Image name: African-inspired Sleeve
Comments: This is a detail from a sleeve and shoulder piece that is African inspired.
Showing posts with label Arm Tattoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arm Tattoo. Show all posts
Head of The Dragon Tattoo
In the west, it is a greedy, fire-breathing, cave-dwelling, and fear-inspiring creature that jealously guards its hoard of gold. In the east, however, it symbolizes something far different. In fact, Occident and Orient couldn’t be further apart than in their interpretation of one of the most powerful of all mythic creatures and tattoo designs, the dragon.
Although they do not have wings, as in the west, Oriental dragons are equally at home in the air or in the water. In fact, the Chinese imperial dragon was the emblem of the emperor himself, symbolizing his power and authority to intercede between heaven and earth. Like the dragon, the ideal emperor embodied wisdom and strength, manipulating the very forces of the universe for the benefit of the people. Often times in Oriental designs the dragon is seen wielding the pearl of wisdom, essentially the essence of the universe, in order to control the winds, rains, and even the planets.
As early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. – C. E. 220) the phrase “dragon’s pearl” referred to the perfect thoughts and commands of the emperor while “dragon’s face” was used to refer to the emperor’s face. But the face of the oriental dragon is not actually the face of one creature but rather many. The eyes are those of a demon while the ears are those of a cow. Although the neck is that of a snake, the dragon wears the horns of a stag. Finally, it has the overall head of a camel but with a sort of lump on the top, without which it could not fly. With saliva that was like perfume and a voice like the musical ringing of a copper basin, the Oriental dragon was the bearer of profound blessings. Like other Oriental tattoo designs, the choice of a dragon is sometimes an aspiration to these same qualities of great goodness, wisdom, and power.
Anime Tattoos
Been wondering for a long while what tattoo(s) I'd finally get for myself. I'm the oldest of 8 kids and everyone but the 3 youngest and me don't have a tattoo. My father is loaded with tattoos including a large Bald eagle that covers his entire chest. At first glance at my father and you'd not think he's covered with tats.Anyways, I've always thought of Kanji writing as my younger brother has on the back of his neck but I've also of course thought of full anime tattoos. With the blessing of my fiancee, I'd most likely get a moe version of FFVII's Tifa Lockhart and even K-On!'s Mio wouldn't be bad if the tat is done right.
As I continue to ponder what to add, here's some interesting tattoos I found in a quick browse on the internets. Oh, and the title picture above is from yesterday's Anime Pic of the Day, can't get enough of that work by Muuten.
Polynesian-inspired sleeve and cover-up
Image name: Polynesian-inspired sleeve and cover-up
Comments: This is the front view of the Polynesian-inspired sleeve, which is also a cover-up. The sleeve was designed freehand on the body.
Blackwork sleeve, including cover-up
Image name: Blackwork sleeve, including cover-up
Comments: This sleeve, photographed soon after tattooing, was drawn freehand. You can still see the marker behind it. The top portion is an open cover-up.
Image name: Close-up of blackwork sleeve
Comments: Here is a close-up shot of a blackwork sleeve, freshly done, drawn freehand.
Image name: Blackwork sleeve, inside view
Comments: This blackwork sleeve was drawn freehand on the arm (you can still see the red marker) blending ethnic and geometrical patterns.
Tattoo Church Studio in Tokyo, Japan
Carlos aka Captain is a Brazilian born tattoo artist who runs Tattoo Church Studio in Tokyo, Japan. Tattoo Church has invited some of the top international tattoo artists to appear there and have built up such a good reputation that people from all over the world go there to be inked. Let Carlos give you the word up on life as a tattoo artist…
Carlos can you give me a little background about yourself?
Carlos can you give me a little background about yourself? I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to Japan when I was 20. I was never really interested in getting tattooed or tattoos themselves until I discovered tattooing in Japan.
What made you decide to become a tattoo artist?
When first I started to live here, the language was a huge barrier even my parents though were Japanese, but I never really studied the language seriously to the point of using it in dialogue. So, I started to watch
videos to learn the language and then I found a big section of Yakuza movies in the video store. Since I started to watch those, all the tattoos painted on the actor’s bodies just caught my eye!
Did you apprentice under a sensei or master? No unfortunately. I started to get tattooed right after I saw these movies by myself (not a thing people should do at home!) and later found tattooists doing their trade. At that time more than 10 years ago,
tattooists didn’t have shops or never advertised on magazines. The more I got tattooed, the more my interest grew. Finally I ended up buying my own equipment and starting to tattoo at home again (never learn!)
How has your style of tattooing developed over the years and who are your main influences?
My style developed naturally, always trying to answer the clients requeststhe best I could. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to work in Japan and abroad in various shops with different artists. They are the
ones who gave me the help I needed and inspired my work like Russo (Brazil), Shad (Belgium), Sabinne Gaffron (Germany), Shiryu(Niigata-Japan), Houryu (Tokyo-Japan) and many others. Also the clients I met always asked for different stuff, so I suppose they encouraged me to open my eyes and always keep myself open to different styles.
What is your preferred style of tattoo for example Japanese, Traditional, old-school etc?
I mainly work with tribal and Japanese but as I said it is the client decides what they wish to get and my work is to answer these requests the best I can, I guess.
I noticed when I was in Japan that it was mostly females who had visible tattoos. What would you say is most popular style of tattoos you do in Tattoo Church? Mostly tribal and Japanese. Now I have an apprentice named Harley Davidson (real name!) and he’s a young
gun from Brazil as well, specializing in the chicano/pachuco black & gray style. We have many guests coming from all the corners of the globe, so I guess we have a good variation of artists and styles to
the demand of the clients.
How would you compare the Japanese style of tattoos to the Western way of tattooing?
It is different the way we treat the clients I guess. In the places I worked in the West, I felt like the relationship was more like friends. Here in Japan the clients kinda look up to the tattooists…that is not
a bad thing but we ‘re trying to break down any barriers that may build between both parties so we can create an environment were people don’t feel intimidated to ask questions or place requests.
Dotwork Forearm
Image name: Dotwork Forearm
Comments: This forearm tattoo was drawn freehand and tattooed using the pointilism technique.
Japanese Ko'i Tattoo on Arm
This light coloured full upper arm tattoo is very Japanese and symblises aspiration and advancement.
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