Our guest blogger, Jan ”Nippe” Karlsson, had a very nice picture of a swan from Skurusundet in Nacka, Sweden. As he mentions there, the swan is a mighty bird - one of the largest flying birds in the world – but at the same time very gracious. It is a beautiful and strong bird and he suggested that I could design a tattoo of one. Maybe this could also be a symbol for the swan in flight.

This illustration of the two swans might also give you an association to a more romantic symbol – since they are a couple flying in the same direction. So as a tattoo it could symbolise you and your better half. There are several different kinds of swans – even black ones. In this case, I chose the white swans. In a tattoo it would be nice together with shading of feathers and shadows against the white in the swan. I have enhanced the outline so the contour of the bird / birds give an extra feeling of strength. The wing-tips are also made a bit larger than usual to show the width and span of the birds’ wings.

Maybe you are searching for the perfect symbol for you and your spouse. This symbol could perhaps be the one for you!

As you might have seen I have made a few eagles and also mentioned that many eagles through time have been double-headed. So this time I felt like designing an eagle like that. I have given the eagle some broad outlines and detailed feathered wings. But still it´s a plain and straight forward style of tattoo or design in general. The outline gives it a more dominant look and more appealing in a visual aspect. (In this case anyway.) If it had been a corporate brand or logotype it might have had a different approach. The two-headed eagle is a strong symbol almost majestic.

Already in 1433 the German-Roman Emperor had a double-headed eagle on his shield and imperium. In 1806 Austria took the eagle as nation-symbol, until 1919. It still is Albanias symbol. It´s been speculated that the eagle had two heads because there was a German-Roman Emperor and at the same time he was the German king.

Take a chance to read more about symbolism and what symbols have been standing for and still are today. There are alot of books written on the subject. So just like me you can interpret and make new symbolism or use old traditional symbols and turn them into new ones.

I think I have ended up in a dragon-craze this week. Felt like sticking to this subject once again, but with a bit of a different approach. In tattooing there have been different trends and designs going on for ages. Something very graphic is the tribal tattoo or tribal patterns weaving in text or just making nice shapes over skin and body. The previous dragon was more of a detailed design. This one takes almost as much preparation but feels more like a symbol or pictogram. The swaying body of the dragon and its claw-like legs and feet resemble and are inspired by “tribals”. I made the claws almost like fire and clouds to get that into the design without making them separately.

If you are on your way to a local tattoo-artist to get the tattoo you have been thinking about for a long time - get one that symbolises you and the stage and place you are in today. Maybe get one symbolising a good thing in life that you have right now. Like a celebration of the day or person you want to honour. A lot of tattoos symbolise someone you miss or have lost. Today – get one that makes you feel good – a symbol of strength – the dragon!

There are several strong symbols and figures used through time to give us feelings of belonging and creatures to identify with. Many of these symbols have been drawn on walls – caveman painting and carving in stories and pictures from years ago - up until today when graffiti is a well-known art form. These different or similar, if you wish, ways of expressing feelings and symbols of strength have also been used in tattoos. The eagle is a very common bird used as a symbol of strength… So is the dragon, which I have used this time, with its twirling up and stretching out of its tongue and huffing and puffing flames and smoke. I have been inspired by Asian art to make this tattoo. I started out drawing it in black and white to get the shapes and feeling right. I might show you a coloured version later. So back to the dragon - it has many scales and a flame-like tail as many Asian dragons have. I think that this tattoo is meant to give you a resemblance from the past and still feel like an up-to-date modern tattoo theme.

So if you get the possibility or chance to get one made by one of the great tattoo-artists in the world you might want to use this as inspiration - or even ask me to design a tattoo for you. (Maybe even tattoo you.)

Check out the wallpaper to see the hole dragon.

Today I have made a new eagle, or more exactly, an eagle’s head. I just wanted to show the multitude of shapes around the eagle. Here I have taken the opportunity to reuse part of the wave-like symbols and integrate them with the head of an eagle. The view of the bird’s-head, as you can see, is drawn slightly as if you were looking from under the head. This is to make the bird feel as if it is above you. This gives a feeling of power and that it is a mighty animal. It is also looking away - as if with a nonchalant attitude - and this is also to enhance the feeling that it is a very strong symbol. So if one would wear it on one’s arm, or on a t-shirt, it would clearly show that it is worn by an outstanding being. I’d say that reminiscent styles were known to be used before, by sailors and other people who had been through rougher times in their lives. Nowadays anyone can have a story or feeling that they want to make eternal. I think that you even see similar art on T-shirts, bikes, cars and bodies.

As for tattoos - they have been around a long time and today there are even TV-shows about tattoo-artists and their work. For example, there is the popular show ”Miami Ink” - about the very clever tattooist, Ami James, and his friends.

The king of birds is a symbol mainly used in heraldic weapons or emblems through the years. For the symmetric styling they used to be two-headed, a double-eagle. In antique animal literature it is written that the eagle was able to look right into the sun without being blinded by the light or not even blink. The eagle was said, like Phoenix, to have the powers to become young again.

I chose today to design an eagle in a tattoo-like way. It gives a forceful feeling and in this design the eagle holds a banderole that one could write a powerful phrase on, a family-name, motto or slogan. I have also integrated some twirls and wave-like pattern behind the bird. This is to enhance the feeling of freedom with the wings pointing up in the air. The ”V” shape would give a more impressive look too if one would have it as a tattoo on one’s back or chest - or maybe as a t-shirt print or even for a regular shirt.

The design itself is dynamic even though it’s only made in black. Here the shapes and the illustration stand out instead - so colour seemed, in this case, unnecessary.