Best Tattoo Links to Resource Sites & Tattoo Articles

The Virtual Tattoo Art Museum -- Lyle Tuttle's site is a must see for tattoo fans

Net4TV Voice: Talking Tattoos with Tuttle -- 1999 interview with Lyle Tuttle

Tattoos.com -- The mother of all tattoo sites

CBEL.com -- Amazing huge list of tattoo  body art links

TATTOO ARCHIVE -- C.W. Eldridge's site has some great tattoo history info

Ed Hardy's Tattoo City -- San Francisco shop site with lots of Ed's amazing work on display

Tattoo Traditions -- Tricia Allen's extensive experience and research on Polynesian art and culture give her a unique approach to the art of tattooing

THE INTERNATIONAL TATTOO-CONVENTION BERLIN GERMANY -- information website for the long running and popular tattoo convention.

The Changing Cultural Status of Tattoo Art: A footnoted report based on mainstream U.S. reference works, newspapers and magazines.

my name in Japanese - Don’t you want to know another meaning behind your name? Your name will be translated into Japanese accurately with beautiful, meaningful Kanji by native Japanese speakers. And you can make formal Kanji symbol seal!

Professional Tattoo translation from Applied Language Solutions. You can have complete peace of mind that your translated tattoo says what you want it to, with all translations carried out by professional in-county translators. They are all trained linguists so you can be sure that a tattoo translation from Applied Language Solutions is as accurate as possible.

JChar Design -- website offers precise and accurate Japanese translations for your tattoo designs. 

Free Online Devanagari Translations -- Sanskrit, Hindi & Marathi Tattoos, Names & Short Sentences (up to 5 words)

24 Hour Translations -- provides translations of short phrases (for mottos, tattoos, love letters, etc.) between English, ancient Latin (as used by the Romans), and German.

Quintus’ Latin Translation Service -- offers a translation service from Latin, language of the Ancient Romans, into English and from English into Latin (Angelina Jolie used them for her Latin tattoo)

TransName.com -- site specializes in Chinese (Kanji) name translation and custom design for tattoos and beautiful calligraphy design.

Char4U Designs -- Char4u.com offers a variety of translation and design services that include Chinese name translation, kanji tattoo design, custom seal carvings, and hand-made calligraphy.

Behind the Name - the Etymology and History of First Names. What does your name mean?

Kanji Clinic -- KANJI CLINIC is a column appearing every third Thursday in The Japan Times. Its purpose is to provide practical advice and inspiration to non-Japanese adults striving to become literate in Japanese by learning the 1,945 general-use kanji.

Hanzi Smatter 一知半解 -- Blog dedicated to the misuse of Chinese characters in Western culture. Be careful when you get that trendy Kanji tattoo... it may not mean what you think it does...

Tattoo Stock Photography at Foto Search - Stock Photography and Stock Footage - The World's Stock Photography - One Web Site ™

The Noble Trader -- collectibles and the best local crafts from South East Asia. They have a special interest in Burmese tattoo culture at The Noble Trader and search out the best tattoo boxes and pens for collectors. 

Tribal Artifacts -- Collecting for Collectors -- Specializing in unique, quality artifacts and textiles from the cultures of southeast Asia.

Tattoo Collector Magazine -- The First Quality Tattoo Publication for the Public

The Inked Generation -- UK website is a tattoo information resource & community

Tahiti Tatou, the Polynesian Tattoo site

Sticky Wilson Stands -- Custom Stands, for Tattooists, BY Tattooists

Worldwide Tattoo Supply -- also known as TCM Supply Corporation, has developed from a small supplier to one of the top sellers and manufacturers in the Tattoo Industry in the United States and overseas. By continuously improving our products, we have become an excellent tattoo supplier for our customers.

JIEYI HARDWARE -- specialized manufacturer of professional tattoo machines and related accessories, such as needle tips, grips, and tubes. Tattoo machines with full functions, beautiful designs and good performance. All products are made of stainless steel.

New Image Tattoo Supplies -- Professional Tattoo equipment available to order online. Tattoo machines & supplies, inks, needles, accessories, medical and cleaning equipment, including autoclaves and ultrasonic equipment.

Powerline Supplies -- Tattoo machines, tattoo inks, tattoo needles, inks, needles, grips, tips

CMJ Tatoo Supplies -- Website from the Netherlands has online purchase of Tattoo machines, tattoo inks, tattoo needles, inks, needles, grips, tips and more.

Suzhou Jahw Tattoo Equipment Co. - Chinese company that supplies high quality, low cost tattoo equipment, needles and tattoo supplies.

Blush-Her.com -- Professional Permanent Make up & Tattoo Supplies. Check out their patented Blush-Her Tool for implanting blush. 

Atom Colour -- UK company manufacturers and supplies high quality tattoo ink. They mix their own colours & every batch of ink is the highest quality, created using only the finest ingredients.

Dynamic Color Online! -- Brightest, Fastest, Easiest Tattoo Color Inks

SYMBOLS dot NET -- Your Central Jump off Point to Symbols from around the World, including Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Astrology symbols, Emoticons, Blissymbolics, and many others...

Over- 40 Rebels With a Cause: Tattoos -- Tattoos ...have lost almost all their outlaw status, once conferred by convicts, Hell's Angels and circus freaks. But they remain just enough of a taboo to still seem an act of rebellion to some.

Boomers flock to tattoo parlours -- "From '92 to '95 it was twenty-and thirty somethings and usually young urban professional types like doctors and lawyers." she says. "In 1995, we started seeing more people in their 40s . . . and the last couple of years it has definitely been 40 and up."

Marked: Women and Tattoo -- Throughout tattoo history, the tattoo mark has always signified something different, or someone who was special in some way. Women have been involved in tattooing in the United States from the beginning, but not always in the most powerful ways. In the 1880s, women were entering the world of circus sideshow attractions.

In Celebration of a Scar - Women, Breast Cancer & Tattoos -- "TATTOOS, WRINKLES AND SCARS ARE EXTERNAL MARKS OF OUR LIFE EXPERIENCE. THE FEELINGS WHICH ACCOMPANY THEM VARY FROM A SENSE OF PRIDE TO A FEELING OF AVERSION. TRANSFORMATION THROUGH TATTOOING OVER A SCAR CAN HAVE A POWERFUL EFFECT."

Breast Tattoo Removal Procedures and Info -- With the proliferation of tattoos in recent years, doctors have seen an increase in the number of people requesting tattoo removal. The reasons for this vary: the tattoos may be poorly placed or executed, the site may have become infected, or the person may simply have outgrown whatever impulse led to the tattoo.

Tattooing Gaining Popularity as Part of Breast Reconstruction -- Tattooing of the breast nipple and areola complex as part of female breast reconstruction has become increasingly popular in Canada over the past few years...

Women in Society -- "The Messenger of Allah cursed women who tattooed, and those who got themselves tattooed, those who engaged in sharpening the teeth (as a mark of beauty) and those who had their teeth sharpened."

Lost Art > Style > Tattooed Women -- Brazilian site dedicated to women's tattoos

Consumer Tribes -- Interest in tattooing and body piercing has surged during the past ten years, spawning a new aesthetic of personal appearance for many young people, along with an explosion of information on body art...

Tattoos: More Than Just Skin Art -- Tattooing is a deeply symbolic, centuries-old tradition around the world, and some tribal communities choose the designs for their young men, to mark the transition from childhood, said Vince Hemingson, a Vancouver-based writer who has studied tattooing and is also co-producer of a National Geographic documentary about tattooing.

The Truth About Tattoos -- The truth is, tattoos are astoundingly popular online. We knew they were a hot item -- and hey, what else do Winston Churchill and Pamela Anderson have in common? -- but we wouldn't have guessed tattoos would be in the top 20 of the Lycos 50 nearly every week. What's everyone looking for?

The Art and Science Behind Tattoos -- Excellent article covers some of the possible dangers associated with getting a tattoo. From DermaDoctor.com

BBC Inside Out -- Tattoos seem like a good idea at the time. But has the current craze, especially among young women, had its day? Inside Out investigates and looks at how to avoid future regrets.

BBC News | UK | More than skin deep -- Birds do it, blokes do it - it's no longer just bikers, sailors and criminals who go in for tattoos.

SoYouWanna Get a Tattoo? -- You've finally decided to join the counter-culture and get yourself a wicked-looking tat, but you don't know where to go? Check out this site for lots of useful info.

Think before you ink it's forever -- WHEN BOTANIST Sir Joseph Banks returned to England in 1771, he walked down the gangplank not only with specimens of new plants and animals, but a permanent reminder of his three-year voyage to the Pacific Ocean -- a tattoo.

Tattoos as a means of self defence -- A Johns Hopkins News-Letter article on the tattoo trend

Questions and Answers - Tattoo -- General info on the hazards of getting a tattoo

Tattooing and Body Piercing: Decision Making for Teens -- Virtual Hospital: Iowa Health Book: Tattooing and Body Piercing. Fact filled site with lots of useful information

How Tattoos work -- Lots of great info here for those that are curious

Tattoo MD Laser Clinic -- At Tattoo MD, patients have many different reasons for wanting to have a tattoo removed or lightened. Some patients have gotten a tattoo in the past and now feel it does not represent who they are anymore. Some patients have tattoos in visible areas (such as the neck, face, arm or hands) that interfere with their ability to get a job that they want. (For example, the armed forces and many companies have restrictions on visible tattoos.)

Laser Tattoo Removal Specialists of Los Angeles - Simple, effective and affordable laser technique for as little as $49 per square inch per visit.

How Tattoo Removal Works -- What all is involved, different removal techniques, a good info source

Tattoo Removal -- Information for  those that have second thoughts about their ink

Laser technology -- allows easier removal of youthful excesses

Tattoo Removal -- Toronto laser tattoo removal clinic.

His love for Jesus more than skin deep -- Timothy West spent 178 hours under the tattoo artist's needle. It was his way of showing he loves Jesus....

Kanji -- All of a sudden, the characters the Japanese call "kanji" are everywhere. On baseball caps, T-shirts and leather jackets. As tattoos adorning the limbs, necks and chests of both sexes.

Japan Tattoo Institute -- The Japan Tattoo Institute is the first organization devoted to preserving and encouraging the traditional Japanese art of hand-tattooing known as "tebori"

The American Academy of Micropigmentation -- in depth study of tattoo pigments

Black Cat Tattoo Soap™ -- the FIRST fragrance free, additive free soap made with vitamin E oil, Aloe Vera oil and surgical green tincture soap developed entirely for tattoo aftercare.

www.createatattoo.com - An online software application for making your own tribal tattoo designs. You can designs from scratch or you can choose from over 300+ templates to tweak and modify. All designs print out in a vector format giving you a perfect print out to take to your tattoo artist or place in a book or on your walls.

Tattoo Supplies, Piercing Jewelry, Supplies, Unimax -- The One-Stop Shop for all Body Art Equipment and Supplies. Unimax also has a brick and mortar store at 365 Canal St, NYC

Tattoos - Icons of Flesh -- Why do we tattoo? A psychiatric look at the who and why of tattooing

FAKIR MUSAFAR -- The Father of the Modern Primitive Movement is known worldwide for his fifty years of research and personal exploration of primitive body decoration and rituals.

Tattoo Rituals -- Frank 'the Snake' Allen outlines the history of Tattoo Magick and other Tattoo Rituals. Heavily illustrated with Frank's own Tattoos.

L'HISTOIRE DU TATOUAGE TRIBAL -- Tribal tattoo history and symbolism (in French)

Tätowier Magazine -- The forum of the German Tattoo scene (German language site) They are the largest tattoo print magazine in Germany, as well

Welcome to BME: Body Modification Ezine -- Covers absolutely all aspects of the bod-mod scene

Modern Movie Tattoos -- Val Kilmer has a large rendering of a Grim Reaper-like skeleton on his back. Robert DeNiro is covered in Bible verses. Ralph Finnes has a massive demon covering all of his back. Tim Curry’s “Boss” tattoo of a heart with a dagger on his upper arm. Of course, none of this is real, it’s just the make-up tattoos worn by all these actors in movies.

TV Acres - TATTOOS & OTHER BODY MARKINGS -- TV CHARACTER TATTOOS & BODY MARKINGS AT A GLANCE

Tattoos and Body Piercing -- 1999 article examines the history of the tattoo and different types of body piercing that can be done

Tattoos: Recognition and Interpretation -- all about prison tattoos and what they mean

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Cool Historical, Religious and Anthropological Links

Tribalsite -- A forum for traditional tribal cultures, ethnographic art, and alternative
natural remedies, from around the world.

tribalphoto.com -- tribalphoto.com is a photographic resource that supports tribal survival, the defense of human rights and cultural autonomy of indigenous people.

Tribaltrappings - Specializes in the artifacts of the world's tribal cultures especially those in SE Asia, Indonesia, Central Asia and the Middle East. Check tattoo items in Antiques/Tools & Weapons.

Australian Museum's - Body Art -- about universality, diversity and antiquity: concepts of beauty: identity and transformation: meaning and significance of symbols: and pain, endurance and rites of passage.

Early Archaeological Evidence of Tattoos in Neolithic Europe -- An ancient clay figure of the lower half of a male body believed to date back to the Stone Age has been discovered in eastern Germany, archaeologists said... The statue, dubbed the Adonis of Zschernitz, details a male body from the waist to the calves, and is the first such representation of a man to be found in the area, believed to date from 5,000 BC. The Adonis also has deliberate cuts along its bottom, which, Miss Oexle said, are not indications of clothing but probably represent tattoos...

Skin Stories - The Art and Culture of Polynesian Tattoo --  Skin Stories is an anthology of stories and stunning images gathered from the hot spots of Pacific tattoo: from the steaming landscape of Rotorua in New Zealand to the vibrant gathering of the first international tattoo convention in Apia, Samoa; from the terraced, lush taro fields of Maui to the golden beaches of O’ahu and California.

Samoa - Tattoos -- Some basic information about the tattooing procedure in Samoa. Drawings of tattoos from Samoa, a photograph of the implements used in Samoa for tattooing and the traditional song sung in Samoa while men are receiving the pe'a

TATAU: THE TAHITIAN REVIVAL -- Tricia Allen's 1998 article on the revival of the Tahitian tattoo

Tongan Tatatau tradition -- Dedicated to preserving a once important part of Tongan culture, in an area that is usually associated with Samoan or Tahitian traditions.

Ta Moko -- News, articles and events. Very informative site

Easter Island Tattoos -- Some of the traditional designs and bit of history

Tiki-Styles - Polynesian tattoo designs, meanings and their origins -- information concerning Polynesian art of tattooing. Lots of tattoo designs and flashes. Everything about origin and meanings of Polynesian tattoo. T-shirt Shop. Site in English & German

History-induced Stigma: The Role of Tattoos in Japanese Society -- Excellent overview of the history of tattooing in Japan, the current feelings about having a tattoo and much more! Well written and researched -- recommended reading!

The Art of the Japanese Tattoo -- The Japanese tattoo is an ancient art. Haniwa, small clay figurines, some bearing facial tattoos, have been found in tombs that date from the fourth or fifth century. It is thought that the tattoo signified social rank or warded off evil spirits and wild animals. Over time, the custom faded and it became the fate of criminals, in the old Chinese manner, to be tattooed on the face as a form of punishment.

Tattoo History and Culture in early Japan -- The most comprehensive record of early Japan that remains was written by the Chinese some time before A.D. 300. It portrays the Japanese as law-abiding people, fond of drink, concerned with divination and ritual purity, familiar with agriculture (including wet-rice cultivation), expert at fishing and weaving, and living in a society where social differences were expressed through the use of tattooing or other bodily markings.

Ancient Egyptian Tattoos -- Written records, physical remains, and works of art relevant to Egyptian tattoo have virtually been ignored by earlier Egyptologists influenced by prevailing social attitudes toward the medium.

Beauty Secrets of the Egyptians -- Tattoos in Ancient Egypt, this article is devoted to ancient and permanent body adornment.

Body Piercing, Tattoos and the Image of God -- Sermon given April 24, 1998, by Rabbi Barry H. Block

Religion and Spirituality -- I started my search by looking for the word “tattoo” in the Bible. The King James Version never mentions it, and the New International Version and the New King James Version mention it only once, in Leviticus 19:28...

Tattoos in India -- Tattooing is widely practiced among the Adivasis of Madhya Pradesh

Tattooing amongst Chinese minorities -- The Chinese Drung and Dai minorities have ancient tattoo customs inherited from their ancestors.

Tattoo in Chinese history -- tattoo is called "Wen Shen" or "Ci Shen" in Chinese. The term means literally "puncture the body".

Tattoo History Source Book -- Steve Gilbert's extensively researched site has a lot of info

Percy Waters Studio - Detroit 1920's -- Images from the studio of one of the grand masters of American Tattooing

A Unique Part of History -- At one time tattoos were only accepted among sailors, bikers or freaks. Today it seems like almost everyone has a tattoo. Hell, your mom's probably got one in a place you don't want to know about...

North America's Wichita Tribe -- Historical overview of the Wichita people that includes mention of their tattooing practices

NOVA Online -- Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden -- Some of the earliest examples of tattooing

NOVA Online -- Transcripts | Ice Mummies: Return of the Iceman

Nationalgeographic.com  -- Resource for scientific discovery, travel, exploration, photography, maps, and news, featuring multimedia applications, live webcams, educational tools, and an online store from the National Geographic Society.

American Museum of Modern History -- Body Art: Marks of Identity  Lots of facts and resources

The National Museum of Natural History -- Smithsonian Institution

The Museum of Anthropology at U.B.C. -- information about and access to cultural objects from around the world, with emphasis on the achievements and concerns of the First Peoples and British Columbia's cultural communities

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