Building design.tattoo: An AI Tattoo Flash Studio on WordPress, From Prompt to Stencil
I wanted a tattoo for my 40th and I'm not very good at drawing, so I built design.tattoo — on-skin previews and an artist-ready export. Funny thing is, I still don't have the tattoo.
The problem
For my 40th, I wanted a tattoo. I had no idea what I wanted. Or maybe a small idea. Either way, I’m not very good at drawing, so that was as far as it was going to go.
The solution
So I built design.tattoo to help me turn what I had in my head into an on-skin preview, then export a file with everything a tattoo artist would need to actually ink it.
The funny thing is, I still don’t have my tattoo. I spent so much time perfecting my ideas that I don’t have time to think about my tattoo.
Why it’s cool
You describe the tattoo in words. design.tattoo turns that into drawn takes you can refine, shows you an on-skin preview so you can see how it sits, and lets you export a file with everything a tattoo artist would need to ink it — the artwork and a mirrored stencil, ready to take to any artist.
That was the gap I cared about. Not another pretty picture on a screen. Something you could actually walk into a studio with.
What was hard to get right
Generic image tools are fine for mood boards. For tattoos they fall over. They draw the design on a photographed arm when you need a clean flat. They mangle lettering. They hand you a soft image with no linework you could actually trace.
Getting the design to look right on skin took more work than I expected. A flat drawing is one thing. Believing it on an arm or a forearm is another, and early attempts were either too fake or not useful enough.
Lettering was a pain too. For a tattoo, words have to be exact — not almost right. Same with the stencil: it has to match the approved artwork, not be a “close enough” redraw. Close isn’t good enough when someone is transferring it onto skin.
I also switched image models partway through because the results weren’t good enough for what I needed. The first setup helped me explore. It wasn’t where the product ended up.
And I had to be honest about the files you download. Big round numbers look good on a pricing panel. Real sizes that an artist can use matter more.
There are some more exciting features planned for the future, but I’ll keep those under wraps for now.
design.tattoo open →
$ faq
What is design.tattoo?
A tool that turns a tattoo idea you can describe in words into drawn takes, an on-skin preview, and an export with the artwork and a mirrored stencil you can take to any artist.
Why did you build it?
For my 40th I wanted a tattoo, but I had no idea what I wanted — or maybe a small idea — and I'm not very good at drawing. I built it to get what was in my head onto a preview and into a file an artist could use. I still don't have the tattoo.
What do you get out of it?
Refinable drawn takes, an on-skin preview so you can see how the design sits, and an export with everything an artist needs to ink it, including a mirrored stencil.
Who is it for?
Anyone planning a tattoo who can describe an idea better than they can draw it, and who wants to walk into a studio with something clear and usable.