When people are thinking about getting a tattoo, some know exactly what they want, while others like to see some ideas before settling on one tattoo design.  Here, we wanted to go over sources of inspiration for your tattoo design and help you understand how we create the final design we will use for your tattoo. 

​

One thing to get straight, right off the bat.  Some people think they need to have the final tattoo design in hand when they walk in our doors.  This isn’t true!  Remember, our tattooists are accomplished artists, drawing tattoos is what they do best (well, besides actually doing the tattoos, of course).  You can certainly leave the artwork to our professionals.  We spend all day thinking up awesome tattoo designs, we understand how to create and execute a tattoo design that looks good on skin (which is different from any other medium), and we are good at what we do.  We’ve done thousands of tattoos, developing a keen eye for what looks good and what doesn’t. 

​

Having said that, we certainly want you to bring us your ideas and we want to make sure the tattoo design is exactly what you want.  So let’s cover a few sources of inspiration for your tattoo design:

 

 

 

Tattoo Flash​

​

The ready-made images that you find hanging up in tattoo studios or in tattoo books are called tattoo flash.  Some people find just what they are looking for and others use tattoo flash designs as a jumping off point.  We can take any tattoo flash and customize it to your liking--change up the colors, add or delete elements, make changes, whatever your heart desires.  You can also use flash samples to give us an idea of what you want can we can create a custom design just for you. 

 

 

 

The Internet​

 

We have a computer at the studio we can use to locate the tattoo design of your dreams, or you can bring in images you found off the Web, either printed out or on a CD, USB/flash or other digital memory card.

 

 

Your own or a friend’s artwork

​

Drawings, pictures or other artwork that clients bring in are common sources of tattoo inspiration.  We are happy to work with these images.  Do bear in mind that images that look good on paper don’t always translate into a great tattoo.  With your permission we may want to alter the design a bit to make sure it works well as a tattoo. 

​​

 

Photos and other images

​

Photos from tattoo magazines or other media are also common sources of tattoo design inspiration.  While our artists won’t do an exact replica of another artist’s custom tattoo design, we can use it to understand what you want and find a way to create a similar design that is as unique as you are. 

​

 

 

Cell phones

 

Images on cell phones are generally hard to work with, but you can email yourself a copy of the image and print it out at home or in the studio. 

 

 

 

Custom Tattoo Design

​
 Maybe you have a great idea for your tattoo, but you haven’t found any examples to show your artist.  Fear not, come in and talk with your tattoo artist about your ideas.  Or maybe you have some images that possess elements of what you like.  Our talented professionals would love to design a custom tattoo that will knock your socks off.  Having a tattoo design custom created for you may take a consultation or two to complete the masterpiece, but we guarantee it is worth it.  We love custom tattoo designs and we think you do too.