STEP BY STEP: Tattoo design — commission artwork

Do you wanna know how to design tattoo in a proper way?
Here are some tips!

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Before we start — I'm not a tattoo artist so I'm not an expert it this area. However, I did create few tattoo designs and I have tattoos on my body so I know the basics. I keep in mind that my design can be changed a little bit by tattoo artist to adjust the technique and size but I try to prepare it with specific rules to avoid any big changes.


STEP BY STEP IN TATTOO DESIGN:

1. IDEA & STORY: Collect as many information as you can from your client. Ask about the main idea, story behind the tattoo and details about likes and dislikes of your client. 

My client wanted to have a portrait tattoo of Greek goddess — Atheena. She told me what she likes about the character and what can be added to the tattoo.

2. TECHNIQUE & STYLE: Ask about chosen technique (colour, dotwork, hatching). Ask for pictures of sample inspirations. It will define the style of your drawing. You can also ask what style from your portfolio your client likes especially.

In my commission the style was linear (optional dotwork or shading) and made with black ink. 

3. PLACEMENT & SIZE: Ask about the body part, to know what canvas you can have (narrow, wide, vertical, horizontal, if there’s already any other tattoo next to yours). If it’s possible ask for the picture of this area. Ask about specific size (sometimes client doesn’t want the tattoo bigger or smaller than some specific size).

My tattoo design was dedicated to appear on the back of arm or forearm so it had to be vertical and in medium size. 

4. MOODBOARD: Search for proper reference photos. I like to create moodboards because they help me to organize my ideas. You can see the sample on the picture above.

I made a research about the story of Atheena. I searched for proper items. They had to be exact as they were. I couldn’t just draw the random helmet. This type of mistakes are out of the table. 

5. COMPOSITION: Remember that body is a special canvas. It doesn’t has any borders like a paper or sketchnook does. You need to think how your artwork will look like on arm, neck, thigh, ankle or wherever it will appear. You need to figure out if you need to close your composition by additional shapes or lines.

I added “V” shape finishing at the bottom to close the composition. It also refers to the bust sculptures of Atheena that I found.  

6. SKETCH & DESIGN: Draw the picture to be clear and sharp. Remember about the dedicated size (if the tattoo will be small, you can’t make too much details because they will be impossible to draw with a needle).

In my artwork I kept the very thin lines as a option to make a bigger tattoo but they can be deleted as well without loss for the whole design.   

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Tools that I used:

• IPad Pro 12,9, Apple pencil

• Procreate App

• Brushes in Procreate: Procreate pencil & dry ink