Chinese Tattoos Symbols, Designs, Ideas And Themes

Recently there's been a huge rise in the field of tattooing. With popular TV shows like Miami Heat in LA Inc. being broadcast on national TV more and more people are getting tattoos. Of particular fascination to many are Chinese tattoo symbols and designs. The art of tattooing in China actually dates back much farther then its western counterpart. In the West until he didn't come into fashion until very late in the 20th century and mainly in the early 21st century. However, the art of tattooing has a long history in many Asian cultures including China, Japan, and even Thailand just to name a few. What is ironic about this is typically tattoos are used in many of the Asian cultures to mark criminals and other social deviants.

Regardless of the past Chinese tattoo symbols have been widely adopted into the western tattoo lexicon. The mystique and foreignness of an Asian tattoo and the beauty of Chinese and Japanese writing have really sparked a lot of interest among western tattoo enthusiasts. There are many beautiful Chinese designs of themselves well to the art of tattooing. However in much of Asia since tattooing was done in criminals and social deviants many of the designs are very large and often full body pieces especially in Japan. These often are very expensive designs and take many hours in a tattoo shop this is led many western tattoo enthusiasts to opt for Chinese symbols. The beautiful script used in China lends itself well to creating a mysterious and ancient looking tattoo that is not easily discernible by the average Westerner.

The most common Chinese tattoo symbols that are sought after are often representative of important values. For example a simple word that represents themes like love, strength, or power. Another common theme among western tattoo enthusiasts is to seek a translation of something important in the Chinese. For example it's very common for men and women alike to get the names of their children translated into Chinese and the tech to them on their shoulders arms or back.

For those wishing to embellish their tattoo their many smaller themes designs they can easily accompany Chinese Japanese writing a script. For example, men will getting Tiger, lion, or dragon to accompany their design. Women tend to opt for a more delicate designs such as the cherry blossom, yin yang symbol, or a koi fish design.

There are a wide variety of very beautiful tattoo designs throughout Asian cultures. Anyone considering getting a Chinese or Japanese tattoo would be well advised to check their overall design especially the writing with a native speaker of the language. Their many incidents where a person is purchased a flash tattoo at a local tattoo shop thinking that it meant one thing later find out that that's a totally different.

Lettering Tattoo Designs - Make Your Tattoo Great With Lettering

Lettering tattoo designs are gaining in popularity. You can combine lettering with a design, you can add lettering to a previous design to change it up a little or you can have lettering tattoo designs by themselves. When you add lettering to a design you want to make sure the lettering font style matches the type of tattoo image. Everything should flow together.

Lettering tattoo designs can be just as time consuming to decide on as an image tattoo. You first have to decide what you want to say. Then you can choose to say it in your native language or another, perhaps ancient language like Greek or Chinese characters. Then you have to decide what font type you want to use. And lastly (or perhaps first, depending on you) you decide where on your body you want your lettering tattoo design.

Those are a lot of decisions to make. You have to take your time about all of them because any one can affect your tattoo greatly. A tattoo is for life and you want to be proud of your tattoo forever. Take your time and make one choice at a time. Don't be afraid to change your mind and start over. You want a tattoo that you are 200% sure that it's right for you.

I think the most important decision is what do you want your lettering tattoo designs to say. Since a tattoo is personal, this is your chance to speak to the world. If you choose a saying, it should be something that would be a lifelong commitment. If you choose a name, make sure it's a name that you will still want 20 years from now. One of the biggest sources of tattoo regret is a name of a past love. Unfortunately tattoos last longer than most relationships.

If you go to a good online tattoo gallery you can have everything you need in one place to make all your choices. You can see different lettering styles, get information on translations and see if you want to add an image to your design. One note about lettering tattoo designs in a foreign language, check with several different sources to make sure your translation says what you want it to say. There is nothing more horrifying than to walk around with an incorrect lettering tattoo.

Choosing a tattoo can be a hard decision. It will be with you for life so you want it to be unique and imaginative. Stop wasting time looking at website after website. Find great ideas for lettering tattoo designs by looking through thousands of the best tattoo designs all in one place.

Chinese Tattoos

The allure and fascination with Chinese tattoos is just an extension of the appeal that various religions, beliefs, and cultures have on the rest of the world.

While some people choose this sort of design because of the subtle symbolism, others are attracted to the centuries of history attached to the culture.

There are some who also choose a Chinese design simply because they enjoy explaining the meaning of the design and the possible story that inspired such a choice.

A wide range of designs for tattoos of Chinese symbols is available for those who wish to decorate their arms, backs, and ankles (the most common locations for this design).

However, there is something very important to consider when choosing this type of tattoo.

Since Chinese writing is rather complicated, where one character can signify a multitude of meanings, taking precautions is highly recommended.

A tattoo artist must execute a design with precision or the meaning will become lost.

Chinese writing is so complex that overlooking a stroke or slightly altering an angle can result in inking something completely different from the intended meaning of the design.

While words are a common selection in Chinese tattooing, there are other designs that depict the culture, such as elaborate dragons and tigers that impress onlookers with bright and bold colors.

Tattooing in China has been a popular practice for many years, despite the fact that it wasn't always considered an artistic or acceptable expression.

There was a common belief that the body is a gift and should not become decorated or tainted by tattoo. In the past, the tattoo was actually used to mark a criminal, as this type of punishment was placed on the face.

It is important to locate a tattoo artist who is knowledgeable in Chinese, as there are far too many inexperienced artists who try to add their own style to the Chinese characters. The result is often creating a meaningless design.

To make sure you are approaching this kind of tattoo in the proper manner, getting advice from someone of Chinese descent or who fluently speaks and writes Chinese is suggested. They can help pinpoint the symbols and characters that will result in the meaning you seek for your Chinese tattoos.

Chinese Tattoo Designs For Arms

The arm is the number one spot in which tattoos are given throughout the world on the human anatomy. The different types of arm tattoo designs are as different and unique as there are arms in the tattoo parlors everywhere. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration before anyone decides to get inked-up on their arm. There is certainly the primary factor of personal choice as well as occupational field and other sociological factors. By and large the most important factor is the person who is going to be wearing this tattoo design for the rest of their natural life, you.

Upper Arm and Bicep Most Popular Today

Many individuals, especially novice or first-time tattoo wearers, choose to have the arm tattoo on the upper part and not the lower. With the transition of the military's viewpoints on tattoo designs, no longer is the forearm the most popular spot for tattoos these days. It is the upper arm or the bicep that gets most of the attention since this is a great size palette and location for those that want to wear short sleeves and still not advertise their tattoo inked up skin.

Vietnam and Laos

With so many designs and unique coloring patterns available in the world of inking today, the ability to create anything under the sun is now a possibility. The largest numbers of tattoos that appear on arms throughout North America are on the left upper arm. The reason for this, no one knows, yet it is the number one spot for the inking of America. The world is another concern as the different cultures that have different belief systems in the world see the different spots on the body that needs to be addressed. While in Far East Asia and in countries such as Vietnam and Laos, tattoo designs are not seen as anything wrong but a great religious phenomenon. Having tattoos is a sign of wealth and prestige while in the Far eastern region of the world. This goes hand-in-hand with the total number of people being inked-up in the Southeast Asian countries, standing at an estimated 5% in 2010.

Mom Tattoos Popular Always

The upper arm and the shoulder area are great spots for the people who prefer classic tattoo styles. These are usually the larger pieces of self-contained and tattoo areas. Because of this large surface area and the fact that a great deal of that area is essentially flat and hairless, it is a great spot for a portrait of someone's mom or maybe their little baby girl Angelica. The lower arm is a bolder choice but these too can easily display large pieces such as works of art of gothic lettering and flowers and vines. In the end everything is left up to the imagination and the person who is going to wear this work of art on their upper arm and that person is you!

Chinese Tattoos - How To Get The Perfect Design

Chinese tattoos are a beautiful and mysterious form of self expression, especially if they include the Chinese writing symbols. So if you're planning to get one of these tattoos, here's how to get the perfect design.

Number 1: Get Your Chinese Character Tattoo Right The First Time

Chinese symbol tattoos are one of the designs that are most likely to go wrong. Mistranslations, poor designs and bad alignment can all render your new design meaningless.

Sure, you can get them removed, but at present it's a painful and costly process that isn't guaranteed to be 100% successful.

So take your time, get professional advice and make sure you get a good quality, authentic design that you're happy with before you go under the needle. Don't end up looking like the victim of a cruel practical joke.

Number 2: Don't Use Kanji Designs From Tattoo Studios

Many tattoo studios provide a variety of pre designed Kanji symbols that you can have tattooed onto your body. These are cheap and quick, but suffer from a number of major disadvantages.

First, many of them have been poorly translated, so you may end up with a design that means something different to what you expected. Second, many of these standard designs have been drawn incorrectly, which destroys their meaning.

So instead of going into your local tattoo studio and picking a design off the wall or from a folder, do your own research. Decide the words that you want to appear in your Chinese tattoo, get them professionally translated and then get a custom design created to your order.

Number 3: Get Advice From A Chinese Person

This is absolutely vital. Chinese writing is extremely complex and can often be used to give one word in several different meanings. So make sure you speak to a Chinese person who can verify that you have the right symbols to match your intended meaning. If possible, make sure that they have experience of Chinese symbol tattoos.

Number 4: Select Your Words Carefully

When you get a new tattoo, it's important to assume that it will be with you for the rest of your life. So before you decide to get a Chinese symbol tattoo think long term and try to select wide over-arching ideas that express who you are and what you stand for.

For example, timeless ideas such as freedom, love and hope are always good choices.

And whatever you do, avoid fashionable words as they have a nasty habit of falling out of fashion within a short space of time. The aim is to select a design that you'll be as happy with in twenty years time as you are today.

Number 5: Select Your Artist Carefully

A tattoo that solely consists of Chinese characters can look rather plain unless the writing is completed with a certain amount of style and flair.

Even worse, it's easy for non Chinese artists to unintentionally deface the delicate Chinese symbols. Chinese calligraphy is very precise. The strokes have to be a certain shape and be aligned properly, otherwise the meaning of the design can be lost.

So it's vital to select a tattoo artist who is experienced in producing Chinese calligraphy.

Finally, if you want your Chinese tattoo to have even more impact, consider adding a small picture to your Chinese symbols.

The Chinese dragon is popular with men, while the Chinese phoenix is a favorite with many women. Both of these mythical creatures represent power and luck and will make a wonderful addition to your perfect Chinese tattoo.