Make Your Mark…

Tattooing. The art of the tattoo dates back over 5000 years with the earliest known work to be found on the infamous Iceman discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps.

Other cultures included the Mayans, the Aztecs and Incas some 2000 years before the pyramids. Other early tattoo work was found amongst, the Nubians, Egyptians, Greeks, Germans, Gauls, Tharcians as well as the British.

Jumping ahead to 1891, Samuel O'Reilly invents the rotary tattoo gun and the art of the ink on flesh spread further and faster eventually getting to where it is now.

Now as for meaning, that is as widespread as the multitude of styles abundant in the artform. The most prevalent theme amongst it would be that of some sort of tribal marking. Something to associate you with a particular group of people or a particular mindset.
Surely the arena of music is a well known field for tattooing. The amount of ink on the collective rock and roll community could probably cover the globe in ink marked flesh. Not too mention the use of tattooing in the military, which became extremely popular during World War II. Then there are all of the actual “tribal” uses of it reflecting the various cultures that incorporate them. As diverse as all these groups are, the concept is the same across the board. A marking of pride, honor, connection. Something to permanently connect you to something they felt was bigger than they are and they were proud to be a part of.

So, where is this all leading, well…the challenge I am putting forth to all of you is to…

Tattoo Me!

That’s right! I want you to design a tattoo. For me. But not just any tattoo design. A deviantART themed tattoo! Yup, that’s right. I have been on this site for over 4 years now, as a deviant, as various positions in the administration and it feels like home. It feels like I’m part of this tribe. My time here has changed my life in many ways, from the subtle to the profound. From laughter to sweat to long sleepless nights of work to longer sleepless nights of enjoying it for the sake of enjoying it.

I want something to mark that. I know my memories of my past and future here won’t go away and I would like to take an even bigger jump and get it put right there on my skin. That’s what sort of pride I have for this place. And that is also what sort of trust I have in this community. I trust you guys enough to come up with something that will be on my skin for life. Or maybe I’m just nuts, only time will tell on that one

The Specifics

Design: The tattoo itself is planned for my forearm so keep that in mind for size/layout. As for style, that is your humble task.

EDIT*** MY Forearm Measurements are roughly 13 inches at the largest area, 9 1/2 at the middle and 8 at the wrist and about a foot in length.

Medium: You can creathe the design in any manner you choose, be it digital or traditional.

Color: No more than 6 colors, one of them being black. I have a preference for things of a pink and blue nature but again, you need not go that route. It is entirely up to you. And you do not need to use 6 colors if you do not wish to. Blackwork is absolutely fine.

Content: Something deviantART related. Be it incorporating the logo, Fella, the concept of community, whatever you choose to interpret to represent this site and this whole premise.

Other Various Requirements: Nothing swiped. If you want to do something involving Fella or the DA logo, you need to do your own interpretation of it. If I wanted to swipe a logo off here and use it I could do that myself

Entry Numbers You may enter as many times as your little heart desires. But each time you submit a piece you must say aloud "De plane! de plane!" in honor of Hervé "Tattoo" Villechaize from Fantasy Island.

The final requirement. It must be bad ass. It must rock my socks off. This is going on my arm for all the world to see so no anchors or heart tattoo’s that say “Mom” please.

The Prize

Yes, that is correct. Prize. Singular. Or in simpler terms…There can be only one!

That’s right, only one winner will be chosen. No runner ups. No 2nd best. One bad ass design will be getting all the accolades. And here is what you will get for your efforts.

A Lifetime Subscription! No, not a subscription to the crappy cable channel of the same name, but a lifetime subscription to deviantART. The tattoo will be permanent and so will your sub! Your account will bear the tag of Subscribed Until Hell Freezes Over!

Any deviantWEAR shirt of your choosing! ( from the new series which will be released next week. Here is a hint, it’s black and it rocks! )

A sharp styling DA baseball cap! ( also a sharp stylish beast from the upcoming series )

A Feature Article about your design and a feature on your gallery!

A copy of Corel Painter 9!

A custom made T-Shirt from Neighborhoodies declaring “I Designed Lolly’s Tattoo for deviantART!”

A One year Subscription to Skin&Ink!

Some unannounced various other prizes will also be forthcoming!

Entry/Deadline/Details

Please submit your entries to Contests>Tattoo Lolly

Deadline

The deadline will be March 23 at Midnight PST.

Winner Announced

The winning entry will be announced April 5th and work on the tattoo will commence as soon as possible after that! So get out there and make me something I can sport for life!

Additonal Info: The final design will be subject slight or minor alterations if need be due to placement etc. The design won't be changed if at all possible.

Frequently Asked Questions Answered!

How or Where Do I Submit My Entry? Submit it as a Deviation, and then choose “Contests” as the second option, and then choose “Tattoo Lolly” as the third option

What are you arm measurements and can we see a picture of your arm?

The measurements of my arm are as follows in inches and centimeters

Width 5 inches/12.7 centimeters
Circumference at largest area 13 inches/33 centimeters
Circumference at middle 9.5 inches/24 centimeters
Circumference at wrist 8 inches/20 centimeters
Length 12 inches/30.5 centimeters

Images

How Many Times Can I Enter? As many as you would like

What medium can I use? You can create the design either digitally or traditionally. As long as it is clean and would be usable for the tattoo work

What size tattoo are you looking for? Anything from a half sleeve to a small stand alone or anything in between. The entries are based on quality as opposed to area covered.

Can I contact you privately for advice? Unfortunately no, as I am judging the contest I cannot be biased. If you have simple questions I can answer those but I cannot answer things like “what do you like?” “or can you tell me what you think of this?”

Some things that I will clarify as being okay to use are likenesses of the clown avatar, the DA logo, Fella, my user name, and the word deviantART. You do not need to be limited to these or feel compelled to use all of them.