Custom Tattoo Design: Tell Us the Idea, We Draw the Rest

Some tattoos start from our flash wall. This one started from a message in our DMs. The client described the picture in their head and asked us to design it from scratch.

Let us say this plainly while we are here: we take design commissions, not just bookings for existing designs. You do not have to choose from our flash. If you have an image in mind, bring it. 👻

From a few sentences to three numbered options

The brief for this piece: a little sheet ghost standing in the rain, umbrella in one hand, sword in the other. The artist drew three versions, numbered them, and let each one differ in the tilt of the umbrella, the grip of the sword and the rhythm of the raindrops.

We like giving numbered options because deciding from real drawings is far easier than imagining from words. Small differences, an umbrella angle, a sword position, are differences you can genuinely feel once a piece is palm sized. The client points at the right number, and we polish from there.

Fine lines, funny and lonely at once

Number three won. Featherweight lines, rain as short dashes scattered around, and a skull-faced ghost that manages to look lonely and funny at the same time, holding its umbrella as if waiting for someone in the rain. When the lines are steady and the spacing is right, a piece like this carries a whole mood without a drop of colour.

From the same session: Japanese script in red ink

The same session produced one more piece: the Japanese phrase 薄幸の生 in vertical writing, tattooed entirely in red ink, with the feel of a seal pressed on paper. It translates roughly to a life of fleeting happiness, a poetic line the client chose themselves.

Red ink has a charm of its own, and a few things worth knowing: red settles a little faster than black over the years, and some skin is more sensitive to red pigment than to others. We always talk this through before the needle. And for lettering in any language, we spend extra time on spacing and rhythm.

If script tattoos are your thing, we wrote about them properly in our Thai script tattoo article. The same principle applies in every language: check the meaning with a native speaker first.

How commissioning a design works

Commissioning is simple. DM us the idea, with or without references, plus a rough placement and size. We quote based on how complex the design is, sketch options, adjust together until it is right, then book the tattoo day. A commissioned design belongs to you alone; we never tattoo it on anyone else.

Half an idea is enough

And do not wait for the idea to be finished. Half a picture, or just a feeling you want to keep, is enough to start. Message @naive.flora.tattoo, or wander the flash catalogue as a starting point. The studio is on Phahonyothin 32/1 in Sena Nikhom, Chatuchak, open daily 10:00 to 20:00, from ฿1,500. ☔