The Drawing Designing Tattoo Art Creating Masterful Tattoo Art from Start to Finish by Fip Buchanan, Marc Balanky

STEP 4:Add Final Details Theroseswere kept muchlighter in colorto provide contrastto theheart. Theflamesthemselves were left uns ...

Unifying Design Elements DAY OF THE DEAD SKULLS The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a Mexicanholiday but isalso celeb ...

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STEP 1:Establish Patterns and Create a 3-D Effect Theclient wanteda tattoo of Dayof the Dead sugar skullsextendingfromherinnerth ...

placed behind the skulls to help push them forward, givinga3-Deffectandmakingtheskullstheprimary focus of the design. ...

STEP 2:Unify Design Elements Theclienthadanaquaticthemeonherotherleg,sothe elementofwaterwasusedtotietheskullsandrosesin ...

theDayoftheDeadtattootogether,aswellastounifyit with the aquatic tattoo on the opposite leg. STEP 3:Balance the Composition This ...

Adding to Existing Tattoos ROSES, ORCHIDS AND GRANDMA Thisparticularpiecestartedasasingleorchidonthetop oftheclient’sarm.Toherth ...

STEP 1:The Original Tattoo This picture shows the first orchid that started it all. Therewasnopreliminary sketchforthis three-qu ...

STEP 2:Add More Flowers and a Background Moreflowerswereaddedtotheinnerarmarea.Allof theflowerdesignsweretakenfrombooksonflowers ...

created bythe background, which is essential for the flow of the composition, tying it all together. STEP 3:Add Highlights with ...

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STEP 4:Finish with the Portrait Thegrandmother’sportraitwasdoneinacameoshape so that it would have a definite edge when the back ...

hergrandmawithhersunglassesonbecausethat’show sherememberedher.Ilovethelookofblackandgray tattooedportraitsbecausetheyresemblebl ...

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Iconic Images AMERICAN EAGLE TheBaldEagle isa mainstay oftraditional American tattooing,andthechesteagledesignisprobablythemost ...

STEP 1:Lay In Highlights and Accent Colors Atracingoftheareatofillwasmadebeforethedrawing beganandwasusedasaguideinthedesignproc ...

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STEP 2:Keep Stylistic Elements Simple Theflagissimplifiedforthetraditionallook.Itwasnot really necessary to include fifty stars ...

STEP 3:Keep the Color Scheme Balanced Greenwaterwasusedsoasnottoconflictwiththeblue oftheflag.Theropewaskeptsimpleandonlyshaded ...