Delicate tattoo questions

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TalkingBird
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Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:31 pm

I do not turn 18 until October, but at the onset of 2009, I decided I should start to finalize the ideas of my tattoo. I want some time to sit on the exact design and placement for a while. I've have the basic idea for a long time, and the closer I get to getting it, the more excited I am.

The design:
Image

Tattoo Explanation:
"Les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs" is a phrase from the French movie Amelie, and it translates to "Times are hard for dreamers."
The dandelion would tie into the concept of wishing and dreaming. It would also represent tenacity and strength, dandelions have a habit of sticking it out any where.

Now, my questions:
1) What are the guidelines for small text tattoos? How big does it have to be to not distort and be illegible over the years? Is the font I have chosen okay, or no?
2) How would I judge the skill of an artist in achieving my desired design?

This is perfect. But I've can easily see it turning into a blurry mess at the wrong hands. I do do tons of research, but I know nothing about tattoos. What am I looking for in portfolios to judge ability?
3) On the note of size, how big does the dandelion have to be to not turn into a distorted mess over time?

Sorry, lots of questions. Thanks! The design right now is a general idea, I don't want the cluster of seeds right by the dandelion clock.
Last edited by TalkingBird on Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SieKay
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Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:33 pm

Ultimately you will have to talk to an artist who can show you the size. You have the right ideas already about how the dandelion example you already found is going to look. It will eventually be a blurry image that doesn't look like a dandelion.

I can see the image being done in maybe black and grey. Negative spacing could be used to show the white puffs of the seeds. You could also stick with the more silhouetted version you have posted but it will have to be pretty good sized.

Where are you wanting to put the tattoo?
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TalkingBird
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Sat Jan 03, 2009 11:44 pm

SieKay wrote:Ultimately you will have to talk to an artist who can show you the size. You have the right ideas already about how the dandelion example you already found is going to look. It will eventually be a blurry image that doesn't look like a dandelion.

I can see the image being done in maybe black and grey. Negative spacing could be used to show the white puffs of the seeds. You could also stick with the more silhouetted version you have posted but it will have to be pretty good sized.

Where are you wanting to put the tattoo?
How long would "eventually" be? So the dandelion, in the silhouette, will be destined to be blurry over time? Is it impossible, no matter what size, for it to stay similar (as in, still looking like a dandelion) over time? Sorry for all the question. Thanks.

My first choice of placement would be on the left side of my spine, on my lower back, like how I photoshopped it. (Although, it isn't a very clear image, I apologize). The second place I was considering would be my right shoulder.
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MattCrunk
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:17 am

I think your idea for a tattoo is an excellent one. I'd love to do that tattoo myself.

The right artist should be able to do it about the same size you show in your concept, no problem. Done correctly it should look fine for many years to come.

Just make sure you find a not only a good artist, but the best artist for the job. Not all good artists are equally good at everything.
dan_T_jones
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:51 am

That's awesome concept for a tattoo! Good work! As far as placement goes I think it's pretty good but going near to or across your spine will hurt like hell.

The text might be a problem as you get older too. Seeing that's it's in a different language and so small you may find it will blur to the point where people will struggle to read it. And the floating seeds might add to the problem if they stay that close to the letters
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HEIRLOOMJOHN
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:04 am

looks like a very good challenge that the right tattoist would love !
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Freddie
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:37 pm

I'd choose a font that would hold up better over time, but, aside from that, it'd be a gorgeous tattoo.
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TalkingBird
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:56 pm

MattCrunk wrote:I think your idea for a tattoo is an excellent one. I'd love to do that tattoo myself.

The right artist should be able to do it about the same size you show in your concept, no problem. Done correctly it should look fine for many years to come.

Just make sure you find a not only a good artist, but the best artist for the job. Not all good artists are equally good at everything.
Thanks. What would you say this type of job would be? Is there anything specific that I should be looking in artist portfolios for? I see tattoos that look nice, but that's as far as my novice eye goes.
Freddie wrote:I'd choose a font that would hold up better over time, but, aside from that, it'd be a gorgeous tattoo.
The effect I want is a handwritten, "pretty" font. Is is possible to find something with that effect that will hold well over time, or should I look for something more like Times New Roman?

Thanks everyone.
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Freddie
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:29 pm

"handwritten" style scripts are fine, just be careful with how tight the "loops" are (i.e the openings in lower case "e"s, "a"s, "o"s, etc etc etc). Lines places too close together will "blur" together over time, making the font difficult to read.

In any case, for a pile of fonts, check out www.dafont.com and www.1001freefonts.com . Both of those sites have PILES of free fonts and tens of dozens of styles. Find a few for reference, but allow your artist to do his/her own thing with them, so they work out the best.
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TalkingBird
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Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:42 pm

How would I go about using my own hand writing as a font? It's similar to the style of font I want, and it would be more personal. I could also edit it to make it more tattoo friendly?
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Aivanne
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Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:58 am

TalkingBird wrote:How would I go about using my own hand writing as a font? It's similar to the style of font I want, and it would be more personal. I could also edit it to make it more tattoo friendly?
you could absolutely do that.

to answer your question about the tattooer's ability:

since you want black and grey work, look for a solid black and grey portfolio.

what you wanna look for is smoothness (no misuse of hard lines, smooth blending) as well as value range. you want an artist that can achieve full value of a piece (all the values of black should be present, from very light to all black). But again all the above applies to a realistic rendering....

since you also want something quite small, try to look for sharpness in details too.
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TalkingBird
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Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:47 pm

Thank you.

I've only been looking at online portfolios. It seems like the artists around here upload a lot more their colored pieces. More black ink portfolio work would be available at the studios, right?

I certainly don't want anyone to do the work for me. But here are some tattoo artists from my area I was looking at, and I was wondering what some of you guy's first impressions were. I will be visiting shops along the road and doing some more in depth checking, no worries. However, if you'd like to glance at a few then I'd really appreciate it.

Mid Air+Ink
5 Point Studios
Lasting Impressions
Sacred Skin
East Side Ink (Lucky & Rick are the tattooists)

Thanks again for all the help. I apologize if I'm annoying.
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Aivanne
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Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:40 pm

Abby at Lasting Impressions has a very good portfolio imo.

versatile. to say the least.
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buttwheat
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Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:32 pm

I will have to agree with Aivanne Abby at lasting impressions or Dave at Mid air Ink.
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magnumman
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Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:36 pm

I definitely agree with both Aivanne and buttwheat, I think Abby and Dave's work looks best to me. Versatile is a good description for both.
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