A Merry Christmas May You Have

The lovable character from the popular Star Wars movies, Yoda, is shown in this tattoo; either as a replacement for Santa Claus or as one of Santa’s little helpers.

source:geekytattoos

Kiss Me under the Mistletoe

This funny Christmas tattoo falls under the label of adult humor, as the mistletoe design is tattooed just above this guy’s belt line. In western culture, it is traditional to hang mistletoe in a doorway. If someone stands beneath the mistletoe, it is an invitation for a kiss…

source:ratemyink

A Nightmare Before Christmas Tattoo

Jack Skellington, the main character from Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, is a humorous contrast to the traditional Christmas character, Santa Claus, with his jolly jowls and bulging belly. The Jack Skellington Christmas tattoo below shows how this character’s evil looks stand in contrast to the innocent-looking characters that are usually associated with Christmas hats.

source:offbeatink

Jesus, a Bunny and a Jolly Fat Man

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In Christianity, Easter is a celebration of Jesus ascending to heaven, a ‘rebirth’ of sorts. The most recognizable Christmas character is Santa Claus, a jolly fat man in a red suit. Easter is often represented by a rabbit, called the Easter Bunny. In this funny tattoo, Jesus is shown with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

source:lonsdaletattoo

A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas Tattoo

Bill Watterson’s famous comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, has inspired a wealth of fan art tattoos. Most Calvin and Hobbes tattoos depict the main characters; the boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, but other characters from the comic have also stolen the hearts of the public, such as the philosophical snowman, shown below.

source:fanpop

Zombie Jesus Christmas Tattoo

This tattoo takes a little deciphering to fully understand its meaning. As far as this author can tell, this is a depiction of Jesus as a zombie (he did, in a way, rise from the dead at Easter). The zombie doll character has its arms outspread in a similar pose to that of Jesus on the cross, and through the palms of its hands are nails, in a parody of the crucifixion of Christ. The lightbulb is, uh, well, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

source:simplytattoo

Funny Will Ferrell’s Inky Elf

This tattoo shows funny man Will Ferrell as the character that he played in the Christmas themed movie, elf.

source:tattoofashion

Rudolph’s Predecessor, Immortal in Ink

This Christmas tattoo is a portrait of Randy the Reindeer, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s predecessor. For years, Randy led Santa’s sleigh on Christmas eve, delivering Christmas presents to good little children, sometimes, even, to deliver Christmas gifts to naughty children. Then one snowy night, Rudolph that dastardly Red Nosed Reindeer usurped Randy’s position as lead reindeer, dooming Randy to eternal obscurity. RIP Randy.

source:themusicink

We Wish You a Manga Christmas

This Christmas tattoo design uses the popular Japanese comic book style, manga, to portray Western symbols of Christmas. In this manga tattoo design, the Christmas fairy is shown wearing a Christmas outfit, holding the Star of Bethlehem and accompanied by other Christmas symbols, mistletoe and a candy cane.

source:tattootestdb

The Grinch Stole a Christmas Tattoo

The famous children’s book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, features a Who whose heart is three times too small. The Grinch is angry at the other Whos, who, every year, enjoy the Christmas cheer. The Grinch decides to stop Christmas from coming by stealing the Whos’ Christmas presents, who-ham and Christmas decorations.

source:about

Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the snowman knew
the sun was hot that day
So he said, ”Let’s run and
we’ll have some fun
now before I melt away.” – Frosty the Snowman by Walter Rollins and Steve Nelson, 1950

source:forwardeverforward

Run Down Reindeer

Grandma got run over by a reindeer,
Walkin’ home from our house, Christmas eve. – Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by Randy Brooks, 1979

source:dudesondiapers

You’d Better be Good

He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town – Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Coots and Gillespie, 1934

What gifts do naughty children get for Christmas?

source:crazy-frankenstein

Rudolph the Brown Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,
You could even say it glows. – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer character byRobert L. May, 1939

See what happened to Rudolph’s predecessor Randy the Reindeer.

source:redbubble

A Seriously Silly Sleigh Ride

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing
Ring ting tingle-ing too
Come on, it’s lovely weather
For a sleigh ride together with you – Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson 1948

source:jokesprank

Adult Calvin and Hobbes

Bill Watterson’s lovable comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, is based on the imaginative adventures of a young American boy, Calvin, and his stuffed tiger toy, Hobbes. The comic has inspired a wealth of fan art, from manga drawings and digital paintings to stuffed toys and Calvin and Hobbes tattoos. The images below show the original comic strip characters as youngsters, and an artist’s rendition of the two friends as adults; a man and his imaginary tiger.

source:wikia,ljsummit

Geriatric Marvels; Batman and Robin

Marvel Comics’ Batman and Robin have been firm favorites for decades. Here the two are shown defending Gotham City in their youth, alongside an image of Batman and Robin as old men, by comic artist Donald Soffritti.

source:theargonautsalmanac,toxiferous

Lilo and Stitch; Woman and Beast

Walt Disney’s feature film Lilo and Stitch focused on the friendship that forms between a Hawaiian girl, Lilo, and the nearly indestructible space monster, Stitch. In the kids’ movie, Stitch is portrayed as being creepy but cute. In the the second picture below, he is shown as an adult monster, not as cute as the original character design. Lilo is shown as a beautiful, exotic young woman.

source:fanpop,theplatform

Aged Charlie Brown and Snoopy

Charlie Brown and his Beagle, Snoopy, from the kids’ cartoon Peanuts, are shown here as adults. Both the characters and the drawing style have matured.

source:squidoo,mediaindesign

College Mutant Ninja Turtles

Based on the popular kids TV series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the fan art below shows the teenage turtles as college kids, still stuffing their face with pizza.

source:musicheaven,wildammo

In 1963, artist Harvey Ball was asked by an advertising agency to create a happy face that would appear on promotional buttons. The design that he came up with is what we recognize today as the “smiley face”. This is the yellow circle with two dots for eyes and an arc for a mouth. Since its inception, the smiley face has gone on to inspire a series of other icons that represent various emotions. These are commonly known as emoticons.

Smiley Face Tattoos

Bold symbols such as the smiley face are popular tattoo designs, as they are easy to recognize from a distance. The basic smiley design elicits a happy response in the viewer, as it has no social, political or religious connotations.

source:freerepublic,ratemyink,tomfogarty,litemyfart

Evil Smiley Face Tattoos

There are a number of popular evil smiley face tattoo designs available. These incorporate design elements that are symbolic of evil, such as skeletons, devil’s horns or blood. In many evil smiley tattoos, the smiley face design has been changed to have a diabolical grin.

source:thedawgpound,ratemyink,uchris

Smiley Face Tattoo Designs

Hundreds of smiley face tattoo designs exist. Most of them use the traditional yellow color of Harvey Ball’s original image, but many of them have additional design elements that give the smiley face more character. The meaning of these tattoos can be personal in nature or a comment by the bearer of the tattoo on social or cultural issues.

source:greensmilies,ratemyink,galleryoftattoosnow,tattoowright,mediocremotoring

The Original Vitruvian Man

The Vitruvian Man was created around 1487, and is so called because it is accompanied by notes on the architecture of Vitruvius. The famous sketch is an overlay of two images; that is, two images of the same man in two different poses. The Vitruvian man has intrigued people for centuries, and continues to be popular today. It has inspired many artists to put pen to paper and create their own renditions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man.

source:wikipedia

1. Go Go Vitruvian Gadget!

Based on the main character from the TV series Inspector Gadget, this variation of Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man has all the bells and whistles.

source:culturepopped

2. Vitruvian Mon

Featuring a popular character from the anime TV series, Pokémon, this artist’s rendition of The Vitruvian Man combines Rennaissance and cartoon art techniques.

source:teenormous

3. Leonardo Vitruvian

This piece is a pun on the name given to this character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; ”Leonardo”. The character was named after the creator of the Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci. In the animated TV series, Leonardo’s brothers were also given names of famous artists; Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello.

source:shaungent

4. Big Boned Vitruvian Cartman

Southpark‘s popular character, Cartman, is depicted here in the pose of the Vitruvian Man, his arms and legs stretched to their utmost limits.

source:juzmental

5. Venomous Vitruvian

Spiderman’s despicable doppelganger, Venom, from the comics and movies by Marvel Comics, is depicted in this Vitruvian variation. The artist has used the original sketch in his fan art, adding webbing designs to the hands and feet, and drawing venom in such a  way that he seems to be climbing out of the page.

source:designyoutrust

6. Homer (Doh!) Vitruvian

With his perfect physical form and elegant posture, Homer Simpson makes a graceful subject for this study of man’s proportions.

source:popartuk

7. HULK Vitruvian man

Another of Marvel Comics’ popular characters, The Hulk, has been used in this fan art, along with his human counterpart, Dr Bruce Banner. Instead of the image consisting of one subject in two poses, this picture shows two subjects in two poses. The beauty of this artwork is that the two characters are essentially the same person in two different forms.

source:imgfave

8. Cyanide and Vitruvius

The popular internet based comic Cyanide and Happiness has simple, appealing characters, as seen in this artist’s rendition of The Vetruvian Man. (Read Cyanide and Happiness online)

source:cdn.shopify

9. The Fatruvian Man

In this visual criticism of the declining health of modern humans, the original sketch has been edited to appear as though the model who posed for the sketch has put on weight.

source:men-in-full

10. Vitruvian Muppet

The Muppet Show is a popular children’s series that uses puppets. The lovable muppet puppet designs gave rise to scores of fan art featuring the characters. Here is Beaker, the luckless assistant of Dr Bunsen Honeydew, looking characteristically off balance as he poses for a sketch resembling The Vitruvian Man.

source:toughpigs