New Tattoo Designs

The hardest part about getting a tattoo is looking through the vast amounts of different tattoo designs to pick the one you think is for you.

The first question you want to ask yourself is why you want to get a tattoo. If you are getting a tattoo just because you are old enough, I encourage you to hold off until your research on the different tattoo designs.

I say this to you because I have many friends who got a tattoo as soon as they turned 18 (the legal age of consent in my country). All of them have regretted the decision because they ended up with low quality tattoos. A few of them have even had their old tattoo designs covered up by newer tattoos.

Your first tattoo should be one that you will still enjoy for the rest of your life. It should be an expression of yourself and your life experiences. Your tattoo can also be symbolic of something or someone that is important in your life.

Now after you have sat down and can say with 110% certainty that you are ready to get a tattoo, its time to do some research. First you want to find an image that you like. It can be a tattoo design that you like the look of or it can even be an image of something of great importance to you. Some great places to look for inspiration of your next tattoo are image sites such as flickr.com, tattoo galleries, online tattoo design sites (both free and paid), and books on tattoos.

Some examples of different types of popular tattoo designs are:

* Tribal Tattoos
* Angel Tattoos
* Celtic Tattoos
* Animal Tattoos
* Old English Tattoos
* Japanese Tattoos

These are just a few examples.

After you decide on which tattoo design you are going to get, you now have to consider the colors you want to use. For a general rule of thumb, the darker your skin the more difficult it will be to put lighter colors such as yellow to stick.

The best thing to do is to go to a tattoo shop and ask for their advice, since they have experience tattooing many different types of skin tones.

Once you have done this you are now ready to find you artist. Don't be lazy in researching the person who is going to tattoo you. The quality of work varies from artist to artist, so you it's in your best interest to find someone who is going to put a high quality tattoo on you.

Tribal Tattoos

A tribal tattoo is quite an extreme tattoo; it is a black design that is usually applied to the upper arm or back. The original wearers of tribal tattoos used the designs to show their status within their community, it served a purpose to warn others of their rank. This is obviously no longer the case; however it is worth taking the time to understand the importance of the tribal tattoo before having one done.

Taking the time to understand the culture and history of a tribal tattoo, shows a level of respect to a civilisation that has long passed. Although, that being said we no longer look at a person's tattoos to establish their success as a hunter. Nevertheless, it is important that the original inspiration remains.

The emphasis on modern tribal tattoo designs is to blend the old with the new. Keeping in touch with the original style, yet adding more modern touches that reflect our lives. For example, a common tribal tattoo for women may also include a flower that symbolises something else important in their life. It's also common for a tribal tattoo to form the frame of a more portrait based tattoo, thus making the design more about art than history or culture.

At the end of the day, people choose their tattoo designs because they like them. Regardless of them being tribal tattoos or cross tattoos, it is more important for the wearer to have a design that they feel comfortable with and means something or represents something that is important to them.