Choosing a tattoo is difficult. If it isn’t, you have not done your homework. Too often, newcomers will stroll into their local tattoo parlor, pick up a few books or check out the artwork on the walls, and thirty minutes later sit down in the chair for their session.

That is probably the worst decision you can make concerning your tattoo’s appearance. It’s increasingly common, thanks to the fact that more people are sitting down to get inked these days, and thanks to advances in tattoo removal technology. But the fact is that tattoo removal is imperfect, not entirely effective, and can lead to skin scarring and discoloration. You should never rush into a new design. Take your time before getting that design permanently memorialized on your skin. Here are a few tips to make sure you love that tattoo as much a year from now as you do today.

Choose your location first: where you get your tattoo often has an impact on the style that you choose. For example, a tattoo that looks good on your lower back likely has a far different style than one that will be placed on your shoulder. And shoulder tattoos cater to different designs than foot tattoos. Start with the location.

After the location is selected, begin to narrow down your design choices. You are probably attracted to certain styles of designs already, e.g. tribal tattoo designs, cartoonish designs, abstract designs, etc. After narrowing it down to a category, refine your selections until you come up with your own shortlist.

Test drive your design: get some professional transfer paper — this is the paper that tattoo artists use to transfer designs from their books to your skin. Trace the design onto the transfer paper, optionally using a lightbox for assistance. You can find some transfer paper samples on this tattoo finder blog. Then have a friend transfer the design onto your skin and fill it in with fine-tipped permanent markers in the appropriate colors. It doesn’t have to be perfect - you just want to make sure the size, style, and colors agree with you.

Now you’ll just observe that design in its natural habitat! Don’t obsess over it, but glance at every time you pass the mirror, see how it works with the clothes you normally wear, make sure you can adequately cover it up when you need to, and be sure that you like the design and placement. Don’t be afraid to try on more than one design either; often, your second or third design choice will actually suit you the best. It should only take a few iterations until you find a tattoo you’ll love.

Additionally, if your tattoo will include a lettering style, don’t limit yourself to what you see in the parlor’s books. There are literally thousands of freeware fonts that you can download and install on your computer. You can use a graphics program (even a free one like gimp) to add the tattoo lettering to your design of choice, and then transfer it to your skin with the rest of the test tattoo. Like the design, you’ll eventually find a font that is perfect for your new tattoo.

To some, this sounds like a lot of work, and that’s true. But this tattoo will be with you for a lifetime, so you will want to do your research. Use a tattoo finder to locate a great design, browse through the many free fonts available online, and test drive all of the promising tattoo designs before you ink them permanently. Your effort will be rewarded many fold in the years to come.

Tags: Tattoos