Review Japanese artwork to gain an understanding of the styles and themes commonly employed. Japanese artwork books are a good source for examples as well as tattoo books and artists' website galleries.
Decide on a location for the tattoo and use a measuring tape to determine the size needed for the tattoo drawing. Consider curves of the body as well as whether you wish the tattoo to wrap completely around the area or just have a portion of the area covered.
Sketch the rough surface area shape and size on a piece of paper. If possible, use paper that allows you to draw to scale.
Choose a theme for the tattoo such as a personality trait or other characteristic. Strength, courage, intelligence and patience are possible themes.
Use the main theme to design one or two large images for the tattoo. For example, if strength or courage is the main theme, the tattoo drawing may have one large warrior image or a dragon. Sketch the large image(s) within the area outlined on the paper, trying to mimic the styles of Japanese art.
Design the background of the tattoo by drawing nature scenes or symbols. Castles and ocean waves, the moon, trees and mountains often find their way into a Japanese tattoo background. Symbols such as swirls, waves or patterns reminiscent of kimono textiles are an alternative for background images.
Add color to part or all of your tattoo drawing. In traditional Japanese tattoos, large images may have color while background images may simply be done in blue-black ink using the skin tone for contrast.