My Inspirations

I wanted my 'tattoo' to display what influences me most of all, and to show what kind of person I am. The background of my image is a section of my bookshelf, which sits at the bottom of my bed. I see it every day, and I feel it shows my interests (Japanese culture) and aesthetic tastes (how I like bright, childish, and rough designs, but also dark, elegant, and mature designs).

I adjusted the levels in the image to darken the background slightly so it did not overpower my hand. I chose to go for a handwritten and organic feel for my font. The font is called "Sunshine in my Soul". I decided to stick with one font as I wanted to give the image a uniform feel, and show how my inspirations are all interlinked as I like to mix and match styles.

The swirls on my arm are there to tie the text together. I wanted everything to be subtle, so I made all the images and text faint and in fairly neutral colours.

The text in my design is a collection of things that inspire me and make my days brighter. They are:

• Listening to music
• Playing the guitar
• Colour, texture, and pattern
• Photographs
• The Victorians and vintage items/antiques
• Japan
• Alice in Wonderland