Keys to a Good Composition
Drawingaminiatureofthedesigncanbeausefultoolin
composition.Itsavestimeandyoucanknockoutseveral
thumbnailsketchestodecideif adesignworksornot.
Whendesigningatattoo thatcovers awholeback,for
instance,youcanstartbytakingapictureoftheperson’s
back.Thenyoucanuseapieceoftracingpaperoverthe
photo to get the exact shape, then enlarge it to a
comfortablesizeforyoutodraw,butnotsolargethat
it’soverwhelming.Youcanbeginbydoingthedrawing
about 8 ½”×11”(20cm×28cm).Atthissizeyouwon’t
betemptedtoaddalotofunneededdetailthatwilljust
clutterupthecompositionwhenit’sfullsize.Whenthat
drawingisdonetoyoursatisfaction,youcanenlargeit
tothesizeitwillbewhenappliedasatattoo,thenrefine
thedrawingandadddetailasneeded.Youcanalsocolor
theminiaturetoshowyourclienthowitwilllookwith
color, and to help figure that out for yourself, too.
KEY ELEMENTS OF GOOD TATTOO
COMPOSITION
- Subject: One dominant subject works best.