I started this project with some research in to tattoos and looking at different types of tattoos.

Sailor Jerry Tattoo Flash – Image Source

Above is tattoo flash by Sailor Jerry. Sailor Jerry is the name of the famous american traditional artist Norman Keith Collins. He was an american tattooist and sailor who tattooed in Hawaii before passing away in 1973. He is the most famous traditional tattoo artist and his designs are just as popular today as they were back then.

Article on Different Types of Tattoo + Image Source

Above is a link to an article about all different types of tattooing, including the most popular/common ones. The above image is examples of black work and dot work. Black work is where large areas are ‘blacked out’, this often creates an aspect of negative space where the natural skin colour then stands out against it. Dot work is when an image is make up of many dots, it is similar to some aspects of traditional tattooing as it is an image made up of dots. It is however typically made with a modern tattoo machine.

Samoan Tattoo – Image Source

The Spirituality Behind Samoan Tattoos Video

Samoan tattoo is an example of tattooing that has a cultural and spiritual meaning. It is a tradition that has been passed down through generations. The method of tattooing is still made in the traditional way using a tool called an ‘au’ – it is made with a long wooden handle and using sharp needles on the end which is then tapped into the skin with another small tool – you can see it being used in the above video.

Traditional Japanese Tattoo – Image Source

This is a photograph of a traditional Japanese body suit. Japanese tattooing often features symbols from Japanese folklore. The tattoos are often very large and very elaborate. These body suits are often tattooed on members of the Yakuza – the Japanese Mafia. This is one of the reasons in which tattoos still have quite a bad reputation in Japan – you can not access certain places (such as bathhouses etc) if you have tattoos as it is seen as gang affiliation.

Vintage photograph of woman with tattoos – Image Source 

Tattoos do still have a bad reputation in many places, even here in the UK if many employers know you have tattoos you will not be hired. I have a lot of tattoos but you would never know – I have purposely had them so that you can not tell – nothing on my hands, chest or feet. People do still say that women shouldn’t have tattoo’s and that they are masculine – that is why I love photographs like the one above, women have been getting tattoos for generations now! You just never noticed!

I have some books about tattoos that I looked through whilst I was doing the research – they also show many different types of tattooing and tattoo design. Tattooing is a really vast artform – there really is something for everyone. You can also see examples of new school, realism and pin up in these images.

Here is an example of some of my tattoos – one of my arms and one of my leg tattoos. Most of my tattoos are black and grey realism, they are often influenced by illustration and art – here you can see a Junji Ito illustration and an Enoch Bolles pin up.

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I was excited to get stuck in to this project after doing all the research. I have a lot of tattoos, and I have both friends and family who work within the tattoo industry. It is something I have been surrounded by for a long time.

After doing the above research I got started in my sketchbook with a mood board and a mind map. I made the mood board using some tattoo magazines I had picked up from some tattoo conventions I had been to in the past.

When I spoke to my friend and family member who are tattoo artists I mentioned this project, I did ask what they thought I should consider. They both said the same thing and said that I should consider placement when designing a tattoo. It is very important to take the part of the body into consideration when designing a tattoo because it is not flat like paper – the tattoo will wrap around the arm/leg etc and that has to be taken into consideration. Size is also important. Will that size of tattoo look out of place on that part of the body or not? How will it look? They both also use ipads/procreate to make their designs now as it is a lot more efficient when working with a client. I made my initial sketches on paper and then moved over to procreate when working on final designs.

After my mood board and mind map I started making some sketches based on my research. I knew I wanted to do something in a more traditional style. I decided on traditional in style as I was inspired by the classic ‘MOM’ heart tattoo design. I did also make some sketches featuring dotwork and Japanese flowers as these are both forms of tattooing that are ‘traditional’, just not in the same style. I liked the idea of a gypsy head tattoo (something I previously took inspiration from in assignment 1). The gypsy head tattoos are also traditional, they usually feature a woman’s head in a profile view. They are typically very pretty faces with lots of adornments usually headscarves, lace, frills and flowers. I wanted the woman in the design to be the mother, I did explore a few different ideas with this one. I wanted it to be more clear that she was a mother so I decided to add a baby into the drawing.

Vintage Kewpie Illustrations/Tattoo Flash – Image Source

When I added the baby to the sketches at first it was quite a simple design but I felt that it didn’t fit well enough with the actual mother. The design felt disconnected, the baby didn’t feel like it fit in because the mother looked traditional and quite decorated. I started doing some research and started looking into kewpie tattoos. Kewpie tattoos are quite popular, especially within traditional tattooing. People often have them these days when a baby is born. They are based on vintage dolls and illustrations. I did take some inspiration from the kewpies with the baby in my design – especially in the hair and eyes. I didn’t make it exactly the same as a kewpie as I didn’t want the focus to be on the baby. I just wanted it to fit into the piece better. I gave the woman eyes that made it look like she was looking down at the child.

Another idea that I pursued from my initial sketches was a traditional rose with a scroll. The scroll would have said mother – I thought about using a word that related to motherhood and the relationship with their child. I thought of words like ‘Devotion’, ‘Dedication’ and ‘Unconditional’. I think these words would have worked well with in a tattoo because often in tattoo design the meanings are little more vague. That being said I didn’t think it would work well on a mothers day card so I decided to go with ‘Mother’. I thought it was almost like a classier take on the ‘MOM’ heart, but still remained traditional in style and strong enough for a man to have on his body and it not seem too feminine.

Traditional Style Gypsy Head Tattoos – Sarah Purr – Image Source

I kept size and placement in mind when I made my drawings, I did work as though I was designing a tattoo for the top of the arm. I made some mock ups on photoshop and I did actually print out my images and hold them against my husbands arm as though they were a stencil being applied. This helped me get a real feel for how each image would sit on the arm. I decided to proceed with the gypsy head tattoo. It felt more elaborate and I felt it was more of a homage to a mother than the rose. I kept in mind that it was a tattoo for a man so I did try and keep the colour palette not only true to traditional tattooing but also that it would suit a man.

I added a scroll and a border to the final design so that it would feel like a completed piece. I took the idea of the scroll from the rose design so that it would also say ‘Mother’ – again a nod to the classic MOM tattoo.I also added a rope border. I found a lot of these when I was doing my research. They come from traditional tattooing, originally from the sailor tattoos and the more nautical theme – they seem to have made their way into traditional type tattoos in all themes as the years have gone by.

For text I practised drawing some of my own letting in my sketchbook from some traditional tattoo lettering I found whilst I was researching. It was very hard to replicate this digitally but I do think it was effective and gives the text a very traditional tattoo feel.

I am happy with the overall out come of this piece. I did push my self and it was new to me creating an image that had more meaning than just what it was initially supposed to illustrate. If I were to work on the piece again it would be nice to try and work in a traditional medium – perhaps ink on some tea stained paper to really give that authentic feeling – that being said, working digitally gave me the flexibility to be able to design for both an actual tattoo and a greetings card.