Decide what tattoo you want to design. First, you must decide which kind of tattoo you want to design, such as a symbolic tattoo, an artistic tattoo, a tattoo of someone's name or words that express something important to you. Other types of tattoos include abstract tattoos, naturalistic tattoos, dedication tattoos, simplification tattoos and complex tattoos. A simplification tattoo is a tattoo that has no limits in terms of shapes, sizes and the overall design of a tattoo. Popular standard simplification tattoo designs include lions and panthers. Dragons and zodiac signs are popular custom-made simplification tattoos.
Think about what your tattoo will represent. For instance, tattoos may represent a dedication to a deceased person, an honor to a person, a celebration of an event, such as the birth of a child, or simply a symbol of expression.
Start with flash art. Flash art describes pre-designed, preserved art designs done by other graphic artists. Flash art can be a skull, a heart with an arrow through it, a sun with vines around it or a rose with lots of vines hanging from it. Look through some photos of flash art to decide on a symbol to represent your tattoo. You can look for stars, crosses, roses, hearts, tribal designs, wings, a sun, or a butterfly, for example. You should choose a symbol that is directly associated with what you want your tattoo to stand for.
Design your own tattoo using design software. There are many such software packages available, including Create a Tattoo. Temporary tattoos require a body-art kit, which contains body-art sheets, magic adhesive sheets and instructions. This way, you can simply print and peel the tattoos and apply them directly to your skin.
Use an inkjet printer to print out your tattoo design when you're finished. If you're using a body-art kit, the adhesive sheets are medically approved and safe to apply to your skin. If you'd like your tattoo inked permanently onto your skin, take the tattoo design to a licensed professional tattoo artist to have it done.