Need ideas!

[Nagaek]

Got this done probably 3-4 months ago at this point. Base design is fine, i’m just completely stuck on what i would like too do background wise or any small changes i could make too make it feel more detailed. Also, i was planning on keeping it too black and gray, but any ideas are appreciated!

Edited September 6, 2021 by Nagaek

[warrug25]

DISCLAIMER: what I'm going to tell you is my humble opinion, and I will try to tell it the kindest way possible. Please don't get upset and remember that it's just an opinion, I apologize in advance if any part of it sounds offensive to you.

 

I would add nothing to this tattoo, because I think its design is already messy: many of what I assume should be feathers look a bit like random colour stains, the association of all that stuff (the guy on the pylon + the birds + the feathers + the eye-like thing + the five encircled symbols) makes it difficult for the eye to "capture" the whole tattoo, there is really a considerable amount of different-sized and different-shaped birds (probably that makes sense for the depicted character - which I assume it's taken from an anime or some sort of movie or comic book - and it's not necessarily bad for the equilibrium of the tattoo, but those birds are everywhere)...

Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying yours is a bad tattoo... but in my opinion it is already very "complicated" to look at, and so adding a background or some more details would probably result in a literal mess. I think I would leave it as it is.

[SStu]

yeah, that's a very specific art style. If the style belonged to the tattooist then I'd talk with him/her about how to elaborate on it. If you brought the artwork to the tattooist then I'm not sure how you would proceed. 

[Nagaek]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:16 AM, warrug25 said:

DISCLAIMER: what I'm going to tell you is my humble opinion, and I will try to tell it the kindest way possible. Please don't get upset and remember that it's just an opinion, I apologize in advance if any part of it sounds offensive to you.

 

I would add nothing to this tattoo, because I think its design is already messy: many of what I assume should be feathers look a bit like random colour stains, the association of all that stuff (the guy on the pylon + the birds + the feathers + the eye-like thing + the five encircled symbols) makes it difficult for the eye to "capture" the whole tattoo, there is really a considerable amount of different-sized and different-shaped birds (probably that makes sense for the depicted character - which I assume it's taken from an anime or some sort of movie or comic book - and it's not necessarily bad for the equilibrium of the tattoo, but those birds are everywhere)...

Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying yours is a bad tattoo... but in my opinion it is already very "complicated" to look at, and so adding a background or some more details would probably result in a literal mess. I think I would leave it as it is.

Appreciate it. Honestly that’s also a big reason i decided too post something. I wasn’t sure if adding something would make it too much too look at because i know it already kind of is. I was having some ideas of covering the birds below the character on the pylon with some clouds that are from the anime, also black too maybe eliminate some of the bird clutter. Ideas? Or would you think it would add more clutter than the birds themselves. Also was possibly thinking of just lasering some and doing a full sleeve cover.. 

[warrug25]

Honestly I don't know what to tell you: covering the birds with clouds would just add more "colour stains" to the design (you know, realistic clouds are pretty much randomly shaped), probably attaining the exact opposite of what you were looking for. As for the "laser-and-cover" approach, again I don't know what to say: if you got this tattoo I assume it meant something to you, and as such I fear that "wiping away" a part of it would leave you with something incomplete and unsatisfactory.

 

If I can be straightforward, I think that the first point you must figure out is not what to do with your tattoo: it is what you think about your tattoo. I would suggest you take a moment to sit down and focus on how you feel about the tattoo: is there something, some symbol or meaning or whatever, that you would've wanted but is lacking? What is the "force" that is making you think about changing something in the design?

I'm not a tattoo expert which has been carrying around tens of designs on his body for years, so I don't think I'm in the position to lecture you about anything related to the "living with tattoos" stuff... my suggestion is purely general: if there is something that unsettles you, to be able to efficaciously work on it the first thing you have to do is to identify it and understand where it comes from (which is, by the way, a part of what is often done during psychotherapy... and if it works for mentally ill people trying to figure out very difficult feelings and behaviours, then it will surely work for you trying to understand how you feel about the tattoo 😉).

Edited September 7, 2021 by warrug25