How to Draw Tattoos

Tattoos have become very popular in recent times and there are many different designs available for you to choose from if you are interested in getting a tattoo. If you are a complete beginner at drawing tattoos, then start with a simple design.

It may be a good idea to begin with something like a name with some design around it, or start with simple symbols like cross, anchor, or designs of simplified skulls, flowers, animals, etc. The amount of detailing should be done only if you can first capture the basic form.

Drawing the tattoo design yourself will help to personalize your body art even more. You can sketch the tattoo design, color it, and the give it to a tattoo artist who will make a duplicate of it. The professional tattoo artists will even correct your tattoo designs if it is a bit rough.

Then the artist will trace it on your body and use it as a guideline to do the real tattoo job on your body.

Selecting the tattoo design is very important and it is recommended that you opt for a simple edgy one. For example, if you wish to go for Asian dragon tattoos, then look online for sample pictures of dragon tattoos. Also, look for some simple pictures of a dragon. Get some prints of the subject you want to draw.

Gather your basic stationery like normal black and other color pencils, eraser, sharpener, a sketchpad, and some prints of the sample design. After you have selected the tattoo design follow the next step.

On your sketchpad, just keep doodling around with different designs of the subject you have chosen. For example to get a dragon design, draw a design of a dragon with fire, with yin-yang symbol, dragon which is slender and almost snake like in appearance, dragon with wings, etc. Try out doodles of different designs and select the doodle you like the most.

Draw the basic form of your tattoo design with light pencil lines. In case you don't understand the basic form of some designs, then look online for the anatomy of the particular design. Alternatively break down your doodle in different parts, and try to draw them better and in proportion.

Now, it's time to give your tattoo the final edgy look. If you are a bit skeptical that you might mess up with the above form-drawing of your tattoo design, then get a photocopy of the design as a backup.

On your drawing start adding details like designs around the name, drawing scales on the dragon or a snake, or accentuate your big tattoo design with a smaller flower tattoo design.

If you wish to go for a black and white tattoo, then fill up your tattoo design in black ink. Make sure the chunks are filled in black as they easily help the design to stand out. Keep spaces between the chunks of black color, so that the tattoo looks neatly spaced out.

If you wish to go for a colored tattoo, then take a black sketch-pen or a ball point and fair out the outlines of your drawing.

Then select different colors which match your tattoo design. Try to select the natural shades of the design you have selected. If it is an abstract tattoo, then you can go for any colors you like. Color your tattoo with the pencils and you have finished making your tattoo.

In case you wish to just draw temporary tattoos on yourself or want to learn to draw tattoos on your arm, then follow the above steps to draw a sample design and put a butter paper on your finished drawing.

And duplicate it again with a ballpoint pen on the butter paper, and then overlap on the body area and press the paper to get an imprint. Then draw the tattoos with a pen on your body with this method.

These were some tips on drawing tattoos. So, follow the above steps and select an edgy and stylized design to get some cool-looking tattoos done.