Dr. Death Gets a New Tattoo

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art with a point custom tattooDr. Death is back from Bath, England and ready for a new tattoo. His newest piece is a Celtic half sleeve designed by his friend, Nathan. This piece has nicely integrated references to Dr. Death’s other tattoos, and reflects the half sleeve on his left arm beautifully. The intricate detail in Celtic work makes the process of applying an elaborate outline such as this one rather intense. I expect six to eight hours of outlining alone. Photos of the outline will be posted later this week, so stay tuned.

Hold the date on July 29! Dr. Death – AKA John Troyer – from the University of Bath’s Centre for Death and Society talks memorial tattoos. His perspective on our cultural attitudes towards death and how we express them through tattooing is eye opening.

Come on down and join us in the discussion.

Evolution of a Tattoo, part 2

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concept design and final tattoo

concept design and final tattoo

Another example of the evolution of a custom designed tattoo from draft to completed artwork. You’ll recognize the artwork from the blog entry dated July 4 of this year.

One aspect of this piece I enjoyed working with was the texturing in the armor. While we’re quick to think of how to add color or shading to a tattoo, incorporating texture into the piece is less common. While often under appreciated, textured detail adds significantly to a piece.

Evolution of a Tattoo

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concept design, final design and completed tattoo

concept design, final design and completed tattoo

Today’s blog entry shows the evolution of a tattoo, from concept sketch to final draft and finally, the completed tattoo.  The concept sketch is a simple initial sketch which captures the flow of the arm and introduces the various design components.  The journey from concept sketch to final draft refines the design and begins to introduce some detail.  The most notable transformation comes during the tattoo application itself when full detail, shading, color and texture are introduced.

Celebrating the 4th

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art with a point custom tattooYesterday I had the honor of celebrating the 4th of July by spending the day tattooing an Iraq Veteran who is celebrating his first 4th back in the U.S. in two years. I tattooed him two years ago prior to his shipping out, and was relieved to hear that he has returned home safely along with everyone in his unit. Thank you, Nathan for your service.