Book tattoo

[donbcivil]

OK, so I'm a huge book geek. My wife is a book geek and works in the library system. Books are

one of the things I love most in the world.

I have one bookish tattoo, the word "timshel" from East of Eden. But I was thinking today about

another idea: having an open book and inside it either the whole world or the universe and a lot of

stars (maybe Saturn).

Wonder how workable that would be as a tattoo?

[Graeme]

I have a tattoo that is probably fairly similar to what you're thinking of:

This is Seth Wood's interpretation of the Necronomicon and it goes from my shoulder to about an inch or so above my elbow. He initially did it without the illustrations in the book, but when I was at the shop at a later date he saw it and said that it needed that little bit extra so we booked that and he put those in. I wanted the 20-sided die, the other things were his idea and freehanded in. I am especially stoked on the tiny little Baphomet. It could be covered by a quarter, total fine line madness there. Because they're so detailed, I'm not sure how well the book illustrations will age, but they're a little bonus and even when they fade and blur together they aren't going to greatly change the integrity of the tattoo.

So yeah, it can be totally workable though I think you'd need to find the right artist to be able to pull it off properly.

[Pleadco]

I have a tattoo that is probably fairly similar to what you're thinking of:

This is Seth Wood's interpretation of the Necronomicon and it goes from my shoulder to about an inch or so above my elbow. He initially did it without the illustrations in the book, but when I was at the shop at a later date he saw it and said that it needed that little bit extra so we booked that and he put those in. I wanted the 20-sided die, the other things were his idea and freehanded in. I am especially stoked on the tiny little Baphomet. It could be covered by a quarter, total fine line madness there. Because they're so detailed, I'm not sure how well the book illustrations will age, but they're a little bonus and even when they fade and blur together they aren't going to greatly change the integrity of the tattoo.

So yeah, it can be totally workable though I think you'd need to find the right artist to be able to pull it off properly.

He rolled a natural 20 when he made that tattoo.

[Killercook76]

how about an owl standing on a stack of books??

[donbcivil]

Wow, that is AWESOME!

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how about an owl standing on a stack of books??

I like that idea too.

[Killercook76]

usually going with a more simple design is better...

[Delicious]

maybe instead of an actual book, maybe a book inspired tattoo? I have a flapper/gatsby inspired tattoo, and really have considered getting a frankenstein tattoo. I love books as well. Too bad the game of thrones show came out, i'd totally get a wolf with the words "winter is coming". it's like one of those lines you read and it strikes a deep chord. same with the sentence, "beneath his house in r'yleah, cthulu lies dreaming". Idk who to explain such a visceral reaction to a line in a book

[Johannes]

ctulhu f'htagn!

i have that tattooed on me. books is the shit.

[donbcivil]

maybe instead of an actual book, maybe a book inspired tattoo? I have a flapper/gatsby inspired tattoo, and really have considered getting a frankenstein tattoo. I love books as well. Too bad the game of thrones show came out, i'd totally get a wolf with the words "winter is coming". it's like one of those lines you read and it strikes a deep chord. same with the sentence, "beneath his house in r'yleah, cthulu lies dreaming". Idk who to explain such a visceral reaction to a line in a book

Not sure which book(s), though.

Thinking I might someday get the W.A.S.T.E. horn from The Crying of Lot 49.

Maybe something by Ray Bradbury.

Gully Foyle's tattooed tiger face from The Stars My Destination could be good...

[Pleadco]

@ johannes- Something dark with Lovecraft would be fun.

Michael Moorcock's Elric blowing the horn at the end of the world would be interesting...until the tattoo aged and it ends up looking like David Bowie playing a saxophone. Cheesy fantasy tattoo, whoo!

I feel like Gaiman's stuff would lend itself well to tattooing. The flying ships in stardust (catching lightning), or playing with the pantheon in American gods.

You wouldn't have enough room for an accurate Stephen King book.

Traditional with moby dick.

Darn it! I can't wait to get my next tattoo!

[SStu]

Not so much a book as an (yet unfinished) Author tattoo . . .

Jeff Ensminger

[blujax01]

A phoenix rising from a stack of burning books maybe? This vintage poster from Farenheit 451 comes to mind.

With all the NSA snooping and the POTUS rewriting history, it's a natural.:cool:

[hogg]

There's also the classic scholarly skull design:

That one was painted by Chris Hold, but it's after a Bert Grimm design.

[David Flores]

There are like a million versions of this design floating around. Some without the cap maybe a candle behind the book, or oil lamp.

UPDATE

Funny didn't read through whole thread, just posted this. Great minds think alike i guess.

[suburbanxcore]

I actually have a somewhat similar idea, but with a different take. It's an unfinished book (little ribbon bookmark in) with a lock on it (representing a song with the line, "there're chapters in this book that I haven't even read yet"), with a sugar skull on top of it.

[Beth]

I also love reading, and wanted more then a tattoo inspired by a book, which I already have. My idea was from the movie Page Master with Macaulay Culkin and Christopher Lloyd. The 3 books that help him through the movie. They're like personifications of their stories. In the right hands it could look as bad ass / dark / inspiring / happy as you want it.

[gougetheeyes]

Oh, I can add to this, literary tattoos, woo! From nearly three years ago by the up-and-coming superstar Jon Poverty. Did this wolf head with the words whittled down from an excerpt from The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy.

”He said that the wolf is a being of great order and that it knows what men do not: that there is no order in the world save that which death has put there.”

[Pleadco]

Oh, I can add to this, literary tattoos, woo! From nearly three years ago by the up-and-coming superstar Jon Poverty. Did this wolf head with the words whittled down from an excerpt from The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy.

”He said that the wolf is a being of great order and that it knows what men do not: that there is no order in the world save that which death has put there.”

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Love the eyes!

[irezumi]

One of my favorite book-related flash designs

[cltattooing]

One of my favorite book-related flash designs

would I be a total jerk for pointing out the irony in this design?

[chrisnoluck]

how about an owl standing on a stack of books??

i've got a candle-headed pigeon standing on a book on my shin. it could work.

[irezumi]

It's actually the irony that is ironic. Chew on that for a sec.

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would I be a total jerk for pointing out the irony in this design?

It's the actually irony that's ironic. Meta.

[cltattooing]

It's actually the irony that is ironic. Chew on that for a sec.

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It's the actually irony that's ironic. Meta.

I like that. Like a lot. >:]

[CultExciter]

This one was given to me.

[Graeme]

Every time I see the scholarly skull design I think that I need it, even though I basically have one. I need another.