Hey there! new to the forum and looking for some design imagery advice!

[Pete820]

Hey all, my name is Pete and I came here for advice because I heard this was a good source!

I'm looking to get a piece on my left shoulder/bicep that will eventually be the start of a sleeve, anywhere from 6"-8" in height, but I'm having some issues deciding on the imagery. So far I have the wording, "The faithful and blind" above, and "The wretched and divine" below. Basically signifying that just because you're 'faithful' it doesn't mean that you're righteous, and just because you're flawed and broken it doesn't mean that you can't be redeemed. Obviously there is stuff behind that, but that's for another time. I'm having a very difficult time thinking of the art that should go with this. I'm a decent artist myself, not spectacular but I get by, and I'd really like to at least have my idea drawn out before I take it to an artist and let them move forward with it.

I can't for the life of me think of images that would represent that and still be stylish. My original concept was going to be a devil mask being pulled off of the face of an innocent looking girl, but after toying with it over and over I just couldn't make it feel right. I'm at a standstill here guys! Give me some insight!

[DJDeepFried]

Look at lots of tattoos. Find an artist you like. Make an appointment. See if the two of you can brainstorm some good Imagery. Don't stay married to all those words (unless you can get some nice lettering inside a banner). Oh and if you're gonna get a sleeve, get a sleeve.

[Graeme]

Welcome Pete. In my opinion, you're going about it backwards and the first thing you should be thinking about is imagery, instead of trying to bend imagery to fit a meaning. You said that you're a decent artist, so think about how you engage with art: if you're anything like me, when you go to a gallery or a museum to look at art, there's an initial first impression, a gut reaction to what you're seeing. Then you might spend a bit longer with that work and look at composition, technique, and so on and so forth. The artist's intentions come somewhere after that. Maybe it's just my personal bias here, because I don't have a lot of patience for conceptual art, but if a piece of art can't stand on its own without knowing what the artist wants me to take from the piece, it's garbage art and I don't have time for it. The same goes for tattoos. Meaning is fine in tattoos--tattoos are also fine if they don't have any specific meaning attached to them--but don't make the tattoo subservient to the meaning. You'll end up with a bad tattoo that way. I also agree with @DJDeepFried about sleeves: if you want a sleeve, get a sleeve, don't start with something small with the plan to work it into something larger.

[rufio]

Hey all, my name is Pete and I came here for advice because I heard this was a good source!

and just because you're flawed and broken it doesn't mean that you can't be redeemed.

Only thing that comes to my mind is a broken diamond being fixed. I've no idea how this will go with the sentences but maybe it will give you some ideas.

[Pete820]

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it!