The Best Tattoo Ideas for Men, According to a Celebrity Tattoo Artist

If you're harboring any fear of commitment, it's going to come to surface when the time comes to decide on a tattoo. This goes without saying but when you’re going to ink yourself permanently—whether it’s a micro tat or a full sleeve—you're gonna want to get it right. Maybe you know what you want, but don’t know the best execution—something that will look good in 5, 10, or 40 years.

To help you, at least a little, we got some design suggestions from Sean Dowdell, co-owner of Club Tattoo, which has locations in Las Vegas, as well as Mesa, Tempe, and Scottsdale, AZ. Dowdell and his team have inked celebs like Slash, Miley Cyrus, Amar’e Stoudemire, Blake Shelton, Steve Aoki, and Keith Sweat. We asked him for suggestions on the most popular types of tattoos today—and ones that will look good with time, instead of feeling dated to a certain decade.

The Best Tattoo Ideas for Men

These are the most commonly requested types of tattoos of late, says Dowdell.

Animals

Animals that have presence or represent admirable traits, like lions, eagles, bears, or leopards. These are often the animals that the wearer might identify as his “spirit animal”. As seen on: Justin Bieber’s left arm.

Portraits

Dowdell says that tattoos of loved ones and icons (like rock stars, actors, and athletes) are especially common with male clients. Similar to a spirit animal, the wearer of a portrait tattoo wants to honor the legacy of the person he preserves in ink. As seen on: Eminem’s shoulder. (And Shia Labeouf's thighs.)

Lettering

“Lettering always has been popular, and always will be,” says Dowdell. You can work with your artist to find the font and lettering style that suits your taste. And the tattoo itself can be as simple as a significant date, a quote, a loved one’s name, or a significant word. As seen on: J Balvin’s knuckles.

Neo-traditional:

Dowdell cites “neo-traditional” as a catchall for things like line figures (of nondescript people or of animals), expressive color palettes, and geometric or floral designs. They are a contemporary play on long-standing staples. As seen on: Jason Momoa’s forearm.

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Maybe Don't Get This One

Dowdell says that Celtic and tribal tattoos are on the way out. You might associate them with muscled celebrities and athletes, and recognize them for their ornate patterns or scenery. A Celtic tattoo uses black ink to background crosses, trees, or folkloric animals. A tribal tattoo uses black ink to fill in spiraling, zigzagging arrows and lines, often migrating from the pec onto the shoulder and arm. The tricky thing about tattoos is that you still see the ones that are “out of style”, because they’re permanently on the wearer. So, Dowdell’s point is that he’s doing far fewer of these types anymore, in favor of the aforementioned ones. As seen on: The Rock’s shoulder and arm.

Before You Pull the Trigger

To set expectations, Dowdell tells his clients the following before each appointment.

Pain is relative.”Every tattoo will hurt (to get) to some degree,” he says. However, the more “meaty” an area, the less it tends to hurt. “Ribs are usually no fun as far as pain level, and the back of the knee seems to be one of the most painful areas to get a tattoo.”

Remember that you will need touch ups. “Anything with a bold composition is usually easy to touch up and bring back to life, as is black and gray blending,” Dowdell says. “If you had a tattoo of a lion in black and gray—let's assume that the composition is solid but the application not so much—then it’s easier for us to go back into it and re-sculpt it into a legitimate piece of art and make it look better.”

Only some tattoos can be covered up later. “Tattoos that have a lot of movement, and tighter patterns, are usually harder to cover up,” he says. “For example, a large thin circle would be easy to cover with just about anything, yet a Celtic knot that’s tight and close together would be more difficult to hide behind a new tattoo.”