Bizarre Tattoos

Some of the strangest places on the human body people can get tattoos, I believe, is the face, but as strange as this may seem, I believe this to be a beautiful thing. I really believe that no matter what anyone thinks, if you want to decorate your body and show the world, then do it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Why do people do this?

Bizarre tattoos are amongst us all and that is what makes us unique. The true gift of a tattoo.The essence of the art. The creator and artists. The everlasting signature. Yes, it may look strange to some, but for others, it may look even stranger without.

When confronted with someone, I look at the whole picture, the art, the details, the extreme time and patience it took to create such a wonderful and beautiful design. Yes, the art of tattoos has been around for centuries and will always be around.

I look forward to seeing even more bizarre and more beautiful tattoos in the future. I believe the artists deserve more recognition for the awesome and amazing work they perform when creating tattoos. If the work most of them creates were to be transformed onto a canvas, much of the art would be hanging in museums all over the world today. I believe this is what makes Tattoo art so different from other art forms. It is an art that can't be duplicated and is unique in every way and form.

Five Different Types of Tattoos

Tattoos are used to express our feelings and to make us stand out in the crowd. They represent our personality and show who we are. It is desire of every individual to have an attractive Tattoo on his or her body.

There is a wide variety of Tattoos available for you to choose from. This article identifies five famous types of tattoos.

Abstraction Tattoos - Abstractions tattoo designs are mostly derived from archaic design tattoos. These types of tattoos are very simple. It requires minimal art work for artist as it doesn't requires much colors. Mostly it used only black and grey colors. Almost all the Tribal Tattoos fall into this category.

Stylized Tattoos - Stylizes tattoos are very popular amongst youth. As the name implies, these types of tattoos are very stylish and comes in plenty of shapes, sizes and colors. Some of the most common designs of stylized tattoos contain beautiful and attractive images of animals, flowers, zodiac signs and heart. You can also customize these pictures according to your personality at some extra cost. Compared to other designs, they are inexpensive, rising their popularity.

Naturalistic Tattoos - Tattoos that look realistic are called naturalistic Tattoos. It requires lot of time and efforts of Artist in order to make a tattoo as realistic as possible. Because it takes so much hard work and time, these tattoos tend to be quite expensive, but it worth it for quality and realistic looks reason.

Combination Tattoos - Combination Tattoos, as the name implies, involve designs that are being prepared by mixing several different designs, forms and shapes. Compared to other types of designs, they are much more impressive as they comprise of various different images, shapes and designs.

Pledges Tattoos - Pledge Tattoos are quite inexpensive than other designs and more commonly used in western society. They contain heart shapes, anchors, quotes and names. They are not as popular as other designs but still they are best for a person who wants to make a dedication or statement to an occasion.

Doing a little research on internet, you can find a huge variety of tattoo designs, pictures and tattoo quotes with detailed information. You can buy design of your choice online at any good online tattoo shop.

Gothic Tattoos

In recent times, it is seen that many youngsters are overwhelmed with gothic culture. It is an alternative subculture. It is both a kind of music and a fashion. Different people like different kinds of music. One may like a certain genre of music but that doesn't mean he/she would dress up accordingly. In the same way, people who like to dress up like Goths do not necessarily like gothic music. However, in most cases it is seen that people who are specifically termed as metal heads are inclined towards the Gothic culture and especially the 'Goth' look.

This so-called Gothic look is basically all about the color black with the occasional outburst of red, white, and purple. The Goth look includes black hair & clothes, silver jewelry, unique style of makeup, with really pale faces and black eyeliners and nail polishes and the Gothic Tattoos.
Here in this article, we will be focusing on an important part of the Gothic look, which is 'Gothic Tattoos'.

Gothic tattoos have developed to be a vital part of the gothic look. It represents the special sort of subculture that influenced mostly youngsters in both the United States and Europe simultaneously during the late 1970s. Unlike what many people think these tattoos do not concern ill will or evil but are a representation of mythological characters and religion that people practiced during medieval times. These tattoos have distinctive features that differentiate them from other kinds of tattoos.

Now you may be wondering what kind of tattoos are characterized as Gothic tattoos or Gothic Fantasy Art. This is exactly where it gets complicated. The people who are into the gothic culture have a very thrilling, diverse, and imaginative interests and tastes that are well reflected in their tattoos. Gothic cross tattoos are very popular and are usually covered in a lot of decoration, this is their way of celebrating the beauty of death.

A Gothic tattoo can be classified into two categories. They are:

Gothic fantasy art tattoos: images like the dragon, fairies, and the like are a major part of 'Fantasy Tattoos'. These Gothic tattoos represent the interest and the beliefs of the people in medieval times. The images are inclined to be mythological and imaginary in nature.

Occult tattoos: this second category of Gothic tattoos deals with what may be called 'Occult'. These images are associated with white witchcraft also known as Wicca, the Viking Runes, The Tarot, and other magic craft and prophesy.

Images like 'Pentacle' (the five-pointed star), the 'Athame' (a double-edged blade used for white witchcraft), and images related to the four elements (fire, water, earth and air) fall under the Wicca tattoos.

Many think these occult Gothic tattoos to be evil, but let me tell you this is a very wrong notion. These images are not evil and have nothing to do with 'Satanism'. They are signs of prehistoric religions that Gothic tattoo enthusiasts dig out and celebrate by getting them etched on their bodies.

Gothic tattoos are very diverse and different from the regular tattoos, as they tend to reflect the various tastes and interests of people who consider themselves a part of the gothic lifestyle and culture. Different people have different opinions about gothic tattoos. Some Goth tattoos are more accepted than others by people. But in any case, not only do these images help portray some beautiful and intricate designs, they also usually convey messages to a deep meaning to them.

Styles of Tattoos

There are many different styles of tattoos:

Tattoos have managed to pull itself up from its suspect and seedy past with a bad reputation to become an art form that is the subject of human exhibition and self-expression today. Today tattoos have become an art form with new and better tattoo artists coming up with a huge number of styles of tattoos.

When you visit a tattoo parlor or look at an online tattoo gallery, you find that there is a wide range of tattoo styles available and a massive range of styles to choose from. The usual criteria used for choosing tattoos is usually its size, the love for someone, depicting a certain culture or sect or as a status symbol.

Men prefer strong and powerful styles of tattoos:

Men prefer to use identity symbols more than decorative devices that have traditional images like snakes, black panthers and eagles. The most popular option in men are skulls, daggers dripping blood, dragons and basically any image that depicts male strength and valor. Heart tattoos are best used to depict love for both men and women. This is a tattoo that has endured the test of time and is still growing in popular. Tribal styles are becoming more and more popular.

The symbol depicting mystery, power, wisdom and good will is the dragon tattoo. This is because dragons are considered to be good luck and have qualities including strength and courage.

Animal tattoos are the most popular of all. This is because animal tattoos relate to animals that we use to demonstrate the inner connections we have with fine beasts and the similarities we exhibit with these animals. Snake tattoos and reptiles are becoming more and fashionable.

Similarly, bird tattoos have lots of reverence in the tattoo world. Some of the most popular bird tattoos are the eagle, dove, swallow and birds of prey tattoos. Once again, the nature and attitude of the birds are taken into consideration when choosing the bird tattoo.

Women prefer floral styles of tattoos:

Women prefer having floral tattoos and styles of tattoos that are a lot subtler in nature. Other options are of cherry blossom, lotus flower tattoos, blossom, lily and tree tattoos.

Sea creatures are very popular that people like wearing. Sea creature tattoos connect us with our past and the mythical creatures of the deep have a wide appeal. Those who are very spirituality prefer angel tattoos, as they are important in many religions like Christianity, Jewish and Islamic faiths. These angels are considered to be the messengers of god who are protective to us, like guardian angels looking over us.

There are some tattoos that have specific meanings and are meant to cater to specific people while there are generalized tattoos. In Japan, households are represented by the chrysanthemum to depict determination and steadfastness while the peony is used to depict wealth and good fortune.

Tattoos, And The Psychology Behind Them

In today's twenty-first century society many people actually tend to misjudge tattoos, and the wearers of tattoos. These people who see someone bearing many tattoos will automatically think negative, pre-conceived, even stereotypical thoughts. Those who have tattoos are the same as you or i, except for the fact that they wish to visually stand out and broadcast who they are. They do this because the majority of them have a strong sense of who they are. Those with tattoos aren't afraid to show them, as they put them on their body to let others know who they are and what they are about. They wear their "tatts" with pride!

Most who decide to look into the psychology of those with tattoos seem to associate them as criminals and study them with this blinkered, society-conceived view. Contrary to the opinion shared by many so-called experts, those who have tattoos aren't stereotypical type of people, but are often times actually quite independent. They are out there expressing their freedom of expression. Whether they are expressing what they believe, showing that they belong to a group or clan, or paying homage to the dearly-departed - there are always meanings behind the choices of and displaying of tattoos.

The psychologists who attempt to study those with tattoos normally try to get into their frame of mind to answer why they choose to have tattoos - which in itself is hard to do. For hundreds of years tattoos have been debated from a psychological standpoint; with most people associating tattoos, and the wearers of those as bad people, or criminals. Even though criminals may have tattoos, there are just as many if not more people out there who are some of the friendliest people in the world who have them as well.

To look at tattoos from a psychological standpoint can sometimes be hypocritical. Although those who don't have tattoos will try and figure out why someone would want them, it can still be considered a psychological point of view. Those who have tattoos almost always have a reason for getting them, rarely are they got for no reason.

No matter where you look these days it's a common thing to see someone with at least one tattoo. This doesn't mean that society is less moral in any way, nor does it mean that mankind is becoming branded with a herd-like mentality. Tattoos have built there own reputation over the years, and are in fact gaining in popularity. Over the years more and more people have decided to get them - which only goes to show the age-less phenomenon that are tattoos.

When you decide to look at the psychology of tattoos, you must first try and understand some of the meanings behind them. A tattoo can tell you a lot about the individual who is wearing it, and his past. Although some tattoos may be a somewhat offensive, that individual may have got the tattoos in the past when they were a different person maybe going through a 'stage'. They may not be anything like that now. As with others out there - the tattoos that were obtained in the past may be left as a reminder for the future.

Promotional Marketing - Effective Marketing With Waterless Tattoos

Before waterless tattoos came to market, the only type of temporary tattoo available required water to apply. The concern among parents and marketers is that children were, and still do, use their saliva to apply the water-type temporary tattoos when a clean water supply is unavailable. Waterless tattoos are a great marketing tool because they eliminate the mess associated with water and the need for kids to use their germ and bacteria-infested saliva to apply temporary tattoos to themselves … and their friends.

By eliminating the basic health concern, marketers are finding that waterless tattoos are fast-becoming a top marketing tool of choice. In general, waterless tattoos are great for walk-a-thons, open houses, school pride events, school fairs, church special events and more. But because effective promotional marketing is about specifics, let's take a look at specific ways you can use waterless tattoos to your strategic advantage.

Drive Trade Show Traffic to Retail Location Waterless tattoos can be used to effectively drive local trade show traffic to a retail location. Again, because they require no water to apply, they can be applied immediately with no mess. Lets say your company will exhibit at a local trade show. You hand out waterless tattoos to attendees telling them that if they wear the tattoo when they visit the retail location in the next 3 days they’ll receive (fill in the blank). For instance you can offer an in-store trade show special or allow the person to enter a promotional drawing. Getting people to register for drawings is a fantastic way to establish or build a database. Remember, they can't register to the trade show, they can only register at the retail location and only if they are wearing the waterless tattoo.

Smarter retailers use in-store signs before the trade show to let customers know the benefit of getting their free waterless tattoo at the trade show and of the benefit of a post-show return visit. To get maximum leverage, plan to launch a new product, offering or service at the trade show and hype it with your in-store signs. This tactic helps improve booth traffic at the trade show. Once people attend the booth they are introduced to the new product or service, given the waterless tattoos and told of the incentive to wear the tattoo into the retail store within the next three days.

Taken a step further, encourage trade show attendees to apply the tattoo (usually to the back of their hand) right away. Tell them that company representatives are wandering the trade show floor randomly awarding, special prizes to those who are sporting the tattoo. These special prizes can range from store gift certificates to store-related promotional items. One good approach is to award people with a large trade show bag. The bag is big enough that attendees put all their other stuff into your imprinted bag, giving you even more exposure.

The combination of the waterless tattoo and the bag exposes your company logo to everyone in attendance. When others see people being rewarded for having the waterless tattoo, it can further increase booth traffic giving your company/business exposure to possible new customers. What you reward people with depends on your promotional budget, but can range from bags and t-shirts (that the recipient is encouraged to don right away) to flashing lapel pins, flashing pendants, hats and bandannas. Promote Entertainment/Special Events In this scenario, you have a booth at the local county fair and you want to promote an event that will take place in a couple months to which you'll charge admission. As you hand out the waterless tattoos, imprinted with the event name, date and ticket order #, let people know that your representatives are walking the fairground. Those sporting the tattoo will be registered to win free tickets to the event. Again, this is an effective way to establish or build a database.

Another approach is to simply allow them to register at the booth once they apply the waterless tattoo. In either case, you'll want to ensure that your waterless tattoo design is bright and colorful and that your booth sign matches the tattoo. This will let people who see the tattoo on others, make an immediate connection when they approach your booth. I know of one case where a community art center is using this tactic to promote … a Tattoo Exhibit. You can use this tactic whenever you get a booth at a public event such as art fairs, festivals and mall kiosks.

Event Contests This concept carries with it an inherent public relations component that is absolutely powerful. Because waterless tattoos are an inexpensive adverting/promotion medium, they are perfect for design contests. Let’s say a school wants to launch a school pride or school spirit program. A design contest is a great way to add excitement and interest.

Students are encouraged to enter their drawings for a "School Spirit" tattoo. The winning design or designs are produced as a tattoo to be worn during “Spirit Week”. This type of program is great because of the earned media component. It’s worth several press releases and can be a great vehicle for a local business or several to gain sponsorship exposure. And of course the winning students will be thrilled to have their name in the local media.

Cities, towns and villages can use this idea to create hype for such events as Down Home Days, Summer Fest, Do-Da Days and other local festivals and events. County and state health departments can hold design contests addressing such topics as abstinence, anti-drug messages and other health issues. Corporation HR departments can use this idea as part of Founders Day or other corporate events. Inserting Into Publications Waterless tattoos are custom manufactured to your specifications. That means they can be produced for insertion into magazines, periodicals and newsletters no matter if your publication is saddle stitched or case, perfect, spiral or comb bound. Because they are light, they're perfect for direct mail campaigns giving you the ability to target your audience.

Retail Babysitters Retail sales is hard enough without having to fight your customer's or prospect's kids for the parents attention. As retail babysitters, waterless tattoos are perfect. This tactic works well for everyone from real estate professionals to car dealers.

First, produce a number of different custom designs. Next, when the parents show up, give the kids a few waterless tattoos to play with after getting the parents permission. If after a while they get bored, give them a few of your alternative designs.

In most cases, this will keep the kids busy long enough for you to make some headway with the parents. And because waterless tattoos don't require water to apply, you have no mess. Perfect when showing a new home a new car or in a carpet showroom. This is also a great tactic for the bank drive though. With the kids content in the back seat with a couple waterless tattoos, mom or dad can concentrate on the transaction.

Design Considerations We've covered just a few of the many promotional and marketing applications of waterless tattoos. Because children love them, it's not difficult to gain major exposure at local events by handing out waterless tattoos to the children. In no time, you'll have hundreds of little billboards running around promoting your logo, brand or message.

The key is simple, colorful design and the ability to have an effective distribution system, whether they are handed out, mailed or inserted into publications.

When designing a waterless tattoo, be mindful of how your logo or design will show up on dark skin. In most cases, the problem is solved by laying down a white base, then overprinting the other colors. In other cases, a simple white outline will do the trick.

With a little creative thought and a good idea of what you want to accomplish, waterless tattoos can be an extremely effective promotional tool. Sure, I'll admit many of the ideas I've outlined can be utilized with regular temporary tattoos and stickers. However, kids sometimes put stickers where parents don't want them and regular tattoos still have that water/saliva dogma to deal with. From a promotional marketing standpoint, on comparison, you can't beat the good, clean fun of waterless tattoos.

Gallery of Cool Female Tattoos - Expansive Variety to Look Glamorous

As the tattoo world grows tremendously,Women are turning out to be one of the main parts of this culture.The tattoo world has lot of art to offer, which are enchanting and glamorous. Gallery of cool female tattoos gives cool information and tips for your own tattoo.

The designs in the gallery of female tattoos are the most coolest flower design and they are pretty and very feminine, the examples of flowers are : Roses, Rosebuds, Cherry blossom, Tiger lily designs, Lotus flower floats, Hibiscus and Tropical flowers. The other tattoos that are very famous too are the fairy tattoos which originated from the Celtic mythology, they are small, beautiful creatures with wings and superpowers, Example of a fairy is the Tinkerbelle fairy. Zodiac Signs too are becoming a major turn on as most of the women believe in it and make it a point to have it inked on them. The other tattoos that are also unique and liked by all are the Hebrew designs, Maori, tribal and Mexican Designs. The Hawaiian, Polynesian, Chinese, Japanese writings are the most interesting and will always have a place in the gallery. Women who are religious get tattoos of Christianity or of Hindu gods and their signs.The Tattoos like the Scorpion Designs, The Gang Tattoos which are the Vietnamese blood ties, yakuza and symbols of Japanese Mafia, Shamrock tattoos ex. clover tattoo design are gaining popularity among Women. These tattoos are very frenzy among women because of their small and uncomplicated design and are a favorite among all.Fantasy designs like gothic tattoos and skull designs, the sun and moon tattoos and the tiger tattoos are fast catching up too. Cute designs like the swallow, the heart designs, Butterflies in flight, hearts including flaming hearts are the chic designs now.The tattoos of the angels like , the angel wings tattoo, Guardian angel tattoos, Angel devil tattoos are fast gaining popularity with the younger generation of women.

The tattoos like Harley Davidson designs which fall in the category of biker tattoos, Prison tattoos like the barbed wire, Hawaiian armbands, Polynesian armbands were all masculine things but now even women are gaining interest in this category of designs. Old school designs are also gaining the same excellency as the other designs as this category of tattoos have all the above designs in one. Examples for old school tattoos are: Cherry tattoos, nautical stars, swallow and sparrow tattoos, Pin up girls and many more, which have become quite famous.

Tattoos are the best accessory for women can have and one of the superlative ones too.It is fun to have them inked on your body, as it makes you the centre of attention everywhere you go.these tattoos are pretty and radiant.

Tattoo Designs, Tattoos, Tribal Tattoos. Choosing Your Tattoo Design Has Never Been Easier

Tattoo Designs are something you need to think about seriously. Do not make one of the most important decisions of your life an embarrassing mistake. Your choice on tattoo designs, which will be permanently inked into your skin, has to be some sort of tattoo designs that YOU are comfortable with, one that truly rocks and makes heads turn in awe.

It can be difficult making that important decision on tattoo designs. It is something you do not want to rush then regret later on.

What you need to know about tattoo designs is that in this day and age tattoos are very common, in fact a study done in 2006 by the American Academy of Dermatology, estimated that roughly 1 in 4 people between the ages of 18 and 50 had at least one to two tattoo designs. Even with tattoos being so common, many people do not know much about them. Tattoos are sometimes still considered odd, questionable and even taboo.

Tattoo Designs are patterns, pictures or markings made by dye inserted into the pores of the skin by perforating the skin with immense caution. People in the Tattoos industry refer to them as tats, work, ink or art. In scientific terms, tattooing is actually micro-pigment implantation.

Globally this type of art practice is gaining approval and many mainstream art and design galleries hold expos of tattoo designs and tattoo pictures. The popular name for tattoo designs is Flash.

Tattoo Designs more often than not reflect the personality of the person wearing them and so they should, they are on your body. Often people search for the tattoos they want in the actual parlor for something that will suit them. It would be hard to choose your tattoo designs from only what is on display in the chosen tattoos parlor. You should do extensive research on tattoo designs first. I have found numerous sites online that offer a plethora of tattoos, tattoo designs, tribal tattoos, pictures and information. The time it took to find as much information and ideas that I could was massive, but worth it in the end as we can be very specific to what we want when deciding on tattoo designs and location to place the tattoos.

Weather it be an extreme concern for your cultural roots or something of significant importance to you, the tattoo designs that you choose will be one of the most important decisions of your life.

I have heard countless horror stories of bad decisions related to tattoo designs. People excited to rush out and get those 'Perfect' tattoos that they saw on their favorite celebrity like Britney Spears, Alyssa Milano, David Beckham or Robbie Williams. Or even seeing some tribal tattoos in a movie like Blade, only to realize after coming out of the parlor that the tattoo designs just do not suit them, or wasn't what they expected. The fact then hits that they are stuck with those tattoo designs for the rest of their lives.

Their problem was a lack of research in tattoo designs and tattoos in general, because the excitement of actually getting some tattoos finally, blurred their judgment and made them hasty to rush out and get those tattoo designs that they saw or thought up and then trying to describe it to the artist. Definitely not the smartest thing to do.

Also the location of your tattoos is key. You must consider some things when thinking of the location of your tattoos. Will others see it easily? Do I want my tattoos to be easily seen by others? Do I want my tattoos in more of a private place so only those close to me would be able to view them? Which body parts hurt more than others? Generally, places that have thinner skin tend to hurt more. These places include, but are not limited to, due to differences in all of our bodies, the ankles, head and the lower back.

Less painful places include the upper arm, back of the shoulder and the chest. And it also depends on your pain threshold when getting tattoos on how bad it will actually hurt.

I bet you have heard of or been with some people who just rock up to the tattoo parlor, look through the tattoo designs in the books and all the pictures of tattoos on the walls, pick something that looks cool and jump right into the chair to get what should be meaningful tattoo designs inked into their skin. They either want to go the extremely cheap option and choose simple tattoos, (more common tattoo designs are generally less expensive and take less time) or they have just been out on a heavy night on the Britney Spears - (Beers) and just stumbled into the parlor, only to wake up in the morning wondering why they have a Superman tattoo pic on their butt.

Another really bad mistake.

Do not make these mistakes. Ultimately at the end of the day, it's YOUR body; think about this very important decision. What kind of tattoo designs are you after? What kind of tattoos do YOU really want? Remember, whatever you choose to decide for your tattoo designs and the location on your body, it will last FOREVER!

Make the decision a GREAT one.

Weather your looking for tribal tattoos or Celtic tattoo designs, Japanese or Chinese tattoos, exotic or fantasy related tats, superman tattoo pics, Robbie Williams tattoo, Brittany Tattoo, important after care information, choosing a good parlor, artist, safety precautions or even free tattoo designs, you need a source where you can grab everything you could want in one place.

Here is a site that will save you days, weeks and months as it has already researched the BEST the internet has to offer. This will save YOU time and money as it can be your SOURCE of Tattoo Design information. Tattoo Design Universe [http://www.tattoo-design-universe.com]

Popular Tattoo Designs for Girls

Girls are always asking me what tattoos they should get or what I think are the hottest tattoos for girls. Unfortunately there is no clear cut answer simply because there are as many different types of tattoos are there are girls. What one person might find sexy another might consider unattractive or very unfeminine.

Certain styles of tattoos might not suit the image you want to project. For example certain work environments may not accept highly visible tattoos even though tattoos are becoming more and more accepted. It may be wise to hold off getting that sacred heart tattoo emblazoned across your chest if your boss is going to flip out if (s)he sees it!

So in saying that what I hope to do in this short article is offer my insight and experience within the tattoo industry for the past 9 or 10 years and point out the current tattoo trends and what the most popular styles of tattoos are for girls. At the end of the day you want a tattoo that has lasting appeal and not a tattoo that was done on a whim. If I give you some good ideas for your next tattoo all the better...

Trends come and go. What was cool ten years ago is no longer cool. In the nineties certain types of tattoos such as cartoon characters like Betty Boop, barbed wire armbands and dolphins were in. Looking at them now they appear very cheesy and basic.

Tattoo art has come such a long way in the past few years even. Certain styles of tattoos have become perennial and have risen to a point where they are getting the respect and acknowledged they deserve for their intricacy and artistry.

Styles as diverse as Japanese tattoos, Indian/Hindu tattoos, Anime, Traditional American and Floral designs are raising the bar higher and higher and becoming increasingly popular.

Alongside that is the fact that people are beginning to see their skin as a human canvas and not just settling for random tattoos placed haphazardly on a part of the body that is hidden. Nowadays more and more girls are getting larger tattoos and more of them.

This may explain the popularity of Japanese tattoos. In traditional Japanese tattoos each character has a meaning and interacts with the other tattoo designs as part of the whole.

The same is true for Traditional American tattoos. Previously what were once done as individual tattoos from disparate elements of American culture are now being woven into an organic and is more like a story unfolding.

Top Five Most Popular Tattoos for Girls

Irezumi - Traditional Japanese tattoos - More and more girls are asking for large tattoo designs such as koi fish, dragons on their hips, back and arms.

Traditional American tattoos - Old school 'Sailor Jerry' tattoos and images such as classic American cars, pin-ups, swallows and nautical stars are becoming more popular on girls chests, abdomen, back and legs.

Floral tattoos - So many girls are getting flower tattoos as full sleeve tattoos or covering their entire back or legs with floral designs. Flower tattoo designs such as lotus flowers, peonies, orchids, chrysanthemums and flowering vines are the most popular.

Anime - Japanese animation has become massive and doesn't show any sign of disappearing any time soon. As a result Anime tattoos have become popular in the past five years or so. The only risk with Anime tattoo is that unlike other styles will probably age much quicker even though it looks great now.

Indian / Hindu tattoo designs - Like ancient Indian texts and spirituality being rediscovered by people in the West since the 1960's it has been reflected in the demand for Indian tattoo designs. They say everything old become new again.

Finally the most important decision is not to get a tattoo on a whim or choose a tattoo that you think is cute or trendy. Give it a lot of thought. Good art should last. Think of Mona Lisa's smile...

Quick History Of Tattoos

Tattoos have a rich history of tradition, dating back thousands and thousands of years. Throughout the course of time, there has always been an important role of tradition and ritual behind tattoos. In the past, women in Borneo used tattoos as a way to mark their skills. Tattoos were also used in the past as a way to ward away illnesses and disease, by placing the tattoo around the fingers and on the wrist. Throughout history, tattoos have also been used to symbolize a clan, or society, as well.

The purpose of tattoos has differed from culture to culture throughout the course of time. Research has shown that the earliest tattoos come from Egypt during the time of the pyramids, although most believe they started much earlier. Egyptians at this time were believed to use tattoos as a way to mark the slaves and the peasants. Tattoos spread to China and then on to Greece, where the Greeks used tattoos as a way to communicate among spies. Along the way, Japan also incorporated the use of tattoos as well. The Japanese people used tattoos for religious and ceremonial rites. During this era, Borneo women were the artists. They produced the designs that indicated the individuals point in life and the tribe that he was affiliated with. Tattoos were very popular during these days, although infections were quite common. Tattoos were a long way from being perfected, which showed in the way they were done.

Tattoos were shown in the western regions as well, although they were not well accepted at first. William Dampher, who was once an explorer, was the man who re-introduced tattoos to the western areas. He brought a heavily tattooed Prince to the area, showing off his tattoos with exhibitions. He made quite a bit of money with these attractions, which in turn made tattoos very popular and well desired throughout London and surrounding areas.

Chatham Square, which is located in New York City, was the first place to feature American styled tattoos. During the turn of the century, Chatham Square attracted people from all over the United States, especially those with money. A man by the name of Samuel O Riley set up shop in Chatham Square, becoming the first man to use an electric tattoo gun. In the beginning, the now popular tattoo gun was based on the electric pin, invented by Thomas Edison, that used a needlepoint to puncture paper.

The electric tattoo gun features moving coils, a needle bar and tube, which are common components of today's guns. The electric gun was very popular, allowing those who wanted a tattoo to get one at a great price. These guns helped to revolutionize tattoos and allowed the tattoo artists to give tattoos fairly fast as well. People took to this new technology in flocks, making it by far the best and most efficient way to get tattoos.

These days, tattoos are very common, with nearly one half of the population in the United States having at least one tattoo. They are still common with bikers and clans, symbolizing that one is a member. There are millions of designs out there for tattoos, including different color combinations, that have helped to make tattoos the phenomenon they are today.