If you look at my profile picture, you can KIND OF see the small tattoo on my right upper arm. It's about the size of a softball. There are palm trees on the right and left sides, the top curve is made up of hibiscus flowers, the bottom part is waves (like the ocean), and the middle is a starry night sky. Almost like you're looking through a tropical forest of palm trees and flowers at the ocean and sky.
My original intent was to add onto it so it wraps around my arm, continuing with the flowers and ocean... but I don't know. I want another 3/4 sleeve to 'balance out' my other arm (which is dedicated to the book 'The Secret Garden', I loooove it). My hang up is the going down my arm part. I don't want more 'surface' waves, if that makes sense... I was thinking of taking it below the water surface. My favorite movie as a child was (and still is) The Little Mermaid. Now, I don't want a cartoon mermaid on my arm. I was thinking of trying to tie that in though.... like an underwater scene with some sunken treasure, a pirate skeleton, and he could be holdng hands with a mermaid skeleton... part mermaid, part skeleton... holding hands over the buried treasure, which could be open and filled with gems, jewels, treasures, and hearts or something.
I don't want it to look 'scary' per say... but underwater shipwrecks are really fastinating to me.
My creativity is a little broken here. I'm stuck. It's like writers block!!
If you loathe tattoos, please don't judge. I respect your opinion, please respect mine :)
Any thoughts or suggestions?!
I can't draw to save my life, but my very good friend and award winning artist will rock this for me... I'm waiting until after our June wedding, and for my tattoo guy to recover from back surgery, poor guy!
I can't wait to be that old lady in the nursing home with tattoos! I'm going to spike the egg nog at the holiday parties too ;)
I'm teasing... Looking for TATTOO IDEAS here ladies :) You can point and laugh at me when I'm old and wrinkled and my tattoos are all smushed together... maybe I'll take clothespins to pin back my loose skin ;) THAT would be a sight to see! (still teasing!)
I can't commit to hand towels for my powder room, so I would be the LAST person to ask about a tattoo! Plus, I'm too cheap!
I would avoid the skeletons & focus on the pirate/mermaid. By using long flowing locks of hair, they could be intermingled. & those locks of hair would then tie in with waves, the curves of the flowers & palm trees. To me, skeletons are more linear....which doesn't tie in with the curves already existing in your design. This also ties in with the curves which would be an integral part of the Secret Garden.....which a good choice for the other side!
It's funny....I can almost see the pirate/mermaid! Think Johnny Depp & Kiera Knightley....& their long hair. Put them on opposite sides of the chest, with the mermaid tail winding below all of it! OMG, this is insane....during naptime today, I will not rest until I draw this! It's almost like a song stuck in my head! Good Luck.....& what's funny is that I do not have a single tattoo, nor do I want one! This is all coming from an artistic standpoint! ....well, & the fact that my 23yo son has designed most of his tattoos!
I like your sunken ship idea. And you can tie sand into it with seashells or stuff like that.
Personally, I'm not crazy about skeletons. They're creepy to me, and a little butch. But, it's also not my arm! :) The top of your tattoo sounds really pretty and serene, so if you want to keep with that feel, I'd go for some mystery with a sunken ship and treasure, but leave out the dead people. :)
JMO.
Personally, I would not have a *skeleton* mermaid. Not because it might be "creepy/scary" but because mermaids are rich symbols of the seductive, beautiful and treacherous sea; they have a gorgeous history - especially for those who work on the water/love the water/sailors.
They are akin to sirens and a dark side is already implied. They "do" as much harm as good and will often trick or distract a seaman from their work and injure or drown them. A skeleton would push the point TOO far, I think. I'd suggest subtlety. What could you use to imply dark and light? Maybe a siren/mermaid holding/interacting with something that represents life, irreverence and adventure (the pirate)? My first thought is cliche, but along the lines of a mermaid holding an anatomical heart. Not with gore, but like "Gray's Anatomy of the human body" would have.
I absolutely love art deco poster art and think it easily transposes to ink so long as you have a talented artist.
http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_...
http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/37/3765/9TNZF00Z...
Alternatively, I think that the late 1800's are very artistically inspiring.
http://images.suite101.com/938213_com_waterhouse.jpg
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l576kxC20V1qc47xeo1_500...
http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/mermaid_7.jpg
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/-water-serpents-reply-...
Before I paint, I like to go to google image. I pick and print images reference images that either depict something I need (ex. shadows on a decaying building) or what I want to feel (ex. desperation/hope/whatever). I think that would be useful for brainstorming your next tattoo. Good luck!
Tattoos are great and art and all that. Whatever.
That's what my daughter thought when she got hers and now she is due with her first baby and wondering what the heck she was thinking.
I have a friend who got some ink when she was young. She is in a pretty powerful position at work and I hate to say it, but her silk blouses don't cover up the artwork on her back and on her arms.
She's pushing 50. It's simply not attractive. I love her like crazy, but there's no getting around it.
My father had tattoos that he got while he was in the Navy. They were beautiful, but he could cover them with his shirts. Don't hate me for saying this because it's my personal opinion, but I think it's different for women. You see a 70 year old man with tatts and you don't think a lot of it. A 70 year old woman inked up is different.
Again, just my opinion.
My own daughter is already regretting her younger "artistic" decisions.
That said, I am truly amazed at how skilled some tattoo artists are and I do believe it is an art.
However, when you're 80 in a rest home, they might not seem so cool.
I think you should do whatever you want with your body knowing that you will have the proof of your decisions basically forever.
Best wishes to you.
Whatever you ultimately decide on always keep in mind as you age your skin does not stay as firm and collagen filled as it now it. I'm in my early 50's and was super-athletic in my 20 and into my 30's. I could not have imagined how my skin would betray me once the hormones began to slow down. Look around at tattoos on older women to see the effects of age - as you know you can't really undo them - and aging is tough enough with aches, wrinkles, etc - you don't want to add regrets about a tattoo that's all stretched out. And believe me - the years fly past and suddenly you wonder how you got where you are. Don't use tattoos on odler men in the evaluation process - their skin doesn't seem to age the way most womens' does.
Good luck - as with all decorating (home, makeup, cakes) less is more.
I like your idea of the sunken ship/treasure.....i don't know why people are so against the pirate and mermaid being skeletons, there are tons of ways to make a skeleton NOT SCARY. Just from reading all of your previous posts, I imagine that your skeleton pirate and mermaid are in some sort of humerous (pun intenteded) pose. You are way to whitty and fun to put them in some sort of scary scene......I think you have great ideas.
And by the time we are in nursing homes - most of the old ladies will have tattoos. It's not like you are heading to a nursing home tomorrow.....I would guess there are more people our age with tattoos than without. But I do live in CA ~ LOL
What about working something like this into it to tie it all together... http://www.puzzlewarehouse.com/Dolphin-Lagoon-1431bg.html
Fish... For me the whole sunken treasure/ pirate/ skeleton thing would be a bit close to scary... But dolphins, whales, a reef with fish, etc... :-) Peaceful...
The difficulty, as always, is the detail work... too many details and everything starts looking crowded, and later there's bleeding issues. Your artist did a *beautiful* job on your right arm, it's very balanced... so I would trust their vision on extending the sleeve.
My 2 thoughts are either coral border; continuing in color... which would be more unifying... or switch to B/W more traditionally japanese OR maori which would make the colored section really pop and also allow for more detail work in the ship/ people
I just wanted to say, there are def ways to make skeletons not appear scary (for example: any Grateful Dead artwork). I like the skeletons, they go with the shipwreck idea and the idea that he wanted his lady and treasure and was willing to sacrifice everything for it. It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want. Do you draw your own tattoos or do you have an artist in mind? It may help to have someone help you put your ideas into actual drawings and go from there. That is what I have always done because I have a hard time translating my ideas into drawings. I can see it im my mind but Im not a very talented artist.
Just remember that your kiddos and grandkiddos will see it (and their friends), so keep the "scare factor" to a minimum! You may consider consulting a local artist to help- you have tons of them in Richmond!
Yeah, I'm totally with Sue H., her idea(s) sound awesome & tie in with what you're looking for. I am the opposite of artistic so giving you new ideas will be hard for me. I'm having a hard time envisioning skeletons working & still having the end result be something I would consider 'pretty', or at least pretty enough for someone to wear forever & ever, ya know?
Whatever you & your guy come up with, let us know!!
Well...I think it's your tattoo, you should do with it what YOU like. Maybe, you could have a kind of cooler mermaid -- like a traditional looking one, rather than a Disney one OR you could have a sunken ship with the mermaid on the masthead. I would say that -- depending on your future career decisions, that you might not want to make it come down your arm so much that you can't cover it when you go on an interview, etc.! I've known people who have really cool tattoos that they regretted because they couldn't cover them so easily when they were in professional situations. Just a thought!
I would avoid anything too detailed or intricate because your skin will stretch out as you age and the ink will 'bleed' as the skin collapses. So anything too detailed (like the facial details of the mermaid/skeleton, etc.) will blur.
Girl I don't know anything about skeleton mermaids, but I bet your tattoo artist (or any tattoo artist) could get creative and draw you a couple of sketches.
But what about a band with your kids names written in cursive around your arm?
My friend has a sea-horse type tattoo with her kids names written around it. It has a curly-q type tail, but the body is a girl with medium lenght hair. If I remember correctly, the whole tattoo shows the profile view of the sea-creature girl. Cute.
Good luck figuring it out. Sounds like you know what you want. Get it drawn by a good artist to see if you like it still.
