Tattoos are an intrinsic part of our culture. More and more people are getting tattoos, enshrining memories and values on their skin, through words, symbols and pictures. If you’re thinking about getting a tattoo, you’re not alone. However, it’s important to keep in mind a few things, so that you avoid some of the most common mistakes people make when getting a tattoo.
Space Your Tattoo Properly
Very often, tattoos become blurred as ink migrates across the skin. This can even lead to a tattoo becoming illegible. This occurs as part of the aging process, in which skin becomes less elastic, and has less collagen. So if your tattoo has small letters, or the words are all bunched up together, it can all end up looking like a blob. If you’re intent on a design that involves fine lettering, you should work with a tattoo artist who specializes in that.
Choose the Right Font for Your Design Size
A key factor that you should consider when figuring out what font to use in your lettering, is design size. You see, font’s aren’t equally capable of being scaled up and down. This is especially true when it comes to the risk of your ink bleeding out. Some font sizes are too thick, or too complicated, for a specific size, or for the placement of your tattoo. So you can’t pick any font, you have to pick the right font for your design size. Speak to your tattoo artist to see what font is best for the design size, and for the kind of design you want.
Check Spellings and Translations
You really should check the spelling of any words in your tattoo. This is a really common mistake.
At Mystic Owl Tattoo, customers are really encouraged to check the meanings of foreign language tattoos. Bad translations are really common. If the meaning of the words matter, you should make sure that the words say what you want them to say. So if you don’t speak a language, talk to someone who does, preferably a native speaker, to get the right phrasing and spelling.
Check Dates
Many of us get a tattoo to memorialize an important date in our lives. That said, our memories are faulty, and it is possible to get the date of an important event wrong. If you’ve forgotten someone’s birthday, for example, you know that you can get dates wrong.
If you choose to use Roman numerals to mark an event, given that you likely don’t use Roman numerals often, you should also check that you have the right sequencing of Roman numerals. If you’re not familiar with Roman numerals, speak to someone who is, or do some research online.
Get a Tattoo AFTER A Big Physical Change
Big physical changes will have a big impact on how your tattoo looks. For example, if you’re thinking about losing weight, you should wait until you have hit your weight target, before getting your tattoo. This is because big changes alter the look of your tattoos, their placement, and their clarity.