Archive for Free Tattoo Designs
Old School Tattoo Designs
Posted by: | Comments
Old school tattoos are nothing but the type of designs you would see on the arm of an old, aging marine or biker – the kind of designs from Sailor Jerry’s time and age. I’m sure you’ll easily recognize the old school style when you see it! Although these tattoos were once head turners (back in the day when tattoos were a social taboo), they kind of faded into the background with the developments in the tattoo world in the past decade or so.
But these old school designs have once again begun to gain popularity in the past few years. Now they are the latest trend in the world of tattoos; more and more people of the younger generation are taking to it like never before. These age old designs are very attractive mainly because of their timeless look and appeal.
Even though these designs are replicated flawlessly today, the feeling around them has most certainly changed, and that I suppose can never be replicated. Most people nowadays seem to wear it with a sense of irony; they are also worn a little differently and mostly for their vintage appeal. Nevertheless, they are back in fashion and looks like they might stay a while.
It is a historical fact that tattoos first penetrated our modern day society through travelers, mainly sailors. So you will see that most of these old school tattoos have a very sailor / marine kind of theme in them. Some of the most popular designs back then (and even now) are those of boats and anchors.
The anchor design is one of the oldest types of tattoos and it has many meanings. It was often worn as a symbol of the sailor’s experience at sea. It also came to signify stability and a strong foundation – much like what the anchor is really used for. It is said that some early Christians also used this symbol as a type of hidden cross symbol, in order to escape persecution from the Greeks.
Another popular old school design is that of the Swallow (sometimes even sparrow tattoos.) For a sea-worn sailor spotting a Swallow meant that land was close by. Sailors started wearing the design as a symbol of hope – a good omen.
In the first half of the 20th century posters and photos of pin up girls (models like Betty Grable) were very popular. Slowly they also became a big inspiration for the old school art.
Angel Wings Tattoo Designs
Posted by: | Comments
One of the most popular tattoo designs of today are that of guardian angels or just angel’s wings. These look great on almost any body part, but the most popular ones are those on the arm – like an arm band, on the upper back, lower back, shoulders, ankles, and chest. The reason they are so popular is because they can be worn by both men and women. In addition they can be combined with other elements of tattoo design such as flowers, hearts, skulls, crosses, fairies, suns, moons, stars etc. to make it more unique.
Tattoos have had a long and rich history in several ancient cultures and to them, the tattoos that one sported actually meant something. It usually identified them as part of a group or clan, marked their social status, it showed respect and devotion to their gods and so on. Although most of that ancient symbolism is now lost in our modern world, a few strong ideologies still remain, and angels are one of them.
The concept of Guardian Angels has long been a part of our culture. They are meant to protect their human ward during times of crisis. These guardian angel tattoos are often depicted as human like figures with wings and holding swords. Today, people normally wear these tattoos as a symbol of their love for their children. Another type of angel tattoo in use today is that of cherubs. Cherubs are supposed to be messengers of love. Many today wear these together with their loved one’s names.
The fallen angel tattoo is perhaps the most popular among angel tattoos. It is often depicted as a beautiful angel with a bloody sword or torn and injured wings. Artists usually use heavier, darker inks for these designs.
On a woman, an angel tattoo usually is representative of her search for purity within her soul. It also represents her patience and divinity. The tattoo also shows that the wearer believes that confidence in one’s own ability is an essential part of beauty. Whereas on men, they are representative of their masculinity and their fondness of women! It also symbolizes their love and respect for an angelic woman in their life. These associations in our modern world however, are mere generalizations and don’t necessarily mean the same for everyone. After all, it is your tattoo, I guess it can mean what you want it to mean!
Popular Arm Tattoo Designs
Posted by: | Comments
The arm has long been the most popular body part for tattoo fanatics. Not only is it clearly visible (making it easier to show off), but it is also aesthetically very pleasing! Not only that, the arm provides enough space for the more intricate tattoo designs and since the arm contains more muscle mass when compared to any other part of the body, it makes the tattoo process far less painful!
Tattoos on the arm have their drawbacks too. Due to their ready exposure to the sun they are prone to fade (or become dull) faster when compared to designs on other parts of the body that are not exposed to the sun as much. But that really hasn’t stopped anyone I know from getting their arms tattooed!
Although arm tattoos are popular among both the sexes, it seems to be the most preferred body part especially among men. Tattoo sleeves (full arm, half arm or quarter arm) are becoming increasingly popular among men. Even women, most of who prefer smaller, simpler designs have begun to take a liking to these sleeve designs. Tattoo sleeves are nothing but a group of similarly themed tattoos (sometimes even one large design) that covers the entire arm from shoulder to wrist.
Tattoos have had a vast historical presence. Throughout our history tattoos have been associated with social and religious rites for which several of our ancient tribes stand as testimony, but as time progressed they were relegated to merely permanently marking people. As people started using them to mark the outlaws of their civilization the practice slowly began to be associated with criminality and immorality. And for this our modern society stands as testimony. Up until a few decades ago tattoos were a tabooed subject in our communities. In fact some countries still prohibit public display of one’s tattoos.
These public biases are slowly changing and tattoos once again being appreciated as an art form. Tattoos nowadays don’t have the same religious significance it used to have. People are now get inked as a way of expressing their true self and for aesthetic purposes.
Some of the most popular designs for the arm include Tribal designs, Celtic knot designs, Cross designs, Japanese or Chinese designs and symbols, Japanese or Chinese Kanji characters, barbed wire, fire, zodiac symbol designs and dragon tattoos. A majority of women seem to prefer the more delicate or feminine tattoo designs such as flower designs, fairy tattoos, star designs and butterfly designs.
Japanese Full Body Tattoos
Posted by: | Comments
Body art has been a part of our history for well over two thousand years! Body art doesn’t constitute just tribal face painting, but it also includes the more complex process of permanent tattooing. Although tattoos were initially a vital part of a culture’s social and religious rites, they slowly took a back seat as time passed.
As Civilizations advanced, tattoos came to be used more for permanently making an individual (like outlaws and traitors) which was a manner of disgracing them in public. And thus tattoos slowly became associated with criminal behaviour and immoral living. Incidentally, Japan is one of the last countries to actually abolish the practice of disciplinary tattooing.
It is said that this tattooed clique later resorted to full body tattooing in an effort to hide their indignity. As a result, tattoo artists derived a wide range of attractive designs for the whole body. Over a period of time, these full body tattoos began attracting public attention and especially during the Tokugawa period.
The Tokugawa period (dated between 1603 and 1868) witnessed some of the strictest sumptuary laws and the people resorted to full body tattoos as a sign of rebellion. Even though the practice was severely condemned by the Japanese authorities, it continued to rise in popularity! Public display of one’s tattoos in Japan is prohibited by law even today.
The practice of full body tattooing in Japan is most commonly associated with the Yakuza – the Japanese mafia. The Yakuza is said to have formed as a result of the dissolution that the once greatly regulated society experienced. The practice is also said to have many influences – from the Samurai, the Bushido, the sinister side of the Tokugawa regime and even gambling! The higher classes of Japanese society, even today, consider the practice as a barbaric tradition.
For these reasons and many more (not to mention they cost a bomb and aren’t particularly pain free!) the practice is again on a downward spiral. The number of people learning the art has also sharply declined. By the looks of it, this spectacular body art will soon be an extinct art form.
Kanji Tattoos
Posted by: | Comments
Kanji tattoos are nothing but tattoos of Japanese language characters and symbols. These ideographic tend to represent entire objects, ideas or expressions. The reason most people like these tattoos are because they can easily express complex thoughts with just a few characters, plus they are also visually very appealing.
Basically there are two types of characters that are used in the written Japanese language – Kana and Kanji. Kanji is the term used for Chinese characters that are used in the Japanese language. In fact, all written Japanese characters have evolved from written Chinese and over the years have come to include a few modified characters that represent some different sounds in the Japanese language.
Some of these characters may mean the same in both Japanese and Chinese languages but are usually pronounced differently. While some others characters, although written the same way, may mean completely different things. Some Kanji characters were developed fully in Japan and are often not seen in the Chinese language. And then there are those characters that are written with slight modifications but tend to have the same meaning. So basically you have a choice between the Japanese Kanji tattoos and the Chinese Kanji tattoos.
If you are contemplating a Kanji tattoo and you are not a native speaker of the language (which I’m guessing you’re not), the key thing to keep in mind is that Kanji is constructed very differently from the English language. Like I mentioned, these languages are not made up of individual letters but are made up of ideographs or pictographs (some characters consist of more than thirty strokes!)
When you don’t speak the language, you will find it very hard to say exactly what you want through those tattoos. Some problems people frequently encounter with these tattoos are with the meaning. There have been plenty of cases of literal translations which make absolutely no sense in the Japanese language. For instance, “girl power” can be easily written (??) to mean ‘sporty spices!’
Sometimes the artist (if not fluent in the language) may end up mixing up the Chinese and Japanese Kanji characters, again resulting in nonsense. There have been instances of the characters being rotated, written upside down, given mirror image versions, characters with missing brush strokes or some strokes even mistakenly joined resulting in exactly what you did not want! So before you get them on you permanently, be double sure they mean exactly what you think they do.
Sun Tattoo Designs
Posted by: | Comments
The Sun has had a profound impact on almost every major civilization in our history. The sun was representative of life and its personified deity was worshipped by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and many, many more. The Sun was in fact the principal figure within the temples dedicated to all gods and deities.
Today, the Sun as a tattoo design is an indication of its deep symbolic nature in almost every culture around the world. One of the common symbols of the Sun is a circle with curvy lines stemming from the perimeter denoting the sun’s rays. Sometimes these designs come with a dot in the centre of the circle which is representative of the blending of the male and female forces.
Usually the Sun is perceived as a masculine symbol and the moon and the earth its feminine counterparts. Hence it is common for the Sun to be paired with the earth or the moon. For years people believed that the Sun was the centre of the universe and it came to be a symbol of both divine and royal powers. This idea was adopted by the ancient secular as well as religious authorities. 
Almost every major ancient culture has a myth about creation. It speaks of how the Sun came into being and these stories are often accompanied by the apocalyptic myths that prophesy the end of the world. They explain that the end will come when the Sun is destroyed (quite true if you ask me, I don’t see how mankind can go on living on earth if there were no Sun!) The rising and the setting of the sun, the cyclic light and darkness is also representative of life itself in most ancient cultures. The idea of regeneration or reincarnation takes root from these beliefs.
The Sun is also symbolic of passion, courage and eternally renewed youth; vitality, fertility, enlightenment and knowledge. The different ancient cultures in our history denoted the Sun in different ways. A winged Serpent (like a dragon), an eagle with a serpent, an eagle, a falcon (which also represented the Egyptian god Horus), a phoenix, a swan, a ram, a cock, a bull and a lion are all various representations of the Sun. Some cultures even used such symbols as a rose or a rosette, a lotus, a sunflower, a chrysanthemum (a perennial garden plant) and the heart symbol to depict the Sun.