Anatomy tattoos

Anatomical tattoos (or anatomy tattoos) are a relatively new trend in the tattoo fashion. They are 3d tattoos based on optical illusions, quite similar to the biomechanical tattoos. The most important difference between the two categories is the main theme of the design: various parts of the human anatomy versus mechanical and robotic components mixed with allien-like tissues that are enhanced by natural systems in the human body in the case of biomechanical tattoos.

The tattoo artist must have must have advanced knowledge of anatomy, because these tattoos mimic the contours of muscles and bones, following the human musculoskeletal system. The point of these tattoos is to appear natural or even possible, to be believable and realistic (they don't need to be actually plausible, but must appear so). Because of this, placement is an essential component of these tattoos. The tattoo must be placed over the correct joints and muscles in order to look as believable as possible. Furthermore, the tattooer must be able to blend the tattoo into the normal, un-tattooed skin. If the tattoo looks like a sticker or out of place then the entire effect is ruined, even if the actual tattoo is nicely executed. These tattoos are only successful when they appear to trick the eye, known as a trompe l'oeil in artistic terms.

The most popular themes for the anatomy tattoos are:
- the human skeleton (especially the bones of the back, the ribs, the wrists and the ankles)
- the muscles (especially the arm muscles and the leg muscles)
- various organs (the heart, the brain, etc)
- scars (like post operative scars or Frankenstein-like scars)
- the blood circulatory system

Anatomical tattoo (muscles and tendons) covering the entire arm

Anatomical tattoo depicting the muscles and the tendons of the arm

Anatomical tattoo (muscles and tendons) covering the shoulder and the arm

Anatomical tattoo covering the upper arm

3d tattoo: the skeleton of the human hand

heart tattoo

anatomical tattoo on the leg

3d anatomical tattoo on the arm

3d tattoo: a human brain

anatomical tattoo: the skeleton of the human foot

Anatomical tattoo: scar tattoo

3d tattoo creating the illusion that the skin is ripped off and the ribs are revealed

3d tattoo depicting a giant heart inside an empty body

Scar tattoo which creates the illusion that the arm was attached to the body (like in Frankenstein)

anatomical tattoo: the spine and the ribs are revealed under the ripped skin

Anatomical tattoo: the human hand's skeleton

He has hemorrhoids... and he is proud with that

I know, it's not a tattoo, but it's funny. I assume that the poor kid has absolutely no idea about the meaning of the ideogram imprinted on his sweater.

What doesn't know the lucky owner of the sweater is that the ideogram means "piles, hemorrhoids" (both in chinese and in japanese). Fortunately for him it's easier to get rid of a sweater than it is to get rid of a tattoo.

Now, I would like to give you an advice: if you want to decorate your skin (or your clothes) with ideograms (Kanji or Hanzi) you should avoid the ideograms which contain the radical depicted in the image below:

This radical means "sickness" and the kanji / hanzi composed with this radical are usually associated with diseases, sickness, illness, etc (e.g.: 疔 = ulcer, 疝 = colic, 疥 = scabby eruption, 疣 = wart, 癢 = itchy) - in short, not the kind of words that one would normally choose for a tattoo.

There are several ideograms composed with this radical which are not related to illness and diseases, (e.g.: 疾 = fast, rapidly) but there are very few and, unless you are absolutely sure about the meaning of the ideogram, it's better to avoid the Kanji / Hanzi which contain the above-mentioned radical.

Failed tatoos: Kanji mistakes - the seven virtues of the samurai

Well, this is happens when you get a kanji (or hanzi) tattoo without consulting someone who is knowledgeable and trustworthy. This is one of the worst kanji tattoos I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of silly tattoos).

First, let's take a look at the image below: the seven virtues of the samurai, written in kanji. I've choose a common type of fonts - MS Gothic.

Now let's take a look at this photo:

It's obvious that the tattoo is a completely lame.

Let's take a closer look at the ideograms tattooed on this dude's body:

The first kanji, tattooed on the neck: two strokes are missing (the strokes from the top) and the ideogram has been splitted into two parts: 王 (king, monarch) and 我 (I, me). In the image below is a standard depiction of this kanji:

The second and the third kanji seem to be well written.

The 4th kanji is missing a stroke. In the image below is a standard depiction of this kanji:

The 5th kanji is a total mess: a stroke is missing (in the upper right corner of the kanji) and the radical looks like an independent character. In the image below is a standard depiction of this kanji:

The 6th word is composed of two kanji characters (名 - distinguished / name / reputation and 誉 - glory / honor /praise / reputation). When a word is composed of two or more kanji, all the kanji must have the same size and must be written on the same line. In the image below is a standard depiction of this word:

As for the last word - Loyalty - this word can be written with one ideogram (like he did) or with two ideograms, like this: 忠義. Considering the awful drawing of the word above (honor), it was the a wise decision to choose the simpler variant :)

3D tattoos: dark-art biomechanical tattoos

When it comes to a biomechanical tattoo, the cyborg tattoos and the alien-infestations tattoos are by far the most popular choices. However, it is not necessarily the case that a biomechanical tattoo contains only robotic / cyborg components and alien-like tissues and bones. In fact, there are many other themes and elements which can be integrated in a biomechanical tattoo design: reptiles, spiders, monsters, demons, etc.

Not as widespread as the cyborg tattoos or alien-infestation tattoos, the biomechanical tattoos depicting a monster inside the body of the the tattoo's wearer is still a quite widespread choice.

Without claiming to be exhaustive, this list contains the main themes of the biomech-monsters tattoos:
- zombie infestation (zombie bites, zombie transformation, zombies eating the body from inside etc)
- the human body depicted as the monster's hiding place
- fetuses (zombie fetuses, mosnter fetuses)
- torn skin revealing a hidden monster (usually only the teeths, the claws and sometimes the eyes of the monster are visibles) eating the body from inside
- skeletons (the entire skeleton or just some parts - usually the skull and the hands) inside the body
- demons living inside the body

3d tattoo on a women's back: a monster living inside the body

3d tattoo on the shoulder: a gate to another dimension?

3d tattoo: Chucky hiding inside a person's body

biomechanical tattoo: a child (cyborg-child?) prisoner inside a human body

3d tattoo on the shoulder: a human skull

3d tattoo: a skeleton "living" inside someone's arm

3d tattoo: a demon (or dragon?) head

biomechanical tattoo: creepy teeth and eyes

a human fetus tattooed on the forearm

biomechanical tatoo: a bionic fetus

biomechanical tattoo: an unnatural fetus

3d tattoo: a horned demon destroying the host body from within.

3d tattoo: Hulk's face tattooed on the shoulder and arm

creepy tattoo: zombie bite

3d dark tattoo: a little demon (monster) living inside someone's body

Tribal heart tattoo

Hi! In this post I'll present you two of my favorites tattoos:

Tribal heart tattoo 1. Ideogram meaning: 失恋 disappointed love / broken heart / unrequited love. Japanese: kanji: 失恋; hiragana: しつれん; reading: shitsuren. Simplified chinese: Hànzì: 失恋; pinyin: shīliàn

Tribal heart tattoo 2. Ideogram meaning: 失恋 disappointed love / broken heart / unrequited love. Japanese: kanji: 失恋; hiragana: しつれん; reading: shitsuren. Simplified chinese: Hànzì: 失恋; pinyin: shīliàn

Usually when I draw a tattoo I try to integrate one or more ideograms (either japanese Kanji or chinese Hanzi) in various tribal or floral patterns. In this case, I've used some tribal-style hearts and the word 失恋 (disappointed love / unrequited love / to lose one's love / being lovelorn).
This word (失恋) has the same meaning both in chinese and in japanese (of course, the pronunciations are different: the japanese pronunciation is shitsuren and the chinese pronunciation is shīliàn - first tone and the fourth tone).

If you like these two tattoos you can find them (and many others) on my website, www.seiza.ro.