The Tattoo Sourcebook: Over 500 Images for Body Decoration [Hardcover]

Andy Sloss (Author), Zaynab Mirza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2008

Riding a wave of popularity these days, tattoos have been around for thousands of years. Evidence exists that in ancient Egypt, women were ritually tattooed, Roman slaves were marked with the words "tax paid," and cultures around the globe from Maori warriors, Tahitian emperors, and Inca elite to criminals, circus folks and the urbane hipster all sport body art in the form of the tattoo.

• Approaching the fascinating world of tattoo art from the perspective of design, The Tattoo Sourcebook offers basic instruction on designing a tattoo and hundreds of images to help you choose one that’s right for you.
• This stylish reference includes 500 traditional and modern tattoos from tribal, Asian, Aboriginal ta moko, and intricate Celtic knot work through dragons, mermaids, fairies and fantasy to motifs from the natural world.
• Each chapter offers many ideas on a wide cross-section of themes. The artwork is designed to let you create your own images or trace and enlarge one from the book.
• Along with health and safety tips for getting a tattoo, there is also information for creating designs using body paints and mehndi, for those who want to try out body art before choosing a permanent image.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andy Sloss is a writer and graphic designer who has been drawing, designing, and studying Celtic and tribal designs for twenty years. He has written several books on tattoo art as well as How to Draw Celtic Knotwork and How to Draw Celtic Key Patterns.

Zaynab Mirza is a professional make-up artist for photographic, fashion, and television purposes, specializing in body decoration designs. She appears regularly on women’s programs for TV Asia, Asianet, and Zee TV.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592239579
• ISBN-13: 978-1592239573
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars turrible., April 30, 2009

By 

derf "a nightmare in chintz" (My living room, Maui HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tattoo Sourcebook: Over 500 Images for Body Decoration (Hardcover)

this book is pretty awful - - we had it at a shop i used to work in, and it usually didn't take clients more than a minute of looking at it before they put it away.
it's just kind of boring, nothing in it i could see wanting to tattoo on myself, lacking in inspiration, like a really plain, uninventive, blank coloring book.
pay the money for a book of flash - - you really can't go wrong seeking out original, beautiful flash by established artists. amazon actually has a lot to offer in that department, more than they used to. as far as what amazon can sell you, the sailor jerry flash books volumes one and two, and Don Ed Hardys tattoo flash book remain the gold standard.
get those instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not a good representation of whats in the book, March 31, 2009

By 

Kelli Renshaw (ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tattoo Sourcebook: Over 500 Images for Body Decoration (Hardcover)

The preview of the contents of this book didnt show how basic and simple the designs were.This book is for beginners and wasnt worth it for me to purchase

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a quick lame breeze through, May 23, 2009

By 

B. Miller (Baltimore, Md) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tattoo Sourcebook: Over 500 Images for Body Decoration (Hardcover)

it gets 2 because there were a lot of pages and they were well organized. but all and all lame stuff that you can usually see on any wall of a tattoo shop. it would make a pretty cool coloring book for kids....