How to pick a spot for your tattoo
Where a tattoo goes matters as much as the design. The same image can look great on a forearm and lose its detail on a finger. Before you decide, think about four things:
- Visibility. Forearms, hands and the neck are hard to hide. The back, ribs, thighs and upper arms are easy to cover for work.
- Pain. Areas with more muscle and fat, like the outer arm and thigh, hurt less. Ribs, feet, the spine and the inside of joints hurt more. See the tattoo pain chart.
- Size and shape. A design should follow the muscle and the curve of the body. Long designs suit the forearm or spine, and round ones suit the shoulder or thigh.
- Aging and healing. Hands, fingers and feet rub on things all day, so tattoos there fade faster and often need touch-ups.
Which placement guide to read
Start with the best tattoo placements guide for an overview of every area, from arms and legs to ribs, hands and neck. If you have a forearm piece in mind, the forearm tattoo guide covers pain, sizing, healing and how visible it will be at work. The tattoo size and placement guide helps you match the size of a design to the spot, so the details stay clear as the tattoo ages.
Test the spot before you book
You can try a design on your body in AR and see how it sits from different angles. Your artist will also place a stencil before the session, and you can ask them to move it until it looks right.
