Father son tattoo ideas and designs

Tracing his handwriting from a card or a letter

A signature or a line from a card is the most personal thing available, and it costs no more to tattoo than a font. Photograph the paper flat in daylight with the camera directly above it, no angle and no flash. Bring the original to the appointment if it still exists. The artist should trace the real strokes and keep the wobble, the pressure changes and the place where the pen skipped.

Keep the piece at least 4 cm wide with the thinnest stroke at 0.8 mm or heavier. Ink spreads for years after healing, and a hairline loop at 2 cm closes into a solid blot inside a decade. If the writing is small on the page, the artist scales it up. Read the words aloud with somebody who has never seen the card before the stencil goes on.

Handwriting, done properly

• Photograph the card flat, in daylight, from straight above
• Take the original paper to the consultation
• Ask for a trace of the real strokes, with the shake left in
• Keep it 4 cm wide or wider, with a 0.8 mm minimum stroke
• Read the words aloud to someone else before the needle starts

Matching a tattoo your father already has

A lot of sons want the piece their father has worn since he was twenty. Look at it in daylight first. Forty year old ink has spread, the black has gone blue grey and the fine work has closed up, so an exact copy copies the damage too. Most artists redraw the original design at a clean line weight, using a photograph from the year he got it if the family still has one.

Taking one element is the other route, and often the better one. His anchor becomes your rope. His unit crest becomes the same crest at a different scale. If he is still around, the two of you can also get the same new piece together, which sidesteps the copying problem and gives you both ink of the same age.

Splitting a design, sizing and skin

Split designs are rare here and usually a poor fit, since fathers and sons are not often photographed with their forearms pressed together. Two complete pieces linked by one element work better: the same boat from two angles, a compass and the map under it, the same tool drawn at two sizes. Each piece then stands on its own arm.

Size follows the body. A father's forearm and a nineteen year old's forearm take different scales, and older skin holds fine detail less well, so a slightly heavier line on the older piece keeps the two looking alike for longer. If your skin tones differ, build the design in solid black. Pale grey wash and white ink fade early on any tone and vanish soonest on deeper skin.

Same session, cost and settling size

Book one artist and go back to back. Two traced pieces or two small objects take 2 to 3 hours between you. The same artist means the two tattoos share a line quality, which is what makes them read as a pair even when the subjects differ. If either of you has never been tattooed, go second and watch the first one.

Studios charge per piece, with minimums of $100 to $150, and two small pieces usually total $250 to $700. Disagreements are typically about visibility. A son wanting 15 cm on the outer forearm and a father wanting 6 cm on the inner bicep still match if the artist keeps the line weight proportional. Decide that in the consultation with both of you in the room.