I need help putting my ideas for a tattoo into an actual image. Help please?
April 23, 2011 2:32 PM   Subscribe

I need help putting my ideas for a tattoo into an actual image. Help please?

I have been wanting 2 more tattoos for some time now, and have ideas for them but I'm not quite sure how to put them into an image.

The first tattoo is going to be based off of the phrase "Alis Volat Propriis," a latin phrase which in English means "she flies with her own wings." I have recently moved from Alabama to Austin, TX to try to be a graphic designer and live a life that will make me happy. The only problem is, I can be a procrastinator, and sometimes let great opportunities pass me by because of laziness or do not do things that I should to advance my career/life because of it. I also get very afraid of failure, and talk myself out of really working hard for something because of it. I feel that this move is something that will push me to grow out of these behaviors, but I also want a daily visual reminder to tell me "you are the only one that has power over your destiny, no one else, and you need to do what it takes to get where you want to be." I'm not a huge fan of script tattoos, which is why I haven't already gotten this phrase tattood onto myself.

The second tattoo is basically one that is going to say (however cheesy the sentiment is,) "sieze the day," but definitely not in those words. If I question that something is too crazy to do, or too risky, I want to look down at this tattoo and know that I only have this one life to live, and that I should go for it.

I'm just looking for some suggestions on some really cool things to get tattood that could completely embody these ideas and would make me really happy looking at every day. Any ideas?
posted by jitterbugperfume to Grab Bag (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
The absolute best thing you can do is make an appointment with a quality custom tattoo artist, who should be able to brainstorm with you to come up with an absolutely terrific drawing to put on your body. This is what they do!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 3:22 PM on April 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


This is a really great question to discuss with your prospective tattoo artist. A good tattoo artist will help refine your ideas into a cohesive tattoo.
posted by Zophi at 3:24 PM on April 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


The way I see it, tattoos aren't graphic designs on flat paper, they reside on a body so anything you want to do should take the body as part of the work. Start with asking yoursef what part of teh body you will tattoo.

I have an upper arm, which in my case easily hides in some t-shirts, and I can still bare shoulder-dress when I need to be fancy without showing it. I also never really liked my arms when I was an awkward teenager, hiding them in long baggy sleeves. So to me it was a significant spot. Arms in general are very good area, with shoulders and biceps that are a fun shaped canvas to work on. Where's your spot?

Once I had my spot figured, I could more readily collaborate with an artist on my idea (it has computer code, a verse and an old rune animal in it, so it gets a little elaborate and was just an idea when I entered the parlor). Where it's positioned and how it follows my natural curves all came from talking and drawing on my arm as the artist pieced my ideas together. I'm sure that if you select a spot you'll come up with more ideas of what would look good there.

Reading "Alis Volat Propriis" the first thing I thought of was wings. On your back. Too easy, right? So how about your feet? Like Hermes. so many ways you can decorate your feet, as you can see. There's a few script tattoos on feet in that image search that are nice, as they curve past the ankle.
posted by dabitch at 3:27 PM on April 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


(Brainstorms)

For the first (and this is a very partial idea), what about a bird in flight of a species where the female is visually distinct from the male? A little research might also turn up female birds that spend quite a bit of time alone. Perhaps a type of owl or other small bird of prey if you're wanting it a bit aggressive, or a prettier bird if not. It could be pretty subtle that way without the script.

For the second, what popped to mind was the melting watch, but it might not be your aesthetic and wouldn't be terribly original. In fact, I don't even like the idea, but it might prompt another, better idea, so I'll leave it here...

Here's an idea that could combine the two.
posted by BlooPen at 5:43 PM on April 23, 2011


Nthing the suggestion to find an artist you like, then talk to them about your ideas.
posted by box at 11:15 AM on April 24, 2011


The second tattoo is basically one that is going to say (however cheesy the sentiment is,) "sieze the day," but definitely not in those words.

It was probably a typo, but if you do use those words, note that the spelling is "seize."
posted by runningwithscissors at 12:56 PM on April 24, 2011 [1 favorite]


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