Choosing A Tattoo Design
The choice of tattoo a person makes is extremely personal. There are no hard and fast rules. You might go for a particular design simply because you like it, or because you think it reflects your personality, or because it reflects aspects of you that normally remain hidden in everyday life. Or perhaps the tattoo you go for has been chosen to show your affiliation with your favourite football team.
The choice available to you is vast - Celtic, fairies, hearts, portraits of people, devils, sexy babes, religious symbols, tribal, abstract, butterflies, flowers, mermaids, dragons, birds, big cats, cartoon characters, skulls, etc. The list is endless. Even if you decide you want to have a mermaid you'll find a whole range of different styles of mermaids available for you to choose from.
Browsing through online tattoo galleries is a good idea as you can go through at your leisure and not feel any pressure. Also they usually carry designs by some the world's top tattoo artist. If you've seen something you want you can simply print off a copy of the design and take it to your local artist to do.
The most important thing about your tattoo is that you should like it - really like it! Don't compromise and let others around you influence your final decision. You're the one who's going to have it on their body and have to live with it on a daily basis. If you can't decide between two designs come back at a later date and see if one of them stands out.
Then again remember if you go for something radical, controversial and even offensive that your views and attitudes will probably change over the next few years, so think carefully about this first.
If you go for something like a Japanese symbol make sure you know what it stands for. Even the tattoo artist may not know its actual meaning. It may look nice but do you really want the word "idiot" tattooed on your arm? Also take care with quotes, especially sentimental ones. What seemed meaningful at the time can end up seeming twee and nauseating some years later. And don't forget to check the spelling.
If you can't find a design you really like you can always design your own. Many tattooists have had art training and can help you with this if your drawing skills are limited. You can also take a standard tattoo design and change elements to personalise it to make your own unique design.