Drawing & Designing Tattoo Art: Creating Masterful Tattoo Art from Start to Finish

by Fip Buchanan, Marc Balanky (Photographer)

Learn how to create bold, original designs from a master tattoo artist!Tattooing is an art form like no other . . . indelible, wearable paintings, each on a one-of-a-kind, ever-moving "canvas." Step into the parlor with master tattoo artist Fip Buchanan as he shares more than thirty years of experience and the secrets to killer tattoo design. In these pages, you'll learn the practical considerations of placement, flow, and color choice, as well as the art of conceptualizing the kind of powerful, personal, out-of-the-ordinary designs worthy of being on a body for life. You'll even find inspiration for taking the look of tattoo art off -skin and into the realm of graphic design.


Nine step-by-step demos reveal the author's creative process, from initial consultation and concept to finished tattoo
Covers popular subjects (snakes, dragons, portraits, hearts, roses and more) along with discussion of the symbolism behind them
Features a chapter that explores tattoo styles applied to graphic art
A gallery showcases the diverse styles of nine additional top tattoo artists
Whether you aspire to join the profession, are a graphic designer looking to expand your portfolio, or simply have a passion for tattoos, this book offers a rare inside look at the cutting-edge world of tattoo art.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, How To

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2014

Reviews

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the basics of tattoo design and transfer. It made a lot of great points about flow and groupings and styles I think are vital for any artist.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prinarily focused on the Japanese style, but no complaints.

[Darcy Goedecke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tips

I’m a regular artist and was looking for some information on how to create designs that tattoo artists can use for my clients. I got some great tips from this book and a general idea of the process for sketching things out to fit the body.

The only thing I wish it had was an overview of what techniques are possible in applying the actual ink to skin - shading, cross hatching, etc. This would really help with the design part.

It did answer some questions I had though! While the main part of the book is pretty limited to Japanese and Traditional styles of tattoos, I think the information and advice is still transferable to other styles. Thanks!

[Robin Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are beautiful works of art. They just aren’t my style.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more focused on tattoo placement and Japanese style art and colors rather than drawing the art itself, but it was interesting.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

To feed my secret fetish. Lol.

[Cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a how-to-draw guide as purported, and thus I had very little need for the extremely technical info within. If you are a tattooist, it may well be of use; if you don't fall asleep from how dry it is