Tattoos are one of the ways to express your personality, perpetuate bright memories or just adorn the body with new, meaningful images. Choosing the right tattoo is a responsible and challenging task. So, if you want to wear the tattoo, which won’t disappoint you after some years, you should choose it carefully.


Here are some tips for you and tattoo ideas to get inspired.


How To Choose A Tattoo

Choosing a tattoo design is a challenging task as it involves the set of consistent actions. The decision to get inked shouldn’t be spontaneous. Therefore, after you have decided to get a tattoo, wait half a year or a year. If after this period of time your decision will remain unchanged, start searching for a design or upgrade an already existing idea. Here are a few tips for those, who don’t know how to decide what tattoo to get.

Do Some Research

Learn everything about the tattoo art, be aware of the latest trends and tattoo styles. Think about the best place for your tattoo, the size, colors and matching details. You may browse the Internet, talk with tattoo artists, review tattoo magazines, and online galleries to get the necessary information. Also, decide on the style of the tattoo. You may consider the following styles:

  • A Tribal style implies that tattoos are black and white, they have geometric figures and intricate patterns.
  • A traditional Japanese style depicts tattoos, which are mostly large, very bright and they have a minimal shading. However, there are some rules: certain flowers may be paired with certain animals, the depiction of the Buddha should be only above the waist.
  • The American traditional style uses thick lines, basic colors and two-dimensional images (hearts, roses, daggers).
  • The neo-traditional style is used for three-dimensional images with thick black lines and a standard color palette.
  • New school style is often called progressive as it doesn’t have any limits as for the themes. The colors are vibrant, the design may have exaggerated details or there may be the fusion of techniques.
  • The realistic style focuses on the realistic transferring of the portrait or landscape onto the skin. The color palette may be either colorful or black and white.
  • A geometric style uses geometric shapes mostly. They may be black and white, or colorful, but the lines are always clean and flawless.
  • The watercolor style implies the using of bold colors and blurred line, which resemble paint strokes.
  • A Dotwork style means that the whole design is created with the help of tiny dots. Usually, these tattoos are black and white.
  • Trash Polka mixes different design elements from different styles (traditional, geometric) and the lines are usually black and red.
  • Biomechanical tattoos depict the human body, infused with metal pistons and gears.

Decide Which Design To Get
The tattoo may perform only an aesthetic function, but if you want to make it deeply personal, it should have something behind its cool design. The pattern on your body should mean something for you and this image may evoke memories and certain emotions inside you. You may choose between the most popular groups of designs.

Tattoos To Commemorate Special People And Events
These tattoos are personal as they help you to perpetuate memories about happy moments. There are several tattoo types you may consider:

Names

Be careful with the names as this tattoo may look tasteless. The exception is the names of your close relatives (parents, children, siblings, spouses).

Lettering

Lettering is usually done in a black and white color spectrum. The lettering may represent your motto in life or the motto of your friendship with the best friend or relationship with the loved one.

Portraits

Portrait tattoos may be done in many styles and they show the honor to a loved one. Also, they can be the example of memorial tattoos. Besides, you may get the tattoo of your favorite pet or the celebrity, who inspires you.

Dates

Dates are popular designs for tattoos as they make the ink deeply personal. You may choose either regular numbers or Roman numerals. It’s a perfect way to commemorate special dates or events for you.

Tattoos To Express Your Identity

If you are a bright personality with a positive attitude towards life and strong values, you may express it through tattoos. Here are some examples.

Asian Characters

Choose Asian characters wisely as they may render several meanings and you should get to know them all. To do it, consult the dictionaries, and never trust the meanings, written on the tattoo parlor’s walls. The most common symbols are love, strength, family, luck, peace.

Tribal Tattoos

If you have Indian roots, think about getting Polynesian tattoos. They have intricate patterns and deep meanings. Or if you are an Irish descent, you may go for a Celtic tattoo (Celtic knot).

Traditional Tattoos

If you want something traditional, yet appealing, you may choose most sought-after designs. Here are a few suggestions for you.

Star Tattoos

If you want to know more about star tattoo meaning, TattoosWin have explored this rather nicely.

Flowers

  • Floral designs are versatile and bright. They may be elegant, expressive, simple or complicated. You shouldn’t limit yourself. But before creating your dream tattoo, think about the meanings each image has:
  • Roses are the eternal symbol of love, desire, and appreciation. Also, they are associated with beauty and tragic love. Depending on the color, each flower has its own meaning. Thus, white roses mean innocence, yellow flowers indicate longing, pink flowers mean admiration.
  • The Lotus flower is sacred in Buddhism and Hinduism and it is connected with purity and spiritual enlightenment.
  • Cherry blossom is common for Japanese tattoo art. In Japanese culture, this pretty and delicate flower stands for transience as it blooms for a short period of time, which represents the temporary nature of life and beauty.
  • Lilies mean femininity, beauty. Also, some cultures connect this flower with a strong relationship. Greeks see this flower as the symbol of the goddess Hera.
  • A hibiscus means power and royalty in Hawaiian culture, and for Japanese, it means gentleness.
  • The sunflower indicates luck and the ability to achieve goals.
  • The daisy signifies love, forgiveness, and purity.
  • An orchid is revered in Chinese culture. It stands for fertility and prosperity.

Birds

  • Bird tattoos are always associated with creativity, freedom, love. But they may convey other meanings. It is up to you which design to choose and what meaning it will have exactly for you. The most popular bird designs are the following:
  • The hummingbird is the symbol of grace, beauty, strength, and energy.
  • Cardinals are considered as totems of loyalty, energy, and youth.
  • Cranes symbolize new opportunities, prosperity, a blessing in a marriage.
  • Doves represent your soul, spirituality, peace, and love.
  • The eagle is the embodiment of masculine strength and virility. Also, it is the symbol of power, wisdom, and spirituality.
  • Flamingos are the symbol of energy and vitality.
  • Owls may indicate either intelligence and wisdom or misfortune and mystery.
  • Peacocks are connected with compassion and kindness. However, some nations see them as the personification of narcissism.
  • The phoenix represents the cyclicity of life – death and rebirth.
  • Swallows and sparrows are seen as the birds, which symbolize motherhood, protection, and beauty.

Animals

  • Animal tattoos are chosen both by men and women and they indicate certain traits of the character and attitude towards life. The most admired designs are the following:
  • The horse is about royalty and beauty.
  • The bear tattoo indicates enormous power and a strong personality.
  • The lion is the king of animals, so it indicates strength, power, and authority.
  • The tiger represents courage and severity.
  • The wolf indicates devotion, love, and protection.

Think About The Place
The placement of the tattoo on your body is important. Think about your lifestyle, work and decide whether you want to show this design to everybody, or you prefer to hide it when it is necessary. If you are more extravagant and like to stand out, consider having the tattoos done on the ears, the fingers, the neck, the shoulders, the feet, the wrists, and even the face! If you want to hide it, choose places, which you don’t show too often: the belly, the hip, the collarbone, the chest, and the back. Also, consider the level of pain you experience on each body part. Here is the information about the pain levels.

The most painful areas are those, which have many nerve and bone endings. The biggest number of nerve endings have arms (the inner arm and the armpit), throat, genitals, nipples, face, solar plexus. The biggest number of bone endings have ankles, wrists, spine, ribs, collarbones, knees and elbows.

The least painful areas are the areas, which have the lack of nerve endings. Thus, you won’t experience much pain if you decide to get the tattoo on the front arm, calves, hips, the back.

Choose The Artist
The artist should be experienced in his field and have a good reputation. Google the best tattoo parlors in your city, read the reviews about the qualified artist on the sites. After that, check out his portfolio because he can specialize best in the style that you need. Read about the tattoo procedure, and make sure the tattoo parlor has licenses and certifications, it is very important. Unhygienic conditions can lead to serious diseases that are transmitted through the blood: hepatitis B, HIV.

On top of that, always take the experience of the artist and his price list into account. The tattoo, done by an experienced professional, won’t be cheap.

Tips For Getting The Tattoo

Once you’ve chosen the tattoo design and the tattoo artist, follow these steps to make the procedure comfortable and safe.

Don’t drink alcohol before the procedure as it affects your perception of pain and your consciousness.

Eat something before the procedure as the tattooing process will require much time and you need the energy to endure it. Also, take some snacks with you and a bottle of water.

Don’t bring the company with you as it will distract the artist and make you feel nervous. Do it by yourself.

Be prepared for pain and accept that during the process and recovery it will hurt.

Prepare the tip for the artist (20% in cash).
Learn aftercare instructions and follow them (wash the tattoo with the unscented soap, don’t soak in water, use a lotion, don’t touch the tattoo, keep it covered with sunscreen).

Simple Tattoo Ideas

If you have decided to get inked, check out this top five simple tattoo ideas for your inspiration.
Animal Tattoo




Sunflower Tattoo




Owl Tattoo




Watercolor Hummingbird Tattoo




Flower Tattoo




Therefore, before getting the tattoo, you should learn about the process, get visual inspiration (see more tattoo designs for men), choose the design, which will reflect your personality and then, you will enjoy wearing it for the rest of your life.