"Rules" on direction animals should face

[PinkUnicorn]

My understanding (based on watching "Ink Masters"!) is that traditionally

animals are supposed to face toward the center of the body.

If that's true, how seriously do people take this "rule".

For my crow tattoo I'm planning for upper chest/shoulder, it

seems aesthetically best to have the beak on the shoulder, so

face away from center of body. I wonder whether the traditional

view would be that this would be a faux pas?

(Not that I take my shirt off that much in public anyway!)

[Guero]

I haven't watched Inkmasters before, so I have no idea who people who made that rule or "tradition" up, but I would just find a good solid tattoo artist, someone who is recommended by the fine people of this forum, and let them do it they way they desire. Do you have an artist yet?

[Patrick Bateman]

I would say just get a great artist you trust. She/he will guide you in the right direction.

[keepcalm]

I have an elephant and a lion (and a lady head) all facing in toward my body. Originally I wanted the elephant facing out because of where I was getting it, but my artist convinced me to go the other way instead. I think the elephant specifically would have been fine either way, but now that I have more animals / things with faces on my body, I can say I'm glad they're all facing the same way. It feels right, ha.

It's your decision in the end! Talk to your artist and get their opinion, but don't be bullied if you feel strongly about it.

[bongsau]

You could call it a rule, or you could call it a design principle - so the tattoo flow looks right. If the head faces backwards, the tattoo will always be in conflict with the wearer, moving opposite to the body.

Rules are meant to be broken! But if you are breaking more rules (or principles) than you are following you lose a lot of the focus on the piece. That being said, I have a tattoo where the head of a dive bombing eagle faces backwards, but the momentum and body of the eagle fits with the flow of the body with the placement. I think it works in the context of my surrounding tattoo works and also on its own.)

To the OP, if you put the beak on the shoulder, the body of the crow will remain static and the beak may twist awkwardly with the arm. It may look distorted if the design and placement isn't correct. But if you find a legit artist, they can tell what they can make work and (hopefully) will make your crow design look like it was always meant to be there on your body. The tattoo becomes part of you.

Tattoos need to look good on their own, but more importantly tattoos (and placement) need to look good on the wearer, to flow with the body and move through life.

----

ps...and trust me, after you get a bunch of rad tattoos on your chest/back/torso, you'll be going shirtless more often than you'll care to admit! haha

[PinkUnicorn]

To the OP, if you put the beak on the shoulder, the body of the crow will remain static and the beak may twist awkwardly with the arm. It may look distorted if the design and placement isn't correct.

I've been experimenting with a temporary "tattoo" - it actually looks OK with the head moving. More natural than if the head stayed still and the body moved I think.

But my temp. "tattoo" experiments will continue.

and trust me, after you get a bunch of rad tattoos on your chest/back/torso, you'll be going shirtless more often than you'll care to admit!

Except I have a kinda weird-looking chest!

[Tornado6]

I'm messing around with a bird under the collarbone right now. I've got to keep my décolletage clear for work, and I have some sun damage/wear and tear on that skin anyway. Right now, the bird is facing out, but it's head is turned in. The slope of the back and the tail points down towards cleavage.

It is funny how bendy that part of the body is. Mock something up and move around in front of a mirror!

[Colored Guy]

Its all about the flow. The dragon head on my chest faces in, the bird on my upper arm faces in. They would look awkward otherwise.

[Smartiestattoo]

I would say it's dependent on the context, positioning and flow of the design rather than some "rules". The whole point of tattoos and body modifications if that you create something special and unique to you, not following a tradition.

Get your artist to place the transfer both ways and see which one you prefer on gut feeling.

[Smartiestattoo]

Pardon?

[Diana90]

To be honest, there is no right or wrong way really. It's what you want that ultimately makes the choice. You also have to factor in the position on the body. I mean I have a paw...not exactly an animal but its on my wrist and its facing me.

[HettyKet]

Well, there is a right and a wrong, there are also rules.

Sure, rules are made to be broken but doing that without properly understanding the whys and wherefores (or taking advice from someone does) is likely to make one look like a bit of a prat, often.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't know the rules, the rights, the wrongs, the whys or the wherefores. None of them. So, yeah, I do as I'm told.

[PinkUnicorn]

Yes ultimately it is your decision, but most tattooers will tell you whether something is upside down or facing the wrong direction.

I can see a very good reason for not having an upside-down tattoo.

But to me, the facing in/facing out doesn't seem like quite the same thing - is it??

[hogg]

A friend of mine told me a story about an old-timer in DC (I believe). If you went to him for your first tattoo, he would only tattoo a Hot Stuff facing the wrong way.

The story is possibly apocryphal, but that doesn't make me love it any less.

[hogg]

When you say old timer, do you mean when they used acetate stencils?

Ah! That would make more sense, as far as the "facing backward" part goes. Except that, if you have no tattoos, he could always put the stencil on the other arm. I'll try to find out who it was.

[tatB]

my girl head faces forward and my fudo faces backwards. the fudo stencil was originally placed looking forward but the tattooer felt that it didn't look "right" with the heads neatly stacked and facing the same direction.

moral of the story is get tattooed by todd noble and eddy deutsche

[Colored Guy]

If you have ever seen "An Officer and a Gentleman", look at the fake eagle tattoo on Gere's upper arm. They slapped it on facing backwards, definitely an example where the critter is facing the wrong way.

[Tornado6]

I'm going to try to put a bird on it tomorrow, if I can get a walk in. I'm wide open on placement (I can't decide where I want it). I'll let you know how we place it :)

[Tornado6]

It faces forward.

Today I will be as happy as a bird with a French fry. Just a silly little picture to make me smile.

[SeeSea]

@Tornado6 - cute!