Ask your tattoo artist for a design

So, you have decided to get a tattoo done. What next? Have you already zeroed in on what design you want? Should it be a butterfly on the ankle? A flaming skull perhaps? Or something you came up with yourself or something you saw? Hmm?Its good that you know what you want; you enter the studio, show your artist the design or picture you want inked and well….get it done. And you walk out the studio with a glee smile on your face after thanking the obliging ‘person’.
Let’s look at this for a moment from a different perspective. First, a little about who a tattoo artist is and what he does. Make a note of the word ‘artist’. Tattoo artists in general are very creative people. Always passionate about their work, they conjure up great pieces of art from the concoction of emotions, memories and dreams and what not! And translating this into something remarkable and tangible into the real world is what they do.As one tattoo artist said – a tattoo is not just design and ink. For the person wearing it, it represents a lot of things for him. From his outlook and perception on life to the past he has been through, hopes and dreams, spirituality and relationships, and myriad other things – all of these are extracted in essence and forged into a tattoo.
When you go to him or her with your design ready, you really aren’t giving them much freedom to utilize this ‘art-istic’ ability of theirs. Tattoo artists aren’t machines that transfer a given template onto your skin. They are artists, as in those whocreateart. Remember that they are in the field not only because of their passion but also because of their artistic bent of mind. Give them a concept and they apply their creativity and skill and come out with something you might never have imagined but at the same time represent all that you had in mind. Give them the liberty to design for you and you will be amazed at what they come out with.Take for example tattoo artist Veer Hegde, founder of Eternal Expression Tattoo Studio. His iconic and fresh outlook on the Hindu God Shiva is a completely new way of portraying Him in the form of a tattoo.
To put it short, you will be missing out on a great tattoo that could be if you don’t give your artist the freedom to design – all, of course, based on your inputs and requirements. After all, its going to represent a part of who you areand not anything else.