Discworld Tattoo Help.

Post image
3 Upvotes

I have this tattoo of DEATH. I want to extend it so it wraps around the leg. To do this I would like to include references to other Discworld characters and stories. Maybe even a nod to Terry Pratchett, but I don't want humanoid figures in the tattoo.

What Icons can I include to bring in the wider world of Discworld?


r/TattooDesigns 23h ago

Japanese and Hawaiian Bouquets by Caleb Colpitts, Middle Son Tattoo, Vermont

Thumbnail
gallery
137 Upvotes

So happy to finally finish off my symmetrical but not matching patchwork sleeves! My third and fourth tattoos from Caleb and he absolutely knocked it out of the park!


r/TattooDesigns 22h ago

Cyber Biomechanics Tattoo by George Jimenez at Serpent Nior - Las Vegas, NV

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

81 Upvotes

I added UV ink to my cyber biomechanics tattoo and I love how it turned out! What do you guys think of this effect?


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

Ye Olde Tramp Stamp by me (IG: badam_ink) Done at Devil’s Door Tattoo, London UK

Thumbnail
gallery
128 Upvotes

Woodcut/engraving/ medieval etching style wolves. My client wanted 2 wolves intertwined in a Celtic knot style. I’m glad they chose the lower back placement too. Thanks for looking!


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

first tattoo, need some complements/ideas

Post image
115 Upvotes

Hi, first tattoo, 2 years old. obviously pretty shitty placement I know, wanna finish my back first then get more tats, need some ideas please :)


r/TattooDesigns 12h ago

Rework or Partial Blastover? Doable?

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I have a genuine question.

I started to think about my first tattoo (first 3 pics)

This old shoulder black and white tattoo, made it probably 20 years ago originally as a full tribal, and partially covered it up around 9 years ago with a big black illustration cause I felt like it was time to change it.

The result was really nice for my taste, but of course it became quite dense due to the coverup.

I just want to say that I still really love it, so i don't want to fully cover it, but somehow with the time and the other tattoos I got, this one stands out a little too much for my current style.

Also the coverup didn't completely cover the old tribal so there is my back with a residue of the old design.

do you think is possible to rework it with black and white to lighten it up or work around it to the give it a new life? I don’t do colours, so I might need advices on black, grey and white only.

Or maybe do a partial blastover and cover the elements that I don’t like much anymore and keep what I like (I would love the eyes of the lion to be bigger and whiter rather than realisticc and the symbol in the forehead to be more predominant as if is coming out, or make the blurred edges more defined and cover the old tribal residue with black ornamental design).
I attached some images as a reference from Pinterest (image 4-5)

About what I like about the original design and the idea, I like the horns and the water (Aquarius and Taurus are my parents), the woman is me (Virgo) and the lion was simply cause I had a small black cat on a black moon tribal there, but my arm was super skinny at 18, so when I became older and bigger I decided to evolve the cat into a lion. maybe the next step can turn it into an energy feline.

Do you know any artist that works on those white touch-ups, possibly in EU (I usually travel between England, Poland and Italy in case but i can move around if organized properly)?

Thank you again!


r/TattooDesigns 9h ago

Should I get this design as a Tattoo?

Post image
1 Upvotes

I found this on Pinterest it's a snake trident ( something related to Shiva) it's a hindu God. I like the design is it good to get it done as a tattoo on my back? Can you suggest placements? and is it a good idea or not?


r/TattooDesigns 17h ago

What do you think?

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

Got this about 3 weeks ago. I'm not sure how I feel. I want to make changes. I like it overal. I'm not sure what you would call the style I was going for. But there was a lot of white, now almost all the white faded. What changes would you suggest, if any? I feel like there's some areas where the illustration could be stronger. I think I also had very high expectations. I'm new to tattoos, but I did go to art school. So I have a bit of an eye.


r/TattooDesigns 13h ago

Looking for idea feedback

Post image
0 Upvotes

So I love Frida Kahlo and I'd like to get some tattoo inspired by her or her work but I don't want it to just be one of her portraits so I've cobbled together this idea with pieces of her work but I can't figure out if it actually looks good or not so please be brutally honest! I'd have the hearts connecting with a line that goes around my thigh and the main piece would be on the outside of my thigh.


r/TattooDesigns 2d ago

Mashup Tattoos by Canada Walkinshaw in Orlando FL

Thumbnail
gallery
623 Upvotes

Insta: @canada_tattoos
Shop : Built 4 Speed Tattoo
I specialize in mashup tattoos , (a style that blends multiple styles together) I like having any and all opportunities to make tattoos that are as whimsical and ridiculous as possible. These doodle bodied skulls was a series of designs I had done up a while ago and it was so much fun to get to do!

I also like doing mashups because they make it easier to allow for different styles to be next to each other. Have a bunch of traditional tattoos and think it would look weird with realism next to it? Use this style to transition over! Same works for any style. It also adds a more unique element to it so there’s a lot you can get out of these kinds of tattoos!


r/TattooDesigns 18h ago

Placement advice?

Thumbnail
gallery
0 Upvotes

Hello! I’m looking to get the sun/moon tattooed on me next week. The only really noticeable tattoo I have is the one on my left arm, on the inside and bottom of the upper arm. The sun/moon tattoo will be around 2-3 inches around. I’m thinking it would look better on my right arm. Placement advice? Thank you!


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

Japanese tattoo

2 Upvotes

I’m really interested in getting a No Longer Human tattoo. (No Longer Human is an English translated book from Japanese from the author Osamu Dazai). I really loved the book, it spoke to me in a very meaningful way. I’m obsessed with “As long as I can make them laugh, it doesn’t matter how, I’ll be alright. If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives. The one thing I must avoid is becoming offensive in their eyes: I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky.” Especially “I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky”. I’ve done some research and it seems there’s no exact (or close even) Japanese translation for just “I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky”. I’ve seen tattoos of “No Longer Human” in Japanese ( 人間失格 ) which is also a good tattoo idea BUT I am a white American (European descent) that doesn’t speak or read any Japanese at all. Opinions on getting 人間失格 tattooed?


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

Help explain why tattoo artists tell me my idea would look stupid

12 Upvotes

For example I have asked an artist to make a design of a "bold bee" and suggested I could be a bee holding a sword or something like that. They answered it would look stupid. I guess it can be because of mixed styles? That a bee drawn realistic would look stupid holding a sword or posing in a "bold way"?

I just don't understand it. I mean, if you can think it you can draw it? And the artist could just draw it not stupid? Or tell me "I am not able to draw that".

What should I say to a tattoo artist to make them draw my idea? Or what style should I look for in a tattoo artist?


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

I need ideas to finish my sleeve

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

trying 2 stick with american traditional but cant come up with any ideas also trying to stick to black and grey! if yall have references that would be great too!


r/TattooDesigns 16h ago

Pec tattoo, my own design

Post image
0 Upvotes

Open to any and all feedback, composition, styling, etc. its the first tattoo I have designed, not sure if I did anything silly. Does it look balanced? I trimmed the outline of the island back from compass rose too keep it from looking crowded, was that a mistake or does it work? Should I rotate the lettering -45 to match the rotation of the compass rose? Does the inverted coloring on the white orca fit?

The background is the island I grew up on. Orca are kind of big deal around here and I have had a number of profound experiences with them. I am in the PNW so I tilted the compass rose to point PNW instead of north and put our area code on the other points. The I Ching and yin yang just resonate with me and my own philosophies so I thought to incorporate them, especially fitting I thought with orca being black and white also.


r/TattooDesigns 2d ago

Nervous about how this design might be perceived

Post image
145 Upvotes

An ancestor of mine designed one of the only weapons produced by the Polish Army/Resistance during their occupation in WW2. The weapon was named the błyskawica or "lightning" due to the butt plate you see here. I'm a bit worried about how it may be perceived due to the German use of lighting bolts in that period and general neo-nazi aesthetic. What do you all think? Placement on the upper right side of my chest, as if the weapon itself had made an imprint. Still deciding if the bolts or the space in the shield would be the negative space.


r/TattooDesigns 2d ago

Figured out the chrome

Post image
1.8k Upvotes

If any of yall saw my previous post about advice on how to paint/draw chrome I figured it out! Thank you to those that where helpful on that post!

art done by me or 2in_the_ink on Instagram


r/TattooDesigns 1d ago

Looking for feedback on my sleeve project

Thumbnail
gallery
16 Upvotes

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for some feedback on my sleeve project.
The first photos show my current tattoos. At the moment, they’re all black ink only. I’m considering adding color to some of them—not all—using mainly red and dark green while keeping the overall American Traditional (Old School) style.
I’m also planning to add a few new tattoos to the sleeve, and those would already be done in black, red, and dark green to match the overall concept.
The following images are reference ideas for the direction I’m thinking about.
I’d really appreciate your honest feedback:
Do you think adding red and dark green would improve the overall look?
Which existing tattoos would you color, and which ones would you leave black?
Do the new tattoo ideas fit well with the current ones?
Does everything work together as a cohesive American Traditional sleeve?
Is there anything you would add, remove, or change?
I’m just looking for constructive opinions before making any final decisions.
Thanks in advance to everyone who shares their thoughts!


r/TattooDesigns 2d ago

Fine line surreal beetle with a feminine portrait, tattooed by me, @soaww_tattoo in Seattle, WA.

Post image
31 Upvotes

I wanted this design to combine several elements I’m naturally drawn to: insects, unusual feminine portraits, ornamental details, and a slightly dark, mystical feeling. The goal was to create a strong symmetrical shape while keeping the tattoo delicate and airy.
The most challenging part was balancing the large wings and darker areas with the fine details in the face, so the portrait would still remain the focal point. I’m really happy with how the soft shading and small botanical elements brought everything together without making the piece feel too heavy.


r/TattooDesigns 3d ago

Medieval Demon by me (IG: badam_ink) Done at Devil’s Door Tattoo, London UK

Post image
507 Upvotes

Woodcut/engraving/ medieval etching style demon. My client wanted a design based of a demon from an illuminated manuscript with an added burning sacred heart. Medieval illustrations of demons usually look a little goofy so hopefully that comes across. Thanks for looking!


r/TattooDesigns 2d ago

My memorial tattoo sleeve

Post image
13 Upvotes

It's crazy to think 4 years ago I lost my daughter in the most grueling way possible it really did a number on my mental and physical health then I was encouraged by my best friend and moderator to get a tattoo to memorialize her and here I am 4 years later with my sleeve almost done it hasn't taken the pain away but it has helped knowing she is now with me fly high my little fox