Looking for "old-school" tattoo ideas!

[Tewligan]

So, I think a tattoo is in my near future, and I'm trying to figure out what I want to defile my pristine skin with. I think I want to go with some old art that screams "D&D!" to me, but I haven't settled on a firm choice yet. Right now, the strongest contenders are Warduke (Truman's art, NOT the new one) and good ol' Morgan Ironwolf - Warduke has the edge over Morgan because my girlfriend finds Ms. Ironwolf's ridiculous breasts a bit "gross", but she's still in the running. Anyone else have any ideas? I'm looking for something from the 1e/Basic D&D days - probably something with a sharp, "clean" look like Otus or Willingham, for example. I'm probably not going with anything too big or elaborate yet, since this is my first tattoo - that full-color back piece of the old PHB cover will just have to wait! So, yeah - any advice, pics, links for me?

 

[Henry]

What about the old "Dragon Ampersand" symbol from the 1st edition books? Can't get much more clear, distinct and old school than that!

 

[Tewligan]

What about the old "Dragon Ampersand" symbol from the 1st edition books? Can't get much more clear, distinct and old school than that!

Yeah, but people might think it's an "and" that's supposed to be connecting things:
"What's that say on your chest? 'Nipple and nipple'?"
"Why does your arm say 'Wrist and Elbow'?"

 

[EricNoah]

Map of a classic dungeon such as B1 or B2.

 

[mhensley]

Tatoo a spell description on you so you still memorize it if you are put in jail.

 

[zen_hydra]

 

[Blackwind]

There's a guy in my neighbor's D&D group who has a d4 tattooed on his leg. I thought that was pretty effing hardcore.

Speaking as someone who has extensive color tattoo work, I hope you don't mind me saying this: stick with black and white! Color work, especially on something like a full back piece (which I have) can get really expensive. For someone just starting out, I would recommend black and white on a part of your body that is covered if you're wearing pants and a t-shirt. Not too big, but not too small either--if your tat is too small, you'll be disappointed with it later.

But you've probably heard that already. Hmm. If I was going to get a D&D tat, I would probably go with Easley, Elmore, or DiTerlizzi, but I started in the 2E days and still like 2E art best. Dragons are always a good bet.

 

[Tewligan]

Map of a classic dungeon such as B1 or B2.

I actually DID consider something like that! I though about a series of corridors and rooms going up my arm, complete with the graph grid and mapping symbols and a blue fill around the outside of the map. Seemed a little much for my first tattoo, though it may be a possibility if I catch the tattoo bug in the future...

 

[Bregh]

TSR's old lizardman logo is pretty oldschool--the acaeum has a murky-looking pic of it (along with the rest of TSR's old logos) but the detail off any of the mid-70s era booklets (I'm looking at the one on Greyhawk as I type this) isn't too bad, IMO. (A full-size image also appears inside the front cover.)

If Otus is your bag, and you're a sucker for punishment, you could have some of his Cthulhu Mythos artwork in Deities & Demigods done. Yog-Sothoth would be an awesome tat!

Sutherland's Tiamat from the Monster Manual would be pretty straightforward and sweet. Any of the Archdevil or Demon Lord/Prince portaits would be unmistakable and noteworthy, but could be hard to qualify to the Witch-Finder General ( ).

EDIT: Zen Hydra wins. Can't top that for iconic.

 

[Tewligan]

Speaking as someone who has extensive color tattoo work, I hope you don't mind me saying this: stick with black and white! Color work, especially on something like a full back piece (which I have) can get really expensive. For someone just starting out, I would recommend black and white on a part of your body that is covered if you're wearing pants and a t-shirt. Not too big, but not too small either--if your tat is too small, you'll be disappointed with it later.

But you've probably heard that already. Hmm. If I was going to get a D&D tat, I would probably go with Easley, Elmore, or DiTerlizzi, but I started in the 2E days and still like 2E art best. Dragons are always a good bet.

Oh, I absolutely don't mind that advice, Blackwind. I'm leaning toward a black and white piece on my calf. I am leaning heavily toward Warduke, and I imagine I could have it colorized without too much difficulty if I choose to do so later. That way, I can both decide if I like it enough to do the color, and also break the cost up into two more manageable chunks.