just make sure it comes from your heart and its what u really desire....what do you enjoy looking at, match your style and personality, heritage etc etc...good luck...again tho make sure this is something u really want

I agree - hertiage and culture are good places to start as a tattoo is an expression of yourself and background.
Stay away from 'fad' tattoos 'cause they just look common and lack imagination - you may as well just get a bar code!
Not saying there's nothing wrong with modern designs - just go for something that actually express youself - be that traditional, sci-fi based, whatever; just don't get a faddish one...

I have to agree with everybody else here

Yeah I watch a lot of Japanese shows and movies and they're always making fun of westerners who get misspelt hilariously embarrassing Kanji tattoos, that they think look really cool .

I got a tattoo not too long ago, just "Everton" down my right forearm in gothic lettering. Well, the tattooist pulled out this big book with about a million fonts in it, and I said to him "which do you think looks good?" and he flipped out and started shouting and nearly gave me a heart attack.

He made a valid point though, saying something along the lines of "What good is it to you if I like a certain font? In 10 years time when you realise you don't like the font that someone else picked to go on your arm, what then?"

He got the point across, because originally I was gonna go get a load of tattoos without really giving it much thought, but then I started thinking, what about when I'm about 60 and I'm covered in undistinguishable thick blotches of tattooed skin?

The moral of the story was, don't get a tattoo unless it's something you really want for life, not just something which you want to match a phase of you're going through or something like that.

Everton? Oh dear..i'll keep my mouth shut about that, I think!

Hush the only advice i can give you on a design , is either work with your local artist and you both come up with something unique . Or good and look for somthing that really takes your fancy keep the design for a long time before you decide on the tattoo , As i get a lot of people asking me MR Ink can you cover this up or do something with it , All because they didnt put enough effort into thinking about there likes or dislikes for a design in other words they rushed the process , this might sound harsh but its true . And placement of a tattoo and make or break the tattoo even if the work technically brilliant , Any good inkslinger worth his salt will sit you down during a consaultation and discuss this with you , remember more people put more thought into what clothes they will ware on a night out than into a piece of art you will ware for life .

I agree with you Danni there to many people who think they can tattoo but not enough who can the do art ,And people need to realise there are flash tattooists and tattoo artists . Anyoe can learn to tattoo but very few can learn to be good at this craft .And there are to many people setting up that just want the money and dont give a damn about the art they put on people . I think the health aurthorites should do more with bad tattooists, i see people on a day to day basis with scars from bad tattooists and some of them you cant even atempt to help as there so badly chewed up by ink being banged in to quickly or the needles not being set at the correct depths , And machine setting are very important as your mother will tell you danni .

The same here i have 3 mikey B guns and 4 lorenzo's 6 mikey sharpz , and have duel core ultras running . I also make my own coils for my machines as i like to hand wrap coils ,you can get them pretty much to run as you want them to . The ink i use has use by dates on according EEC regs of october last year when it came into force . Unfortantly local aurthorites are somewhat lacking in enforcing the new regulations . I also ask clients to fill out consent forms with photo ID . thats a matter of course .Its strange in the States about what can be used in inks as california has the most strict regs known in or out of the states . where other states can use ink such as black that may contain mercury and traces of other heavy metals and UV inks which have been passed by the FDA , But here in europe UV are ilegal to use as they have been found to have cancer causeing properties as of october last year . My advice to any wanting a tattoo is go by word of mouth and do your research on your locals guys slinging ink ,ask them if you can look round the whole studio and ask them to watch how they set up, and what facilities they have for steralising , if your local ink slinger says no DONT USE them Be nosey ask questions . you have a right to ask and see whats going on behind the scenes , And you also have a right to complain about bad work done on you , IE your local health aurthority if more knew this then more can be done in protecting the public . End of rant lol