"Precious" Tattoos from The Lord of the Rings

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Jesse Smith creates Cartoon Graffiti Tattoos

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Beautiful Butterfly Tattoo Designs

Butterflies are delicate flying insects with colorful wings. The insect undergoes a process called metamorphosis, in which the caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. This process of change has popularized the butterfly as a symbol in art, signifying transformation, rebirth and a lifting of the heart.

The Meaning of Butterfly Tattoos
Butterflies are often used as a visual symbol to mark a major change in a person's life. Because of the metamorphosis process, butterflies symbolize the struggle of change and transformation, and the beauty that results from such a struggle. In every way, the simple existence of a butterfly is a sign of success - the creature has had to survive a number of ordeals to remain alive.
In ancient cultures, butterfly designs were used to embody the soul or the mind as a symbol of spiritual enlightenment. A butterfly emerging from its cocoon symbolizes a shedding of physical burdens while discovering a person's own personal freedom. A flying butterfly symbolizes lightness of heart, freedom of spirit and a gentle beauty.
Butterflies are associated with femininity and are used in tattoo designs as a symbol of elegance, beauty and allure. Women are very aesthetic creatures, which means that they appreciate the beauty that they find in life. The decorative nature of butterfly wings is considered beautiful by many women, who choose butterfly tattoo designs not only for their symbolism, but for the simple beauty of these winged creatures.

Above: This incredible tattoo design uses a number of design tricks to create a stunning tattoo. First, the tattoo artist has used contrast between black areas and light colors. The dark outlines make the colors on the wings stand out. Secondly, the shading on the wings is natural and appealing, giving the finished tattoo design a professional quality. Thirdly, the tattoo artist has used a simple but effective trick to make the tattoo seem to stand out against the skin, as though it is a real, 3-dimensional butterfly sitting on the girl's shoulder; he's added a shadow. The shadow gives the design depth, tricking the eye into believing that there is a small amount of distance between the edge of the butterfly wing and the girl's body. [source]

Above: This full back tattoo uses a tribal design style for a clear, simple effect. The butterfly wing design is built using only black shapes that outline empty areas of skin. The result is an elegant tattoo design that has a darker, heavier feeling than a delicately colored tattoo would. In a way, this is the gothic cousin of the fairy-styled butterfly tattoo. [source]

Above: The tattoo artists has given this dragon butterfly wings to create a fantasy creature that is colorful and unusual. The blue of the body stands in contrast to the reds and greens on the butterfly wings. [source]

Above: This butterfly tattoo design uses fantasy patterns as decorations on the wings. The finished result is a colorful, interesting tattoo design that is fun to look at. As a symbol this butterfly tattoo reveals the fun-loving nature of the girl who owns the tattoo, symbolizing a love of art, color and spirituality. [source]

Above: The artist has included tiny details in this butterfly tattoo design, even paying attention to the natural shape of the body of the insect. The contrasting colors of blue and yellow add visual interest to the butterfly tattoo. In Japan, if a butterfly flies into your room, it's a sign that someone you love will visit you soon. [source]

Above: This skull butterfly tattoo design is a hybrid of symbols. While butterflies can symbolize the spirit and new beginnings, skulls represent death and endings. In a way, the symbolism works, because in order for something to be "reborn", it must first die. Personal transformation is a process of one state of being ending so that a new state of being can emerge, similar to the caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly. [source]

Above: This cute butterfly tattoo is based on a hippy doodle and includes a wealth of symbolism in the form of eyes, hearts, ladybugs, a yin yang, a peace sign and a sun and moon. The design is based on the client's own drawing, which gives this butterfly tattoo a highly personal meaning. [source]

Above: This butterfly tattoo design has a devilish essence to it. The tattoo artist has added horns to the butterfly's wings and used fiery colored inks. In mythology and fairy tales, winged creatures such as fairies were often beautiful and a bit dangerous. This butterfly tattoo perfectly captures the essence of these devilish fairy tale creatures. [source]

Beautiful Butterfly Tattoos

Butterflies are a very versatile subject for tattoo designs. Their shape is easily recognizable in silhouette, which means that butterfly designs can be stylized and transformed while still retaining the beauty of their natural form. Butterfly tattoos can be inked into the skin anywhere on the body, though the most popular places for butterfly tattoos are the shoulders, lower back, neck and chest.

Butterfly tattoo designs are very popular, which means that there are a lot of people out there with tattoos of butterflies. If you're considering getting a butterfly tattoo, try to personalize the design in some way. Perhaps include the initials of people you love in the design of the wings, or combine the design elements of the butterfly with those of another creature, symbol or element. For example, if you consider yourself a fiery person, perhaps design the butterfly wings so that they appear to be made of flames. Or if you enjoy reading and writing, make the butterfly wings appear to be pages out of a book. Because butterfly tattoos are so popular, it's fairly easy to end up with a design that is similar to someone else's. This is why it is important to create a butterfly tattoo design that is customized to your own needs.

Above: This full back tattoo of butterfly wings uses natural shapes, patterns and colors to create an organic looking design. This reveals that the wearer of the tattoo has a love of nature while still enjoying flights of fantasy; she's given herself fairy wings. [source]

Above: This stylized tattoo design uses elegant lines to create an elegant and feminine butterfly tattoo. Even though the artist has added swirls to extend the design outwards, the silhouette of the butterfly is still easy to recognize. The butterfly, along with the swirls, creates a feeling of lightness. This adds to the sensation of freedom that is associated with butterfly tattoos. [source]

Above: Tiger tattoos represent strength and masculinity, whereas butterfly tattoos represent spirituality and femininity. When combined, butterflies and tigers create an interesting balance between the male and female elements of the human soul. Psychologist Sigmund Freud believed in the Animus and Anima, the male and female halves of the psyche. Such an image balances the essences of Animus and Anima. [source]

Above: This clever tattoo design is based on a Photoshop animal hybrid art work. An elephant's ears have a similar shape to butterfly wings, making this animal combination an attractive success. The resulting symbolism is interesting. Elephants generally symbolize remembrance and steadfastness; meanings that stand in stark contrast to the symbolism of butterflies. [source]

Above: Butterflies can make a fun tattoo design for a girl, symbolizing joy and lightheartedness. The above butterfly tattoos use the natural patterns found on butterfly wings, though butterfly tattoo designs can also be fantastic creations of patterns and color. [source]

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Wear Art on your Eyelids with Eye Shadow Paintings

Eye shadow is a cosmetic that is applied to the lids of the eyes to create shadows or highlights to define the shape of the eye. Generally, eye shadow is applied in smooth gradients, with two or more colors subtly blended into one another to create a natural effect. But what if a girl wants her eyes to tell a tale? Enter the art of eyelid painting...

I See the City and the City Sees Me
The colorful gradient of a city-lit sky makes a stunning background for the subject of this body art; a city skyline. The tiny lit windows in the buildings give the cosmetic artist an opportunity to bring out her metallic body paints.

Above: The full art work is only visible when the wearer has her eyes closed. [source]

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow
Based on a prism design, this body painting piece uses the eye as the focus of the art work. The make-up artist has applied paint to not just the upper eyelid, but the areas surrounding the eye.

Above: False eyelashes and tiny diamante accents add to the beauty of this cosmetic art work. [source]

Playing Super Mario with Your Eyes Closed
Super Mario is a Nintendo game that was first released in the 1980s. The game became so popular that the characters are often used in video game fan art works. In the picture below, make-up artist Katie Alves has used body paint in place of eye shadow powder. This allows her to create tiny details of the game, such as bricks and coins.

Above: This Super Mario body art uses just the eyelid as the canvas for the fan art work. The eyelashes and eyebrows frame the painting. The cosmetic artist has used tiny brushes to add details such as outlines and spots on the characters. [source]

Eyes on Fire

Using metallic and glitter body paints and eye shadows powders, this cosmetic artist has created fiery eyes, including a decorative flower design at the edge of the eyes.

Above: The contrast between the vivid golds and the darker charcoal areas give interest to the body painting. [source]

Be a Jungle Queen with the Lion King
The Lion King is one of Disney's most popular animated films, with many memorable scenes. In the body art work below, one of these famous scenes is painted onto the girl's eyelids. The tiny silhouettes of the animals are painted onto the background with the tip of a fine paint brush.

Above: It's fairly common for make up artists to use two different colors; one on the edge of the eyelid, and the other for the area below the eyebrow. In this case, green and blue have been used to create an effect of grass and sky. [source]

Eat With Your Eyes
The shape of the eye is similar to the shape of the mouth. This cosmetic artist has used the similarity in shape to create lips around the eyelids, so the wearer can "eat" with her eyes.

Above: The finished effect is a bit strange, but these lippy eyes are still pretty funny. [source]

The View from the Little Mermaid's Bedroom
The make-up artist has used a base of blue body paint for this under-the-sea scene. Gold paint has been used to highlight the fronds of seaweed. To complete the painting, the artist has extended the gold paint onto the eyelashes of the model, giving her lashes black and gold stripes.

Above: Another eyelid painting by Katie Alves. These fun designs are great ideas for dress up parties and music festivals.

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Banksy Tattoos Combine Graffiti with Body Art

Banksy is a British artist who is infamous for his striking graffiti artworks. His graffiti often has a deeper meaning, expressing Banksy's socio-political views in a powerfully public medium; street art. Banksy graffiti has become so popular that it is now a popular subject in tattoo designs.

Banksy's Girl with Butterflies Tattoo
One of Banksy's most popular graffiti art works is the image of a young girl in a dress holding a gun to her head. A swarm of butterflies is scattered across the design as though they have exploded from the girl's head. Banksy uses stencils to create his street art, which gives his images clarity and a strong silhouette. These design aspects translate well into tattoo designs; giving the tattoo an instant appeal.

Above: The red butterflies stand in stark contrast to the solid black areas used to create the girl. Like all of Banksy's graffiti designs, the girl blowing butterflies combines aspects of human nature such as hope, violence, beauty and death. [source]

Banksy's Girl with a Heart Balloon

Banksy often carries a theme through a series of images, expressing the same idea in a number of ways. Like Banksy's girl with butterflies graffiti piece, his girl with a heart balloon design incorporates aspects of humanity such as innocence, hope and loss.

Above: Another of Banksy's graffiti art works that uses black and red as the color scheme. The simplicity of the design and the innocent nature of the subject make Banksy's girl with a heart balloon a popular graffiti tattoo design choice. [source]

Banksy's Man throwing Flowers Tattoo

This Banksy graffiti piece of a man throwing flowers has become an internationally renowned art work. The stencilled graffiti shows a man with a scarf covering his mouth, poised to throw a bunch of flowers. Exposure to news networks means that the brain expects a man in this pose to be holding an object of violence such as a petrol bomb. Instead, Banksy has chosen to have the man throw a bunch of flowers - an object that is generally associated with peace and beauty.

Above: Banksy's powerful graffiti art work makes an equally powerful statement when tattooed onto skin. The large area of solid black ink adds drama to the graffiti tattoo while balancing out the detailed delicacy of the flowers. [source]

Tattoo of Banksy's Rat Painting a Heart

Rats are a recurring theme in Banksy's graffiti art. While most people view rats with disgust, Banksy has chosen to humanize rats by giving them human characteristics. In his popular graffiti piece of a rat painting a heart, Banksy has personified the rat by putting it in a human situation (showing it wielding a paintbrush), and insinuating that the rat has human emotions such as hope and yearning (expressed by the use of a heart as the subject matter of the rat's painting).

Above: The dark area on top of the rat's head is reminiscent of a beret, a hat that has often been worn by French bohemian artists. Whether this was intentional or not, the effect remains the same; adding yet more humanity to a creature that is often reviled by humans. [source]

Graffiti Tattoo of Banksy's Jesus Christ Christmas Shopping

Banksy's graffiti art works often comment on social, political or religious issues. By portraying Jesus Christ in the crucifixion pose holding shopping bags filled with Christmas presents, Banksy has highlighted the disassociation between religion and religious practices.

Above: Banksy's designs often seem both well thought out and spontaneous in their construction. In his graffiti art work of Jesus Christ Christmas shopping, the degradation of religion through materialism is expressed in the way that the design appears to be melting. This may have been a spontaneous addition to the design to drive the message home. [source]

With their strong lines and powerful meanings, Banksy's graffiti art works translate easily into tattoos designs. Banksy has done more than any other modern artist to inspire curiosity and criticism in the younger generation, and is the first graffiti artist to have won such international acclaim.

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Mayhem and Muse: Artistic Inspiration and Funny Videos

tuan duwek is proud to present Mayhem and Muse, Art-Sci's sister site. Mayhem and Muse offers popular internet media as well as the work of lesser-known artists, performers and creators.

Be Inspired with Mayhem and Muse
Mayhem and Muse offers a wide variety of inspirational posts; videos based on human talent, courage and achievement, and art, illustration and paintings that showcase the work of both famous and emerging artists. On the site, artists and designers can find inspiration for creative projects, and for those who simply need a pick-me-up, Mayhem and Muse offers a humor section that is bound to cheer you up.

Above: The unusual art style of Philip Bosmans, a graffiti artist who has turned to the more traditional style of fine art painting. Visit Mayhem and Muse or more interesting painting styles.

Above: The Exquisite Tattoo Designs of Alex De Pase. De Pase's body art portfolio is made up of amazing tattoo art works that combine fantasy and photorealism.

Watch Videos on Mayhem and Muse

Mayhem and Muse allows internet users to watch videos on the front page. Each video is chosen for the purpose of inspiring, entertaining or simply conveying a different perspective on life. Watch Gene Kelly Tap Dancing on Roller Skates, Extreme Ironing, for Domestic Daredevils and The Evolution of Dance.

 

Above: Walk Off the Earth's cover of Gotye's Somebody that I Used to Know.

Connect with Mayhem and Muse

Mayhem and Muse is updated daily. To receive links to new posts on Mayhem and Muse, you can follow us online, on facebook, twitter and via rss feed.

Paintings of Tattoos Reveal Life beneath the Art

Shawn Barber is a tattoo artist at Memoir Tattoos in Los Angeles, California. This American artist has taken the world of body art to a new level, documenting contemporary tattoo culture in his tattoo portraits.

Combining Fine Art and Tattoo Designs
Barber's work is a combination of styles and ideas. He incorporates realistic proportions and colors to convey the humanity of his subject, while creating a feeling of contrast by finishing the painting with loose, flowing brushstrokes and dripping paint. The art of Shawn Barber is a visually delightful mix of control and freedom, detailed realism and expressive abstraction.

Above: By using flesh tones for both the human subject and background of this painting, Barber creates a solid base for the colorful tattoo designs on the body. The artist has used tight lines to create the tattoo designs, and loose, abstract applications of color for non-essential areas such as the background. [source]

Above: This tattoo portrait parodies the famous Asian image of a figure with a thousand arms. The artist has used the lines of the arms to draw the viewer's attention to the tattoo on the woman's back; the centerpiece of this painting. [source]

Above: The dramatic contrast between light and dark areas adds mood to this painting of a tattooed arm. The hand is posed in an expressive manner, adding to the drama of the tattoo portrait. In keeping with his style, Barber has created intricate detail in the focal points of the painting; the tattoo designs and the features of the hand. [source]

Above: A mosaic of tattooed arms. The flesh of the hands stands out against the busy, colorful canvas of tattooed skin. The visual illusion of this painting is created with the semi-interlocking, semi-converging arms. The body parts are not quite separate, and not quite merged. [source]

A Convergence of Study and Experience
The impact of Barber's art studies is apparent in his work, which expresses a combination of several modern art styles. The influence of abstract art, futurism and surrealism are apparent in his tattoo portraits, and evidence of years of art training can be seen in his beautiful portrayal of the human body. His painting has influenced his tattoos just as much as his tattoo designs have influenced his paintings.

Above: Barber's tattoo paintings often include unfinished tattoo artworks. On the left wrist of the subject in this painting we can see the outlines of an incomplete tattoo. The contrast between colorful tattoos and tattoo outlines adds an extra element of interest to the painting. [source]

Above: A tattoo portrait that shows not only the body art of the subject, but his face, which reveals more about his personality and attitude towards life than even his chosen tattoos can. [source]

Above: A distinct example of the contrast between the clear, controlled brushstrokes and loose paintwork that Barber uses to create his distinct style. [source]

 

Above: The viewer is given a sense of animation, as if the model is swinging her legs while posing for the portrait. During the early 20th century, a movement of artists who called themselves the futurists began to paint images of people in various stages of animation. The effect was of a person with many arms and legs, similar to the painting above. [source]

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Incredible Tattoo Designs

The art of tattoos has become increasingly popular over the last two decades, with about 36% of 18-25 year olds sporting at least one tattoo. While many tattoo artists simply use designs from books and portfolios, some tattoo artists go above and beyond, creating distinctive artistic styles that result in incredible tattoo designs.

Amazing Tattoo Designs

The difference between a mediocre tattoo and an incredible tattoo is in the quality of the design and the level of the tattoo artist's skill. Great tattoos have clear lines, smooth shading and correct proportions. When these three design elements are in balance, the result is a pleasing piece of body art. The best tattoo designs don't necessarily need to be photo realistic or filled with color; even a linear tattoo design in black ink can be pleasing to the eye. The composition of the design, the position of the tattoo on the body and the balance of the design elements all contribute to whether a tattoo is a work of art or not.

Above: An incredible photo realistic tattoo of a woman's eye. Italian tattoo artist Alex De Pase uses beautiful shading techniques to achieve the effect of photo realism, and has included flower petals to give the finished tattoo design a surrealist effect. The pink shades of the flower petals can be seen in the pink of the woman's eye shadow. This creates a feeling of balance in the design. [source]

Above: This tattoo artist has inked an owl into the skin in such a way that it looks like an oil painting. The effect is tricky to achieve, as the brushstrokes in the tattoo design have to be created with the vibrating needle of the tattoo gun. The result is a dramatic art work inked into the skin. [source]

Above: This tribal tattoo design uses symmetry and clear outlines to create balance. The design is based on birds' wings and works with the shape of the woman's arms and wrists. Even though the tattoo design is fairly simple, the clear, smooth outlines, near-perfect shading and symmetry make this an amazing tattoo design. [source]

Above: A cute cartoon tattoo by Jesse Smith that uses clear outlines and contrasting colors to create depth and visual interest. The tattoo artist edited the design to make it appear that the worm to the left of the image is about to eat the guy's nipple. [source] See a funny Photoshop caricature of tattoo artist Jesse Smith.

Tattoo Art as a Symbol of Freedom

Tattoo art has limitations that are not found in many other art forms. The smaller the design, the less detail there can be in the tattoo design, because over time, the ink will spread under the skin, slowly turning the art work into a mess of color. Tattoo designs can be distorted by the shape of a body part, and the movement of the human canvas. So even though tattoos have become a symbol of personal freedom and choice, the art form itself is fairly limited.

Above: A tattoo of this size is incredibly difficult to create, especially on an area made of cartilage, like the ear. The skull tattoo in this woman's ear is an exceptional art work because of the amount of detail achieved at this size. The artist has used white tattoo ink to highlight parts of the skull. [source]

Above: This full back tattoo of the Indian God Ganesh is colorful and attractive. The tattoo design incorporates the busy, almost animated nature of Indian art works while still keeping the subject of the design recognizable. [source]

Above: Another truly amazing tattoo design by Alex de Pase. The tattoo artist has combined photo realism with paisley and other decorative elements, finishing off the art work with splashes of color that are reminiscent of a watercolor painting. This portrait tattoo is reminscent of the sugar skull designs used in Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican celebration known in English as Day of the Dead. [source]

  

Above: This incredible tattoo design uses the shape of the hand in the design, especially in the knuckle area. The effect is a sci-fi styled art work with a fantasy flavor. [source]

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Cute Cartoon Tattoos

Cartoon tattoo designs are often based on popular comic or cartoon characters. These characters are fairly common as tattoo designs, so for a more unique, personalized tattoo design, customers will sometimes ask the tattoo artist for an original cartoon tattoo.

Toon Tats
Most cartoon tattoos have clear outlines and solid areas of color. These kinds of designs are easier to ink into the skin than designs with intricate detail or shading. This means the resulting body art is often of a high quality. Most cartoon tattoo designs use one character, with little or nothing in the background. This gives the image a clearly defined silhouette.

Above: A cute baby bat cartoon tattoo, for a humorous gothic effect. The clear outlines and crisp edges makes the tattoo really stand out.

Above: A cartoon bird design with a graffiti tattoo influence. By using a few subtle highlights and shadows, the tattoo artist has given an otherwise flat tattoo depth and interest.

Above: A cute cartoon character with the typical cartoon design elements of big, shiny eyes and a cute little smile.

Above: A cartoon cat tattoo design. The tattoo artist has highlighted parts of the cartoon kitty to give this design more definition.

Cartoon Tattoo Designs

Cartoon tattoos are often colorful and interesting to look at. Unlike many tattoo designs, cartoon tats have no distinct meaning or symbolism, other than that the wearer of the tattoo liked the cartoon character.

Above: These cute characters have been influenced by cartoons, but the style is 3D, using careful shading to smooth out the characters. See Kelly Doty's best tattoo designs.

Above: This geeky gecko tattoo makes a humorous body art piece. The tattoo artist has added shadows to create the illusion that the gecko is perched on top of the skin.

Above: Big eyes and a large head are two popular character design techniques that cartoon artists use. The tattoo artist has uses soft shading in flesh tones to mimic human skin, a tricky effect to achieve on skin of a similar color.

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