Timtoo's Tattoos

Skin illustrations one of one

T I M T O O ' S T A T T O O S
Temporary | Removable

Parlor magic without the pain.

    In addition to those found in "Timtooz Zoo" which is its own little shop listed under Directory, these images were also designed as removable tattoos. When that particular project failed to materialize, I revised and finalized my "skin illustrations" for this website presentation. By the way, for trivia buffs, in the late Ray Bradbury's story, The Illustrated Man, the main character rebukes a description of his body decorations as "tattoos". He tells his friend that these are "skin illustrations". So that's where I borrowed the term. But I digress.

    Since I had never drawn tattoos before, I wasn't sure how to proceed. The client wanted fantasy and fun, for both children and adults. Obviously the butterfly pixies were intended for the young adult market. Also worth noting is the fact that these illustrations were all preliminary ventures into this particular arena of art. Tattoos, when done well, should have their own "look" and unique personality.

    For me, I was never quite satisfied with the works displayed both here and elsewhere on the website; I had yet to achieve the exact style and appearance I was looking for. This kind of art is always evolutionary if one doesn't do it routinely. Sometimes it takes a lot of the proverbial trial and error before the mind and imagination make just the right "connection". A great example of this process can be seen among the Feel the Heat drawings located on page IMA14 listed under IMAGINOMICON. In contrast to the images shown here, the final versions of Odo, the dodo bird, represent a near-perfect transition from awkward beginnings to a Zen-like simplicity that is equal parts natural and elegant.

    In the end, this project never got beyond the preliminary stages of development. That sort of thing happens a lot, so I wasn't all that devastated by the failure of the venture to take off, so to speak. My biggest regret, in hindsight, was closing the door and walking away from the very same process to which I alluded earlier. Namely the idea of refining and perfecting the artistic qualities associated with this specific theme. It would have been great fun to follow the journey to a more satisfactory conclusion.

    Be that as it may, presented here for your bemusement and consternation are the remaining pieces of an endeavor from about fifteen years ago, give or take.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Note that many of these drawings have little or no color and would have appeared somewhat differently when completed as full color products.
Nor are any shown at actual size or in any particular order.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

The BUTTERPIXIES Collection.

Never completed and still lacking wing details, the Butterpixies (so what would you have called them?) as shown, are about the right size, give or take. Maybe a bit larger in some cases, smaller in others. Just as Walt Disney studios used Marilyn Monroe as the model for Tinker Bell, I used my own sources for my models. And like news reporters, I try never to reveal my sources. The art is what it is. If it is art at all, some might ask.

Without trying to be too controversial, can you guess what is potentially more offensive than naked women with butterfly wings? The answer is flesh tones. Because I'm Caucasian, surrounded by other Caucasians, the temptation is strong to use light-skinned people in all such images. Had the tattoo project proceeded to its final stages, I would have (strongly) encouraged the client to produce versions of these same images which included skin tones reflective of both Black Americans and Latinos. An example of my inclinations in this regard can be seen in the large, central image labeled below as Butterpixie Six.

Butterpixie One.

Butterpixie Two.

Butterpixie Three.

Butterpixie Four.

Fig. 6.

Okay, so she's not really a Butterpixie. I just liked the wings. Well, mostly the wings.

Butterpixie Five.

The Sprites, Nymphs, & Faeries Collection

Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

Fig. 11.

Butterpixie Six.

Fig. 12.

Fig. 13.

A Closer Look

Shown below are zoomed-in views that indicate the extra work required for the heads and faces of the "girls". An even closer inspection would reveal crucial areas that necessitated individual pixel-by-pixel placement and adjustment. I still consider these head shots incomplete and somewhat unsatisfactory. But they are what they are and, in their own way, serve their roles here well enough. And no, I didn't name them individually. I wanted to, but the wife said no.

Butterpixie Three. Detail.

Butterpixie Two. Detail.

Butterpixie One. Detail.

Butterpixie Four. Detail.

Butterpixie Five. Detail.

Butterpixie Six. Detail.

Arboreti Miscellaneum

    Last but not least (or maybe they are) here's the dregs of my artistic foray into the world of tattoos. Keep in mind that, as always, everybody is always in a hurry, so these last images represent quick, down and dirty stabs at producing quantity as well as quality. To make them presentable for website display, I cleaned them up a bit and added more color. My personal favorite is the two hearts with an arrow in the middle. It just looks like a tattoo and demonstrates the kind of thing I was after all along. The mushrooms are kind of nice, also, but are still missing something.

    By the way, another version of the spiral heart design can be found in the Games & Wreckreation department listed under Directory. It's in my nature to make the most from singular pieces of art, and one of the minor conflicts that arose for me personally was the persistent desire to force the tattoo images into dual-purpose roles; I felt the images could make attractive art prints, suitable for framing, in addition to acting as skin applications alone. The conversion from one to the other, in terms of the printing costs involved, would have been nominal and easily accomplished. It is for this and other reasons that I typically think in terms of "collections", whereby potential customers of such fare would not only have a wide selection to choose from, but their purchase may enjoy some degree of investment value.

    This idea of collectibility regarding my art can be found throughout the website, and reflects my personal attitude with respect to how decent artistry might be both shared and made affordable. Good music is certainly treated in a similar manner and I see no reason why good art ought not be viewed (and owned) in the same way. The whole concept of ownership, however, deserves its own essay, which I'll get around to one day in the future. Until then, I hope you enjoy these whimsical entrees that allowed me the freedom to sample from a buffet of endless possibilities.