Tribal tattoos

[Vault101]

Tribal tattoos are an interesting one....in that mich like chinease charachters theyve become one of those things everyone hates, particually being all "cultural apropriaing" and all that...and uncreative

if it looks good I can't really critcise that, but I do kind of get the sentiment behind the dislike

Tattoos in general? love'm!

Are they any worse than most tattoo's with meaning, most of which are some of the most repeated ... mom & dad "'cos I love my mum and dad!" or *kids name* "'cos I love my kids" or how about "only god will judge me" ... or *dead person* "'cos I miss them!".

Fuck, if it was only people who had proper meaningful tattoos, the only people who would have them are people who over came addiction or PTSD or something

somtimes I wish I had tats only so if somone asks or goes on a tanget about how they don't like tatoos I can say [i/]oh mine? theyre so meaningful they trancend human thourght...no I can't tell you what they mean[/i]

I never got this idea of tattoos having to "mean" something....of coarse everything we do "means" something, its a form of self expression even if its something as mundane as the shows you wear

really though is getting your kids/somone you love name on your bicep any more "meaningful" than a sick ass dragon? because if anything the former actually feels more trite to me....and the "menaingful" seems to come from people who don't even like tattoos in the first place

even if your Tat seems dumb what it means is [i/]I was compelled to get a tattoo and this spoke to me on some level at this point in my life[/i] could you put that into words? could you? nope...

Most tattoos are uninspired and boring. Thats why I don't mind people with joke tattoos, atleast that has some meaning or personality attached.
.

a Tattoo only has to have meaning to whoever gets it

 

[FPLOON]

I... don't know?

I mean, tattoos, in general, make me feel indifferent to them and if we're only talking about tribal tattoos, then unless the person in question could pull it off, then I don't have a problem with them... Then again, if they love their tat(s), tribal or not, then I couldn't care less what I think of them in the long run...

 

[II2]

All my own ink is just black vs skin tone. I like that aesthetic in tribal tattoos - plain black line work and filling, but I wouldn't get any, myself. Stock art, or other people's art, or interests that may wane aren't things I'd want to carry around.

I don't get anything done that I didn't design myself, with a few exceptions in the form of symbols or icons some people will recognize. I have a lot, but they're upper arms, torso, back, abdomen, legs. I like having ink most people will never see and when people who've known me for awhile catch their first glimpse their reactions can be kinda amusing. I get them for my own edification. I like icons and symbols in their ability to effectively reduce the load needed to communicate an idea or system and I like minimal abstraction for it's own sake. Angular and mathematical patterns in particular, elements of technical diagrams, etc.

For what it's worth, there is a day or two of uncertainty and regret, a more personal feeling of 'buyers remorse' with every single new tattoo I've added. "What did I do??" ... Then it passes and never returns. I dunno if that's something anyone else has, or whether it's just a bit of ritual neurosis I experience.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

They're fine by me. Some of them can look pretty cool. The whole idea of someone not from a tribal culture having them doesn't bother me at all. I also don't care if someone has Chinese tattoos and has never had anything to do with China. Some people have tattoos to express themselves, or because they're passionate about it, others have them because they think it looks good without any deeper meaning. It's all good by me.

 

[Azahul]

I don't really have much of an opinion when it comes to tattoos. People can cover their body with whatever they want, in my book, and a well-done tattoo is just as legitimate piece of art as a painting. That said, tribal tatts have kind of a special place in my childhood memories. The first time I ever talked to someone with tribal tattoos, they were the real deal. I mean, a guy of mixed Polynesian/English descent who had undergone a rite of passage in his dad's tribe. His body was covered in them, and they'd been done with a boar's tusk without anesthetic or any kind of sterilisation. His leg had become really badly infected, he spent about a month out of commission as a result. So... not necessarily the best idea.

That said, I was maybe 10 years old at the time, and the whole experience coloured tribal tattoos with a measure of awe for me. This guy was big and muscled, handsome, genuinely nice, and embraced both sides of his mixed heritage with equal enthusiasm. Both a great person and a great-looking person. Let's just say tribal tattoos made a good first impression on me.

I'd never get one myself though. My inner child would insist that I would be doing it wrong if it didn't involve a boar's tusk, and that just seems like too much bother.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well the primary problem with any tattoo is being permanent, we fancy different things in different moments of our lives and I too wanted a tribal style dragon on my arm at one point. And I got it printed in scale on a nice foil, taped it to my arm and then found a thick black marker to paint the design on my arm to see how it would turn out... I got to tell you it looked dope as hell. Luckily however I got squeamish with the whole tattoo making part and never got it done, because if I put that shit on for life I would hate every instance of my dumb ass young self.

 

[omega 616]

It's like random art, some random cottage in a field or a watering can or a vase or a game poster ... they don't have meaning, they are just there to add visual interest to an otherwise blank wall. Same for a tattoo, it doesn't have to have meaning ... you like it so you get it.

This is the best defense to tats I've seen. I don't like tats, but now I have a better understanding why some people do.
Out of curiosity, would you say that you are uncomfortable with your body or physical appearance with or without tats?

The way I think of it is, imagine a blank piece of paper ... nothing wrong with that. Now imagine what you can draw or paint on that paper...

You can have a dragon, a portrait, your favourite symbol, im sure you can think of better stuff or you've seen better stuff posted on the net, like hyper realistic drawings.

I see tattoo-less people or areas of skin like that (Excluding areas like your face) like that piece of paper ... nothing wrong with it but it has potential to have something interesting on it.

Of course, I went for something simple but that is just one part of my body ... I still have the entire torso, other arm and both legs. I will never be covered but I will have a good number of tattoos.

What you have to think about is, the more detailed your tattoo, the worse it will age ... ink will bleed and fade and detail is lost into large smudges. Tribal tats are simple but age REALLY well.

 

[Shock and Awe]

If you mean the cliche pacific islander tattoos then I definitely agree, its just lazy and a waste of money. If you mean tribal tattoos that are actually related to a person's ancestry then thats a bit different. For me I have been considering a few different Celtic and Germanic tattoos for myself.

 

[DementedSheep]

Well I live in country with a lot of Polynesians so many of the people I see with them have them because part of their ancestry. For tribal tats in general...eh you certainly get a lot of lazy cliché ones but it can be done well. They tend to age well and still look good when partially covered or from a distance.

I want tattoos though not tribal ones and if I was going to do it I'd probably go with sleeve or back tat. I tend not to like random small tattoos. The problem is I don't have anything I'm attached to enough that I know I'm not going to want to change it and a sleeve tat might not be wise for my career because people get stupid about it.

Getting tattoos in a language you don't actually speak annoys me though (like the far to common Chinese symbols).

I don't get just picking a stock tattoo. It's permanently (or at least takes a lot of pain and effort to get removed or covered) on your skin, basically a part of you and you go for a stock one?

 

[Artina89]

I am not really a fan of tattoos, and I especially dislike tribal tattoos, as I have never seen one that I like. I just don't think they suit a lot of people. That is just my opinion though.

 

[Aramis Night]

I'm pretty accustomed to people advertising themselves as morons so tattoo's are just more of the same. I have the same opinion of piercings. I especially like how most of these people always try to justify it with this idea of it being self-expression. If it was self-expression then you would be doing it yourself, rather than overpaying someone else to "express yourself" for you.

As a straight man I really can't speak for how it makes other men look, but I can say that so far I have yet to ever meet a girl whose appearance has ever been improved with a tattoo or piercing. On the other hand, I have seen quite a few that a tattoo or piercing has dropped their aesthetic value significantly. There is just nothing as attractive as smooth clear skin on a woman imo.

 

[Bestival]

I've seen some cool ones, but yeah, most are pretty uninspired.

Saints Row 2 has a character I always saw as kind of a mockery of it, always thought he went a bit overboard with it... But now I realize I always end up putting as many "Saints" tats on my chars I can possibly fit, so maybe I shouldn't talk.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

My grandpa had a tattoo of a nautical star on his hand
Kinda cool

I like simple tattoos like this

Spoiler

If i ever get one it might be a simple geographic identification