So we have come full circle now and this is the last in our Japanese Tattoo series for now. Although we will be publishing some articles soon on Japanese tattoos this is kind of the last featured post about Japanese tattoos through videos. We have kind of come full circle now of sorts. When we started we talked about tattooing for the Japanese in a historical perspective and how it was used to brand criminals. Then this was later outlawed and subsequently adopted by Yakuza. They would get full body tattoos that when you wear clothes no one could see but a small reveal of such a tattoo could strike fear in others.

Thus tradition lead to some of the most beautiful full body tattoo designs ever done and we even saw where people are buying the skin of a tattooed person who has died. There was some of these skins preserved at Tokyo University. Pretty chilling to hear as they talk about these being sold on the black market. Not sure how you would ever find your way into buying one of these but that is another post for a latter time. Suffice it to say it is probably not being sold on eBay.

Then in our more recent or last post we saw some video and a short documentary how many of the young people in Japan are getting tattoos. However they are in no way affiliated with the Yakuza and they just love the art form of tattooing. Thus has been the more significant trend over the last ten to 15 years and now many young Japanese show off their tattoos like here in the West.

Well in today’s video we make it full circle because recently the San Francisco Japanese Museum had an exhibit where they displayed some of the full body traditonal Japanese tattoos in their gallery as an art exhibit. They also invited many of the top Japanese tattoo artists to come from Japan to do tattooing.

Interested in Fairy Tattoo Designs? Ever since the whole lower back tattoo came into fashion and tattoos have gone mainstream a fairy tattoos have become very popular. Just about everybody and their sister wants a fairy tattoo. it is pretty easy to see why also. Fairy tattoos are flexible in their design, the size can easily be adjusted and they can look great on just about any location on the body. Have you really been considering getting such a tattoo. Well here are some things that you should consider first and then also a little gallery and even a super cool video.

Think About Location
photo credit: danielle_blue
The first thing you really want to nail down as you start to consider such a tattoo is the location for the design. You don’t want to just slap it on any old place after all you will have this tattoo for the rest of your life. Therefore it can make snese to take some time and carefully consider where you will place the tattoo. Think about where you would like it to go and even what body part you would like to accentuate and show off? For some women it is of course the lower back but other women might prefer a foot location. Yet others still want the fairy design on their chest or the shoulder. There really is no right or wrong just a bunch of different ideas. Most important pick someone that you will be able to show off your tattoo pretty easily and not somewhere you might be embarrassed of.

Think About Mood
The other thing you should consider is the mood and pose of the fairy. Of course a fairy can be done in a cartoon style with a cute cartoon style girl. Or it can be a very realistic looking fairy. What you choose again is up to you but think carefully. The mood of the fairy will convey a lot fo the meaning behind the tattoo. If you just want to get the tattoo to get one then it is better to wait and carefully make your decision.

Thing About Colors
Again the mood of the tattoo will be conveyed through the design. If you want something sexy it is going to look different then something that is cute glittery and pink. If you are a Gothic girl then you might want your fairy don in black.

Well so make some choices before rushing out to your local tattoo shop. First think about the location for your design. Do you want an ankle, shoulder, or hip tattoo? Then think about the pose the fairy will be in and last but not least think about the colors you will use as they also convey a message.

There are a bunch of really cool foot tattoo designs that you might like. For example butterfly tattoos, angle tattoos and even nautical star tattoo work really well on the top of the foot. These are more typically used and sought after by women but they can work for men as well. The nice thing is they are very easy to cover up and hide when needed or expose when you want.

Here is another installment of our Question and Answer Posts on tattoos.  The question today is from a young girl.  She wants to get a tattoo with her sister that represents or says “Friendship”.

Here is what she wrote:
“me and my sister want to get matching tattoos that say friendship we were thinking of getting it in chinese characters on our wrist

do you have any other ideas or other characters that mean friendship…thanks “

My first response is to take your time and dont rush into getting the tattoo.  If you are not sure what you want yet then you probably are not ready for the tattoo.  So here are some ideas that might work for a beautiful freindship tattoo.

Well, honestly it is important to pick something that is meaningful tot he both of you.  Since no one on this site knows that much about you both it is kind of hard to answer the question.  Tattoos are very personal and should say something about the person wearing them.

With all of that said I would suggest you take your time in getting the tattoo.  Some of the best tattoos that people love forever are the ones that took time to dream up, design and get tattooed.  The ones people end up hating are the ones they got with their buddies or friends on a drunken night out on a whim.  So don’t decide on a whim or because some message at Yahoo answers.  Instead take time to identify what is special about your friendship.  Is is the trust between you two?  Do you have some similar interests that could form a tattoo design?  Again take your time and contemplate for a while.  I can almost guarantee that when you put it on back burner in like a week or two the idea will hit you with a ton of bricks.

Here are some common tattoos that can represent friendship.

Claddagh Tattoo Design – A Celtic ring with a heart in the middle and two hands holding it.  This is often thought of romantically to represent boyfriend and girlfriend and even has become a wedding band.  However, the symbol also represent true friendship and it does not have to carry the sexual connotation with it.  It could very easily work for friendship.

Sun and Moon Tattoos -  This could also be a star and moon or any other pair of objects that are often associated together.

Yin Yang – The Chinese symbol.  I wont go into detail as you can Google it.  But it represent the two halves of nature and the world in one complete whole.

Ambigram Tattoo -  These are becoming very popular right now and look incredible.  They are two words (could be your names) that get combined together to make one word that can be read right side up or upside down.  So for example if your names were Lucy and Anne the two names would be combined.  Then when read one way it would say “Lucy” and when turned upside down it would read “Anne”.  The names have to be no more then two letters apart.  If your names don’t work you could also do an ambigram tattoo of two important concepts to your friendship.  Like Trust and Love or something.

Here is the question that I found posted over at Yahoo Answers and I thought it was pretty interesting.

“I’m 18. I’ve been thinking for a while about getting my first tattoo and I’m between a cherry blossom on my right shoulder blade(or right upper back, whatever you call it), or an anchor(more symbolic choice) on my left foot.
any thoughts?

Additional Details

1. i know i’m not gonna regret getting a tat because not only is it going to have meaning, it’s going to represent this stage in my life.

2. no, i’m not gonna have to worry about showing it at work.

3. i have a pretty high threshold for pain & i know the foot would be more painful but i don’t think that’s a reason not to do one there.

also i’m not getting this for a while. i’m waiting until summer, then i’m gonna get a henna tat of whatever i decide to see if i really like it.

Here is my response to the question.  There was a few other really good resposnes also.  Other then the occasional response of “you’ll regret it” a few people there took the time to really answer honestly.

So here is my response.

Let me just start by saying this is a question that you can really only answer by yourself as a tattoo is personal and as you already stated it represent this stage of your life.

However, with all of that said you seem to have already spent a great deal of time thinking about it and mulling over your choices which is good.  You also have a set location and a time frame in the future so you know it is not a rush decision.  You have done everything you can to come out with a tattoo that you are really going to love in the end.

I understand your wanting feedback in terms of the placement and design.

Both of the tattoos that you are considering have a rich tradition in the world of tattoos and also have fairly established meanings.  However, the reason that you get your tattoo and what it symbolizes about the stage in your life is really a personal choice also.

Some of the more traditionally meanings for the two tattoos are
Chery Blossoms – Are typically used in Japanese design motifs and tattooing.  Typically they symbolize great beauty, impermanence or the shifting of life.  The cherry blossom is often short lived and only displayed on the tree for a month in Japan.  It can also symbolize love between two people.

The Anchor tattoo of course is an old sailor tattoo.  It was typically a tattoo that a sailor would get after crossing the Atlantic their first time.  In the more ancient history or past the symbol was much like the fish and it was a symbol to show connection to the early Christian Church.  However, today it has become a symbol  for many in the Navy and sailors in general.  Also it is used pretty widely by tattoo artists for its traditional look at feel sort of a retro theme so to speak.

Those are some of the more common symbolism behind both tattoos.  Which one you pick should be up to you.

I personally could see the argument going either way.  The foot tattoo is apt to be more painful, yet you state you have a high pain tolerance.  The should tattoo might be less painful but it is also going to be more visible.  So there are positive and some down sides to either one.  I would probably go with the cherry blossom tattoo just because it is more unique and could be combined with a larger Japanese tattoo design at a later time if you chose.

One of the more popular trends in tattoo designs now and has been for a long time is to get a letter tattoo design.  You see letter tattoo designs on everyone from gang names across the chest or on the next to a sexy or cute Latin phrase on the feminine wrist tattoo.  Letter tattoo designs are very popular and as already kind of hinted at they are very diverse.  If you are thinking about getting a letter or word tattoo design then you will want to read this article first.  It will break down some of the basics that you will want to factor into your design very early on.  First it will explore the ideal location for a letter tattoo.  Next it will focus on the different styles of letter that are available and last it will look into possible additions.  This article is meant to help you focus your efforts and ideas to come up with a coherent design for a tattoo.  If you are not artistically inclined don’t worry about the design part you can always have a tattoo artist do that for you.  However, before you set foot in the tattoo shop make up your mind about some of these basic choices so you can speak intelligently about what you want.

Consider The Location
The first thing that you should do when considering any tattoo design is the location and size of the tattoo you want.  These two really go hand in and hand.  The design of the lettering tattoo, the size and the location are all integral pieces of the overall tattoo.  Most people often start with either a design or a location already in mind.  If you do build from the one known factor and then come up with the unknown.  For example if you know that you really want an upper back tattoo but you are not sure what to get then you at least can work with what you know.  For example the upper back is a large canvas for a rather big tattoo.  So you can kind of go crazy and get something either pretty long or something large.  Yet if you want a wrist tattoo that can easily be covered up then you are under a whole different situation.  In this case you are going to have to go small.  So take what things you know, the size, possible design or location and work out in your mind the other two ideas.

Consider The Lettering Style
Once you have the location, the saying or word that you want then it is time to consider the lettering style.  There is really a wide range out there available to you.  You can go with something like Old English, a graffiti type font or even a logo font.  Not only that you do not have to limit yourself to the English language even.  You can get something written in Sanskrit like Jessica Alba did she has the Sanskrit character for lotus on her wrist.  You can do something with Arabic, Japanese or Chinese or whatever language you feel a connection to.  However, you will want to carefully consider the design, and letter style that you want as it will carry the overall tone and feel for the tattoo.  In other words it might look really funny to write something like Lotus Flower in Old English across the top of your back.  Of course if that is what you want then there is no one stopping you.  However, just remember the character and lettering style you choose will be the visual element that carries your design.

Additions?
The last thing that you will want to think about before going to your local tattoo shop is if you want any other visual elements added to the design.  For example if you went with the Sanskrit word for lotus on your wrist do you want a lotus flower on the underside of the wrist to go with the design?  You can always add on little visual elements that can help convey the feeling and meaning of the tattoo.  It is best to consider the options first and design the words around and connected with any visual elements that you might want o include.

The most important thing is to take your time.  Look at lots of examples and don’t just jump at the first most obvious of tattoo designs.  Thus way you can ensure that you get a tattoo that you will feel connected to and proud of the rest of you life.

Hottest Tattoo Designs For Girls

Are you thinking about getting a hot tattoo design for girls?  You see up until 10 years ago or less tattoo designs for girls were nonexistent for the most part.  Most girls that got tattoos had to get custom designed work done since most of the flash did not fit them.  Most of the girls that got tattoos back in the day so to speak had to fit into a male dominated field.  However, in recent years tattoos have become more mainstream and accepted.  Thus has lead to a phenomenal growth in the area of tattoo designs that girls and women find appealing.

Female Tattoo Shops
That’s right there are a ton of shops that are now run by and for females.  Just think of LA Ink the popular TV show with Kat Von D.  This has become part of the mainstream media and it is a predominately female run tattoo shop.  That does not mean that guys can’t go in there to get tattoos.  However, it does mean if you are a female and feel more comfortable in a more feminine environment you can always look for a female run tattoo shop or at least a female tattoo artist.  Thus way you don’t have to worry about the guys starring at you or ogling over you as you get your lower back, or thigh tattoo design.

Female Based Flash
There has also been an absolute explosion of more feminine types of flash design.  If you visit almost any tattoo shop these days you will find a wide variety of designs that are more appealing to females.  You can find anything from flower tattoos to hello kitty designs.  The list could go on and on from angel wings to hibiscus flowers.  This offers many more options for women and allows them to customize and tweak in an unlimited number of ways.

Don’t Get Stereotyped
Even though there has been an explosion of more feminine designs and a more friendly atmosphere for women getting tattoo designs it does not mean that you have to stick with a traditionally though of female tattoo design.  Some of the hottest tattoo designs for girls could be retro and old school designs.  IN fact if you want to get a big skull with a snake weaving through the eyes or a large dragon piece then by all means you should go for it.  The great thing about tattoos is the freedom that they can represent.  So do not go with societal norms to drive your tattoo design.  Instead look deep inside and pick designs and themes for your own tattoo that somehow speak to you.  Use the tattoo to represent something about yourself and not what you think society, your boyfriend or anyone else wants you to get.  Instead be free and express your inner self through your tattoo art.

Tattoo Designs For Girls
There honestly are more tattoo designs available that are appealing to women now more than at any other time in history.   So free yourself and go for it and most of all have a fun experience with your tattoo.

Tattoo Designs Of Stars

Star tattoos are very popular and a great design choice for many people. If you are getting your first tattoo or maybe your tenth tattoo a star design might be exactly what you are looking for. There are many different options and choices in terms of what type of star tattoo you can get. This article will look at some of the most common and popular tattoo designs of stars.

Nautical Star Designs

Nautical stars of course are a classic old school tattoo design that was originated by some of the early sailors who are really pioneers in the field of modern tattoo design. They would get nautical star tattoos because they felt it represented good luck and a safe journey home. Today the nautical star design can represent not only a safe journey home but it is also an important symbol that portrays the significance of following your own path in life and living life on your own terms and not just following whatever the status quo is.

Shooting Stars Designs

Shooting stars are another very popular option for a tattoo design. These can be done as very large pieces that can be used to complete a full sleeve tattoo design or can be a very small and cute feminine hip tattoo. That is one of the benefits of a shooting star tattoos, they are very flexible. The design of course can be done in a variety of styles from something very cartoonish to a more traditional look.

Cluster Of Stars Designs

Another very popular option if you are looking at tattoo designs of stars is to get a cluster of stars covering an area on your body. This is more typical to women but men can also get these tattoos. For women they will often get a series of small star tattoos in a variety of bright inks and cluster them together and space them across their lower or upper back for example. They can slow work well for women as a tattoo design for a foot tattoo or hip tattoo.

Star And Moon Designs

One other option that people often get is to have a cluster or group of stars with a moon. Again this can be done as a moon with a cartoon face and a groupd of clouds and stars around it or it can be done more realistic. The style is really up to you and what kind of tattoo your catch your attention. However star and moon designs work very well togheter. In fact it is pretty easy to see that a moon with stars spreading out from the left and right of it could make a nice rectangular tattoo design that would work well as a lower back tattoo.

Whatever you choose you really can’t go wrong with a tattoo designs of stars. There are so many choices and styles out there you are bound to find something that will catch your attention. Of course if you get frustrated with trying to find a design online or from the flash available in your local tattoo shop then you might want to try working with a tattoo artist who will do some custom design work for you.

Here are some great ideas for finding just the right cute fairy tattoo design for you and your style. Read to find about about selecting an artist some design choices you can make and popular locations to get a cute fairy design done.

There is something just really sexy about foot tattoos on women. There are some of the most popular designs right now. They are are among some of the most frequently requested designs for women and it is easy to see why. It used to be that women would go for the lower back tattoo design however since many now feel that this has been over played and done too much there are many women who are choosing to go with something more unique and original and their journey for an original tattoo seems to be leading them frequently to foot tattoo designs.

If you are contemplating getting a foot tattoo design then you will want to know more about them. While these designs are super sexy and can make a great tattoo they also have some downsides you should be aware of.

The Good Things About Foot Tattoo Designs

If you have been contemplating getting a foot tattoo design then the chances are you should go for it. There are many advantages to getting one of these great tattoo designs. First of all the look super sexy and can be the perfect accent to a very sexy and intimate part of a women’s body. There are also a ton of great designs that work well on the foot. Many of the more feminine designs such as a butterfly, fairy, and flowers or vines all work very well on the foot. They are also a great place to get a tattoo because they are easy to cover up in a professional setting where tattoos are not acceptable. Then when you want to show off your tattoo it is very easy to wear a pair of sandals and display that tattoo. It really makes the perfect combination of hidden when needed and then being able to reveal your rebellious side when chosen.

Popular Design Choices

You should always choose a tattoo design because it is something you really want and not just pick one because the flash was on the wall or because you heard they are popular. However, with that caution it is very common for people to look at what other’s are getting for their tattoo design. It can be helpful to look at other peoples tattoo choices to help formulate what design you want. Some of the most popular foot tattoos are butterfly tattoos, fairy tattoos, angel tattoos, star tattoos and flowers of course. Many people also choose a feminine and delicate tribal design that is abstract but starts on the top of the foot and can extend up onto the ankle.

The Disadvantages Of Foot Tattoos

There are really only a few disadvantages with foot tattoos however they should be considered and thought about before choosing to get such a tattoo design. One of the disadvantages is they can be a pretty painful tattoo to get. It is hard to keep the foot still for a long period of time and some spots on the top of the foot can elicit a sort of knee jerk response where the pain is enough that you want to yank your foot away. So the jerk response coupled with the pain level of a foot tattoo can make it difficult to get. It can also take a longer time to heal such a tattoo. Often feet have to placed in shoes and while the tattoo heals it can be pretty sore and difficult to keep in a pair of shoes. Especially if you have to wear uncomfortable or tight shoes for work.

If you are considering getting a foot tattoo then you should go for it. However take your time and find a tattoo artist that can work with the ideas that you want to incorporate into your design.