How To Design Your Own Tattoo

Image : http://www.flickr.com

For many people one of the most important aspects of getting a tattoo done is the ability to design your own tattoo. Almost every tattoo shop in the world has this sort of service with some of them doing more of this type of personalized business than others. The ability of any tattoo shop to offer this service will ensure that the tattoo shop and its artists will always have a lot of business.

More and more people are designing their own tattoo images and bringing them to tattoo artists to have their dream tattoo realized. The artist at the tattoo shop may add a few elements or rearrange certain parts of the design but ultimately the design will be unique to that customer. There are many tattoo designs all over the Internet that people can download and change to fit their own personal styles and tastes. Even the people who have little artistic ability can choose what they'd like to have changed or kept the same about the design.

Many people have at least one friend who can help them decide what design elements to save or change and if that person is at all artistic then the design will become much more personalized. For anyone who's ever wanted to have a certain image of tattoo on his or her body but who wasn't sure how to go about getting that image from their head onto the artist's sketchpad, this is the best solution.

By searching for a design on the Internet anyone can find the image they want to have for their own unique tattoo design. It will require a little tweaking to make it their own but that's where the uniqueness comes into the plan. There are many sites on the web that specialize in tattoo designs and they have many images that you can download to your computer. These images can then be sent to the tattoo shop with special instructions for what you'd like to have changed in the design.

This service will have a charge of course depending on the amount of design work that is required to bring the design closer to what the customer wants. Not all tattoo shops have this service but many of them are starting to offer a personalized service such as this to tap into the popularity of creating your own tattoo designs. If all a customer wanted was a plain old tattoo design then many of the tattoo shops around the world would probably close because they'd all have the same old designs for tattoos. Creativity and imagination are required to keep any business afloat and a tattoo shop is no exception to that rule.

Tongue piercing

Eyebrow piercing

Free Tattoo Designs - Best Places to Look

Image : http://www.flickr.com

Here are the best places to find free tattoo designs. Most free tattoo designs are generic and boring, and you've seen them a thousand times before. You want to find a free tattoo design which is strong, unique, and can stand out.

Finding your tattoo design:

1. The Tattoo Parlor. Obviously this must be mentioned as this is a major resource for many free tattoo designs ranging from old school tats, to more modern. The downside to the parlor is the sheer volume of designs you'll have to go through, and likely you'll have to keep coming back to sift through their books and look on the walls for a tattoo design which fits you.

2. Graffiti pits or parks. If there are areas designated for graffiti then it's worth a stroll through with your camera to pick up on some free tattoo design ideas. This option is often overlooked and it's too bad because you can see some great art that could be translated over to skin art. Especially if your tattoo has mural elements to it then this can be a great source of inspiration.

3. Online tattoo catalogues. Probably the best and easiest place to pick up a free tattoo design is through tattoo catalogues or books that you can access on the internet. Many require you sign up for a membership which requires a fee for joining, but once you're in you have access to literally hundreds of unique and creative designs which are all free to use for a tattoo. This works well because you can really "sit" with the tattoo for several days or weeks before making the choice to get it done. Every day you can access it online, give it a look over and see if it feels as strong 2 weeks from now as it did when you first saw it. If you are serious about getting the right free tattoo design, then an online tattoo book is a smart and strong way to go.

Belly piercing

Hooked on Body Suspension

This photo shows Kat with 4 Tuna Hooks freshly pierced into her skin. She is preparing for her 7th body suspension.


Kat's body is swimming with endorphins. Dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin — she knows them by name, and she knows their effects. In fact, she’s become rather addicted to them.


In addition to the rush, Kat does body suspensions to overcome her fears.


Kat said that the first hook does not cause her pain, but her back muscles start to tighten up. This makes each additional hook harder to receive.


You can read an entire article written by Ryan Burns and see a gallery of her body suspension at The Journal 

What is a Correct Belly Button Piercing?

Measure in a straight line, not along the curve

There are industry standards for a belly button piercing, but not all Piercers concern themselves with how your after market jewelry will fit.

The standard size belly ring is 14 gauge. This is the thickness of the bar. A large selection of jewelry is available in this standard gauge. If you are pierced with a thinner or thicker needle, you will only have basic steel barbells to select from. Any professional piercer should pierce for a 14 gauge barbell.

The length is more tricky for the Piercer. The end result can be based on the distance of the piercing and the depth of the piercing. Ideally a 3/8" or 7/16" curved barbell will fit properly in a healed belly piercing.

Now, when I say the proper length is 3/8" or 7/16" (only 1mm difference for these 2 length), I do not mean for the barbell to be completely inside of the piercing. There should be some barbell showing, to allow the piercing to breathe and to provide room for sitting and stretching.

A fresh piercing will either use a circular barbell (best for cleaning the piercing) or a curved barbell that is longer than the standard, allowing room for swelling and cleaning.

Three most common problems: too shallow a piercing, a crooked piercing, or too deep an angle, making the belly ring pull into the belly button.