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Monday, August 16, 2010
On St. Valentine's Day tribal heart tattoos are a brilliant means of expressing your love for your loved one, unless they wanted a box of chocolates that is.
In which case you're in deep s… erm I mean a lot of trouble.
As you may have realized the three images shown above are the same design.
The first one on the left is the original tribal heart, I have altered the other two with a simple graphic software program.
With the centre one I have added a red outline, the third (far right) I reversed by turning the original black image red and then adding a black outline.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
While you can choose a tattoo design that literally means "strength", as in Kanji, the important thing is to have a design that gives you strength. You can choose from a number of designs as long as the one you choose has a special meaning and significance to you. It may remind you of someone close to you or someone who supported you in troubled times. Maybe someone who was there for you when you were young and from whom you gained strength.
Animal Tattoo Designs
A number of cultures used animal images to give them strength. The animals in their worlds they most admired would be a source of strength, endurance, and courage. By tattooing the animal images on their bodies they hoped to become more like them. Thus the image of a bear or lion or wolf would help the tattoo owners to become more courageous or stronger.
This might apply to you - the person who gives you strength could be represented by an image of a powerful animal, one renowned for its strength and courage.
Tribal Tattoo Designs
Tribal tattoos can evoke images in the mind of tribal battles for leadership, fighting for survival or dominance, hunting wild animals, braving the elements. They can take us back to primitive man when life itself was a gamble and only the strong survived. Whether the tattoos were done as part of a rite of passage, or to denote a position in the tribe or as an animal totem, they were all done crudely which inflicted pain. Just having the tattoo said the wearer was a person of courage because of the pain endured. Indeed, some tattoos were done simply to test a person's ability to endure pain - a test of courage.
Angel or Wing Tattoo Designs
People in the West are a familiar with Guardian Angels and as special messengers from God. Angels are also part of Jewish and Islamic faiths as well as a number of other religions and cultures going back to ancient times. They are usually represented as creatures with wings. An angel tattoo can remind us of strength as we are protected or inspired by these spiritual creatures. Wing tattoos can also act in the same way. Wings can give us a sense of protection, a sense of freedom - as in flight. How many oppressed people or prisoners or those who have lost freedom have dreamed of flying to freedom. Songs have been written about it.
Maybe there is someone in your life you see as your guardian angel, someone who inspires you, lifts you up. Perhaps it is an event - something you saw or did that makes your spirit take flight. A tattoo design of an angel or a set of wings could bring this to mind, to give you strength.
Cross Tattoos Designs
The cross is an enduring symbol of faith, hope and love. It can be used to remind you to have faith when things turn against you. It can be used to sustain you through tough times. It can be used to remember loved ones and to connect to them in spirit to give you strength.
There are other tattoo designs that can give you strength: the crown, a symbol of authority and leadership; the dragon, with its strength and magical powers; texts that are inspirational in themselves or favorite quotes of someone you love or admire. The tattoo design you choose to give you strength may be on public display but the feelings it evokes in you are uniquely yours. This is one tattoo that should be done just for you.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The heart is an enduring symbol of love that has lasted the test of time, and heart tattoos provide a special way to display that love. It has been used by many cultures throughout history, and its popularity as a tattoo design is growing year by year.
Heart Tattoos Design
The first noted group to use the symbol as a tattoo were sailors. They used the heart tat as a show of love, and to provide a connection to, their loved ones back on shore. These days the basic design has evolved significantly and now includes banners, other designs such as flowers or angels and other symbols. With a splash of color, the designs can look absolutely stunning. The beauty of the heart tattoo is that they can be used by men and women alike, and the style of the design itself can vary widely from tribal to celtic to cartoon just to name a few.
Heart tattoos look good both as a large design with other symbols, or as a small tat. The small design is popular because it can be located on many parts of the body, and depending on whether the wearer wants the tattoo to be visible it is easy for the design to be covered up. They are popular on the shoulder, bicep and arm for men, and ankles, hips, around the belly button and on the lower back for women.
Meanings
The heart tattoo is very symbolic and it can have many meanings for the people who wear them. Here are some common meanings.
The red heart symbolizes love. It is common for people to have a banner stretch across the heart with a loved ones name in the banner. What a great way to show eternal love.
Another popular theme is to combine the red heart with roses or flowers to portray love and a loving environment. For example, the rose is itself a symbol of love and passion, so the two go together well, and make a strong statement.
When heart tattoos are combined with knives, daggers or swords, this normally represents lost love, or betrayal. For example, the dagger must be used by someone close to you to be effective. Therefore, a dagger through a heart means someone you let get close has hurt you. Very symbolic.
Monday, March 22, 2010
