Rest in Peace Tattoos

Tattoos are a great way to express one's innermost feelings that are either direct or indirect, depending on how you decipher the final artwork. When I first got my tattoos done, there was a concept and symbolic message in each of the four artworks I chose.

Choosing tattoos that have significant meaning is important if you want to be able to look at it every time and not let it tire you. When my mom passed away I thought of having a tattoo done in remembrance of her, which is still underway planning wise.

It is a great way of keeping close to you a person, an altering event, or even a pet that has left an impression on you.

RIP tattoos have been designed in more ways than one, where your first image of an RIP design shouldn't be the obvious tombstone or cross. You can go with something on the lines of that, but it's always good to keep things fresh and more your own than what is generic. So let's look into what styles you can try out when putting rest in peace tattoo art together.

Angel wings are a great feature for any tattoo artwork, because you can experiment with color shading or the basic black shading work that makes it stand out more realistically. Strategically place text at the dead center of a pair of two outstretched wings, that could dip midway to form the wings of an angel's.

You can have a little quote or message inscribed at the center, with the date of passing. Choose a font of your liking and have it placed in an appropriate location like on your shoulder or the front of your upper arm.

If you believe in the idea of reincarnation then getting an ankh which is an Egyptian symbol of a cross and an extended loop above it merged as one, would seem apt for your memorial tattoo. You can scrawl within the loop's center your loved one's name, or initials or just the date of passing.

Whatever you go with should ultimately leave you happy with the final design. Other symbols for rebirth are butterflies, phoenixes, an egg (symbolic for Easter, as a sign of new life) or lotuses (associated with the Egyptian God Osiris), where you could also use the spiral triskele even, to depict the idea of life moving on and continuing in forward motion.

You'll need to go to a tattooist who knows what he's doing when it comes to portrait tattoos. A tiny glitch in the picture will completely alter your image's detailing and may not even look anything like the one it is supposed to portray.

Once you're sure about your tattooist's work, then go ahead with a high-resolution image of your loved one or pet, and have it inked onto an area that seems appropriate like your upper arm or somewhere around the top half of your back.

Include text if you'd like (a quote or saying), or you could just mention the date of passing or initials to keep it simple and less crowded.

Think of something he/she loved or was fond of and use that to translate into a tattoo art piece. What was their favorite flower, thing or activity? Use it as a way to symbolize the person you were close to, and come up with a unique way of combining a memory with what they loved most or were passionate about.

Like say for example your grandpa loved fishing, have the tattooist draw in a reel with a mini lake scene to go with it, and maybe the outline of a man fishing. Include text that speaks of the tattoo's association with your grandpa, and link that fond memory to it.

You can go with artwork that is simple yet quite symbolic and touching, like something unique and inspiring that they would repeatedly say, or a bible quote that seems pertinent enough to the memory of that person, or maybe a random quote that you'd like to link it to.

It could cheer you up whenever you look upon it or help you stay in touch with your loved one by looking upon that quote for strength, solace or guidance. Whatever the quote does for you, make sure you are happy with what you choose in the end.

RIP tattoos are great choices for artwork designs that can help you reminiscent and look back every now and then whenever you look upon it. It could serve as a way of reminding you about them and to tell yourself that no matter what you do or where you go, they are always there with you.