5 Tricks to Great Lettering

1. Keep it short and sweet.

   Whether your words are from a poem, a movie, a verse of Scripture, or a song, remember that short quotes work better than long ones. For example, "Fearless", "No Risk: No Reward", and "Faith" are better than "I am not afraid of anything", "I like to take risks because the rewards are worth it", and "I am a ( Crazy Christian, Mental Muslim, Hip Hindu, Zany Zennist, etc.)."
   



2. Pick a Good Location.

   For short quotes, the best places are the foot, wrist, back of the neck, ankle and arm. For longer lettering tattoos, the rib cage, shoulder blade, collar/chest, back, and hip area.
   



3. Pick a Good Lettering Style/Font.

   Not all fonts will look good as tattoos. I prefer script because it looks nice and usually has a better flow than computer fonts.
   
   The lettering below is far too busy to stand as a good tattoo. Over time the dots and line will merge together making it illegible. The solution is make it larger and to space the letters.
   
   
   
   Fonts like this one work better. They're bold and have large areas of black. The lettering is also legible.
   
   
   
   In general if you can shrink the font and still read it, it's probably going to be OK to tattoo.
   



4. Make sure the style of lettering has the "personality" for the quote.

   For example, this doesn't work:
   
   
   
   The style of lettering doesn't have the right personality for the message. Ol/Gangsta English would be better.



5. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR ARTIST'S PORTFOLIO for LETTERING.

   Lettering is one of the MOST TECHNICALLY DEMANDING TATTOOS. There is little room for error. If you don't see a lot of lettering or the lettering is weak (uneven lines, messy fill, illegible), pick another artist. Not much can be done with bad lettering. It usually has to be covered or faded.

How to Check an Artist's Portfolio

There are many qualities to look for in good tattoo artwork. But it doesn't take art expert to spot a few tell tale marks of a good/experienced tattoo artist. Here are five things to look for when you inspect a tattoo artist's portfolio:

1. Clean, solid, stable lines.

   Line-work is paramount in tattooing. Lines hold the design together; they also determine to a large extent the longevity of the tattoo. Here's what to look for in the lines:

   • Solid, connected lines.

     The lines should NOT be shaky. Shaky lines indicate inexperience. Solid lines require proper machine set-up and tuning, choice of needle configuration, and a stable hand.

   • No "foggy lines".

     Foggy lines in LINE-WORK and Blowouts put you at risk. If you see a hazy line, run. The tattoo artist went too deep or tilted his or her hand causing a blowout. You should NOT see blowouts or foggy lines in a portfolio.

   • Even line-weight.

     Uneven line-weight or variance in the thickness in the line, unless it's obviously intentional, usually means the artist is either lifting his or hand or failing to maintain a steady speed while inking. Either mistake leads to weak, unpredicable line-work.



2. Solid Fill.

   Fill should NOT be spotty or dotty; it should be evenly toned throughout the filled area. It should also connect to the line or color border. Some artists do fill in multiple sessions to ensure bright, vibrant color. An artist who uses that technique will include a picture of the tattoo AFTER it is healed. If you see lots of "weepy" oozing tattoos in the portfolio, choose another artist. Excessive weeping results from overworking the skin, wanting to put too much color in one sitting.



3. Smooth Color Blends and Shading.

   Uneven dotty blending of color patchy shading indicate a lazy or inexperienced artist. Color blends and shading should look airbrushed. Good color blends and shading aren't an accident. They require proper machine tuning, needle configuration choice, and a practiced hand. (There is an exception to this. Some Old Skool Art has "California spit", the shading is decoratively dotty, not sloppy. I'm guesing that if you know about California spit, you're a true connoisseur and know how to spot good work already.)



4. Good, quality artwork.

   Good lines, solid fills, and smooth gradients can't overcome a crappy design. You want to make sure that your artist knows how to create quality art. He or she should have a firm grasp of proportion, perspective, color theory and other artistic aspects of tattoo design.



5. Good Expression of Concept.

   This refers to how the artist interprets and translates the design request. It doesn't matter how technically proficient or even how talented he or she is artistically; if he or she cannot create a design that effectively communicates your idea, you'll end with a bad tattoo. In my opinion, tattoo designs should be simple, you should be able to recognize the design from half way across the room. If an artist can't translate your idea into a simple, effective design, it won't look good.