Your Unique Tattoo Idea Comes To Life!

Have you ever had an idea for a new tattoo in your head? Maybe you know exactly what you want… theme, scene, colors, and maybe even text too… but don’t necessarily have the skills or artistic ability to put pen to paper and bring your own unique idea to life? That describes my dilemma exactly when I was chosen to get my tattoo the show Miami Ink. You know… that program on The Learning Channel with Chris Garver, Ami James (and formerly Kat Von D).

Not only was I nervous, but I doubted my ability to accurately describe my idea to the artist. Would he understand what I wanted? The design was, after all, going to be permanent and I wanted it to be absolutely perfect! But luck was on my side because I would be getting my new tattoo from a famous, world-renowned, experienced artist.

Words cannot describe how nervous I was when I met Ami James for the first time during the consultation. It’s hard to catch my breath even thinking about it right now. I probably stammered as I described my tattoo desires, and after just a few sentences left my lips, Ami simply nodded his head and said he’d work up a sketch. He sent for me an hour later, and unveiled his rendition of my tattoo idea.

It was a pencil drawing on very thin paper. As simple as that may sound, Ami’s skill at transforming my idea into an amazing piece of art absolutely astounded me. I was no longer afraid. I knew Ami would give me the exact tattoo I’d hoped for. A good artist can squelch those ink butterflies in your stomach.

So, what does all of this have to do with you and your unique custom tattoo idea? Well, I am excited to say that you can have your very own tattoo idea transformed into reality by real-life, incredibly talented tattoo designers. You don’t have to apply to be on a TV show, fly to Miami to meet with a gifted artist, or shell out tons of money just to make your tattoo design dreams come true.

There’s an excellent website I found some time ago called Create My Tattoo and I wondered if I could use it to get the perfect design for my next tattoo idea. It seemed like a great idea, and easy too.

The website would allow me to actually start an online tattoo contest. I could describe the design I wanted, even upload a sketch or two for guidance, set a “prize” amount for the winning design, and gifted tattoo artists from all over could use my idea to create my design. Create My Tattoo promised that I would get at least 10 sketches of my idea. At the end of the contest, I could choose the best design and award the prize money to the skilled artist that created it. Then I could take the winning drawing (and the stencil of the design… set to me by the artist after the contest ends) to a local tattoo shop to make my ink dreams come true. It sounded easy and fun to me, so I gave it a try :)

Looking at the tattoo I got from Ami James on the show Miami Ink, you can probably see that I maintain a common theme with my ink (and my profession) - Death. My newest tattoo idea was no different. But I had been thinking about it for more than a year and a half and didn’t know how to draw it. That’s where CreateMyTattoo.com solved all of my problems.

First, I started a tattoo contest on the CreateMyTattoo.com website. I had to describe my idea in detail… theme, colors, scene, size, body part, etc… and give some background on what the design would mean to me.

Then I had to set a “prize” amount to be awarded to the winning artist if I chose one of the submitted sketches of my idea. CreatMyTattoo.com was really helpful in making sure I set the right prize amount. Prize amounts start at $35, but I wanted to make sure I awarded the right amount of money for my large tattoo idea. An adequate prize amount would ensure that a bunch of tattoo artists would devote their time, skill, and energy in creating my perfect design. So, my prize amount for a large thigh tattoo of a decorated skull and calla lily? $85. (totally worth it when you think about all of the work it takes to draw a good tattoo and what tattoos run for in the shops anyway)

Then, all I had to do was wait for the artists to submit their drawings. I thought it would take a long time for the artists to find my personal contest, read my ideas, and actually draw something up, but I had designs submitted to my contest account right away!

If you go to their website (I pasted a link below), you can see just how many awesome design submissions each contest receives!!!

What was even better was an area below the grid of submitted designs for comments and discussion. From there, I could share my ideas about the submitted designs, suggest changes, and help the artists better understand my idea. The discussion feature was helpful and watching my tattoo design dream come true was incredibly fun! Every time I received a design or question from an artist, I was injected with a shot of excitement. The tattoo idea that has been thrashing and clawing at the back of my mind for years was actually becoming real!

Once the contest came to an end, I was free to choose the winner and award to prize to the artist. Then the design was all mine. The artist then sent me the full stencil of the custom design I chose. The stencils can be taken into any tattoo parlour of your choice and/or any ink artist of your choice and you can get the ink that was designed just for you!

CreateMyTattoo.com brings the tattoo designers to you. They work with you to create exactly what you’ve always wanted. I am so happy and excited… you can bet that I’ll be using CreateMyTattoo.com for my next design!!

If you want to bring your tattoo idea to life but need the help of a talented artist, give CreateMyTattoo.com a shot. You won’t be disappointed ;)