Cross Tattoos For Christians

Cross Tattoos

Cross tattoos may seem a bit cliche, but with so many cultural influences, your cross tattoo can become a unique identity of your own spirituality. Whether you're Hindu or Christian, there are cross designs to fit your style and spiritual flair. At the same time, such unique cross tattoos can give you a great conversation starter in any religious audience!

In the West, one of the most popular tattoos is the cross tattoo. Most of the people who get this tattoo are Christian. Most of them don't believe that this popular symbol has pre-Christian roots! For a modern day Christian, the cross is a symbol of Christian faith and hope in resurrection. For many others, the cross is a pagan symbol of rebirth, nature and opposing forces.

Some tattoo patrons have begun to expand the cross tattoos to include Scandinavian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Indian and pre-Christian European roots. This is good, because they all have different "looks" about them. Christian crosses are very different than Scandinavian crosses. Also, Egyptian crosses have unique qualities that aren't in tune with Assyrian or ancient Babylonian crosses. Let's cover some of the differences so you can choose your cross tattoos wisely!

Scandinavia has strong pagan roots that are deeply connected to nature. The Scandinavian cross is called the Tau cross, and it symbolizes the god Thor. Thor was the ancient god of thunder and symbolized courage. A good Scandinavian cross tattoo is very strong, boldly colored and surrounded by other symbols of war, courage and maybe even lightening bolts!

Egyptians saw crosses as markers of life and death. The Egyptian cross has a tear-shaped drop on the top of it, and it symbolizes reincarnation and truth. It's common to have a jewel of obsidian in the center of the tear-drop.The Egyptian cross also symbolizes Isis and Osiris, and their sacred union which allowed creation. The Egyptian cross is the second most common cross tattoo design, right after the Christian cross design.

Assyrian crosses and Babylonian crosses are less well-known. Assyrians used the cross to symbolize the shining sun (in four directions), and the Babylonian cross symbolized the moon deity. A great tattoo would incorporate both of these crosses since they are juxtaposed figures of night and day! Both tattoos need strong colors and can be easily personalized since they're less well-known.

Indian cross design is very similar to the Christian design. The vertical line of the Indian cross represents astral beings and the supernatural. The horizontal bar is a reminder of Earthly ties and physical existence. India has deep connections with nature and the supernatural. Hinduism recognizes a strong tie between what we can see (reality, physical plane of existence) and what's unknown to humanity (the astral plane).

Japanese Tattoo Designs For Women - Hot Sexy and Cute Tattoos For Girls With an Air of Mystery

Samurai Tattoos

Japanese tattoo designs have been experiencing a real revival in recent years and with the beautiful designs it is easy to see why. The Japanese have been doing tattoos for thousands of years and they have developed an some of the most beautiful designs and tattoo themes ever. If you are thinking about getting a Japanese tattoo design for women then here are some ideas and guidance that will help you in making your decision.

The History
Of course tattooing has long been a tradition in Japan. However, it was not until recent years that tattoos in Japan and their designs really came into acceptance. Way back in the days of Samurai's tattoos were used to brand criminals. This branding of criminals continued down into the Yakuza (Japanese Gangs) choosing to tattoo themselves as a mark of the chosen lifestyle. In more recent years though the young in Japan are not getting tattoos even though they don't belong to Yakuza. Tattoos are kind of going through a rebirth of sorts in Japan and they are becoming more widely acceptable as they have here in the US.

Japanese Tattoo Designs For Women
Here are some of the top designs that work very well for the female body. Of course any design is open to get by any female. A person is free to choose any design they want and a lady could get a huge samurai on their back if they want. However, these themes below tend to be favored by women.

Cherry Blossom Tattoos
Cherry blossoms are a beautiful flower that blooms from the cherry tree typically in April. These beautiful flowers have long been a passion for the Japan in general. They are symbolic of how fragile and beautiful life can be. Often the Samurai would write poems about Cherry Blossoms and they thought of the blossoms as being brave and ready to die at any minute. That is how the Samurai lived their life all the time. So the cherry blossom is a symbol of beauty first and foremost but it also symbolize living life to its fullest each and every day.

Geisha The Oriental Pinup
Another popular and traditional theme in Japanese tattoos are Geisha. These women were not the prostitutes or hookers but rather women of culture and refinement that were seen to carry the traditions of the culture. They were often extremely beautiful and talented women they could sing, play traditional instruments, dance and entertain. There of course are tons of traditional woodcuts that feature the "floating world" where the Samurai and Geisha would meet. Many of these woodcuts and themes have been done in tattoo designs. If you are looking for a strong female image then you could always get a design of a samurai's wife who were traditionally trained in martial arts and expected to defend their home if needed.

Koi Fish
Koi fish have long been a symbol for perseverance and spiritual struggle throughout Japan and China. The myth is that the koi fish swim up stream to reach the heavily gate where they then become a flying dragon and fly off into the sky. These beautiful fish are seen to be fighters and individualists since they go against the flow of the stream and they fight their way to the top. This is a powerful symbol and a very beautiful tattoo design. With the golden and orange colors of the fish combined with the blue splashing water in the background it is a very beautiful combination.

Finding A Design
If you are considering getting a traditional or even modern interpretation of a Japanese tattoo design for women then you might want to consider one of the above. There are tons of other ways you could go with a design and these are just a few ideas to get your creative mind thinking.

How to Create Your Own Tattoo

3D Tattoos

Once you decided to get a tattoo on your body, the next most important thing is to decide which design you want to have. Some people randomly choose designs from any tattoo art gallery or the one suggested by the tattoo artist. Some people may be satisfied with the readily available design but often it may not reflect your true personality. A tattoo tells a story and it should be unique which identifies you as a unique person. And if you want to have such a unique tattoo, it is better to design the tattoo for yourself.

Start Designing Your Own Tattoo

One need not be an artist to design a tattoo. All it takes is your willingness to work out on an idea and create an tattoo design. The first thing in designing a tattoo is to ask yourself what you want to have it as a tattoo. You may have a tattoo that commemorates some occasion like the birth of your child, your wedding day or the name of someone close to you. Or you may have a design which you want to relate to your goals and ambitions or the one which reflects your personality. You have to design a design a tattoo with which you could connect with.

How to Find A Tattoo Design

Every artist needs some inspiration to create a good art piece. For those, who are novice, designing something, one has to do some research. One may look at other tattoo designs, which will give some rough idea and it will help you in creating your design. There are many free tattoo designs available online, from which you can choose a few and start reworking on them. But freely available designs are outdated and it is better to browse through unique designs which are available at some membership cost.

How to Find an Artist

Once your own unique tattoo design is ready, the next thing is to find an tattoo artist. Many tattoo parlors would be willing to tattoo your own artwork. In order to get the design perfectly, the tattoo artist must be extremely talented, so that he can freehand your unique tattoo. Finding an expert artist might be tough, but many tattoo galleries also offer a holistic service of providing directory of nearest tattoo parlors.

How to Test Your Tattoos

Before actually putting the tattoo design on your body, you may wish to try it out on your body by a temporary tattoo. There are few online website which allow you upload your own tattoo design. A temporary tattoo is created out of it and it will be send to you so that you can practise placing the tattoo on your body.

Getting the Tattoo on Your Body

Now that you have spent most of the time and designed your own unique tattoo, now it is the time to get the tattoo on your body at your desired location. You need to find a tattoo parlour near to your place and get inked! Sometimes it may appear that, designing a tattoo is very tedious process, but given that it will there forever on your body, it is worth the effort, unless you want to remove it by some tattoo removal process. Time spend on designing will make your tattoo more meaningful.

Tribal Back Tattoo - Finding Lower to Upper Back Artwork

Back Piece Tattoos

A tribal back tattoo can be one of the most amazing pieces you can get, but finding quality tattoos for upper and lower backs online can be a pain, as you may know already. Well, locating the nice artwork on the internet does not have to be impossible any longer. I will show you what you need to watch out for when it comes to a lot of the generic art out there, as well as how to find the good stuff on the web.

A tribal back tattoo is not something you should go ahead and "settle" for. This part of your body deserves the best design available and one that you like 100%. The problem with a lot of the artwork online is that it is pretty bland. The first thing you should not do is settle for a Google or Yahoo search to find your designs. You also should not settle for content that you happen to find on a lot of the random, cookie-cutter websites on the web that may have a lot of designs, especially when it comes to something as detailed and large as a tribal back tattoo. Most of these types of places have artwork that is five years old and even older than that in a lot of cases. The designs they have are also plastered all over the internet and hundreds of websites. Who knows how many other people might have that tribal back tattoo inked on their skin already? That is not something you want when looking for tribals. You want your design to be good quality and original.

One more thing about those cookie-cutter websites when you are searching for that tribal back tattoo you really want...

This last part has to do with the artists that are submitting their artwork to these places. A lot of the artists do not have much knowledge when it comes to tattoos, especially tribals, which include any given tribal back tattoo. What this means is that they do not know what it takes to draw something that will come out good once made into real life tattoos. These people might be very good at what they do, which is draw, but a lot of them have no real clue what it takes to make designs and artwork that will look even half as good once inked on someone's skin. This knowledge is crucial when it comes to designing a tribal back tattoo, or any tribals for that matter.

There is good news, though. You can easily work your way around that kind of artwork when searching for tribal back tattoo designs....

It all starts with something that is usually overlooked by a large portion of the people looking on the internet. I am talking about forums. I can't tell you how many different time I have found exactly what I was looking for when it came to tattoos and designs on the internet. This is where I and many other people I know have gone to locate those hidden websites that feature quality tattoos and designs that are not plastered all over the web. These designs are also draw to be implemented as real tattoos, because these artists know what they are doing. Remember, people love to brag to others when they find a hidden treasure, such as a website that may have original tribal back tattoo artwork. There is no better place for these fine folks to tell the select few who are looking for the same thing than by using a forum and you can reap the benefits of their search. I have found original websites with tons of tribals, so there are bound to be tons with tribal back tattoo artwork to your liking.

Finding that quality tribal back tattoo online can be easy once again, so do yourself a favor and don't settle for a lot of the generic artwork you might find on the internet.

Cool Japanese Shirt Sleeve Tattoo Designs

Samurai Tattoos

For men, it is important to have a tattoo that is unique, different, at the same time cool. More popular designs include dragons, flames and skulls for sleeve tattoo designs. If you want something a little more different, don't go to these generic and common tattoo subjects! Why won't you get yourself a Japanese sleeve tattoo instead?

Here are some popular subjects of Japanese shirt sleeve tattoo designs:

Koi fish - Koi fish are beautiful and vibrant. They look great for sleeve tattoo designs! The contrasting vibrant oranges and deep blue water hues are perfect. Make your Koi fish tattoo three dimensional and with color... this way, it will really feel like the fish is about to pop out from your skin!

Dragons - Japanese dragons sometimes look more fierce and vicious than their European counterparts. You can have a fierce dragon tattooed black or red in your sleeve. Dragons are mystical, magical, and the perfect symbol of strength and power.

Samurai warriors - Samurais are exclusive to the Japanese culture. Samurais are very popular in Japanese tattoo art and traditional art. They symbolize courage, strength and honor too. You can have a samurai tattooed on your sleeve, in honor of the beautiful Japanese culture.

Hannya masks - This is the least common Japanese tattoo, although it doesn't mean that it's the least stunning of them all. Hannya masks were once used in Kabuki plays in Tokyo, Japan. Although they are hauntingly beautiful, Hannya masks can be hard to be made as a full sleeve tattoo design. You can however incorporate other Japanese designs, styles and symbols onto it.

Hot Half Sleeve Tattoo Designs - Getting the Tattoo Sleeve That You Will Love

Sleeve Tattoos

Have you been considering getting a half sleeve tattoo designs?  Getting sleeved as most tattoo enthusiasts and artists cal it is very popular these days.  In the not to recent past tattoos were not as socially acceptable and getting full or half sleeve tattoo designs was out of the question for the general public and usually reserved for the more hardcore tattoo enthusiasts and tattoo artists who could get such large tattoos and not have to worry about their jobs or any social issues associated with such big tattoos.  However, today tattoos are more socially acceptable then ever before.  They have almost become mainstream and having  large tattoo like a sleeve does not carry with it the social issues or concerns that once did.

However, if you are considering getting a half sleeve tattoo you might not be sure what design to get or how to go about getting a design that you really like.  The one fear that every person getting a tattoo has is will I still be in love with this tattoo in another  fifteen years?  This article will help you identify some designs that will be something you love and also give you some guidance on getting the ink done.

What Are Half Sleeve Tattoos

A sleeve tattoo is pretty much like what the name says. It is a tattoo design that goes on your arm like a shirt sleeve.  It will cover the area of the arm completely with the design.  There are of course full sleeves, half sleeves, and quarter sleeves.  A full sleeve goes from wrist to shoulder.  A half sleeve goes from shoulder to elbow and a quarter typically goes from wrist up to the middle of the forearm.

The Perfect Tattoo Design

Finding the right design can be frustrating.  People spend a lo of time searching out the perfect design for their tattoo and a lot of people feel frustrated after searching and not finding what they want.  The problem is people go about trying to find a design the wrong way.  Typically they look trough tons and tons of flash end photographs of tattoo designs that people already have.  As they search they hope to find the exact design that they want.  In other words they are looking for an tattoo that they can just copy.  However, if you want something that you will really love this is the wrong way to go about it. 

Instead of starting with the end result first you should start at the beginning.  By looking at finished pieces of art work and finished tattoos you are starting with the end in mind.  Instead, start at the beginning by thinking about what you want the tattoo to represent.  Is the tattoo a memorial piece, or do you want the tattoo to express something about your personality or something that you value and hold close?  Once you decide what you want the tattoo t represent then you can start thinking about designs that express those ideas. Instead of looking for an exact tattoo to copy try to find designs that you are drawn to and designs that express in images what you want your tattoo to represent.  Then you can combine all of the different designs as a resource and work with a professional tattoo artist to come up with the final design.  Most tattoo artists appreciate it when you bring in some reference materials to help guide their work.  However, they are also professional artists and they take pride in their work.  So give them some ideas and references about what you want but don't stifle them or lock them into a design.  Instead give them the materials and idea you have and let them work their magic.  If you don't like the drawing they come up with you can always change it.  Any good artist will want to draw up a design that you are happy with and they are typically happy to make changes early.  once you agree to the drawing however make sure you like the design 100% because you don't want to make any changes after that.     

Tattoo Artist

One of the most important steps in the process of getting a tattoo is choosing the right tattoo artist.  If you go into the shop and start talking with the artist and you get a snobbing feeling then just thank them for their time and walk out.  You want to find a tattoo artist that will listen to your ideas.  Find someone that will take the time to work with you and take your ideas and make them into a final tattoo design.  If you have a connection with them and trust their work then you will end up with a much better tattoo design.

Get the Low Down on Full Sleeve Tattoo Designs

Sleeve Tattoos

Tattoos have already spread into global proportions, capturing the interest of a multitude of people from different countries - including rock stars, celebrities and other well known personalities. Not only does it provide a distinctive feature for the person wearing it but a tattoo is also one way to communicate an individual's personality. After all, history has revealed that tattoos were once used to signify a person's status. It's basically the same nowadays - only that technology has granted us better and bigger access to skin art. The internet has taken that one step further and provided tattoo enthusiasts to communicate, talk, swap ideas, comments and tattoo designs with each other.

One type of tattoo that is making waves today is the full sleeve tattoo design. It has gained popularity not only because of it looks awesome but also because celebrities have also joined the craze. One well known personality who has adapted a full sleeve tattoo is Maroon 5's Adam Levine. If you're a soccer fan, you might also have notice David Beckham's excellent full sleeve tattoo design.

Of course, a full arm tattoo design doesn't automatically happen. For some, it starts off with one tattoo that eventually extends to the whole arm - basically leading to full sleeve tattoo design. Adam Levine started off like this and now he has this amazing tattoo on his arm. Aside from a back tattoo, a full arm tattoo can be the biggest skin art you can have. In fact, some people have taken advantage of this opportunity and made sure that their full sleeve tattoo design would unravel a story. That's probably the best part of a full sleeve tattoo aside from the fact that they look hot and amazing on that arm.

However, before going for a full sleeve tattoo design, you might want to take a look around, see different patterns, compare designs and talk with other tattoo enthusiasts before settling on one. After all, you're going to be living with your tattoo for a long, long time, so it might be best to get one that you would really love. You might want to start the same way Adam Levine did - with a small tattoo design that eventually grows into something more. Take your time deciding on what design to use, talk it out with your favorite tattoo artist before acquiring that awesome arm art. You might want to make a story out of it and that's excellent too. With a bit of thinking, a full sleeve tattoo can be a major distinctive factor for those who have it, elevating a person's uniqueness and his or her sense of style.

Try browsing around some of the sites dedicated to tattoos and you might find one that you like. Each site contains thousands of tattoo designs and it would certainly not be a hardship to pick one. Take your time before printing it out and taking it to your favorite tattoo artist. Remember, tattoos are not just for aesthetic reason; they're a statement all on their own.