Tattoos

Body Art

EQ: How can being a tattoo

artist be a lucrative career?
How can you express yourself
and use your body as a piece
of living art?
 History of Tatooing
Kings and commoners. Sailors and prisoners.
Tribesmen and sweethearts. All have shared
one thing: the art of the tattoo.

Tribes were tattooed for many reason, to

commemorate headhunting expeditions,
family lineage, and tell a story. They used
crude tools such as old nails, sharpened
bamboo sticks and barracuda teeth. The ink
varied from sugar cane juice mixed with
campfire soot to crushed herbs/berries.
 History Cont
The word tattoo comes from the
Tahitian word tattau which means
to mark.
Because tattoos were considered so
exotic in Europe and the U.S,
tattooed Indians and Polynesians
drew crowds at circuses and fairs
during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Styles of Tattoos
 Old School
There is a certain
timeless look with
these tattoos harking
back to the days of
the 1950s. Taking its
roots from the early
days of tattoos, this
style uses simple
lines and flat shading
with a minimum of
colors. The
traditional colors are
black, red, green,
yellow and blue.
These are the tattoos
of your grandfathers
time.
 Japanese Kanji Tattoos

The theme usually

defines an Irezumi
tattoo and includes
such things as koi fish,
oriental dragons,
Buddha's, samurais
and geishas, kabuki
masks and other
traditional Asian icons.
The colors are bright
and simple with a
conscientious use of
black areas.
 Tribal Tattoos

Tribal tattoo designs have been around for hundreds of years but are
becoming more and more complex and constantly evolving and
morphing into what has become neo tribal tattoo styles. Tribal styles
can be traditional black work covering the arms or more colorful
styles characterized by the Modern Primitive look covering the entire
body.
This style uses black ink
and various shades of grey
Black and Gray Wash
to round out the design.
Strong light sources and
subtle shading is used to
render the tattoo and will
Kat Von D makes over 5 million a
usually hold up well over
year!!!!
time. This is the preferred
Her portraits are a minimum of
method for portraits.
$1000!!!
Popular artists include Kat
Von D.
Taken from the old Celtic
manuscripts from Ireland
this style can be as
complex or as simple as
Celtic Knotwork
you like. Celtic knot work
requires skill in rendering
it properly and should be
done by an artist that
specializes in this art
form. Usually done in
black but can use solid,
bright primary colors for
interest.
This style became
popular through the work
on the Alien movies by
Swedish artist H.R BioMechanical
Geiger. This style
combines anatomical
flesh intertwined with
some sort of mechanical
parts. This style requires
some rendering skill by
the artist.
Tattoo or Taboo?
 Your Assignment
To create an unique tattoo that represents something
that is important to you
Today- Find multiple images of tattoos you like
(THESE ARE ONLY REFERENCES- YOUR TATTOO MUST
BE ORIGINAL!!!) Put these images in a word document
and save to your name under TATTOO
You will begin sketching out THREE
completely different tattoos
Once you show these to me you can
start on your final tattoo
Final Product must be at least half the size of your
paper
Must have a variety of line( think about thickness and
shapes of lines)
Use grayscale to shade or use colored pencils to
shade
Write down the style of tattoo you are creating this
after