Celtic connection tattoos

So, I've finally come up with a design that I'm pretty happy with.

It's taken several iterations. I had particular trouble with the band that will sit at the bottom. It was more trouble trying to decide how much detail and what elements would be incorporated. But, I fell back on the old troupe, 'Less is more'. 

The thing that I really wanted to get in there was the wave patter that you see bordering the triskelion. I've seen it as part of larger tattoo motifs in the circle around the shoulder or the arm. But with the complexity of the eagle and unicorn it just made the band at the bottom look messy (see earlier drafts)

 

On the left hand version I've turned the figures inward to more closely resemble the Scottish crests I've seen with unicorns gallantly framing a shield. I'm undecided on which triskelion to get (the outline version or the knockout black version). I think the black version is a bit too much given there's a lot in the rest of the tattoo already. However, as a standalone tattoo I think the black is much more eye-catching and fits in more with others that I have. 

I also want to get a stylus tattooed on my right forearm. A stylus is an ancient writing tool but is also the symbol for the muse Calliope who is my muse (and also the name of my good friend's wee bairn! She can borrow my design when she's older.) I'm dithering between slghtly more complext designs and something simple.

 

I'm a bit worried. I don't really want a tattoo that will be visible when I'm wearing short sleeves. Plus, I don't want it to be mistaken for a knife (I also realise it looks a bit like a wand from Harry Potter). The more complex designs look less weapony. And I added a fountain pen nib to highlight its use as a writing utensil. I think the one on the right is what I'm going to go for. It also uses one of the runes from the Emersus Project series. It's the glyph of Arbedusitus - a being with the ultimate power to bring peace to the world. I guess the pen really is mightier than the sword! I'm going to let the idea sit for a while. But, I have a very strong feeling it's going to happen anyway!


Hope you enjoy!
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Tattoo too

I'm back on the trail of my newest tattoo to come. As I stand ready to get my UK citizenship I thought a tattoo that pays homage to my new home, Scotland.

In keeping with the tribal theme that many of my tattoos are I decided to go with a Pictish motif for the new work. It's also fitting as I've just spent the last year researching Celtic and Brittonic myths for the Age of Albion series.

There's not a ton of Pictish work left these days. As far as we know they didn't have a written language. Eventually the Picts merged with Celtic and Gaelic peoples to form the Scots and their distinct identity was subsumed into the 'Scots' identity and much of their artefacts were destroyed as pagan artefacts. But there are some stone carving (Pictish stones) and metal work left of their art which is where much of the modern idea of Pictish art comes from. Check out the Historic Scotland 3D scans of stones!!

I want to eventually form the tattoos I have on my shoulder and chest to grow into a quarter sleeve. The bigger pieces all have their individual meanings and combined will form their own story. The Pictish design will fit in between the Mucha floral tattoo and the Adinkra symbols on my shoulder.

As I want the tattoo to relate to becoming UK citizen I wanted to use the national animals of my home country (the US) and Scotland. They are respectively an eagle and a unicorn! Easy, eh?

frontiersofzoology.blogspot.co.uk

Well, thankfully, there are examples of Pictish animals found on various stones. This made the job of stylising the eagle and unicorn (from a horse) straightforward - sort of. I was able to use the drawings of the eagle and the horse (which I think is actually meant to be a kelpie) and adapt them.

The eagle was the easiest. It's pretty identifiable as a bird and I just needed to add more detail to bring it up to a level that I would be happy to have etched into my skin for the rest of eternity. It still took me a while to get it right and I had to tool around with the shape and lines of the bird so that it read distinctly 'eagle' instead of 'sea gull' (I loathe seagulls).

some sketches

So I spent A LOT of time drawing bald eagles and getting the curvature of the neck and hook of the beak accurate. I also wanted to add a bit of zhoosh to it incorporating Pictish triskelions.

The unicorn was a bit trickier. I didn't want it to come off looking too soft (the last thing I want is for people to think I'm a brony). I also wanted to up the Scottish factor on it. So, I decided that the unicorn, while following the stylisation of the Pictish kelpie horse, would be rearing up (as it's usually seen on a coat of arms) and fashioned after a clydesdale horse. I've also done some knotwork in the tail to add in some detail. 

The eagle and unicorn will be placed on either side of my adinkra symbols tattoo and below it I want to place a band that will go around my arm. I chose a more geometric pictish pattern as I think it will sit nicely in contrast to the more flowing lines of the animals as well as the Alphonse Mucha tattoo (see above picture). I'm not 100% sold on the swirls but we'll see. Now it's just a matter of discussing the image with my tattoo artist and figuring out placement and sizes.

I also designed an awesome kraken tattoo for a mate. He's a naval architect and wanted a classic navy tattoo. I really enjoyed the chance to design something traditional with a scene with shading and the like. Also, it's like nothing I've ever done for myself but I think it will be an incredible tatt. I've replaced the traditional roses that come on the side of such anchor tattoos with the flower of York (as he's a Yorkshireman). Now I just need to convince him to hurry up and get it done so I can see! :D

Have a look at  my other tattoos

Hope you enjoy!
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Buy Book 1, 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook

The knot's undone

The booklet for the Thebans' 10th Anniversary is finished!


I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The idea of using Celtic knots has remained an integral part of the book's design. However I've distilled it down to something less obvious. To design a book that was totally illuminated was not only crazy time consuming but it looked, well... old. It didn't really reflect the ground-breaking accomplishments of the club. However, I still wanted the Celtic connection to be part of the book as, after all, it is a Scottish rugby team and 'Caledonian' (Latin name for Scotland) is in the team's full name.


NOT coincidentally, the book is typeset in a font call 'Scotch Roman MT'. There is no 'Scotch Latin' font but it is as close to poignant as you're going to get.


I used the knots primarily as section dividers in the book and as decorative elements at the end of chapters. I think it was a far more elegant solution for incorporating the Celtic element than anything more obtrusive like full-on illumination.

For the cover, I wanted to find an image to represent the ideal of 'brotherhood' which is part of the team's original motto. Like a gift I came across this match picture in Newcastle. The facelessness of the players coupled with the huddled embrace shows that they no longer stand as individuals but as a team.


For the title, I also added in the 'Thebans Knot' into the text. This 15 crossed knot represents the unity of a team on a rugby pitch. 15 crosses for the 15 players of a full squad in the shape of, you got it, a rugby ball. It coincidentally fit perfectly into the cleft of the 'C' so I was well pleased with how the integral elements of the book could be brought together on the cover in a very tasteful way, if I do say so myself.

Not only writing the book, but getting to design, typeset and illustrate it has been such a joy for me. It's a rare thing for an artist to have the opportunity to oversee every aspect of a project on behalf of someone else (Stationery fetish appeased as I even got to choose paper weights, etc at printer!). And even more special for the fact that it is my rugby team. I hope that not only the design, but the writing does justice to the decade of success that the team has seen.


You'll be able to buy a copy on the team's website after the Anniversary Dinner (14th July). Or, buy a ticket and you'll get a copy free on the night! Might even get it signed if you're lucky. ;-)
Now it's done, I suppose I have to get back to working on THE book!


Enjoy!
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Thebans and the Argoknots

So, I'm up against it as usual with getting the Thebans' 10th Anniversary booklet done so I've stopped toying with knots and have settled on the 3 major ones. They're not as fancy as the ancient Celts rocked out in the Book of Kells. But, pretty good for a novice. And, best part is I have something the Celts did not... Adobe Illustrator! The original drawing are scanned and then redrawn in illustrator. Best part about symmetrical knots is you only have to draw one half. Then you can copy it and do a mirror image and it links up properly! I'm also keeping the illumination simple and elegant because we're a modern people. If the Thebans' 10th Anniversary book was as illuminated as illuminated manuscripts it would look like an illuminated manuscript. Here are the knots I've come up with:

Thebans Knot

For use as a centre piece on pages. This is the only one completed in illustrator so far. It's in the shape of a rugby ball.

Text Knot

This will be used as a border in combination with the Thebans' knot and can also be used on its own to underline headers.

Corner Knot

This will be used as illumination in the corners of the pages. Can also be linked with digital ninjary to connect to the simple text knot.

What knot to do

I'm currently designing a 10th Anniversary booklet for my rugby team, Caledonian Thebans. I was very keen to come up with an some interesting graphics and theme to incorporate into the book's layout.

As we've branded ourselves as the Celtic version of the fabled 'band of brothers' I thought, 'What symbolic band holds our brotherhood together'?. Well, other than a love of rugby, there is plenty, including the group's Celtic roots. And, what better to illustrate that than through the symbolic 'Celtic knot'.

So, I set to studying good ol' fashioned illuminated manuscripts and the techniques of drawing Celtic knots. Besides being beautiful, they find a an almost mathematical precision to organic forms. They appeal very much to both my analytical and artistic sides.

The first thing I learned about knots is that they are plotted in a series of right hand crosses. There are various 'rules' for how to connect and cross at points as well as creating breaks and backwards loops that create the mind-blowingly intricate patterns.

So, I've set about creating a 'rugby' knots that are made up of 15 right crosses for the 15 players on a rugby team. I'm starting with very basic knots and then learning to embellish from there.

The first 'rugby' knot I've done I call 'the brotherhood' knot:


It's a square 'shield' knot and are said to offer protection. Perfect for a rugby team! I like that it incorporates 'rugby ball like' finishes at the corners, 'infinity' in the middle but also, there's the heart shape which implies our passion for the game.








The second rugby knot is a Theban cross:


I think it may be a bit to 'religious' looking as I wanted it to look like a 'T'. So I'm currently working to embellish it in different ways so that it might someday look good on a Theban's t-shirt (hint hint).

I'm currently attempting to make a rugby ball out of a knot, but this may be beyond my ken at this stage.

I'm staying away from the Triskelion patterns in my illumination at the moment because, geezo! they are crazy!