PORTRAIT

The name says it all. Although portraits have always been one of the most popular forms of tattooing abroad, Calcutta is fast catching up. From celebrity figures to pictures of family members and loved ones — portraits leave a mark like no other. “Unlike other tattoo motifs, portraits are very personalised. A person who chooses to do it has a solid reason for picking that specific portrait. Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison are some of the most popular celebrity faces. For any other design, a slight change can be incorporated but for a portrait it has to be perfect,” explains Niloy Das of Lizard’s Skin Tattoos, who personally enjoys doing it “because it is very challenging”.

Miley Cyrus got her grandmother’s portrait inked on her right arm

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Studying the portrait closely is the most vital part. Eyes, lips and nose are the key areas of focus.

Shading should be kept it mind. A shade too dark than the original can distort the picture completely.

Justin Bieber’s most recent inking is ‘Patience’ on his neck.

INSCRIPTION

David Beckham has one, so do Saif Ali Khan, Rihanna and Priyanka Chopra. Inscription tattoos are popular among celebrities and they have always had a huge influence on people. “For example, after Saif had inked Kareena’s name in Devanagari script and Priyanka Chopra showed her love for her father with ‘Daddy’s Lil Girl’, everyone wanted to get either their lover or a family member’s name inked!” says Raja Pyne of RJ Tattoos.

“There are two types of inscription tattoos. One is written in foreign languages, the other in English but using a different font. Besides sentences, single words like ‘faith’ and ‘freedom’ are quite popular,” adds tattoo artist Rajdeep Pal of 3 Cube Tattoo.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Get a sentence translated by someone well versed in the foreign language you’ve chosen. Tattoos are permanent, so a mistake in the word or spelling can change the entire meaning of the tattoo.

Skin tone plays an important part. For example, a slick inscription will look smart on someone with a lighter skin tone, while a bold font will always work better for a dusky complexion.

The body part where the tattoo is meant to be done is important. Along the length of the forearm, below the neck and shoulder blade are hot spots.

A dot tattoo by Niloy

DOT

The new kid on the ink block is the dot tattoo. “Although any design can be done with dots, it is mostly used in tribal tattoos and can be called modern tribal. In this form of tattoo, there is a very nice texture that often gives a 3D effect, which makes it different from other tattoos,” says Niloy.

It is an art difficult to ace. “Dot tattoo can be called a substitute of shading but one needs to be very confident to do it. It is mostly used in mandalas (think alpona). The most advanced level of dot tattoo can be used in portrait form, but that is extremely rare as the artist really needs to be very experienced,” says Rajdeep.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Keep the dots uniform.

There should not be abrupt gaps in between the dots, else the shading will not be perfect.

It should preferably be done on a moderate-fair to fair complexion.

A turtle motif by Subhojit

TRIBAL

A tribal tattoo is primarily a masculine tattoo art. “Mostly guys between the age of 25 and 35 come for tribal tattoos. Simple tribal designs are common, but recently tribal tattoos with a mix of biomechanical style have been catching on. This form of tattoo is more realistic and is related to machinery like automobile,” says Sid Thapa, a tattoo artist who owns Calcutta Ink Tattoo Studio.

A tribal tattoo can be divided into two categories. “One is abstract and the other originates from Maori and Polynesian designs,” says Rajdeep of 3 Cube Tattoo. “There are specific symbols that stand for specific words but it is always not possible for us to know the meaning of each word. So, sometimes people get an animal or object tattooed in a tribal design. Tribal work mostly has a solid back feel and a bold appearance,” says Raja.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Since tribal tattoos are mostly big in size, it is advisable to do it in a few sittings. Else after three-four hours, the pain becomes unbearable.

Should ideally be done on fleshy parts of the body, like the arms and shoulders.

A 3D tattoo by Rajdeep

3D

With 3D movies and printing taking over the world, 3D tattoos are a hit too. “3D is nothing but an illusion created on the skin that makes the tattoo appear livelier,” says artist Subhojit Chakroborty at Lizard’s Skin Tattoos.

Two to three techniques are involved in 3D tattoos. “One is where you drop a shadow of the object on the skin. For example a butterfly will appear as if it’s sitting on the skin,” says Rajdeep. The other technique is ‘under the skin’ where the tattoo appears as though the skin is torn apart, creating depth. “Motifs like butterfly and spider are some of the common designs used in 3D tattoos,” adds Rajdeep.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Creating the shadow effect is the most vital part of a 3D tattoo.

The placement of the tattoo on the body part should be perfect to get the 3D effect.

It’s recommended for predominantly medium fair to fair skin; the shading on dusky skin tone will not stand out.

The artist should know the design by heart. It is vital that the angle of the shadow should be perfect, the geometrical technicality should be correct.

One should not forget that with time, the 3D effect might lighten as the ink gradually fades away.

t2 canvassed the city to bring you a list of tattoo artists in Calcutta...

3 CUBE TATTOO

Where: Triangular Park, Shapur Sarani,

Block H, New Alipore

Artist: Rajdeep Pal. “When I started off four years ago, Calcutta was a small town when it came to tattooing. People had this idea that Goa was the only place to get tattooed. Fast forward to 2014 and the myths and taboos related to tattooing have been broken. So much so that a lot of youngsters are seeing tattooing as a career option,” says the artist, who’s been in the business for four years. His most memorable experience? “Tattooing a Buddhist monk. I got to know a lot about their way of life and it had an influence on the way I look at the world.”

Pocket pinch: Rs 800 per square inch up to 4 square inch. The per square inch rate goes down as the size of the tattoo gets bigger.

LIZARD’S SKIN TATTOOS

Where: Avani Riverside Mall (first floor);

392/1 Prince Anwar Shah Road (opposite South City Mall)

Artist: Niloy Das

Pocket pinch: Rs 1,500 for the first square inch and average square inch will be between Rs 500 and Rs 600.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Where: Block B, Shop No B 115, City Centre New Town

Artist: Pazor Lepcha. “Tattoo conventions are being organised in the city, which encourages social awareness,” says the artist whose inspiration was his Fine Arts teacher Gyaltsen Lama in Sikkim.

Pocket pinch: Starts at Rs 1,000.

UNIK INK TATTOO STUDIO

Where: 356 Canal Street, Lake Town VIP (Sreebhumi), Maruti Suzuki building, first floor

Artist: Anjan Pradhan. “The best part about my job is getting paid for doing something that I not only love but will enjoy doing throughout my life,” says the 22-year-old, who is fascinated with TV shows like Miami Ink and LA Ink, that featured artists like Tim Hendricks, Chris Garver and Kat Von D.

Pocket pinch: Rs 500 per square inch. Bigger the tattoo, lesser the cost.

Calcutta INK Tattoo Studio

Where: 181A Park Street, near seven-point Park Circus crossing

Artist: Sid Thapa

Pocket pinch: Rs 1,200 per square inch

RJ TATTOOS

Where: 21C Fakir Halder Lane, Kalighat

Artist: Raja Pyne

Pocket pinch: Rs 1,000 per square inch.

Five things you don’t want to hear at a tattoo parlour:

“Eagle? I thought you said BEAGLE!”

“We’re all out of red, so I used pink.”

“Gosh! I hate it when I get hiccups.”

“I bet you can’t tell that I’ve never done this before.”

“Oops!”

celebs who went skin deep

Text: Pramita Ghosh
What does your tattoo mean to you? Tell t2@abp.in