Tattoo Design For My Friend Part II



In my previous post, I explained the concept behind a tattoo design that I was creating for a friend of mine, and included a rough MS Paint sketch that I did to give a general idea of proportions and shape. That led to step two: the actual drawing. In the end, I came up with two designs, using the same general theme (tying in my friend's passion for cycling, the mountains and Yoga) and attempted to represent the concepts as elaborated upon on in my previous post.

The first sketch I have titled: "The Mountain Biker's Pose", a play on the name of Tadasana or Mountain Pose from Yoga. This particular Yoga pose or asana is intended to bring the body into alignment with itself and develop better posture, which I thought more or less tied into the piece.

As we look at the drawing, there is the mountain symbolising "body" and strength, the Om on the peak represents the height of "spirit" and the "breathe" inscription represents the breath, without which, there is no life. These are all tied together in union, which is what Yoga actually means in Sanskrit. Finally, the Bicycle wheel is representative of the sun, light and a dharma wheel.

While this design is in B&W, it could be modified with colour.




The second design is called "The Cog Chakra" or "Sprocket Chakra". Using Wikipedia for a simple overview as to what a "chakra" is:

Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man. The Chakras are said to be "force centers" or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation (the fans make the shape of a love heart). Rotating vortices of subtle matter, they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. Seven major chakras or energy centers (also understood as wheels of light) are generally believed to exist, located within the subtle body. Practitioners of Hinduism and New Age Spirituality believe the chakras interact with the body's ductless endocrine glands and lymphatic system by feeding in good bio-energies and disposing of unwanted bio-energies.


In my design, you can see that there is a cog from a bicycle on the outside, the wheel on the inside, the Om in the centre and then the "breathe" inscription". Again, the symbolisms are intended to be the same. While not as effectively representing the mountains as in my first design, the teeth in the cog are intended to represent mountain peaks (with wear marks they could be made to look a little more snow capped without looking cheesy). I tried to incorporate the "body" idea, by having everything contained within the circle, just as we are all contained within our own skin.

Again, this could stay B&W or be coloured, depending on one's preference.




Anyway, they were fun to design and I surprised myself with the final results. I hope she likes them!