Literary tattos: Shakespeare partial sleeve, plus

[donbcivil]

I kind of have a thing for literary tattoos...have one with just the word "timshel" from East of Eden and there are others that I think about.

The one that I'm seriously considering now is getting one or two largish pieces commemorating Shakespeare's work. Always enjoyed Shakespeare, ever since university. Anyway, I've been thinking about getting one or two largish Shakespeare-themed tattoos for a while and wanted to solicit feedback about whether these ideas could look cool...or need a lot more thought. Here's what I'm thinking...

On my left upper arm. potentially all of it in a partial sleeve:

Using as much space as needed two larger figures (Hamlet and Hal), on top in the attached image. The flag with three big cats' heads, if it fits, could add a little bit to the Hal portrait.

The two smaller heads, Falstaff and Lady Macbeth, to illustrate the comedy and tragedy in Shakespeare's work

The point with this is a homage to the Bard's extreme skill at creating lifelike characters that resonate powerfully, 400 years after being written. I see these ins some sort of montage with some sort of background. Maybe some sort of vines?

On my left upper back:

Wondering what you think of this idea, which may sound kind of off the wall but sounds pretty cool to me:

the Tempest is a play with lead character Prospero, a banished former governor who has developed powers including control of the weather. One version swapped genders and had the gorgeous actress Helen Mirren as Prospera.

OK, so I'm also a huge fan of the short-lived Firefly TV show and Joss Whedon named two worlds after characters in the Tempest.

What I was thinking is having a moderate sized piece on my upper back, with Prospera summoning a storm and the Firefly ship flying across the sky.

I would appreciate any and all feedback about these ideas. Thank you! :)

[misterJ]

If it is something you are passionate about then I guess that's the answer. At least you didn't say I love Shakespeare what should I get from his works?

My only suggestion is that it all seems a bit dense for the space allotted. An artist would be able to speak more to this than myself.

Maybe prospera could wear that orange and red wool hat lol

[idyllsend]

I agree with @misterJ. I dig the first idea, but I think it'd work better as a full sleeve.

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[donbcivil]

FINALLY got around to starting this project last weekend on April 23..when the whole Shakespeare geek world was celebrating 400 years of his work.

Done by Sasha King, owner of Dark Horse Tattoo in Seattle.

[Quotidianlight]

  On 4/30/2016 at 3:09 PM, donbcivil said:

FINALLY got around to starting this project last weekend on April 23..when the whole Shakespeare geek world was celebrating 400 years of his work.

Done by Sasha King, owner of Dark Horse Tattoo in Seattle.

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Oh, I love it! I'm planning a literary theme for my upper arm but wow... that portrait is awesome. I'm sticking with scenes and symbols from my favorite work since I'm a tad scared to do portraiture on my darker skin. I can't wait to see the progression.