How to Draw Tattoo Style

Reviews / Votes

Feb 11



To Be or not to Be...Tattooed that is. For me its not - don't like the thought of needles and I've seem people with dainty daisy tattoos that have grown with their expanding size into huge chrysanthemums :o) But the right tattoo can look very attractive and this book has advice on choosing and designing them whether its for yourself or a client. With the current burgeoning market for tattoos as a way of marking ones individuality there is a demand for artist who can design them. This book is a great starting point. It's spiral bound - really useful in art books and so helpful not to have pages spring shut when you're working - and contains a huge wealth of information from the history of tattoos and the influences on it as it develops from classic onto Japanese influenced, tribal style and the skull and crossbones macabre type.



There's some useful information about design including how to avoid distortion and how best to do foreshortening - those tiger designs springing out so stunningly utilise this method. In the section on Style the authors cover people and animals, Japanese style writing, realistic and cartoon styles, biker style, line art - and many more.



The tattoo I most remember was a childhood neighbour who had been in merchant navy and had the classic "mum" banners and anchors over his forearms. The classic section covers these along with other traditional naval favourites. As well as fabulous illustrations of real tattoos there are some helpful "how to " projects to get one started.



The book ends with advice on designing for the body parts - avoiding the pitfall of the daisy into chrysanthemum I mentioned earlier. If you are going to do tattoo design its important to learn all the pitfalls to avoid ending up with "bad" tattoo design.



For anyone interested in tattoos - whether design or simply history this is a very interesting book. * JeannieZelos.com * May 12



Decorating one's body with tattoos has been practiced for centuries, particularly in the Far East. Tattoos have been used to create messages about a person and their status - often creating a frightening image. While many people may consider or possess a small tattoo, very few go the whole way and have full body designs. The design of tattoos is an art in itself. Often highly elaborate and decorative, they can incorporate all kinds of images from flowers to tribal designs, zombies and ships. This book shows how to create those designs, and how to draw them. There are step by step instructions for several unusual designs such as a Jack O'lantern and a ghost cat. Some interesting background information is provided about the history of tattooing, and the different styles. A useful book for artists who want to try this very individualistic style of drawing, or need to incorporate it into their art work. * Monstersandcritics.com *