Small Tattoo Ideas

A full sleeve tattoo is just one continuous design, or series of designs that covers your entire arm from wrist up to your shoulder.  They have grown in popularity quite a bit over the last several years and there are now plenty of different ideas for them if you take a look online or in a tattoo catalog.  Not only are they a great way to express your own personal style and personality, they can also be made to contain some awesome looking designs.  You can even incorporate a few of the small tattoo ideas that we have discussed previously on this site.

Once you decide whether or not you want to get a sleeve tattoo, you need to decide exactly how you are going to do it.  You can go with one larger design if you would like, which is a little outside the scope of this site.  Or, you can combine several smaller tattoos that will work effectively to combine into one flowing design.  You should also figure out exactly how you want the design to flow.  This means that you need to design whether to link smaller tattoos by normal ink, or if you want to figure out some sort of creative meaning and expand the overall design by way of a series of personal designs.  That might be a bit redundant, but you hopefully see what the point is here.  You should also probalby go to the tattoo artist and tell them what you want and see what their opinion is.  Artists have seen and probably done every type of design you can imagine, so checking with them to get their opinion is a great idea and will save you plenty of trouble when going for a sleeve tattoo.

Look through different catalogs to see what a common method of designing a full sleeve tattoo may be and then put your own twist on it.  If some of your small tattoos are of Asian symbols, maybe you would want to incorporate some other images common associated with various Asian mythologies.  You also may want to look for other common themes that can relate so you can have a flow of different, but related messages and meanings.

Finally, make sure that you have a schedule that you can stick to for your design to be done.  It is rare to get a large tattoo design in just one sitting as everyone involved begins to get exhausted after some time.  Otherwise, enjoy the process and make sure that you have put the work in to get the sleeve tattoo that you want.

I think everyone has been in that spot where they have gotten stuck deciding between tattoo ideas that would be best for them.  Especially if this is your first tattoo, it can be a big decision.  Like we have seen on our site before, picking a popular tattoo design is great, but it may also, and usually does, have a personal element to it as well.  If you are here because you have been looking for small tattoo designs, then there is some some good news.  The dirty little secret that hasn’t come up yet, is that a lot of people end up going to a tattoo parlor or shop and browse through a catalog of tattoo ideas with no idea if they will end up with what they really want.  Anyone who has been in a similar situation notices the pressure you can feel when you actually get to the shop and realize you may not have the design you really want.

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Maybe you have had the design in your head, but cannot seem to get a real good idea put to paper, or the art hasn’t worked out according to your vision yet.  That is where some nice resources come into play.  Miami Ink is a great place for a ton of tattoo ideas.  The first thought is probably that they are all biker designs, that may not be great for everyone.  That couldn’t be more wrong though.  See that picture up at the top of this page?  That is a sample stencil from Chopper Tattoo.  You can customize the design to any size you wish, and they definitely have enough designs to get everyone started and AT LEAST pointed in the right direction.  And they have a ton more too.  Check out the design below.  It is subtle, small, and clean.

If you are like so many other people, there may be a lot of different tattoo ideas that would work for you.  Or maybe you want to combine small tattoo ideas into one bigger, longer story to be told through the ink.  Whatever the need, you should be covered.

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The designs are award winning, and they also have helped people find a good tattoo parlor to help them actually get that tattoo.  Whether you want a small butterfly, or a skull and cross bones,  Chopper Tattoo is a great resource for a ton of tattoo ideas that will make the process of choosing your first, or next tattoo a whole lot easier.

Before you actually allow that tattoo needle to make contact with your skin, you need to be sure you have chosen the best tattoo for you.  It goes without saying that tattooing is pretty much permanent, and deserves a good and well thought out decision.  If you are deciding on your first tattoo, and still coming up with tattoo ideas, then make sure to use this article as something of a checklist.

credit: Art By Katie Lane

The following list is something that a bunch of people end up doing, but probably do not organize, or actually put pen to paper.  Feel free to make suggestions and ask a few questions in comments if you want.

1. Decide If The Tattoo Is About Your Life’s Interests

If you want to ensure you get the best tattoo, you need to think about what is important to you in life.  There are obviously a lot of popular tattoo designs, and if you just want to get inked for the heck of it, that is one thing.  But, if you want to get a tattoo for a personal symbol, try and take everything into account.

There should be nothing  to prevent you from choosing a tattoo design that stands as a representation of a culmination of all of your interests in life.  Be sure to look into what is important to you, and maybe even research some symbols for what that may be.  For instance, maybe there is a cultural symbol to represent family, friends or something else that you may hold near and dear.

2. Deciding On The Actual Design

Like we talked about earlier, once you have picked the reason for this tattoo, you need to do research.  If you are patient and careful, you will definitely get come up with the best tattoo designs and ideas to choose from. If you are comfortable, you can ask your friends and family for input on a design.  It could even be a combination of designs to up the personality of the design.

Once you have established the best tattoo for you, do a double check to ensure it meets your requirements.

3. Finding the Best Tattoo Artist

Going with any tattoo artist is not a great idea.  Choose the best tattoo artist based off at least the following list:

?    Hygienic working environment
?    The artist has a portfolio of previous work they have done
?    The artist is amenable to negotiations on your piece and does not try to steer you towards the more basic design
?    You feel comfortable with this artist
?    You have had word of mouth recommendations from other people who have used their service.

A good and talented tattoo artist will not have a problem altering and developing the design to ensure it fits you right.  If you cannot get on the same page, this is not the best tattoo artist for you, and you should think about going with someone else.

4. Understand You May Get What You Pay For

The lowest priced tattoo artist will not always be the lowest quality, but you may get what you pay for.  The best tattoo artists are likely to cost a bit of money.  You do not want to skimp, and would be better off saving for  awhile to be sure you have the right design and artist for your needs.

Remember that tattooing is usually very permanent, and you will have that design forever.  With tattooing in general, you tend to find that the more expensive artists are also the best tattoo artists and charge what they do for a reason.

5. After The Tattoo Is Done: Care

You need to ensure that you look after your new tattoo to ensure the design stays clean.  A tattoo is essentially a wound, and needs to be cared for properly.  The following is not meant to replace or serve as medical advice, so be sure to talk to a doctor and seek treatment if you have concerns of any sort at all.

You want to ensure that you keep the area clean, and any dressings should also be clean.  That all goes without saying, however the best tattoo artists should also have recommendations for after care.

There is the thinking that once the tattoo begins to scab, that you must not pick it.  That seems like good enough reasoning on its own without justification, but some go a step further and believe picking the scab may not allow the ink to set and seal in.  Either way, not picking at it is probably a good idea.

If you remain undecided on your design, do not worry.  Tattoos being such a large investment mean that you need patience.  Once you find the best tattoo for you, you will know it.

While we still get the site design and direction squared away, now seems like a good idea to get a little bit of tattoo history presented and covered.  Some people may think this is cool and interesting, and others may consider it yawn inducing.   Either way, we will cover it in a brief overview and let you know what you may be able to expect on the site in the coming days and weeks.

So, to get into the whole tattoo history thing, tattooing is actually an ancient practice.  Ancient as in pre-historic, and far enough back in time that Otzi the Iceman, who lived about 5300 years ago was estimated to have close to sixty total tattoos.  Just to give you an example about how worldwide of a practice tattooing has seemed to have always been, Otzi was found near the border between Austria and Italy, while mummies from China also had several tattoo designs.  The man of Pazyryk had ink covering most of his body, and these designs were fish, other animals and what looked like monsters.  This particular example happens to be of what was believed to be a Scythian Chieftain, but still, times have not changed so much when it comes to tattooing.  Some people may note this is the coolest part of all the tattoo history, that “cavemen” were tattooed.

credit: Africa

Moving into antiquity, tattooing remained popular in parts of the world.  All the way from India to ancient Egypt, and even stretching into China, various peoples included various levels and styles of tattoos as part of their cultural identity.  In Egypt and India, the tattooing style was Henna and Mehndi.  In ancient China, tattooing was mostly reserved for minority groups, as well as slaves, criminals and other looked down upon people.

Sticking with Asia for a second, you have got the Vasays in the Filipines who “greeted” the Spanish arrival and offered a look at what full body tattooing looked like.  In Indonesia, the Dayak, among others also were quite into tattooing, and have maintained a tattoo history.

There were tons of other people who were adhering to or part of a tattoo culture, with various reason.

Unfortunately, tattooing had fallen off once Europe became more Christian.  It was not really until Sir Martin Frobisher set out for Harwich, where he took inuits as captives.  Once home, their tattoos made them a bit of an attraction, though they unfortunately perished quickly.

Captain Cook also observed, when he landed in what are now known as the Hawaiian Islands, that the natives had a rich tattoo history.

Over the last couple hundred years, tattooing has gone through various stages of acceptance.  While some were viewed as “tattooed savages” (Cook’s remarks on the Hawaiians), others had a long tattoo history with significant cultural meaning.

Regardless, tattooing is now popular, and full of meaning today, and hopefully we will have some cool ideas and designs to show off to you guys, instead of me just showing up and rambling about tattoo history.

If you are looking for a few ideas and popular tattoo designs, then you have found your way to the right site.  Tattoos have become really common and trendy for a lot of people.  Whereas previously there was a bit of a stigma surrounding body art of any sort, that has begun to fade and tattooing is more popular than ever.  It is estimated that up to 25% of people have one tattoo or more.  There are many popular tattoo designs to choose from, giving people a chance to be creative.  Let’s take a look at a few that are popular now, and were maybe popular not too long ago also.

Tribal tattoos really soared in popularity, and remain popular, mainly among younger guys and some athletes.  Tribal tattoos can either a traditional black style that cover the arms and the legs as well as the more colorful styles that can cover just about the whole body.  The colorful style has become a bit more popular when compared to other styles.

The “old school” and old fashioned styles that were popular decades ago have experienced a bit of a resurgence lately.  Anchors and other symbolic designs like that are making a great comeback these days and not just with sailors.  While these were the popular tattoo designs back in the 50′s and 60′s, now both men and women are getting anchors and other somewhat retro designs in increasing numbers.

For the female crowd, the lower back is the most common tattoo location.  A lot of this may have to do with the sexuality that seems to be exhibited with a lower back tattoo.  Tribal designs popular here as well as flowers, dragons, and other symbols.  The lower back offers plenty of natural curves as well, which can make for an innovative tattoo.  It is not uncommon for women to sometimes combine several popular tattoo designs that may spread to the hips from the lower back.

Dragon designs are another popular type style of tattoos that can be counted in the retro category.  There are a lot of different dragons to choose from, and they are often combined with other Asian designs and characters.  Dragons are great on the chest for males and the back for females.  Most dragon designs tend to cover the upper chest, upper back, arm and shoulder for males, and tend to be a touch smaller for women.

Celtic tattoos have also shown to currently be one of the more popular tattoo designs as of late.  This type of design tends to be shown off more often than not by those with Celtic heritage and ancestry.  That makes them popular among the Irish, Welsh, Scottish etc.  They offer a variety of symbols and designs, providing universal meanings for everyone.  Lately, innovative tattoo designers have combined them with tribal tattoo designs for a cross cultural design combination.

These are the most common tattoo designs that you will see these days, even though there are tons of others that are also popular.  Depending on what you want to get your tattoo for, you can be as creative and innovative as you want.  As an odd prediction, we would guess that plenty of people will begin combining popular tattoo designs with other designs to expand on the creative side of things.

In the world of tattoo designs, you will find a ton of designs, with the most common lately being tribal tattoos.  Now, most tribals are not going to fit in with our theme of small tattoo ideas, but they probably warrant mentioning for the heck of it. What is cool about tattoos in general, is that there are a countless number of new designs being added to portfolios and design galleries every day.  Tattoos are a form of self expression, of art, and of culture.  And as people grow and change, so do art and culture.  Tattoos are becoming more and more popular, with something like 1 in 4 people in the U.S. having one now.  When it comes to smaller designs, you get a lot of flowers, butterflies, initials and other ideas, but for the larger designs, tribal tattoos are probably the number one design style around.

What really sticks out with regards to tribal tattoo designs is the innovation that they have been subject to.  A lot of tribal tattoos feature unique artwork, with the majority of it being black ink, with few, if any other colors to add to it.  The meaning of the design can have a few different meanings as well, depending on the image, the artist, and the person who is serving as the canvas.  The tattoo could be an existing design in a portfolio, or it could be a design brought in by the person wanting it done.  Culturally, this could result in a ton of variation and growth in designs over time.  If the artist is good, has an idea of the meaning behind the design, and is comfortable going freehand, rather than with a stencil or some other design aid, you can get innovation on top of innovation.

Unique designs are pretty popular when it comes to tribal tattoos, especially when it comes to designs that wrap the body, from front to back, or around the arms.  Tribal tattoos can be put anywhere on the body, and can evolve even more depending on the overall size of the design.  One of the designs that may cover a large amount of the body may take multiple sessions, and end up being a story all on its own.

Just like with any tattoo, before you get one, you should figure out what the exact design should be.  If you are still settling on a small tattoo idea, then tribal tattoos may not be in your future.  But, if you are thinking of building a few small tattoos into a bigger design, you may want to get innovative on your own and pick a general tribal design, and build it on your own.  You would probably do well to look at an online gallery, or to go to the parlor yourself and ask to see their portfolio, and look through the number of tribal tattoos they have there.

If you really want the tattoo to be unique and creative, which it seems that anyone who is about to get inked would, then you may want to collaborate with the artist to get it drawn from scratch.  Or, at the least, to get them to work on the design based off of something existing already.  either way, even if you want something smaller, you may still find that you like the design of tribal tattoos, and can use them for inspiration for your design.

You can check out plenty of tribal tattoos and other designs at Miami Ink Tattoo Designs.

Welcome to Small Tattoo Ideas. More ideas and designs coming soon…