For this assignment, we had to create a custom tattoo design that described us. I thought this would be a fun assignment to complete because I am actually hoping to go get another tattoo soon!

My tattoo is roman numerals for the date February, 19, 2003. That is the date that I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This tattoo means a lot to me because living with diabetes is something I have struggled with for almost 18 years. To me, getting this tattoo is me taking control of my diabetes, not letting it take control of me.

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When I get this tattoo, I will most likely be getting it in black but I included some other colors like the directions instructed. I chose yellow because it is my favorite color and I want the tattoo to be associated with happy thoughts of my diabetes, not negative ones. I chose green because its the color that reminds me the most of the outdoors and I love being outside so by making it green I am showing that my diabetes can’t stop me from doing something I love. I chose purple because it is my mom’s favorite color and she has been my number one supporter through everything. It would be giving her a little bit of thanks for all her help.

This assignment was a lot of fun and if I get my tattoo before the semester is over, I’ll make sure to post a picture!

Design Assignment #1

Sorry mom, but I designed my first tattoo! I chose this assignment because I love tattoos in general and I’ve always wanted to design my own, but I’m not an artsy person. I also think that tattoos are a great way to express yourself and it’s a different form of art.  It took me forever to design  my own tattoo, but once I had an idea it became a lot easier. You’re probably thinking, “wow another mountain and sky tattoo, so basic.” That’s what I thought as well, but the more I added to the tattoo the more I began to love it.

Each one of the images in this work has a different significance. The night atmosphere represents my introvert side of my personality. When I’m with people I don’t know very well I can be calm and quiet like the night. The stars however, represent my extroverted side. My reasoning behind this was that stars are known for shining and when I’m around people I know very well I tend to stand out more. The moon represents positivity because even in the darkest times the moon gives off light throughout the night. Lastly, the mountains display adventure and the act of being grounded.

The second part of this assignment was to pick various effects and colors to change the mood of the design. I picked four different effects. The first effect I enjoyed because it had hints of colors within it and since the picture is already dark I thought it could bring some positivity. The second effect made it seem more galactic and gave it a ‘dreamer’ aesthetic. The third effect is very subtle. It gives the impression that the stars are giving off a radiant light because of the contrast and the white border surrounding the mountain and the sky. The last effect made the design more dramatic. It gave the image a darker aesthetic.

Click to view slideshow.

 

I have broken the steps of this assignment into three parts. Part 1 is making the tattoo, part 2 is applying the effects, and part 3 is creating a collage. If you would like to recreate this design I have posted the instructions below.

Part 1: Tats

Step 1: Go to Tattoo Font Maker and select the tab that says, Tattoo Builder.

Step 2: Select the tab that says, add image

Step 3: Here you will find several different catergories, select the one that says, stars. Once in that catergory look for the star in the 5th row, 3rd column and insert it into the canvas.

Step 4: Select the textboxt that reads, “my tattoo” and delete it. There is a trashbin icon on the top of the sidebar.

Step 5: After you have deleted the textbox you can start and rearrange the stars by resizing and rotating them

Step 6: Once you have the perfect amount go to the, add image tab and insert your mountains

Step 7: Time to insert the moon. Go to the little image icon on the sidebar and scroll down to the moon icon

Step 8: Rearrange the moon to fit the stars

Step 9: When you have finished go to the bottom of the canvas and click the save button. Save it as a JPG image.

Part 2: Effects

Website #1

Step 1: Go to PicMonkey

Step 2: Upload your image by clicking on the open icon in the upper left hand corner

Step 3: Select the magic wand icon on the taskbar on the far left side

Step 4: Scroll to the Basic section and select the Soften effect, click apply

Step 5: Hit the save button on the upper left side of the screen

Website #2

Step 1: Go to PhotoMania and select the ‘Start Creating Effects’ Icon

Step 2: Go to the sketch section and select, Colored Sketch effect

Step 3: Save your photo by clicking on the download button above the canvas

App #3

Step 1: Go to the Playstore or Apple store and download Prisma

Step 2: Once downloaded, upload your photo. On the bottom they will have different effects, select the Mosaic effect

Step 3: Click the finished button and it’ll take you to this page. Select the download icon.

Step 4: Repeat Step 2 and 3. For step 2 select the Warm Stones affect instead.

Part 3: Collage

Step 1: Go to BeFunky and select the collage maker tab

Step 2: Upload your pictures by selecting the computer icon

Step 3: Delete the extra cells by clicking on them and selecting ‘Delete Cell’ from the pop-up

Step 4: To avoid having your collage look like the image below, go to the layouts icon on the far left side. Scroll down and select the ‘Grid’ option,

Step 4: Select the layout with the four squares.

Step 5: To save your work select the Save button on the top of the website

Link to assignment is tagged above in ‘Design Assignment #1’

I know what you may be thinking, trees that are black and white? Did this girl even try?

I’ll be the first to admit that this process was very simple. I found my tree and I made it black and white. However, this has a much deeper meaning to me. Without going into extensive I-expose-everything-about-me detail, here’s the story:

When I was younger I struggled with severe depression. My thinking was distorted. Everything was black and white. There was no grey area. There was no middle ground. I was the queen of all or nothing thinking, and that got me into a lot of trouble. The best solution my parents came up with was to send me to a wilderness program. I’m happy to say they made the right decision. I spent 3 months living out of a backpack in Utah and it was the happiest 3 months of my life. I learned that everything isn’t so black and white; there’s so many different shades and I have the power to make it that way, hence the different shades. But more importantly, the tree itself is the most significant. It is called a Ponderosa Pine tree and it is my favorite thing in the world (besides memes of course) because it reminds me of my happy place. They were everywhere in Utah and do you want to know the best part? The bark on a Ponderosa Pine smells exactly like vanilla.

This assignment is rated 3 1/2 stars- unlike the last assignment, I actually upped the star count with my vote because dear God this was a lot of work. I don’t know if other people find design software (read: paint)  easier to manage or if I’m just a perfectionist, but this took me a significant amount of time to complete.

This assignment was to create a tattoo- something I’ve actually already put thought into. Coming up with my design was fairly easy; creating it was difficult. First off is the eye with spikes radiating from it. Guess what, guys, I’m actually a huge nerd. This design is based off a shield I made in a blacksmith class:

which in an of itself is based off of Cassandra Pentaghast’s starter shield in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Cassandra is a Seeker of Truth, which is part of why I like the symbol so much. (Ok, so it’s actually the symbol of the Inquisition, but the Seeker symbol is kinda weird and I like the Inquisition symbol better. So sue me.) Also, I really like Cassandra- she’s extremely loyal and refuses to say anything she doesn’t mean. She’s very blunt and holds herself to higher standards than anyone else. Honestly, I see a lot of myself in her (even if I’ve never killed a high dragon. Sigh.) Seriously, I was kinda crushed when I found out she wasn’t a romance option for female Inquisitors.

The wording is probably the thing most people would recognize- “I am no man” is a quote from Éowyn, niece of the king of Rohan in J R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series when she kills the Witch-king of Angmar. I love it as a phrase; it always bothered me in books when someone said “no man” could do something and it meant it was impossible. Also, Shakespeare, you disappoint me. No man born of woman did not have to mean man born of C-section. Additionally, there have been times in my life when I’ve been told I can’t do something just because I’m a girl. In middle school, the tech ed teacher/ wrestling coach told us he didn’t want girls on his team. I’ve been told, let the boys handle it or let the men get that. If I was 4’8″ and weighed 90 lbs soaking wet, maybe I could see someone being rightfully concerned. But I’m not. I’m 5’10” and weight-lift twice a week. I play a sport that revolves around flattening people. I’m not some wilting daisy and so help me God I can carry a damn minifridge. “I am no man” is a definite statement- I’m not a man, but I can still kick your ass.

I did most of the work in Paint

 

DID NOT MEAN TO PUBLISH IGNORE THIS DRAFT

Here is what I made for the Tattoos 4Life assignment. Pretty geeky…

Behind the Creation

I thought this would be sort of funny as a tattoo. “delete[] poop;” is programming syntax for C++ for when you want to deallocate or destroy the memory block that poop is pointing too. The tattoo would be meant for being above my butt so the arrow pointing down is pointing at my pooper. So essentially I am deallocating my poop, yeah I know it’s kind of stupid. Also the “[]” means that this is an array which is a type of list so poop is pointing to multiple instances or occurrences of fecal matter. The semi-colon is just a marker to signify the end of a line in C++ (and other languages). So yeah, this is my tattoo design if anyone wants an idea for their next tattoo.

The Process

I used the Mac word processor Pages to create the text for the design with the arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this week we are to do 10 stars worth of design assignments. My first one is designing my own tattoo! I’ve actually wanted a couple tattoo’s but I can’t get them just yet because of an ultimatum I was given from my Mom. But the one I designed below says “She is strong.” in Gaelic. I used to Irish dance and had learned how to handle so many complicated situations I thought it was fitting. I also drew a thing barbell below since I also love fitness and weight lifting so being strong is a must. I picked the color effects for a reason. Blue for when I am sad I can always remember that the situation will make me stronger. Pink for when I am happy whether it be in the gym or watching my siblings dance. A sharpened version for when I need to truly remember these words. And original, because there is no one quite like me and I need to remember that. I do plan on getting this tattoo on my upper left side of my back however the cursive will be the artists not mine.

This assignment was worth three stars.

“Create a tattoo that can represent your personality type. Tell us about your tattooo, and what does it means to you. Each Color is unique, and can depict different mood. Use different effects and colors to represent the mood of your tattoo.”

This tattoo is my favorite one that I’ve come up with. My tattoo is in an infinity shape, meaning eternal (love), the two hearts represent my fiance and I, and the saying “Forever and always no matter what” is practically our theme saying. My fiance and I love saying this to each other because we mean every word and we love what it stands for. The saying means that we will love each other forever and always no matter what happens. The colors that I picked were green, red, pink, and blue. I chose green because my fiance and I love the outdoors, red because my tattoo comes from the heart, pink because it’s about love, and blue because together we will never have to be blue/sad alone. I hope you all love my tattoo because now I’m thinking of possibly getting it for myself (just without the colors).