Punk tattoos best describe the way punks lead their life. In simple words, punk portrays being very colorful and with total freedom, yet obeying their own rules. In this article, we will read more on these tattoos.
The punk culture flourished in 1970s in the United States of America as well as in Britain. This culture is based on non-conform appearance from the point of view of clothing, hairstyle, jewelry, as well as tattoos.
Punks have created their own little universe, where they follow their own rules. At the same time, they are not worried about what other normal people opine about them. It is very common for commoners to call punks selfish, stupid, or even despise them. However, it is important to understand that they are not selfish or stupid people, but they are people who do not follow a normal set of rules, as they do not believe in them. Same is the case with punk tattoos as well. The most common feature of these tattoos is that they are essentially visible tattoos. They can be made on their faces or on the head.
Designs
Punk culture has long been associated with a specific music genre; hence, it is natural to have certain tattoo images connected to punk music. As a matter of fact, they are considered cool punk tattoos. Tribal tattoos have also found a lot of acceptance among punks. It can be attributed to the fact, that punks are looked upon as new, modern tribal people.
The tattoo of a cross is mainly known as the symbol of Christianity as a religion. This design is embellished with additional designs such as a heart, wings, or feathers. Tribal cross is one of the oldest tattoo designs. It is usually sported in black color. However, younger generations prefer the use of colors.
A palm tattoo with the text ‘ROCK ME HARD’ or ‘LET’s ROCK’ can be a favorite design amongst rock punks. Such designs can also be modified by giving them a tribal touch.
Dragon tattoos have a special place in punk tattoo art, as they are fantastic and mysterious animals. A number of other animals can also be seen commonly in punk tattoos, as animals are a symbol of physical strength.
Tiger has been one of the strongest animals whose strength inspires the mankind. This design depicts strength, aggression, and attitude.
In addition to the tiger tattoo, a cat woman, bat, or butterfly are the various other available designs, which can be inked.
Among the other tattoos, skulls and marijuana leaves also have a special place in these tattoos, as it is directly related to the fact that most of them get high in order to boost their disconnection from the real world.
Other designs including skulls can consist of a palm with skulls over it, a skull with mechanical objects, or a skull with wings.
Marijuana is weed and a very common tattoo design amongst punks. Its design can be sported in black or various other shades. While some prefer to sport the leaf, some go for number ’13’ as it stands for the position of M in the alphabetical series.
Biker tattoos also have become popular in punk tattoo designs.
They are considered as an expression of freedom, which is an important part of punk culture.
A British flag is another popular punk tattoo, which gives them a sort of national identity.
Since punks are not satisfied with the laws in the society, they decided to find a form of protest against the society, and they found tattoos as the best medium of protest. The tattoo designs often suggest anarchy, rebellion, horror or may be disgust. There is always some logic attached to the tattoo designs, hence, each image has its own meaning and most of the images are related to the protests.
The most common type of tattoos you will come across are the punk rock pony tattoos, punk knuckle tattoos, punk cupcake tattoos, punk rocker outline tattoos, punk rocker skull tattoos, punk star tattoos, etc. Lettering tattoos are also very popular. Often the word ‘punk’ can also be seen tattooed. Knuckles are the favorite area for this tattoo.
Although punks prefer their tattoos to be on the more visible areas of the body, the feet, wrist, fingers, neck, lower back, chest, hips hands, arms, etc., are other popular areas for a tattoo. You may often come across a punk tattoo sleeve made with a combination of a number of tattoo designs.
In short, you will want to look for an image, which evokes rebellion, anarchy, social disgust, or horror. You will have to blow up the image, for the world to see and recognize it. At the same time, the placement of the tattoo will have an important role to play. You will have to place it on an area where it will be visible for people to see it.