Right then! Now you've decided on tattoo location, colour, image and shade style, the next important thing is to consider 'size' and 'scale'.

What do we mean by this?

Well everyone's a different shape & size, and depending on where you want the tattoo your body will dictate to some degree how large any image can be.

One image doesn't fit all and if your looking for the right tattoo in the right place it must be scaled to fit, not simply taken from stock image library's and inked on.

Having decided on a location for your tattoo it's relatively easy to play about with rough dimensions on your own body to establish your optimum tattoo size.

Then, consider the scale of your artwork to suit both your body and the image.

"Does your chosen image look unusual at that size?" or "Does the outline look out of place somehow?". If your not sure talk to your artist and don't be frightened to ask them to provide a temporary outline to 'test it out' or re-draw the image if necessary.

It's very useful to surf the web and visit tattoo web sites to get a feel for what you consider to be too small, too large and just about right. Mimic this on your own body and it will give you rough dimensions to discuss with your artist before you commit.

From there it's wise to ask advise on how the tattoo follows your body contour, whether it should flow over the front or back of a shoulder for example, perhaps it needs to be extended or reduced slightly to better follow the shape of your body?

Talk with your artist and expect the final artwork to play a big part in how comfortable you are with overall 'size' and 'scale' of the finished tattoo.

Often when your image is on a piece of tracing paper it can look much smaller than when it's tattooed on your body - bear this in mind and get good advice before you make your appointment.

Does it look the right size? Does it fit your body shape? Are you happy with it's location, colour and design style? Hopefully by now the answers YES and you ready for your tattoo.

Here's a couple of examples of different sizes and scales..

Deciding on what's right and wrong for you can often be a difficult task but getting good advice from the start can often save you time and money. If you have any ideas, questions or queries please email us by clicking here we'll be only too pleased to help.