Japanese Koi Tattoo, Sleeve Study

By yoso* | Published: February 1, 2010

Japanese Koi Sleeve Study. I wanted to study Horimouja’s Kois while giving it my style. Event tho I call this a sleeve design, The focus has been on the chest panel, Feeling the growth of the elements from the bottom to the top. You’ll notice a part of a dragon’s body on the right hand side. This in relation to the Koi’s potential of becoming dragon when climbing up a waterfall. Sometimes also reffered to as a koi on Earth is a dragon in Heaven. I did not feel like using a koi/dragon shape to indicate the transformation. I feel that transformation as a metaphor can happen instantly. You could also imagine the two ‘entities’ living in ‘parallel’ dimensions, at the same time reflecting each other while both maintaining their physical appearances (All is interconnected). Giving you the feeling that you are still seeing the Koi but the dragon is present and defined. Anyway, Just playing with an idea. It could be a Koi at the front an Dragon at the back. Enjoy. I feel it’s incomplete as a sleeve and more details should be included as a matter of personal style, but I really enjoyed the study and the flow! Enjoy! Y.

You can find the first sketch here!

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