TINY TATTOOS BIG DECISIONS

I’m seeing a buttload of minimalist tattoos lately, and we’ve reached the point where people are paying good money to have artwork tatted on portions of their bodies that require reading glasses to appreciate. Tiny hearts, miniature animals, and symbols so teeny tiny that I process in my pea brain if I’m looking at a tattoo or an unidentified piece of lint that flew out of someone’s belly button as they walked by. I swear, I’ve seen that shit!

Some of the designs have a lot of thought-out attention to detail. I’ve seen a few that required a second, third, and fourth look before I could appreciate what the artist managed to squeeze into such a small area. And minimalist tattoos don’t have to be complicated, either. A few carefully placed lines can birth an entire image, seriously, and a tiny symbol might carry a personal meaning that nobody else would understand without asking. Oh, and people will ask, cause that’s what people do. Like when you’re in line at the DMV and some lonely ass person with B.O. starts talking to you about some random shit you could give two shits about. Well, I’m the dumbass that will listen to them, because I don’t want to be rude, and I dunno, I guess I’m curious about a topic they brought up. Ugh, squirrel moment……...

Back to the subject……... For clarification, minimalist and fine-line tattoos aren’t the same thing. Minimalism is about reducing the artwork to its essential elements. Fine-line tattooing is about the delicate lines used to create it. The two may overlap, but you can have a minimalist tattoo without using the thinnest needle available, and a fine-line tattoo can be crazy elaborate.

Don’t assume that a tiny tattoo is an easy gig. A crooked line on a large design might disappear in the details but draw a crooked line through a miniature heart and you’ve fucked up and redesigned the entire piece, and not for the good. Tattoo artists also have to consider how small lettering, closely spaced lines, and delicate details will look after the skin heals and the tattoo ages. That pimpity little word on your finger might not remain as readable as it looked in the pic taken a few minutes after the appointment.

Not on or in my real bucket list, but somewhere in between that and maybe I give a fuck, I’d like to be present when someone walks into a tattoo shop asking for something the size of a mosquito and get a lesson in why skin isn’t quite as cooperative as a sheet of paper. A good artist should be willing to explain when a design needs more space, even if that means disappointing a customer who arrived with a pic of something super tiny.

Inker gives collectors a place to explore tattoo artists and examine their work, and minimalist tattoos are a good reason to look at healed examples before choosing an artist. Tiny artwork deserves proper execution, especially when there aren’t many lines available to correct a mistake.

In closing, I think some of these minis should come with a complimentary magnifying glass. Just sayin!

J Gekko
Staff Writer, Inker