Girl Tattoos - How to Find the Right Design For You

3D Tattoos

If shows such as Miami Ink and L.A. Ink show us anything, it's that tattoos are not some passing fad. What once was a form of rebellion is now seen by many as an outward extension of who they are. Women today are becoming increasingly tattooed and searches on the net for girl tattoos have skyrocketed. Some tattoo studios (once called tattoo 'parlors) can even have a female to male ratio of 60% to 40%.

What drives a woman to get a tattoo? The most heard reason in studios is that they just broke up with someone. Some get their first ink after a divorce or other major change in their life such as losing a loved one, childbirth, marriage or even religion (think cross tattoos or The Virgin Mary). This is a practice that dates back thousands of years.  

What are women having done tattoo-wise? The most popular are typically flowers, tribal designs, butterflies, fairies and cartoons. These tattoos are also starting to get larger and more customized. There was a time when women usually "hid" something very small on their shoulder or ankle. Today popular spots include the small of the back, arms legs and even chests. Although, the ankle and shoulder are still tremendously popular locations...the tattoos are just larger. Typically being more stylish that men, women are more concerned about tattoos they want and where on their body to put it. Part of the tattoo artist's job is to help the client select a design or possible location that will accentuate a certain part or shape of the body.

Women also seem to be better than men when actually getting tattooed. Men like to think they are tough can take the pain. But when the needle hits their skin they pass out in the chair. Women, on the other hand anticipate the pain and will have a higher tolerance.

Have you been searching the internet looking for tattoo designs, a tattoo finder or more particularly girl tattoo art? Finding the right design can be downright exhausting. People with tattoos will tell you how long it takes to choose the right one. After all, they last forever and shouldn't be rushed. It could take 20-30 hours to find the right tattoo design, so don't get a tattoo on a whim or go with cute and trendy. A feminine tattoo should be unique and should speak about who you are and not copied from someone else.

If you are like most women, you have searched and searched for the right design; be it a cross tattoo, a floral tattoo or butterfly tattoo. You may have searched the internet, looked for a tattoo finder or even searched the books of your local tattoo studio. Take your time and try to visualize the type of tattoo you want before you get it. Try to find examples that resemble your idea to see what it may end up looking like. Never be tempted to 'just pick one off the wall'...never settle for less just because you can't make up your mind. The first half of 2008 shows the 5 most popular girl tattoos to be Traditional Japanese tattoos (koi fish, dragons, etc.), Traditional American tattoos (pin ups, classic cars, etc.), Floral tattoos, Anime (although I think this is a passing fad) and Indian / Hindu tattoo designs. Be careful, though, some designs can have totally different meanings than what you thought and can also be associated with particular cultural groups; such as gang tattoos.  Also be sure to have any foreign tattoos, such as Japanese lettering, translated before having them permanently affixed to your body! The estimate is that 25% of all translation in tattoo studio is wrong! There are tons of cases of people going to get a Japanese tattoo of "strong will" and the lettering actually spelling out "small fish" or something worse.

When getting a tattoo, remember that fads come and go, be aware of any regulations your employer may have against them and remember that having one removed can cost up to ten as much as the original tattoo!

People have said that getting a tattoo is like losing your virginity! The rush, the smell, even the pain are extremely memorable and intense. People even say that tattoos are addictive!

So if you are thinking of getting a tattoo and are looking to girl tattoos, remember to make it your own, consider the placement and above all...have fun.

Sleeve Tattoo Ideas

Sleeve Tattoos

Tattoos done by talented artists can truly be a work of art. Tattoos are wonderful because they are inked right into your skin. With a few good designs, you can easily turn your body into a lovely piece of art. Indeed, your body can be a canvass with tattoos!

Tattoos can be placed anywhere on your body that you choose. Tattoo placement is your own personal choice. One of the most popular types of tattoos that many people choose to get is sleeve tattoo designs.

What is a tattoo sleeve?

You may be wondering what exactly a tattoo sleeve is. It is basically a design or combination of designs that covers a large portion of your body. The tattoo will cover up so much of your body that nobody will be able to see your skin underneath!  Your tattoo sleeve design can be anything you want, and you can include all the patterns, symbols, and objects you wish.

As its name suggests, the tattoo sleeve is usually found on the arms. There are a few different choices: the full sleeve, which covers the entire arm; half sleeve, which covers the arm from the elbow to the wrist; and the quarter sleeve that covers the arm from the bicep to the shoulder. Your tattoo sleeve doesn't have to be on your arms---you can also get it on your legs! The sleeve tattoo does not merely cover the top part of your leg or arm, it wraps all the way around the arm or leg so that it can live up to its name.

You can look online for some sleeve tattoo ideas and pictures for ideas. These tattoos are very beautiful and unique, and come become a true work of art all on its own. The best part is that it is a true work of art on your body! Planning and preparing for a tattoo sleeve can be a bit time consuming, but is still vital nonetheless. A well planned tattoo design can be an amazing piece of art, but a poorly planned one that you just rush through to get can be ugly.

Whenever you take a sleeve tattoo into consideration, you must pay attention to the cost. These designs are not cheap at all. In fact, they can be pretty expensive! This is especially true if you want something intricate, such as a Celtic tattoo sleeve. Complex tattoos can cost thousands!

Since sleeve tattoos cover such a large portion of your body and are often detailed, you won't be getting it all completed in just one session. You'll more than likely have to visit the tattoo shop many times to get it worked on. A tattoo sleeve can take as much as 18 hours to get done! Your artist will break the sessions up and fix a schedule that will suit the both of you.

Don't take your decision to get a tattoo sleeve design lightly. You need to spend a lot of time and money in the chair before it's completed. Obviously, you need to plan the design out very carefully before going in for multiple sessions!

Tribal Shoulder Tattoo - Finding Designs Online From Sleeve To Back Piece

Back Piece Tattoos

When it comes to a tribal shoulder tattoo for yourself, you should not have to settle for generic artwork that you don't like 100%, whether it's a sleeve, back piece, or strictly on your shoulders. That's the problem with locating great artwork on the web, because there are so many cookie-cutter website out there and some people even give up on their search for their tribals. Well, here are some crucial things you must know about those types of places, as well as how to locate the top notch designs online.

A tribal shoulder tattoo can be such an amazing choice, but as you may have seen, finding those quality designs can be close to impossible. To avoid those generic websites, you will want avoid using Google or Yahoo searches to find your artwork. This only leads you to the thousands upon thousands of cookie-cutter websites that have tattoos that are most likely over five or six years old. Also, these designs you see there are probably on hundreds of other websites already. Who knows how many other people might already have that tribal shoulder tattoo inked on their body? That's not a design you want on your skin. If you are like most people, you honestly want original, quality designs to choose from.

There is good news, though, and it has to do with bypassing those cookie-cutter websites while finding a quality tribal shoulder tattoo you will be 100% happy with...

Now that we have ruled out search engines for the most part, you will want to use something else to locate the perfect tribal shoulder tattoo designs on the internet. To do this, you can use internet forums, which can be absolutely perfect for finding just about anything, including a tribal shoulder tattoo, or any tribals for that matter. There are hundreds of posts on any given forums about tattoos and the hidden, quality places that have them. These are the websites that won't necessarily pop up in a search engine result, which his also a very good thing for you. People post on forums to broadcast to the select few who are looking for the same thing and you can reap the benefits.

The websites you find through forums will also be the places that will have a majority of the artwork that was truly drawn to be implemented as tattoos. This is crucial for something as detailed as a tribal shoulder tattoo can be. You see, a lot of the cookie-cutter websites out there are filled with designs that weren't even drawn to be made into tattoos. The artists that draw most of them do not have any real knowledge when it comes to tattoos. This means that they don't know how to make designs that will look even half as good once inked on a person's skin. That's not a tribal shoulder tattoo you want to "settle" for. A tribal shoulder tattoo is too prominent on your body to settle for generic artwork that won't come out as well as it looks on paper.

Locating a quality tribal shoulder tattoo online doesn't have to be that hard any longer, so please, don't hop on the internet and settle for the tons of generic artwork that seems to liter the web, for any sleeve, back piece, or strictly designs for the shoulders.

Who Else Wants to Learn About Tattoo Removal and Make an Informed Decision?

3D Tattoos

In life, circumstances are always changing. What we think is good today may be a wrong for tomorrow. This is especially true when it comes to major decisions like getting a tattoo. However, in recent times, the available options for removing a tattoo are growing, and so are advancement in the methods used.

o Changing body types - Your weight is no longer what it used to be. You have either lost a lot or gained a lot. It can also be that you have been working out and put on a lot of muscle. On the other hand, perhaps you have just simply gotten older and your skin has loosened, wrinkled and/or sagged.

o Breakups - We all know someone, or a friend of a friend who tattooed "Jessica" on his shoulder only break up with her a month later.

o Changing views - Maybe you were a rebellious teen making a fearless statement on a positive issue, but since then you're older and have changed some of your views. That symbol you tattooed on you arm is no longer an issue.

o Bad tattoo design - Hopefully you are not one of the unlucky ones and the tattoo artist messed your tattoo up and left you with an unappealing design.

o Job or "society" issues - If you have a large or easily visible tattoo, certain jobs or even certain individuals may look down on you and deny you certain opportunities.

Should you find yourself in any of the above situations, don't panic; there are various options you can look into for tattoo removal. Let's begin with the cheapest methods then discuss some of the more costly procedures.

o Creams - When looking to remove a tattoo, you will hear about tattoo removal creams that are on the market today. While the cost of these creams are relatively low (about a hundred bucks), compared to other methods, you will probably get what you pay for. Some people claim that the creams worked for them. Others say the cream faded their tattoo over time and others say they saw no effect. If you're willing to roll the dice, tattoo removal creams may be worth looking into. Just keep in mind that results can vary.

o Cover-ups - A tattoo cover-up involves getting a new, fresh tattoo over your old tattoo. This is not always possible, and is not always done well. For example, you cannot expect to cover up a thick, black tattoo with light ink, or get rid of a large, intricate design, without getting a large, block-like design over it. Some tattoo artists are very good at doing cover-ups. However, you should consult a highly regarded artist to see if he thinks it would be successful. Here, the cost of tattoo removal (via cover-up) is just the cost of the new tattoo itself.

Apart from those two options for tattoo removal there are several types of medical procedures.

o Salabrasion - Salabrasion is a rather old technique that actually involves sanding off your tattoo covered skin. Anesthetic is administered to the area and then salt water is applied while your skin is vigorously rubbed. Yes, this is as painful as it sounds and is likely to cause scarring.

o Dermabrasion - With dermabrasion you are again basically sanding off your skin. Anesthetic is also used in this type of tattoo removal. Following that, a solution is applied (or simple ice packs are applied) to the tattooed skin that freezes the area. A hand-held rotary instrument is then used to scrape away the top layers of skin on the area. Due to the nature of the procedure there will likely be bleeding as well as scarring.

o Excision - Excision is a procedure where the tattooed skin is cut off. This is easiest with small tattoos however it is a tattoo removal procedure that can be used for even larger tattoos. With larger tattoos, you may undergo several the procedure several times. First cutting away the center of the tattoo and then following up with the outer portions later. After cutting away the skin and the tattoo, your skin is brought back together; in some cases with large tattoos a skin graft is used to cover the removed area. Local anesthetics are also used in this tattoo removal procedure.

The most common form of tattoo removal today is the use of a laser to remove the tattoo. A focused laser is used to break apart the tattoo ink under the surface of your skin. The rest of your skin remains unharmed and there will not be scarring. Different wavelengths are used for different ink colors which means the more colorful your tattoo, the more complex and costly your laser tattoo removal will be.

While laser tattoo removal is very successful (although not always completely), the cost of tattoo removal from laser procedures can be quite expensive and time consuming. For a small, single-color tattoo, the cost of tattoo removal may be one hundred to several hundred dollars.

For larger, thicker, more intricate and more colorful tattoos, you may have to have up to 10 sessions to get your tattoo completely removed. Sessions can range in cost anywhere from $100 to over $1,000, most likely falling in the $400-$500 range. With laser tattoo removal a numbing agent can be used beforehand if necessary, although most say it is a rather painless tattoo removal procedure. One downside to laser tattoo removal is obviously the cost of tattoo removal itself, as well as how long the complete process can take. Individual sessions need to be spaced out to allow proper time to heal.

As you can see there are various methods for getting your tattoo removed. You can find a method to suit your budget and tolerance to discomfort and pain. Just remember to do your research an make an informed decision.

Japanese Tattoo Lettering - History, Basics, and Style

japanese Tattoos

In Japan, tattooing and tattoo lettering began primarily as an expression of spirituality. From approximately 300 BC to 300 AD, a Japanese tattoo always conveyed a certain religious meaning for its bearer, and also served as a decorative status symbol.

During this period, tattooing was meticulously practiced and highly regarded. For the tattoo artists, tattooing was not just an occupation, but a way of life. For instance, aspiring apprentices had to train under masters for many years before becoming credible and acknowledged tattoo artists, which are called "horis" in Japan. Only a horis was allowed to create full body suit tattoos.

All that changed when the government began to etch tattoos on criminals as a means of punishment. During the Meiji era, the Japanese government outlawed tattooing and forced artists to practice underground. It was legalized again in 1945, but until now, Japanese tattoos have never completely shaken off the negative association with common felons and the Yakuza, Japan's longstanding infamous mafia. Consequently, people sporting tattoos are known to be banned in many public baths and massage parlors by apprehensive business owners. Despite all this, Japanese tattoos continue to gain popularity domestically and worldwide because of the outstanding artistry of the designs and the deep mystical symbolism inherent to them.

Japanese tattoos are formed using words, images, and numbers, or different combinations of each. There are three kinds of scripts in Japanese:

• Kanji - originated from traditional Chinese characters. Intricate and beautiful, these characters are used to convey concepts.
• Hiragana - developed during the Heian period by women. It represents sounds, and looks feminine.
• Katakana - series of characters developed by Buddhist monks. The style is sharp and masculine, and represents sounds.

Kanji, hiragana, and katakana are combined and used for lettering and can be written vertically and horizontally. Katakana is generally used for foreign names, places, and words that are of foreign origin. For Japanese tattoo lettering, people often use Kanji.

In the same manner as there are different lettering styles in English writing, there are also different writing styles to create Japanese characters. They are:

• Kaisho, is the Japanese equivalent of block style.
• Gyousho, is the equivalent of cursive style.
• Sousho, is an extreme form of cursive, perhaps the equivalent of fancy Old English lettering.

Called "irezumi" and "horimono", Japanese tattoos are stunning but are rather complicated to create because there is no actual alphabet for the Japanese language. Written communication is a group of symbols representing sounds or general concepts. That's why it is so important to find yourself a tattoo artist who has extensive knowledge and expertise with the Japanese language, and its attached symbolism. Before getting a Japanese tattoo, it is best to follow these guidelines:

• Know the difference between kanji, hiragana, and katakana.
• Familiarize yourself with the writing styles and choose the one that appeals to you the most.
• Choose a word that would translate logically into Japanese. Some phrases may be coherent in English (e.g. "Big Daddy) but may be ridiculous when converted to Japanese (e.g. Large Father).
• Always remember to check before having any inking done.

How to Understand the Powerful Meanings Behind Dragon Tattoo Designs

Dragon Tattoos

All over the world, dragon tattoo designs have been popular and still are. The great thing about having a dragon tattoo is that you can have it on basically any part of your body and it will look great. Dragons on their own are mystical creatures that are known only to exist in folklore and in myths, but this could be the reasons as to why dragon tattoo designs are one of the most popular in the world.

Depending on which way the dragon is designed and portrayed, dragon tattoos can emit many different emotions, some of which include anger and hate right through to elegance and adoration. Due to the fact that so many cultures offer their own depictions of exactly how dragons are and what they look like, people that are looking to have the tattoos done have such a wide variety to choose from.

The designs of these tattoos are just about endless, so when you decide that you are going to settle with one of the many designs available, make sure you choose the right design and on the right part of your body. It is great that you can arrange your dragon so that it emits something that suits you. A dragon can be personalized in more than one way. Make it into a dragon that you have always wanted on your body, but still with meaning.

According to legends, dragons are said to have originated from the Far East, in certain countries like Japan, China and Korea. It is said that the dragons were mainly used to guard valuable treasures so that no one could pass them and get to whatever they were guarding. In this case you could use dragon tattoo designs like this to protect something of yours, like your heart. Dragons were not always bad as perceived, and they weren't always the fire-breathing monsters people made them out to be.

When artists are constructing dragon tattoo designs they tend to keep the body and face similar. With the Chinese dragons, they typically have longer torsos as well as shorter legs, but in truth, most dragons are more like sea monsters or snakes than the dragons that feature in European fairytales. Dragon's eyes normally look harsh and show wisdom, so if it is the serious look you are going for it will be an original dragon.

One of the main features of any one of the dragon tattoo designs is the color of the dragon. The color is very important as it is the main characteristic in the dragon and the look it is supposed to portray. When it comes to Chinese dragon tattoos, these are normally done in yellow, orange and red.

The medieval dragon is also one of the popular dragon tattoo designs of today, but sometimes these were used to reference the dragon in evil ways, which is a look that isn't always wanted.

Dragon tattoo designs can have meaning behind them, but this is why you need to put some thought into your tattoo before you have it done. When you know what the dragon tattoo designs are going to mean to you, have it done then as you will be able to personalize it slightly to match your meaning even more.

Japanese Tattoo Design - Getting Great Artwork On The Net

japanese Tattoos

It looks like you have made the decision to look for a Japanese tattoo design online. While it is a fantastic choice, you may have noticed that locating the quality artwork for on can be somewhat impossible on the web. This is because the internet is so loaded with generic designs that it is frustrating. Before you end up settling on something you don't 100% like, here is what you need to know about a lot of the art on the net, as well as how to find the good stuff.

While a Japanese tattoo design is a great choice, you do not want to settle for random, generic artwork like so many other people do. It doesn't matter which styles you are searching for. It just shouldn't be done. You would not believe how many people end u settling on generic artwork that they don't fully like. Some do this because they are tired of searching endlessly for great designs and some do it because they are seeing the same artwork over and over again and are getting sick of it. Like I said, it doesn't matter what the reason is, especially for something as special as a Japanese tattoo design can be for you.

Before this happens to you, here is what to avoid when looking for a Japanese tattoo design online these days...

This first point is not something that will be earth shattering, but it will sure make a difference in how you view things. I am going to speak briefly about search engines. Yes, the things that we all love so much for finding just about anything online. Search engines are the perfect tools for finding millions of things, but "quality" artwork is not one of them. All they seem to do is send you right to the thousands and thousands of cookie-cutter websites that all have the same exact generic artwork as the next place. This is all search engines pull up, even for a Japanese tattoo design.

These websites are loaded with designs that are mostly over a half a decade old and the stuff they do have is already plastered on hundreds of other sites. That's not a Japanese tattoo design that should be settled for. I mean, millions of people have probably seen that design over the years. Don't you think that dozens and dozens of them have gotten it inked on their body? The chances of that happening are pretty high, so you might want to think twice about settling on some half decent Japanese tattoo deign from one of those cookie-cutter places.

To locate an original, quality Japanese tattoo design online these days, you ned to switch you path and start using something else...

This "something else" is an internet forum. Not just one forum. Use dozens of them if you want. Each forum is loaded with its own unique insider information when it comes to tattoos and the great websites that have tons of quality designs for you. (You can use search engines to find the big forums out there!) You see, search engines don't seem to pull any pf these places up, so there are limited ways of finding out about them. Forums happen to be the best and fastest way, even for that Japanese tattoo design you are looking for.

Getting the perfect Japanese tattoo design online can be done, so please don't just settle on some random, generic artwork that you might just end up regretting.