Tattoo Placement

Have you ever seen a good tattoo, but it looked slightly off to you? For example, a muscular person with a small shoulder tattoo, or a tattoo on the arm that seemed to be floating out of place.

Tattoo placement is very important and often overlooked. There are a number of visual rules that determine where a tattoo looks best on a person’s body.

In order to select the best placement and size for your particular tattoo, the body as a whole needs to be analyzed, including current tattoos, height, weight, proportion of body parts, and overall body shape. Some tattoos only look good in certain places and if you're not careful, tattoo artists who aren't educated and don’t have enough experience will go with your suggestion to put your tattoo in a place that won’t look ideal. 

When we consider the placement of a tattoo, we think about how the tattoo functions on the entire body.

There are two functions of a tattoo on a body. The first is the meaning behind the tattoo, which is essentially what is the meaning behind the tattoo and why you want it. The second is the decorative function of the tattoo. This is how the tattoo looks visually on a human body. Unless you've studied human anatomy and understand how art should be applied to the body, you might have some incorrect assumptions about tattoo placement. 

The specific tattoo must match the body as a whole. For example, if a shorter person wants a tattoo, the tattoo artist should not put something that will make that person look shorter... Instead, the artist should suggest a tattoo and placement that will fit the body shape better and enhance the looks.

We've had clients who request a tattoo on the upper outer arm, but also want the tattoo small enough to be covered by a short sleeve. In almost every case, this is a poor size and placement for a tattoo. The muscles and bone structure in this area do not allow this tattoo placement to look as good as it could. The upper outer arm is not only a big piece of the area but it can be seen from the front, side, and back of a person. Small tattoos in this area visually appear to have awkward proportions from several angles. 

In this area, the better approach is designing a bigger tattoo from the shoulder to the elbow which can't be hidden behind a short sleeve.

Below the upper outer arm is the bicep which is a large piece of muscle. The tattoo should begin where the muscle starts and where it ends. The tattoo should not stop in the middle of the muscle. 

When we think about thigh tattoos, the tattoo can't be small and must be placed over the thigh muscle which is quite large. Just like upper arm tattoos, small tattoos here don't match the body shape. 

For smaller tattoos, the wrists, fingers, or ankles are a much better placement, although those areas typically don't heal as well. 

In some cases, in-person freehand work will be needed to match the body shape, even when the design and placement have already been decided. Freehand means that the artist draws the outline of the body instead of using stencil paper. This technique helps ensure that the tattoo fits with the natural shape and flow of the body. 

We had a client request tricolor hoya carnosa leaves on his arm in Chinese Painting Style. The design was prepared before the session, but it was only used as a reference during the tattoo session. When the client came in for the tattoo, a sketch was done directly on the arm to shape and wrap around the body tightly according to the body shape. This makes the tattoo look amazing from every angle.