Getting a Tattoo - Advice for Placement

If you’re thinking about getting a tattoo, where you place it on your body is as important as what the tattoo looks like. Placement is one of the important aspects of the overall tattoo design process. To achieve the best in tattooing, careful consideration should be given to the shape of a tattoo and where on the body it might be placed. For example, long thin imagery looks best on an arm or leg. On the other hand, an image that is approximately the same width as the height looks best on larger flat areas like the back, upper chest, pectoral, upper arm or back of calf. 

The size (width & length) and shape of the tattoo dictates where the tattoo should be placed. You can have one of the nicest tattoos in the neighborhood but if it’s on the wrong part of the body it won’t be as good as it could be. Have you ever seen a big muscle bound dude at the beach with a little sword on his bicep - looks more like a skin blemish than a tattoo. A person like this should have a wider, fuller image that complements his muscular physic. 

You should be concerned about the flow of the tattoo design and how well it complements the shape of your body. Your body is a flat canvas with lots of round parts. Some areas of your body may be fuller or larger than someone else’s making what looks good on them look bad on you.  If you’re considering inking a large round part of your body like the shoulder, the artwork should be of such a nature that it has arching or curving parts that compliment the roundness of the shoulder.  

Determining where or how to place a tattoo requires experience. This is where the expertise of your tattooist is best used. An experienced tattoo artist knows and understands the importance of placement for any form of tattoo design. When getting a tattoo, discuss your plans with your inker to make sure your idea complements your body type. It’s good advice to listen to your inker, they may suggest changes to either the design or placement or both in order to maximize the beauty of the tattoo. 

 Are you thinking about having a hangman’s rope or barbed wire tattooed on your neck? Maybe you’re a woman thinking a long stem rose wrapping around your lower leg is cute. Maybe you’ve been thinking of having a four letter word tatted on your fingers. Before you get tattoos of this nature make sure your life style will support radical tattooing ideas. Sure the populace has a greater acceptance of tattooing than ever before but hiring managers, father/mother in-laws and others are going to think poorly of these kinds of tattoo decisions. The best advice anyone can give you is to place your tattoos in areas that can be covered with clothing. Once you become king of your universe you can go with radical forms of tattooing, but until then use common sense for your tattoo placement.