Questions on time estimate and artist collaboration

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ZenZhu
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:42 pm

Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:55 pm

Newbie to the forum and getting a tattoo here with a couple of questions. I'm contemplating getting an armband tattoo influenced by Polynesian, Marquesan, and Maori design..... not directly copying motifs, of course, since I don't want to swipe someone's ta moko or anything. I am an artist as well, though not a tattoo artist.



The first question is if anyone has estimates of how long an armband that is about 15" around (haven't formally measured yet) and about 0.6" high and is entirely blackwork takes.



The second is about collaborating with the tattoo artist I select for the work. As mentioned, I'm an artist, so researching tribal/Polynesian/etc. styles and developing a pattern isn't difficult and is more of a personal effort than simply finding a pattern online. However, I'm sure there are considerations such as spacing and all that that a tattoo artist takes into account (i.e., if you have lines too close together, the detail will be lost when produced as a tattoo). Are good tattoo artists generally receptive to taking the designs of someone who has produced their own work and tailoring it to work more successfully as a tattoo?



I'll see if I can set aside some time to produce a digital version of my designs so far to see what insights others may suggest. This is an ongoing process, and will be several more months in development as I research styles for ideas and also seriously contemplate if I want to commit to having it done. :)
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BadWolf
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Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:00 pm

Fri Jul 08, 2005 6:54 pm

Are good tattoo artists generally receptive to taking the designs of someone who has produced their own work and tailoring it to work more successfully as a tattoo?


YES!

Any decent tattooist should be able to take your creation, let you know what needs to be done to make it translate to a great tattoo, and work with you in accomplishing your goals.
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ZenZhu
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:42 pm

Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:12 pm

Was doing some reading at http://tattootraditions.alohaworld.com/ ... /index.htm and came up with a couple of other questions.



My arms are relatively well built. I exercise through yoga, martial arts, and bodyweight exercises. So, I'm developing more tone, but do not work out for "big guns." It seems to me it would be prudent during a consultation to ask if my arm looks like it has an appropriate form for an armband.



Another question is, since I do work out and my arm development may change some.. but not by much as, again, I don't exercise for size.. would a more geometric design be ill-advised? It seems to me that a kind of rigid, very geometric design such as ones like this or this might be a bad idea, as the contours of the triceps particularly may throw off the line of the image... especially if the musculature of the subject changes in any way.



Would a more "free form" and fluid design such as this or this be more favorable for someone with more developed form?



I'm quite partial to the idea of an armband over anything else. Having used a liquid eye-liner pen* my wife couldn't use to play around with design ideas, the armband works well on my form, but some of my reading suggests a more fluid and somewhat irregular design would be better on a more developed (even if moderately) arm than one bounded by very precise, straight lines.



*It's great for doodling on yourself, then climbing in the shower and washing off... if you come up with designs by "happy accident," you just snap a digital photo to record the idea.
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