Can you tell what it is yet?

Ever since I was little I joked about getting my birthmarks numbered–that I was one big connect-the-dots tattoo that made a “me”.

This tattoo is part of “The Stalking and Murdering of a Childhood Giraffe Project” (full explanation of the art project is HERE.) It’s an extremely visible invisible tattoo and Dave C. Wallin (Tattoo Culture, Williamsburg, NY – more) did an AMAZING job considering how small the numbers had to be. Pretty sure I’m not the first person in the universe to come up with this idea (ROO: Nope, you may have been the first though!), but I’ve yet to see another connect-the-dots tattoo.

The design was based on a really geometric giraffe drawing I once saw (if anyone can find the name of the original artist I would be super appreciative!), but I modified it to have spots and be even more box-like. I love this tattoo so much.. which makes it hard to walk down the street without staring at my own calf.

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If you’re wondering what the scrapes on her leg are from, she fell off a step tool and caught it on a printing press on the way down. Bless.

DivX download link for BME members: Extreme2 or Full members

Photos by dollomite and many thanks to Brandon for the red-hot tip!

Fear Not

Jeremy recently had this tattoo done by Dave Wallin at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn, NY. He explains,

There were several characteristics I wanted for my first real piece. Mostly, I was looking for an interesting way to put text on my skin, specifically the phrase “fear not,” which has been an aspirational motto for me even in my darker hours. I decided to try it in negative space. For the background I came up with leaves as something organic and asymmetrical, and vaguely chaotic. Plus I thought it looked cool. Design-wise, I wanted something flat, with no illusion of depth, and I really wanted no black ink or outlines. I was told that this would result in spreading over time, and I said that was fine with me. If the tattoo decomposes into mulch, so much the better!

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