The image of the Phoenix has been around for centuries and is one of the most popular tattoo choices in existence. Whether for its distinct beauty, its symbolism, or its historical significance, there are multitudes of reasons for choosing a Phoenix as a tattoo. When designing a Phoenix tattoo, there are many options to consider.
Fantasy
Because of their mythical origins, Phoenixes are often depicted as creatures of fantasy. With a fantastical tattoo design, there is much room for interpretation by both the artist and the wearer. Most fantastical Phoenix images are quite colorful, using bright oranges, reds and yellows and can range from very realistic to abstract sketches. The design allows for the inclusion of a background or action image if so desired. Because of its versatility, allowance for artistic expression, and self-expression of the wearer, the fantastical Phoenix design is the most diverse design choice.
Historic or Cultural
While the fantastical design for a Phoenix tattoo is the most versatile design choice, the historic design is the least. Images of the Phoenix appear in several cultures throughout history, such as Indian, Chinese, Greek, Egyptian, Persian to name a few. Historical depictions of the Phoenix often use muted colors, a two-dimensional perspective, a very simple background, and often reflects the artistic style of a particular culture or historic period. The historic design for a Phoenix tattoo allows for very little artistic interpretation and usually has a specific importance to the culture or historical period from which it was chosen. An historic design for a Phoenix tattoo might also be chosen because of a particular myth, symbolism or story associated with the image in a particular culture or historic era.
Tribal
Tribal designs for a Phoenix tattoo fall somewhere between the fantastical and historic designs, as it is often the most abstract of design choices. A tribal tattoo design offers the artist and wearer some self-expression and allows the artist to abstractly interpret the image of the Phoenix. Done with mostly black ink, tribal Phoenix tattoos commonly possess no background and range from an intricate series of lines and shapes, to very simple stamp like images. The tribal design forms the basic shapes of a bird with some tattoo designs being semi-realistic and others bordering on the abstract. Often, tribal Phoenix tattoos are quite large and require a larger portion of the body as a canvas, such as the back, because of the intricate placement of the lines and their potential to fuse into one another.
Source: ehow.com
