I will do my very best to not go too over board with this one, However THIS particular subject seems to be one a have a lot of clients struggle with during the consultation.
FIRST... This was the design that I posted on my website's style page. I'll expand on it as best as I can without being too long winded.
Now I understand, we all did basic art classes to get through school… but this one seems to escape some people a little bit. and it is a very important part of the construction of an "Amy tattoo"
Naturally watercolor is inherently a 2-dimensional art style, however, a lot of how I construct my designs lean on 3d principles, in relation to background and foreground.
I wouldn’t call this full 3D… If anything, at best I would call it 2.5D… because there is mostly 2D groundwork.
I know this sounds confusing. But as explained in the photo... The foreground is often the thing that is popping up in front of you. And then a lot of my background tends to become the textured accents... they create the shapes that flatter muscle structure and blah blah blah.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
The most important thing you need to know as a client, is how to describe, or research reference for you background effect.
This means, when I ask “what kind of background are you looking for”
You can say
-SOFT AND FLOWING
-BURSTING
-CLASSIC TRADITIONAL
-BRUSHSTROKE STYLE
Or you can provide reference of what kind of direction you are going, with the basic idea.
If you want to be more “romantic” I would say don’t go crazy with hard lines and bursting effects. You want things soft and pretty…
If you want something that is loud and proud, let it get a little crazy and go for explosive bursts of color.
The good news is that if you struggle with your descriptions. I will be making a reference book for clients to go through if they are having a bit more of a hard time with it. My big thing is to make sure I don’t have too many people sitting one the fence.
The way that I used to build designs just makes absolutely no sense.
*to clarify, this means that I can’t draw five things and let you choose what you think you might like… It was ok before I damaged my hand. But I was overworking, and ending up with giant piles of reject art. It just isn’t an effective use of time and creativity.
THE REASON this information is so important for you as a client, is because I want you to be able to come in to a consultation and be like, "would like this thing- whatever that may be- in the front and this style- whatever that may be- in the back"
No sitting on the fence debating what you like and don't like, or asking if you could see it first because you just aren't sure.
If I was paid for my art time, maybe it would be a different story, but the tattoo industry hasn't advanced as far as the rest of the world yet.
I want you to be able to express your ideas clearly, so that I can give you Boss-ass Artwork.
♡