The category of lettering tattoos is very important. Today, most tattoos include lettering of some type whether it is old English or script. There are many different types of lettering styles and ways that they can be executed. They can be hand designed, or they can be printed out from a computer. Both styles can provide a wide range of fonts and variations. Pistol Pete prefers to hand-draw fonts.
Hand drawn lettering can be a much more personal approach as opposed to printing off a specific font. Going a step further, the lettering can be drawn directly onto the body to ensure that the way the lettering will sit on the body flows with muscle groups, as well as other tattoos. Furthermore, printed fonts are very common and not as unique as custom lettering.
Pistol Pete uses many techniques to make his lettering unique and dynamic, such as different line weights, shading, and flowing design. The smaller needles, such as a 3 or 4, make for sharper smaller lines that can then later be individually thickened up. Also, shading around the entire tattoo brings the lettering into the foreground.
Pistol Pete prefers to use single-line west coast script that uses a small tilt on each letter, and lots of swirls, or filigree, to make the tattoo flow with the body wherever it may be.
It is very important to consider placement when getting a lettering tattoo, especially if you want something that is typed from a computer font that is on a perfectly straight line. Due to the fact that no one's body is not perfectly flat, these perfect lines have deviations to them that will be unpleasant to the eye. When a tattoo (aside from a portrait of a face) can be drawn on, it fits the body as it was intended to, as opposed to the straight-line font. Computer fonts can be put in many areas and still be pleasant to the eye, though. Such areas include the top of the rib cage, forearms, wrists, and shoulder blades.
Pistol Pete can hand draw any style that will cater to exactly what you want for your lettering. Pistol Pete also likes to use several line weights and shading as well as filigree to make each lettering tattoo its own unique piece of art. Pistol Pete prefers to use all of these things to make the tattoo more dynamic. For instance, the different line weights help focus the eye on the consistent flow of the letters, and break up the letters when there is a lot more going on such as shading and filigree. Shading and filigree help give the tattoo balance when needed to help the tattoo fit perfectly on your body.
It is important to discuss with Pistol Pete what the lettering represents, such as a male loved one. This would allow for more sharp, masculine lines as opposed to curvy swirls. No matter what style of lettering you want, Pistol Pete can customize it to fit your individual needs.