Tattoo lettering is a very popular design choice for tattoo enthusiasts. Names, dates, words of inspiration, strong beliefs, are just a few of the reasons for this popularity. Sometimes the lettering stands alone or it's added to an image.
Ambigrams are tattoo lettering fonts that can be read both right side up as well as upside-down. They make for interesting tattoo lettering. Sometimes they will be the same exact word or name when read in either direction. The more complicated ambigram designs spell different words depending on which direction they are being read. When the word is identical, the design is referred to as a symmetrical ambigram. Designs with 2 different words are, as you can probably guess, called asymmetrical ambigrams.
The field of ambigram tattoos only emerged as a popular tattoo design choice back around 2004 or so, but its popularity has risen quickly and ambigrams are now a trendy design choice. Some tattoo artists specialize in creating custom ambigram tattoo designs from words or names supplied by the customer.
The impact of an ambigram is stronger when it is a short phrase or a single word. Although it's possible to set up 3-6 word phrases in an ambigram tattoo, it doesn't have the same visual appeal as a single short word. For an ambigram to have the most bang, it has to be easy to discern the word in either direction which means the font size has to be large enough so a person can easily make out the word. If you want multiple words to create a long phrase, you'll have to keep the font size smaller. Discerning the words both ways will be much more difficult because of the number of letters in addition to the smaller font size.
The best way to match up a good design for an asymmetrical ambigram is to stick with two words or names that contain the same number of letters. If possible, stay away from the most difficult letters for an ambigram design. The difficult letters are Q, U, W, V, and the letter Z.
Where Do I Get an Ambigram Design?
Ambigrams can be designed for a tattoo stencil in one of three ways. You can find tattoo flash art that already has the artwork laid out and ready for stencil work. This artwork will usually consist of popular phrases and words in a variety of font styles. A search on the internet will help you to find web sites that sell ambigrams like this.
You can also hire a gifted artist who has a talent for lettering and, especially, a gift for ambigrams.
The third way is to find an auto-generator on the internet. You can find web sites with software that allows you to plug in your word or two, and it will generate your ambigram. You have more limitations with the auto generated type of ambigram but if the phrase or phrases are simple enough, this method can work for you.
Susan Trudeau has a few sites on the topic of tattoos. Visit http://www.best-tattoo-sites.com/ to read more about a variety of popular Tattoo Design Choices
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