Alium Tattoo Studio

Finding the Perfect Ink: A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo Design

Margaret Sant,

January 17, 2025

how to choose a tattoo design

Gather Inspiration for the Tattoo

Choosing a tattoo design involves a multifaceted decision-making process. Begin with gathering inspiration. The design of a tattoo starts with your imagination and things that resonate with you. This can involve personal experiences, beliefs, or passion. Look around for ideas art inspired tattoos, nature, literature, personal symbols, and cultural icons, which can be blended or altered to create your unique tattoo design.

Alium wants you to take into consideration all the possible factors that come to play when choosing a tattoo. You can always book a consultation with us to ask questions and take a peek at our example tattoo gallery and available tattoo designs from our international tattoo artists.

Decisions such as cost, location, color, and overall tattoo style and design can take a while. And that’s completely fine. After all, this a commitment for the rest of your life! Unless, of course, you choose a tattoo cover up. But that’s a completely different subject we can address some other day! For everyone else, here’s our guide to choosing the perfect tattoo:

Research Meaningful Tattoo Symbols

  • Explore Personal Meaning: Reflect on your values, experiences, and what you want the tattoo to represent, such as love, growth, or resilience. For instance, lots of customers look for ways to honor loved ones, memorialize their pets, represent their family values through tattoos.  
  • Study Cultural and Historical Contexts: Research symbols from different cultures, mythologies, or historical periods to find one that aligns with your meaning. For example, viking symbols are popular for spiritual and masculine tattoo designs.
  • Look Into Art and Nature: Explore animals, plants, and abstract designs with symbolic ties, like wolves for loyalty or lotus flowers for spiritual growth. Check out our Pinterest boards for inspiration on animal and plants tattoos.
  • Consult Books and Online Resources: Use tattoo symbolism books, art history references, and trusted online sources for deeper insights.
  • Remember tattoos are forever: Make sure symbols are appropriate for your values. You might also consider your profession or the dress code at your place of work.
  • Ask Tattoo Artists: Many tattoo artists are knowledgeable about symbolism and can help you interpret or create a design with personal significance. Check out our incredible LA-based tattoo artists and book a consultation!

Select you Style

There is a wide spectrum of tattoo styles to choose from, like traditional, tribal, new school, realism, Japanese, etc. Your choice should reflect your personal aesthetic sense and what you desire your tattoo to express.

Here are definitions of popular tattoo styles:

  1. Traditional (Old School): Bold black outlines, limited color palette (red, green, yellow, blue), and classic motifs like anchors, roses, or swallows.
  2. Neo-Traditional: Builds on traditional with more intricate details, shading, and a wider color range while keeping bold outlines.
  3. Realism: Highly detailed tattoos designed to look like photographs, often depicting portraits, animals, or nature scenes. Check our our Micro-Realism and Realism tattoos Pinterest board for design inspiration. 
  4. Black and Grey: Tattoos done entirely in shades of black, gray, and white, often emphasizing depth and texture.
  5. Watercolor: Mimics the look of watercolor paintings with soft, blended colors and minimal outlines.
  6. Japanese (Irezumi): Inspired by traditional Japanese art, featuring mythological creatures, koi fish, and flowers in bold, flowing compositions.
  7. Tribal: Based on indigenous art, with bold black patterns and shapes often representing heritage or spiritual meaning.
  8. Minimalist: Simple designs with fine lines and minimal details, often symbolic or geometric.
  9. Dotwork: Composed of tiny dots to create shading, texture, and intricate patterns.
  10. Script: Features typography or handwriting, often used for quotes, names, or dates in a variety of fonts.
  11. New School: Cartoonish and exaggerated designs with vibrant colors and bold, dynamic shapes. Check out our color tattoos board on Pinterest for some New School examples. 
  12. Geometric: Symmetrical and abstract designs made up of shapes, lines, and patterns, often with a spiritual or mathematical connection.
  13. Surrealism: Dreamlike and imaginative designs inspired by surrealist art, blending reality with fantasy. Check out our Surrealism Tattoo board on Pinterest for inspiration.
  14. Biomechanical: Designs inspired by machinery and human anatomy, creating a fusion of organic and mechanical elements.
  15. Illustrative: A blend of traditional art styles and modern techniques, resembling hand-drawn or painted art.
  16. Fine Line: Delicate tattoos created with thin, precise lines, focusing on intricate detail and subtlety, often used for floral designs, portraits, or text. See our fine line board on Pinterest for tattoo design inspo. 

Reflect on Your Tattoo's Meaning

It’s essential to reflect on the tattoo’s meaning. Ask yourself, does it represent or symbolize something special to you? A meaningful design can extend beyond its aesthetics, signifying personal growth, milestones, loss, love, or a belief. Check out some work by Alium Artists below: 

Consider the Placement of you Tattoo

Next, consider the placement of your tattoo. Different areas of the body provide varied skin textures, space, and pain levels during tattooing. For example, larger designs are suitable for the back or chest, while smaller designs might go well on the wrist, ankle or behind the ear.

Here are some considerations for tattoo placements:

  • Forearm: Versatile and easy to show or hide; minimal pain, good for detailed designs.
  • Upper Arm: Popular for large designs, easy to cover for work, and low on the pain scale.
  • Chest: Great for meaningful or large tattoos but can be painful near the sternum or collarbone.
  • Back: Ideal for expansive designs, but visibility requires a mirror.
  • Wrist: Delicate area with moderate pain; best for small, simple designs.
  • Ankle/Foot: Subtle placement; tends to fade faster and can be quite painful.
  • Ribcage: Painful but great for meaningful designs due to privacy and placement.
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Think About Long-Term Wearability

Think about the long-term wearability of your tattoo. How will it age? Will it remain relevant to you over time? Certain colors or intricate designs may fade over time and require periodic touch-ups. And, the placement of your tattoo can greatly affect fading. A thoughtful selection considering these factors ensures you remain happy with your tattoo in the long run.

Placement Can Affect Tattoo Aging

Tattoo placement plays a significant role in how well a tattoo ages. Areas with frequent movement, like fingers, wrists, elbows, and knees, are more prone to fading and blurring due to skin stretching and friction. Tattoos on high-friction zones, like feet, hands, and inner thighs, often fade faster because of constant rubbing against clothing or surfaces. Conversely, areas like the upper arms, back, and thighs age better, as they experience less movement and sun exposure. Tattoos on sun-exposed areas, such as the shoulders, forearms, or chest, are more likely to fade unless protected with sunscreen. Proper placement and aftercare help preserve tattoo quality over time.

Consult a Tattoo Artist

Lastly, make sure to consult with a professional tattoo artist. They can further guide you on design possibilities, styles, placement and provide valuable advice tailored to your idea. Above all, it’s crucial to take your time in choosing a design; avoid hasty decisions as tattoos are a long-term commitment.

Should I let my tattoo artist design my tattoo?

Yes, it is highly recommended that your tattoo artist designs your tattoo. This is primarily because designing tattoos is inherently part of their professional duties and expertise. Tattoo artists frequently prefer creating their own designs, as this allows them to utilize their artistic skills and creativity to the fullest extent.

Tattoo artists can work more proficiently with their own design

The uniqueness lies in their familiarity with the designs they create. Their firsthand acquaintance with their designs enables them to execute them more proficiently when inking the skin. This familiarity also ensures that the design suits the specific canvas of the body, as they are well-versed in understanding how different designs fit and adapt to various body contours and aspects.

They know how to transfer design concepts to skin

Moreover, it’s important to know that tattoo designs demand a certain level of specialization. Transferring a design concept from paper to skin isn’t as simple as one might think. Designing a tattoo that works well on both paper and skin requires an exceptional level of skill and expertise. This is often challenging and is best handled by professionals who are experienced in this unique artistic medium.

However, it’s absolutely fine to bring your design ideas to the consultation

Tattoo artists are usually open to clients bringing their own designs. It’s often part of the process to have a consultation to discuss your design ideas. By presenting your own design, you make the process more bespoke to your preferences.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bring my own design to a tattoo studio?

Yes, you are allowed to bring your own design to a tattoo parlor. The design you bring will be a permanent mark on your body, hence it’s crucial that you are completely satisfied with it. You are encouraged to bring any elements that might assist the tattoo artist in capturing the design you envision accurately.

The U.S. Army’s tattoo policy forbids having tattoos on the head, face, neck above the t-shirt line, wrists, or hands apart from a single ring tattoo per hand which must be situated where a typical ring would rest. Additionally, the policy rules that tattoos on the legs must be two inches below or above the knee. 

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