Lettering Styles for Tattoos

Many people want their tattoos to say something, from names to sentiments, and the different lettering styles for tattoos can make your ink truly unique.

Holocaust tattoo

The first tattoos were often just black and white images. The technique known as tattooing originally involved just a needle and dark ink (often made from burning carbon), and it has been performed in parts of Europe and Asia since at least as early as the Neolithic period. Original tattoos were believed to mark the wearer as belonging to a specific tribe, or were used to mark special events in the wearer's life.

As tattooing evolved, so did the content of the images inked on people's bodies. Lettering in tattoos became more prevalent as the techniques became more advanced, allowing tattoo artists to go from simple line drawings to complex images and content.

Most of the first lettering styles for tattoos were really just copies of the tattoo artist's handwriting – as the artist would also be the one who drew the tattoo image. These tats didn't have the complexity of today's lettering, but they got across the message to both the wearer and those who read the tattoo.

Tattoo lettering has also been used for some sinister purposes throughout history – including during World War II. In Jewish concentration camps, the Nazis forced residents to get lettering identifying the wearer tattooed on their forearms. This tattoo was known as ka-tzetnik. Other people throughout the ages have been forced to get identifying marks tattooed on their bodies as well.

Today, there are many more choices in lettering styles for tattoos than ever before. Many people choose to get a style of lettering inked on their body that is known as Old English, but should be more correctly termed as Blackletter. This style comes from the old practice of copying texts and important documents by hand, in calligraphy. This lettering is now popular with both men and women, who choose to get tattoos in Old English style ranging from large 2” letters on their stomachs and chests to smaller sentiments on wrists and necks.

The advent of computers and different font faces has also allowed tattoo artists to broaden their lettering choices. Many artists will have templates of a number of font faces hung along side their flash art, and you can choose your favorite – whether that's a script, or a modern space age style. Of course, the old standbys - like calligraphy - are also available.

Of course, tattoo lettering is not limited to the English language. Many people are choosing to get tattoos that are meaningful, but stated in another language. The most popular of these might be the Japanese kanji. This pictorial language has characters that are intricate, and each stands for a whole word in the English language. Kanji can be a great way to get a meaningful message tattooed on your body in a unique style.

Other languages whose lettering is popular currently include Tibetan, Arabic and Chinese lettering.

You can find inspiration for your tattoo lettering styles in many different places. If you like someone's handwriting, you can even ask them to write out your tattoo! Most tattoo artists use stencils when working on your tats, so you can usually bring in an example of the lettering you like and have your tattoo artist set up what you want to say. Also look around on the Internet – there are many different sites that allow you to download fonts for free, and you can easily print out a template of what you would like your tattoo lettering to be.

• Evil Tattoo has many pages of tattoo lettering and styles.
• Before You Tattoo also has a good sized gallery of images
• 1001 Free Fonts has many, many fonts available for free download, great for ideas or for mapping out your tattoo lettering.

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