Throughout my career, I’ve created some tattoos that have enjoyed considerable success. They have been shared on various blogs, web portals, and specialized magazines. Many of them, over the years, have given way to more recent work.
However, one tattoo in particular continues to strike a chord with new clients, even ten years after its creation. I still receive requests from people from every corner of the world who ask me to send them the drawing to get it tattooed (unfortunately, lots of people still don’t understand that there are tattoo artists who create original designs rather than simply copying pre-packaged material downloaded from the internet). This highly successful tattoo is Doomsday Clock.
Skulls, what a passion!
One of my clients, who is a big fan of skulls, turned to me inspired by that very tattoo. He wanted something similar, but as I always do when someone refers to my previous work, I clarified that I would create something new and unique drawing inspiration from the previous one.
His request for a cross on the arm and as many skulls as possible on the forearm led me to imagine a sort of mountain of skulls with a cross planted on top. As for the inner arm, I don’t remember if the idea of adding the figure of death was mine or his, but given those elements, it seemed only natural to complete the scene with a grey sky to make the scene even more gloomy.
Unexpected Challenges
Too bad the work had to end just below the shoulder due to a pre-existing tattoo. I pointed out that that 8 ball with the “Harley Davidson” lettering would be in stark contrast with the new tattoo, but he seemed unconcerned and somewhat resignedly said, “It’s there now.”
The creation of the design was pretty quick, although, caught up in the impatience to see it completed, I focused more on the general atmosphere than on the details. Therefore, I decided to redraw it a second time, prioritizing precision at the expense of the atmosphere already created in the previous drawing.
An Unfinished Work
The process was rather quick, and in three sessions the sleeve was completed. I thought I had finished, but shortly after taking pictures of the healed tattoo I received a message from the client, who had realized his old tattoo was horrible compared to the new one and wanted to cover it.
We discussed several options and, remaining faithful to the black and grey style, we opted for something very dark. Given his passion for skulls, we decided to add another hooded skull on the shoulder, although I found it somewhat redundant.
Once again, the work seemed finished, but the client decided to add yet another tattoo with the same theme on the chest, but I will talk about this in another article.
Below you can find images of the process and a video showing the creation of the design and the healed tattoo.
