Norse forearm tattoo

[thyes]

Hi!

In august I'm getting inked for the first time in SEVEN years! I can't believe it's been that long since I last felt that bittersweet buzzing from the needle, but now I'm finally getting tatted up again :D

Anyway, my next piece is a norse-inspired forearm tattoo. I'm from and live in Norway, and have always been interested in and fascinated by the norse religion and way of life - and I also feel it's a cool way of paying dues to my ancestors and heritage. 

However, I'm kinda shifting between 2 or 3 different ideas,. and just FYI this will be a piece stretching all the way from my elbow to my wrist on my forearm. I initially wanted a full halfsleeve, but I'm gonna start with my forearm. 

1. A portrait of Hel and underneath the Fenrir wolf. In there I'd also like one of Odin's two ravens if possible (or maybe both of them, flying in the background?) and a rose just above my wrist. 

For those of you who don't know, Hel is the Queen of the dead in norse mythology. Her face is half beautiful, and half dead. The Fenrir wolf is a fierce beast who will be freed from his shackles when Ragnarok breaks loose and kill Odin, and also swallow the sun and the moon. 

2. Basicly the same as #1, but instead Hel is replaced by the goddess Freyja. Freyja is the wife of Odin, and is the goddess of love, beauty, war and death, among other things. 

3. The Fenrir wolf with a bit more darkness surrounding his portrait. I don't necessarily want the wolf to look intimidating, but some dark forest scenery around/under him. Moving down from there, I'm thinking one of the two ravens mentioned above, and just above my wrist the Helm of Awe (see attached picture below). This symbol was a magical spell of protection used by the vikings, and I quote: "According to a number of legends, this apotropaic (protective) symbol, when worn between the eyes, was intended to confer invincibility in the wearer or instill fear in one’s enemies. " I like it first and foremost because of the protection part, although the latter is cool too. Now, this symbol I want 'modernized' by having it look like a compass or a pocket watch of some sort. 

So what do you guys think? I feel like there's so much more that can be added to this piece.. The reason I'm so unsure about the 3 options I currently think about is because I want something that I can wear for the rest of my life and still be proud of. Right now I think the portrait of Hel sounds totally badass, but maybe when I'm 60 and my grandkids ask me wtf that half-dead chick on my arm is, it wont be that cool? I might add that I want all of this in realistic style. 

The artist I've booked an appointment with is a girl in Denmark, and she's really talented in this realistic style! Below is a link to her instagram. Fun fact, the Elvis portrait you'll see as the first pic took her only 2 hours, I'm amazed!

https://www.instagram.com/linemarielletattoo/

Any input, ideas or feedback will be greatly appreciated!

The Helm of Awe: 

Edited May 19, 2017 by thyes

[AtomicMagpye]

'ello  - 

Interesting conundrum - is "skægget i postkassen" correct for a tricky choice? Looks like great work there from that Danish tattoo lady - always difficult to comment on something that's such a personal thing.   Me - I would sleep on it and see what the old Gods present you with - 

cheers - 

AM

[Dan]

On 5/19/2017 at 1:31 PM, thyes said:

Hi!

In august I'm getting inked for the first time in SEVEN years! I can't believe it's been that long since I last felt that bittersweet buzzing from the needle, but now I'm finally getting tatted up again :D

Anyway, my next piece is a norse-inspired forearm tattoo. I'm from and live in Norway, and have always been interested in and fascinated by the norse religion and way of life - and I also feel it's a cool way of paying dues to my ancestors and heritage. 

However, I'm kinda shifting between 2 or 3 different ideas,. and just FYI this will be a piece stretching all the way from my elbow to my wrist on my forearm. I initially wanted a full halfsleeve, but I'm gonna start with my forearm. 

1. A portrait of Hel and underneath the Fenrir wolf. In there I'd also like one of Odin's two ravens if possible (or maybe both of them, flying in the background?) and a rose just above my wrist. 

For those of you who don't know, Hel is the Queen of the dead in norse mythology. Her face is half beautiful, and half dead. The Fenrir wolf is a fierce beast who will be freed from his shackles when Ragnarok breaks loose and kill Odin, and also swallow the sun and the moon. 

2. Basicly the same as #1, but instead Hel is replaced by the goddess Freyja. Freyja is the wife of Odin, and is the goddess of love, beauty, war and death, among other things. 

3. The Fenrir wolf with a bit more darkness surrounding his portrait. I don't necessarily want the wolf to look intimidating, but some dark forest scenery around/under him. Moving down from there, I'm thinking one of the two ravens mentioned above, and just above my wrist the Helm of Awe (see attached picture below). This symbol was a magical spell of protection used by the vikings, and I quote: "According to a number of legends, this apotropaic (protective) symbol, when worn between the eyes, was intended to confer invincibility in the wearer or instill fear in one’s enemies. " I like it first and foremost because of the protection part, although the latter is cool too. Now, this symbol I want 'modernized' by having it look like a compass or a pocket watch of some sort. 

So what do you guys think? I feel like there's so much more that can be added to this piece.. The reason I'm so unsure about the 3 options I currently think about is because I want something that I can wear for the rest of my life and still be proud of. Right now I think the portrait of Hel sounds totally badass, but maybe when I'm 60 and my grandkids ask me wtf that half-dead chick on my arm is, it wont be that cool? I might add that I want all of this in realistic style. 

The artist I've booked an appointment with is a girl in Denmark, and she's really talented in this realistic style! Below is a link to her instagram. Fun fact, the Elvis portrait you'll see as the first pic took her only 2 hours, I'm amazed!

https://www.instagram.com/linemarielletattoo/

Any input, ideas or feedback will be greatly appreciated!

The Helm of Awe: 

it's a cool design,and the best thing I could say about getting that tattoo is that it would have to be pretty large to even work and stay  looking good down the road.If you're going to get that,"go big or go home".So IMO get it big.

get it bigger than you think you want it when getting tattooed, has always been a good rule for me.

 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dan

[thyes]

6 hours ago, AtomicMagpye said:

'ello  - 

Interesting conundrum - is "skægget i postkassen" correct for a tricky choice? Looks like great work there from that Danish tattoo lady - always difficult to comment on something that's such a personal thing.   Me - I would sleep on it and see what the old Gods present you with - 

cheers - 

AM

@AtomicMagpye Haha! Well yeah, not exactly but close! Skjegget i postkassen is more like if you mess up something. For instance, you book a holiday and then find out 2 months later that your boss wont let you go during that time. It literally translates "beard in the mailbox" - I don't even know why, it's a wierd saying :P

@Dan: Do you mean the idea as a whole, or just this symbol I attached? Cause the most important thing for me is to get a really good looking portrait with some fillers around/underneath it. I was shifting a bit about starting clean on my right upper arm, but I'm also thinking I wanna continue on my left arm - I have a tattoo on my upper arm there already. Eventually maybe making it into a full sleeve. I also wanna get a tattoo that I can see easily (when using tshirts etc.) and actually share with others aswell. I have the one on my upper arm and one on my back, so for the time being I can easily go as an "ink virgin" even on sunny days :p

Thanks for the replies guys! Maybe it's difficult to throw ideas out when I already kinda know what I want, but I guess I'm looking for other peoples experiences with forearm tats :)

[Emil]

On 19/5/2017 at 10:31 PM, thyes said:

So what do you guys think? I feel like there's so much more that can be added to this piece.. The reason I'm so unsure about the 3 options I currently think about is because I want something that I can wear for the rest of my life and still be proud of.

 

8 hours ago, thyes said:

Cause the most important thing for me is to get a really good looking portrait with some fillers around/underneath it. I was shifting a bit about starting clean on my right upper arm, but I'm also thinking I wanna continue on my left arm - I have a tattoo on my upper arm there already. Eventually maybe making it into a full sleeve.

If I were you, I'd probably simple it down a bit. The ideas you have listed are, in my opinion, plenty for a full sleeve. So if you want to start with the forearm only, I'd probably just get a nice, big Hel/Freyja or Fenris wolf - and then some forest/sky/thunderstorms/something around it. The wolf on the forearm and a big goddess portrait on the upper arm would make a really cool full sleeve, but I think it would be too crammed with it all on a forearm.

Something like this is a pretty cool way to incorporate different motifs into one tattoo - but again, personally I would get a piece like that in a bigger spot than a forearm.

I'm not a tattooer, though - so maybe your tattooer will have a different opinion :)

Edited May 21, 2017 by Emil

[thyes]

@Emil: Yeah, maybe you're right about that. Easier to fit in details if a portrait is rather big, than to cram two portraits into a small spot I guess. 

Oh well, I guess we're gonna go through the design before she sketches it up for me - will be great fun to see what she comes up with :) I hope I won't be one of those nightmare customers who demands 3-4 reworks before I'm happy, haha 

[SStu]

You don't want to fit in all of those ideas onto just your forearm. I'd be reluctant to try and get all of that onto just a half sleeve. 

Artist seems to be capable. What kind of reference are you going to present?

[thyes]

Yeah you're probably right. I think Ill just  go with a portrait to begin  with. I like her portraits alot, and as of now that is the main priority. A rose would  look killer beside it I think, and Im a sucker for some script too.. oh fuckin hell 

Edit : about refrence Im looking at female portraits several times a day. I think ill give her a bit of artistical freedom on that one though.

Edited May 22, 2017 by thyes

[thyes]

Just got a mail from her, she's about to start working on the sketch! I can't wait to see what she comes up with :)

[thyes]

It's done! The Valkyrie is in place, and I'm totallly in love with it! I tried uploading a pic, but it wouldn't let me. If I can't figure it out I'll post one when I get home tomorrow :)

[Dan]

6 hours ago, thyes said:

It's done! The Valkyrie is in place, and I'm totallly in love with it! I tried uploading a pic, but it wouldn't let me. If I can't figure it out I'll post one when I get home tomorrow :)

if you have a laptop or desktop computer you can simply drag & drop the pic from the desktop to your post/reply here.

Edited August 10, 2017 by Dan

[thyes]

My tattoo artist sent me the pic she took, and this one I managed to upload. 

So what do you guys think of it? :) 

Edited August 11, 2017 by thyes

[jaimilyn]

Can't remember if I said this on the other thread, but your artist knocked it out of the park. Just gorgeous! Looking forward to more progress! I'm finding once I started my arm I really want it filled up now


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[thyes]

Thank you! I'm very happy with it, and I look forward to continuing it :) 

[Alicia]

That is amazing,you must be delighted with it!