Introduction to Car Tattoos

Car tattoos represent the love affair with the automobile, which is as old as the invention of the automobile. They have been referred to by women as their husband’s mistress, and they weren’t joking around. Cars offer us, humans, the ability to be in a semi-protected environment and hit the road. We can hit the road fast or just tour the countryside. We own automobiles for various reasons. They are works of art, an engineering masterpiece because they’re “our ride,” our status symbol, and for some, it’s their best friend. Some people name their cars. That’s how much personal identity a car can hold. That ranks pretty high on the individual “like” scale. No wonder so many ask for car tattoos.

Types of Car Tattoos

Muscle Cars

Muscle car tattoos for the car lover may be the perfect tattoo for you. With their good looks and big engines, car lovers all have their favorite. You will first have to decide if your tattoo will be an accurate image of the car or have a cartoonish look. Ideas for muscle car tattoo designs may include scenery with the car such as grass, palm trees, United States Flag, or anything else you may come up with. A cartoonish look may have the car with huge rear tires and an oversized engine popping out of the hood with plenty of fire coming out of the engine’s pipes.

Low Riders

Low rider car tattoos can represent a lifestyle for many people, both male, and female. Car owners are known to put their hearts and soul into the design of their cars. Most often seen in low rider car tattoo designs are the ’60s and ’70s American-made cars like the Chevy Impala or a Cadillac. Try a two-dimensional view of the car with the bumper almost sitting on the ground in bold, vivid colors for the paint job. Don’t forget the classic true-spoke wire wheels.

Hot Rods

Hot rod cars are a popular tattoo design and are often seen on fans and car owners in the hot rod world. There are many cool hot rod designs out there to choose from. For a cool tattoo idea, use the iconic 1934 Ford, the California Kid, in a two-dimensional front and side view. Add trees, stop signs, or a ‘50s police car will add a nice live touch. You may also choose to add a large classic Ford emblem or classic Ford v8 logo.

Classic Cars

Classic car tattoos are a great tattoo design that will show everyone your passion for the classic car. These cars can generally be an American car from the ‘40s and ‘50s, but you can find plenty of foreign cars. Popular cars used in classic car tattoo designs can be the ‘40 ford, ‘50 mercury, ‘57 Chevrolet, ‘55 Porsche 356. with plenty of scenery and color. Adding custom paint and wheels to the design in a two-dimensional form will give the viewer plenty to look at.

Cartoonish Car Tattoos

Cartoon car tattoos are a fun tattoo design for any car lover. It may be your own car or a cartoon car from the movies or tv shows. Animating your car or dream car with big wheels and an oversize engine can be one cartoon car example of this funny tattoo design.

For someone, the Mach 5 from Speed Racer may work very well also. Vehicles from the animated movie Cars remain popular.

Race Cars

Racecar tattoos are a must for any race fan. Some people choose their favorite race car with the race track wall as the background in race car tattoos; other people may prefer the race car with the driver’s image in the tattoo. As an example of race car tattoos, use a two-dimensional view of the race car. We’ll say an Indy Car on the hairpin at Sears Point Raceway with the red and white wall in the background and orange cones marking the inside of the turn. This type of detail will make excellent race car tattoos.

Coloring & Placement

Coloring for these car tattoos is a must. Depending on your choice of car, you will want either bright or muted colors. For the race car, cartoon, and hot rod tattoos, you’ll want plenty of bright colors. We’re talking, bright red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, mist green, you get the picture, pretty much the whole color spectrum. Traditionally, for low rider car tattoos, candy colors are used in bright tones with metallic gold swirled through. Let imagination run here. Be sure to check out images, galleries, and even low rider magazines for ideas. Classic car tattoos will want to stay with the classic ink colors such as black, white, gray, beige, tan.

The placement of car tattoos is sometimes seen as large-scale back pieces but are also seen on the chest and arms. Medium-sized car tattoos look great on the shoulder, upper arm, calf, and thigh. For women, the upper back, hip, ankle, waist, and lower back are nice placement areas.

Car Tattoo Designs and Ideas