For most, getting a tattoo requires a lot of forethought and consideration. First, you need to figure out what you’d like to get, then you need to find the appropriate reference photos, and then decide where on your body you’d like to place them. From there, you need to find an artist and then you need to consider the placement of the piece in relationship to your body’s natural contours.
Now, this is where it gets tricky. The body’s natural curves play a vital role in how your tattoo will look and if the tattoo is a bit big for that area, some artists may suggest making your piece smaller, whereas an experienced tattooist can typically work their magic. Regardless if it’s on your wrist, ankle, ribcage, or arm, it’s really important to make sure that your artist has a mean “wrap around” game.
The ability to lay down a larger tattoo, and make it wrap around the natural contours of the body is what we call, “wrap-around” game. While it may seem like an easy task, it really isn’t. The human body is full of contours, and a good tattooist should know how to make your piece look right.
Take for instance this Woody Sheriff tattoo that was done by Fernie Andrade. To have the tattoo wrap around the ankle may sound like an easy task, but it’s really not that simple. To be honest, the only thing that’s “easy” is the fact that it’ll be easy for a novice to jack up your tattoo, and leave you emotionally scarred with a tattoo that has bad and elongated proportions.
