Tattoos and Lettering
What’s your favourite tale of the power that tattoos lettering carries for us? We love the story of Johnny Depp who, in his younger years, spent quite some time with Winona Ryder firmly ensconced on his arm.
Depp was so committed to their relationship that he decided to commemorate it: To balance out a tattoo honouring his mother on his left bicep, he added a tattoo to his right bicep declaring “Winona Forever.” When they ended their relationship in 1993, however, he was stuck with tattoos lettering that told a lie. So what did he do? The future Captain Jack simply laser-erased two letters from it. From that day forward his arm lettering has declared him simply to be “Wino Forever.”
Tattoos lettering can be a label on an image that you’ve tattooed on your body. You might have it inked in below the graphic design you’ve chosen, or maybe as a banner across the design. It can also stand on its own as a tattoo, without any image. When you choose your lettering style, you are showing off your style, your moxie, or even your chutzpah.
Lettering on its own, without an image, is powerful. It succeeds in capturing people’s attention to get a real look at what your message is. You can just use initials to abbreviate your cause or message; this was the original form of tattoos lettering. Or you can go wild and tattoo long sections of text on your body-remember Cady in “Cape Fear” with his ominous Bible verses. Either way, you’re bound to make an impact.
What do you want your tattoo to say? Most people use this form of art-skin art-to show that they belong to a special group. Often it’s used to pledge love. Many people use tattooing to demonstrate their belief in a religion or show that they’ve achieved a cultural rite of passage. Yet others use it to declare their mystical roots. Or you can choose a line from a poem, the passage from a book, the logo of a favourite product.
The lettering sets the tone of the tattoo-is it playful, tongue-in-cheek, or solemn? Probably the number one most popular lettering font is Old English. Think of the lettering on signs in taverns-or Robin Hood movies. Arabic or Hindu lettering is popular. Playful slender lettering with curlicues is popular, or Edwardian script, or you can pick something like the lettering from a certain mouse-inspired cartoon company.
When you decide on tattoo lettering, you have four basic options: The text size, the font, the colour, and the location. Consider all of these points before you dive in:
* The size must be large enough so that it can be read easily. Thinner fonts require less spacing than larger fonts. (But don’t forget you can even mix fonts.)
* The sun might fade it. Ask your tattoo artist about sunscreen products.
* Certain colours contain trace metals, and if you ever need an MRI it could become distorted.
* All tattoos, whether graphic images or text, will bleed over the years.
* And be certain to ask your tattoo artist whether you’ve chosen a good location. Some parts of the human body are more prone to sagging than other parts, and you don’t want your eagle to some day look like a buzzard.
* If you choose a foreign language for your tattoo lettering, be certain your artist knows exactly what he’s drawing into your skin. Something in one language can, with one letter changed, take on a whole new meaning in another language.
Before you commit yourself, be certain that your tattoo has a message that will remain important to you forever. Who can forget, on the first “Rock of Love” television reality show, how enraged Heather was when Brett Michaels dumped her just days after she had his name tattooed on the back of her neck?
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