No one knows exactly when or where the first tattoo artist created his work, but we do know that some of the earliest mummies found in Asia and Europe have tattoos. Tattoos dating back thousands of years reflect a tendency for humans to mark their bodies to convey their own social, cultural and individual identities. Today, tattooing has reached its own level of individuality, as unique as the tattoo artist and the tattooed. It now represents a sign of freedom, rebellion, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans & protection.
Some of the most common tattoo designs are:
· Flowers: Everything from the daisy on the ankle to floral arrangement, reaching across several body parts as floral design always remain in style.
· Lettering & Symbols: Usually names and quotes, but sometimes they're elaborate. Famous lines from books or the history in ancient languages is considered quite unique and classic. This could be as simple as an astrological sign or as abstract as an image that somehow represents a time or accomplishment in someone's life.
· Religion: Crosses, Jesus or a range of other gods, including depictions of events in sacred text are very popular too.
· Skulls: Mostly human and other bone-related stuff now is a craze for the rebels, bikers and the hippies.
· Japanese designs: The whole world of traditional Japanese art and tattooing is very influential in today's modern tattooing to the point where almost every tattoo reflects a lesson taken from Japanese art. Like the dragon art, letters, or signs of water, fire, wind, the yin yang etc.
· Portrait: This is mostly the realistic likeness of loved ones or celebrities, but more recently has been expanded to include all manner of realistic tattooing.
· Love: Hearts mostly, but sometimes sarcastic statements about love or the name of a loved one itched on your body is evergreen.
· Birds & Wildlife: Including mythological flyers like phoenixes and griffins. Flying is always a metaphor for rising above, excelling and emergence. All manners of living creatures, from lions to gold fish are a big yes for animal lovers and like. Even a portrait of a pet is quite popular.
