I have often wondered what makes a tattoo design a tattoo design*…and with that being said, what makes a *t-shirt design a t-shirt design. I watch tons of tattoo shows and I often find myself gravitating towards anything tattoo related on the web. I decided to use this passion to actually answer my own question. Veteran tattoo artist Corey Miller once said in Season 1 of the hit TLC show LA Ink that not everything someone envisions for their tattoo is actually tattooable. I recall a guy bringing in an intricate design to Corey and Corey then decided to make it more of a tattoo than a t-shirt design. By no means does this mean that tattoos aren’t detailed or realistic but he acknowledges what points of a sketch make for good vs. a great tattoo.

Kore Flatmo is one of thee most amazing tattooist I have seen, his fine lines, black and grey, and portraits are just so incredibly realistic that you often wonder how the hell someone could do that with a vibrating needle and some ink. I have seen some of his work and man it’s not hard to see why he has the reputation he has. See this one he did some time ago of the late Sharon Tate (remember her; she was the pregnant actress who was murdered by the Charles Manson crew).

See it here along with some other work of Kore’s:

That portrait is just amazing!

I realized t-shirt designs and tattoos have a common bond aside from the fact that both are art. Tattoo’s and t-shirt designs both stand as a symbol of the person’s individuality. Both hold meaning for that person, both is a reflection.

At the end of the day art is art and art is a form of expression no matter which way you look at it. T-shirt designs vs. tattoo designs shouldn’t even be compared.

Tattoo artist Nikko has the most amazing ability to do the most bright and colourful portraits, see below

Cheech :)

Bob Tyrell is another veteran tattoo artist see the collaboration between him and Nikko

I think this is just the awesomeness

Amazing hey? T-shirt designs should in theory be better than tattoo’s however I think the t-shirt design guys should draw some inspiration from these guys…I would love a t-shirt design of Nikko’s, Bob’s, Kore’s, Corey, and Kat’s. There are just so many tattoo artists to name that are awesome and the same goes for our t-shirt designers on Springleap.com. They are all talented and have their own style; I must admit though I love Tu’s stuff, he is really awesome

Is there anyone you would like to introduce me to? I am always on the look out for new awesome artists, and artists in any form. If you haven’t yet check out my blog on Michael Hussar then click here , he is just out of this world!