First Tattoo - Perfect Circle

Right Turn Clyde

Hi. I want to get this as my first tattoo.



It's Dr. Manhattan's symbol from the Watchmen comic. It probably looks fairly boring to some people, but it has great personal significance for me, and I know I'd be happy to carry it with me for the rest of my life.

However, I'm worried that it won't turn out right. I know it looks fairly simple, but perhaps it's more difficult than it looks? I mean, it's a perfect circle. It must be hard to pull off. The reason I'm worried is that I've seen a few of them online (see below), and personally, I wouldn't be happy with them. The lines are too thick, the proportions aren't correct and the circle does not look exact. I'd rather not get it done if it's not going to be done perfectly. So I guess I'm asking if a good tattoo artist can do this perfectly. I want to pay top dollar to get it right.

My apologies if this is a stupid question, but I haven't seen a perfect circle tattooed before and I'm quite anxious about the whole thing.

Thanks.

bluefinger

if you bring that image in, in the exact dimensions you want they actually trace it on to your skin. a good artist will take their time and it will look better for it. although forgive me if i'm wrong but i believe there's no such thing as a perfect circle.

Right Turn Clyde

bluefinger wrote: »

if you bring that image in, in the exact dimensions you want they actually trace it on to your skin. a good artist will take their time and it will look better for it. although forgive me if i'm wrong but i believe there's no such thing as a perfect circle.

I think Plato was one of the first people to suggest that there is no such thing as a perfect circle. So you're quite right. :P

I guess I'll settle for a circle that is a perfect to the human eye.

Orim

Thread title disappoints but still...

As bluefinger said, if you get it printed as you want it then any artist will be able to do it to those specifications. Don't forget to take body shape into account. For example, that back of the neck one was always going to be slightly off becaause you're right on top of the spine.

It would be hard to get right but I would consider scarification for that. It just makes sense to me considering how it was done in the comics.

Right Turn Clyde

Orim wrote: »

It would be hard to get right but I would consider scarification for that. It just makes sense to me considering how it was done in the comics.

I really don't like the scars at all. No offence.

Orim

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

I really don't like the scars at all. No offence.

None taken, just a suggestion.

bodice ripper

you find me a perfectly flat, perfectly immobile piece of skin on your body, and I will tattoo you a perfect circle

P_1

The curvature of your skin might make achieving a perfect circle a bit tricky to be honest.

Right Turn Clyde

bodice ripper wrote: »

you find me a perfectly flat, perfectly immobile piece of skin on your body, and I will tattoo you a perfect circle

Does that mean that no artist can tattoo a circle that is 'perfect' to the human eye?

P_1

Right Turn Clyde wrote: »

Does that mean that no artist can tattoo a circle that is 'perfect' to the human eye?

A perfect circle is simple to draw on a piece of paper because you're only dealing with two dimensions. On a three dimensional surface like your body it becomes more difficult

Right Turn Clyde

P_1 wrote: »

A perfect circle is simple to draw on a piece of paper because you're only dealing with two dimensions. On a three dimensional surface like your body it becomes more difficult

I see. Forgive my ignorance, I really have no idea what I'm talking about. There must be any number of variables that I just haven't considered. Thanks.

Star Lord

If you draw a perfect circle on a piece of paper, and then wrap that paper round something cylindrical, such as a bottle, it'll look a little elliptical, the extent to which it does so will vary depending on viewing angle. As our bodies curve in different ways in different places, it'll ultimately have a slight warping effect on the circle, unless it's done to look like a perfect circle from a set viewing point, in which case looking at it from another angle will look even worse!

For a slightly exaggerated idea of what I mean, take the below 3d street art for example, where it's drawn to look perfect from a certain angle, and if you click on it, you'll see if from another angle.

Right Turn Clyde

Star Lord wrote: »

If you draw a perfect circle on a piece of paper, and then wrap that paper round something cylindrical, such as a bottle, it'll look a little elliptical, the extent to which it does so will vary depending on viewing angle. As our bodies curve in different ways in different places, it'll ultimately have a slight warping effect on the circle, unless it's done to look like a perfect circle from a set viewing point, in which case looking at it from another angle will look even worse!

For a slightly exaggerated idea of what I mean, take the below 3d street art for example, where it's drawn to look perfect from a certain angle, and if you click on it, you'll see if from another angle.

I see. I hadn't though of that. I assume significant weight loss/gain can effect a tattoo as well? My ankles and wrists are the only parts of my body that don't metamorphose every 5 years!

Star Lord

Obviously any change in shape to the underlying tissue may subtly change the appearance of it, but with regard to stretching/shrinking, I think there'd need to be a lot of growth/shrinking for it to be noticeable for most tattoos. When it comes to something as subtle as a circle, it may be slightly more noticeable.

However, I'd be of the opinion that so long as it's done well, with nice clean, even line work, then it'll look as close to perfect as you're going to get, and will look good regardless.

Right Turn Clyde

Star Lord wrote: »

Obviously any change in shape to the underlying tissue may subtly change the appearance of it, but with regard to stretching/shrinking, I think there'd need to be a lot of growth/shrinking for it to be noticeable for most tattoos. When it comes to something as subtle as a circle, it may be slightly more noticeable.

However, I'd be of the opinion that so long as it's done well, with nice clean, even line work, then it'll look as close to perfect as you're going to get, and will look good regardless.

Great, thanks for that. And thanks to everyone else as well. You've all been very helpful.

innad

The other thing to note is, whatever about tattooing a circle that looks perfect to the naked eye, taking a photo of it without it looking warped would be very tricky. Some of those photos of tattoos you've seen may just look wrong because of the angle the photograph was taken at - that street art photo illustrates the point very well!