by Sven R. Ohlson on July 20, 2009
in Tattoo
I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago. Someone living and working in California had seen the dragon tattoo I made a while ago. The request this time was to get a cool jaguar tattoo. So I felt that would be a great tattoo to do. The jaguar is a very powerful symbol and animal. I have had a few things to design, before I got round to making this design – but now I have finally made the “jaguar tattoo”.
I have chosen to make a cool looking cat-like character that is clinging onto one’s back. It has the jaguar’s classic spots and the striped tail. As you can see the jaguar has a nice flowing feeling to its body-shape. So it can be tattooed nicely on a back or from the back over a shoulder and onto the chest. The tail can curl round your side too – if you are out to get that look.
Looking forward to hearing from “The Californian” soon.
Tagged as:
california,
cat,
jaguar,
jaguar tattoo,
tattoo
by Sven R. Ohlson on May 25, 2009
in Tattoo
The scroll has been used on many different occasions and in different ways…
This time I felt like making a scroll in a tattoo inspired way – a designed scroll that has leaves and plants growing around it and with the text “The W” written on the scroll. “The W” in this case referring and meaning Wohill – a scroll from Wohill.
To make the design a bit more interesting I have made the letter “W” growing out of the paper and becoming part of the leaves and plant. This gives the whole picture, or tattoo, a better feeling as well as giving the eye of the viewer an extra treat. I have given the scroll and plants a “spotted shades” style. This is to make the shading a bit smoother.
What more is said on the secret scroll from Wohill is a story for the future – but I can assure you there will be more designs to come.
Tagged as:
plants,
scroll,
tattoo,
wohill
by Sven R. Ohlson on April 29, 2009
in Tattoo
The other day I got the question about making a link that would suit round one’s ankle, neck or wrist. Not the regular “Bismark” or other well known design, just something for this person to have and wear as a tattoo so as to match it a little bit to an earlier tattoo that is a tattooed ring which was made of several “X” and dots. As you can see on this design I kept the “X” shape a little bit and turned it into diamond-like shapes. I also made dots at the end of each cross connecting the diamond-link.
If it is going to be a tattoo it should probably be filled in black – but if possible it could be used as an outline too.
It will hopefully be a long lasting design.
Tagged as:
ankle,
chain,
gold chain,
ink chain,
link,
neck,
tattoo,
wrist
by Sven R. Ohlson on March 2, 2009
in Tattoo
A twirling dragon in green puffing smoke and surrounded by burning flames – hunting its pray. It has long characteristic claws and a long pointed horn coming from the dragon-head. The twirls give the dragon extra dynamics and a sense of speed. Many dragon images are made into tattoos. This dragon could twirl from over-arm on to chest – making the flames lick the body where the dragon has travelled.
I have designed a couple of dragons before and thought it would be nice to show this one too. This time it is in colour. I sketched it on paper first and then I coloured it in Photoshop. I also gave it a nice faded background. The reddish background was chosen to make the green dragon stand out a bit more. If tattooed on skin – the green would definitely “pop” too – and if on darker skin, I would go for a black and grey version. I think the dragon is a strong symbol that shows strength and will-power – a good symbol to use as a symbol for something protecting you and maybe showing a person’s personality.
An alternative to making this into a tattoo – is making it as a painting, maybe even an oil-painting.
The text was an extra attribute to give the dragon something to look at. By the way – I have made a bigger version as a .
Tagged as:
colour dragon,
dragon,
dragon tattoo,
oil painting
by Sven R. Ohlson on January 21, 2009
in Tattoo
I have been to Thailand for a couple of weeks and it has been really nice. It has been great weather – sunny, no clouds and the water in the sea was perfect temperature. I will post some pictures from Thailand further on.
As you might recollect, I have drawn a some time ago. It is posted here on the blogg (Wohill). I even made a cool . Back to the story again… I was walking about getting some things in the shopping-mall called Tesco Lotus. It is a chain that is all over Thailand and I think even in China. When walking about looking for some food I saw that they sell lots of other things too. TV’s, computers, movies, bikes, toys – you name it, they seem to have it. They also sell clothes and this is where it gets interesting… Walking down an aisle Magnus, who is also travelling with me, pops round the corner and says: Have you seen this cool kid’s shirt? And what is he holding up – a shirt with my design on it – The Dragon Tattoo! So they have printed up two types of shirts with the Wohill dragon. One with an Asian symbol over it as you can see in the picture below and one with the whole dragon. The company, LEOkids, that have made the shirt have stolen my design – as you can guess they haven’t asked, informed or paid me anything for this – it’s just there!
They seemed to have liked the design, the dragon, but not done more than that. Nice that they thought it was trustworthy made by somebody on the other side of the world. I guess a dragon is a dragon all over the world – even if I made it into a dragon inspired by Chinese artists.
So I will try to contact them and see what they have to say – I’ll keep you posted. Or if you know anyone that works or has a connection to LEOkids – please let me know. If Tesco Lotus has anything to do with LEOkids, except buying clothing from them, I don’t know.
It will be interesting to hear what they have to say…
Tagged as:
dragon,
dragon tattoo,
leo kids,
stolen design,
tattoo,
tesco lotus
by Sven R. Ohlson on January 12, 2009
in Tattoo
The dragon has many different interpretations. First, it was the western gods that had to conquer the dragon – then later it was the noblemen. Many times the dragon is something a hero has to defeat to save the princess or something like that.
In the eastern part of the world the dragon is a much more positive symbol. He is the main essence or a part of yang – as in yin and yang – that can give humans the potion of ever lasting life.
The dragon is used on buildings, clothing and vases as decorative symbols. In today’s world a lot of people use the dragon for tattoos. I have drawn a dragon standing on his front legs with a twirling bird’s tail. I have given the dragon bird- or lizard-like legs – an elegant creature, swift and smooth. This dragon has a bit more of a feminine touch compared to the one I posted some time ago.
Tagged as:
dragon,
dragon tattoo,
luck,
tattoo,
villain
by Sven R. Ohlson on August 11, 2008
in Tattoo
There are several different kinds of Tigers: Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Siberian and the South China Tiger. They all have special features and looks. The things they have in common are their stripes. I have used the stripes in this design too – just so one gets the feeling of the Tiger’s characteristics. The flames round about are also based on the Tiger-stripes. They also resemble Asian dragon designs that usually have clouds and flames surrounding the different beasts and animals that they have illustrated. The eyes are small and focused. I made the flames frame the tiger’s head. Showing the teeth too, gives a warlike and more aggressive look. The Tigers’ sharp teeth make them fearsome hunters – so I had to enhance that feeling.
Compared to cats, tigers really enjoy spending time in water. I’m not sure if they even like swimming – but they certainly like cooling down in the shallow end. I even saw this the last time I saw a whole bunch of tigers. Now it would have been very impressive to see these big cats in the wild, but I thought they were pretty impressive in captivity too! They were super active and had very large grounds to hang out in – at least compared to the first time I saw a real tiger in a cage. It was literally a cage. Like one you would see in a story-book. There were only a few square feet that first time and the Tiger didn’t look like he was feeling very good.
If you get the chance to see a tiger – I hope you get to see it where it has lots of space to move around in. Then you can see how quick and strong they are too!
Tagged as:
flames,
tattoo,
tiger
by Sven R. Ohlson on August 8, 2008
in Tattoo
A , or in this case, a tiger’s head is a symbol of strength. Showing the Tiger’s stripes gives an extra feeling of power. I think it is clear that it is a tiger, even though one doesn’t use the colour orange to enhance the feeling of the design really being a tiger. Now one should remember there are actually tigers existing out there that are white and black.
The red pupils or dots I have added in the eyes give the tiger a much stronger look. It is looking at you as a viewer, or maybe even prey – that it will attack at any second. The teeth are also there to give the tiger a more fearsome look. The long whiskers I added to give a little bit of an elegant feeling. It is a big cat – and I would say that tigers and cats in general move pretty elegantly and swiftly.
I have seen big Tigers run about and play and maybe they don’t really feel like your little cat at home, but there are a few resemblances in their motions.
Even if these big cats only exist in nature in very few parts of the world – many people, all over the globe, will recognise them right away in this design.
Tagged as:
tattoo,
tiger,
tiger-head,
tiger-tattoo
by Sven R. Ohlson on June 30, 2008
in Tattoo
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!
Tagged as:
bird,
swan,
tattoo
by Sven R. Ohlson on May 28, 2008
in Tattoo
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 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.
Tagged as:
bird,
eagle,
eagle-head,
tattoo,
two-headed
