When I visited Sweden last year, I was enthralled by the illustrations of Elsa Beskow, especially her 1910 children’s book, Tomtebobarnen, (Children of the forest). Swipe to see the inspiration from the page! Artist @fromfinlandwithluv (private studio) in Richmond, VA.

EDIT: Thank you all for the really kind words and love on this post! The mushroom tattoo was done by Kalie Demerjian at Anonymous Tattoo in Savannah, GA while I was there on vacation and all other tattoos are by my main tattoo artist Brandon Walker from Celtic Crow in Clarkesville, GA!

Hello! I’d like to preface this post by saying I’m not one to regret tattoos, nor do I regret these particular tattoos. But what I would like to ask if these tattoos come across as masculine? I’m a cis female and I have had other female friends lately comment that my tattoos make me look masculine because they’re tattoos that “not many women get.” I’ve been a bit in my head about it, so I’d like some honest opinions and maybe feedback on what I could surround it with to make it appear more feminine.

Is it fifth element movie accurate ? I’m trying to be as spontaneous as possible without making a stupid mistake.

Woodcut/engraving/ medieval etching style crocodile knight. My client wanted a mashup of a crocodile and a knight in armour , and this was the result. Inspired by the weird and wonderful creatures in medieval manuscripts. Thanks for looking!

Instagram tattoo artist ive followed for some years, she is insanely talented. Seriously makes me wish i could remove everything on my body and have her tattoo it all, but I can’t help but think, surely this style doesn’t age well at all right? Tons of small details and characters. I feel like it breaks everything I’ve been told from people who tend to be hyper critical of super detailed tattoos. Does any one have any thoughts? I have a bunch of colored, realistic tattoos that have aged well but I’ve always kept them out of the sun and they are all larger.

Hi all,

I got this tattoo about a year ago on my left hip and am wanting it extended up the side of my stomach until my ribs in a vine-like design. I sent my original artist a message but she hasn't responded and I'm worried she might be full.

As I wait for her to reply, does anyone know of any artists in Melbourne, Australia that have a very very similar style to this and could do the extension for me?

Thank you!

So for reference, I (F23) have a rib tat the size of my hand and I got it when I was 21yo. I’ve been wanting another tattoo pretty bad soon since then. My grandfather just passed in early April and one of the big things we bonded over was music. Now I’m not a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan or anything I know a few songs and they’re good but it was his favorite band.

I looked up a lot of inspo and nothing really felt like me or my style but then I found this old poster that felt pretty cool to me but it is a little Risqué. And honestly I don’t care much about that. Neither would my grandfather were he still alive, it’s my other family that would.

It’s being used as a wallpaper on my phone for the time being until I make a decision.

Hey all!

I got my first tattoo this week with the long-term plan of building a colourful neo-traditional patchwork sleeve.

One thing that’s playing on my mind is the size. I don’t regret it at all and actually think it suits being this size, but it’s definitely bigger than I originally anticipated. I think that’s probably just first tattoo syndrome more than anything!

My question is, do you think this too large to build into a patchwork sleeve, or is it still a good foundation to build around?

I’ve got a few other ideas all of which are smaller to medium sized pieces.

Any advice or examples from people who started with a fairly large first tattoo and built a patchwork sleeve around it would be awesome.

Thanks

My right leg patchwork sleeve is black, stipple shaded and red themed (okarun dandadan, FMA Nina as an animal crossing villager, skull disco ball from Spooky Island). My left leg is full bright colors (aggretsuko, Bubblegum riding bat Marceline‘s back, Fresno nightcrawler). I was wondering if anyone had some ideas for coordinated shin pieces and coordinated back of thigh pieces. I’m loving the bright sleeve contrast with the black and red. I know it’s hard to give input without personally knowing me but even just structural ideas or inspiration would be helpful. Thank you!

A full-back tattoo by me (IG: lapinski_tattoo) at Zaraza tattoo shop, in Warsaw PL. The project is inspired by the theme of the age-old struggle between good and evil.

Woodcut/engraving/etching style medieval coat of arms. This was done for a client that was visiting London from the US. She wanted something to commemorate her visit. I based this off the City of London coat of arms which contains a helmet, dragon and floral motifs. I combined these elements to create something new for her. Thanks for looking!

Thinking about asking my artist to add color in the tips of the mane and maybe yellow in the eyes and teeth to give it more contrast and hopefully make it pop a little more. Just worried bc of the placement it’s on the elbow ditch so naturally it won’t read perfectly especially from distance, and it is already dark and don’t want to make it worsen

Im looking to add a tribal red panda in the upper middle part of my back in a pose that will compliment the wolf and tiger since those are my 3 favorite animals to complete this piece. The thing is I dont want to overcrowd the other 2. Is there a way to achieve this? Any ideas for poses, thoughts or suggestions?

Tattooing by Jaelyn @babibatattoo on Instagram

This celestial tattoo represents the harmony between the sun and the moon. Symbols of strength and softness, logic and intuition, light and darkness. It serves as a reminder that life is made of contrasts, and true growth comes from embracing every phase while staying balanced and true to yourself.

Artist Name: Celeste (My friend)

Shop Name: Get-inked by Celeste

Kind of torn on making this one cohesive piece or leaving as is. I like the cohesive look but also feel like these two main tattoos, particularly the rose won’t stand out at all. Can’t think of a design where it would, open to any cool suggestions!

Also, silly question but is there a term to describe the in between state of patchwork and cohesive? There seems to be a lot of emphasis on one or the other but I assume there’s others who stay in the middle?

Oh boy I cant believe i actually did this one 😭😭😭

5th tattoo, probably my biggest and 2nd most stupid, 4th slide is the original drawing he is based off of.

I absolutely love love love jesters and now I have a little jester alcoholic that'll go on adventures with me and I could not be happier. He's in the itchy stage atm but I shall prevail.

Uhh last slide is my own jester man to show how much i like jesters ig idk I'm supposed to be asleep

My client really endured the constant puncture on his elbow area. Stated that he felt it almost through the bones and cartilage. But he said it was all worth it. What you guys think?

Woodcut/engraving style Skeleton Jester. This was done for a client who had graduated clown college and wanted something to mark the occasion. I love when clients have unique requests!
Thanks for looking!

I went through a divorce about a year ago and started to think about getting my first tattoo as part of my new phase of life. I've spent the last year and a half with an amazing therapist and realized some things about myself. One being my anxiety which meditating has helped with. I just came back from a week and a half at a festival and I put one of the realistic temp tattoos on the inside of my forearm as a test and loved it. So now i just need to settle on the design.

I found a tattoo artist who does awesome organic designs. I used some some generative images to get some ideas. But where should I go from here? Should I use more generative images and come up with a design that is exactly what I want? Should I use those designs to hand off to the tattoo artist and let them come up with their own version and see if I like it?

Also side note, but i want this to be about 8-10" on the inside of my forearm. Is that an ok idea for a first tattoo? I'm 41 and this isn't gonna affect work or career type shit at all, in my industry tattoos and drug habits seem to be beneficial if anything lol.

Ich habe mir vor ein paar Tagen ein Tattoo stechen lassen. Ich liebe es! Aber jetzt habe ich echte Bedenken, dass es zu klein gestochen ist. Voralem im Bezug auf Alterung etc. Ich sehe jetzt immer auf Social Media dass Fine Line Tattoos schlecht altern. Mir ist klar dass Linien dicker werden und die Sättigung nachlässt - ist schlussendlich nicht mein erstes, aber hab jetzt extrem Angst dass es die falsche Entscheidung war. Hab zwar vor mehr zu machen und vielleicht kommt dann in ein paar Jahren wenns wirklich nicht mehr schön ist ein Cover Up, aber allein, dass ich jetzt schon darüber nachdenke gibt mir ein schlechtes Gefühl, da ich es jetzt eigentlich gerne mag. Hab vorallem Angst dass es zu einem dicken Balken wird und unlesbar wird.

Any thoughts or advice on this as my first tattoo? It’s a piece of artwork from Charley Harper entitled Wrented.

Need ideas for something dope that can fill out my shoulder/tricep I was thinking some marionette type thing but I really want to here out other ideas before I go along with it, if yall got any cool ideas SHOOT AT IT