If you’re considering a playing card tattoo, then chances are that you already have an idea of what kind of card or cards you want. But if you don’t yet have any specific ideas, let’s take a look at the basics of playing cards and how they can be used in tattoos.
First, it’s important to understand that the French-suited standard 52-card deck is the most common deck available today. The English pattern grew out of those French-suited designs and remains the most popular pattern, with its red and black suits (hearts and diamonds on one side, clubs and spades on the other) and the traditional “joker” cards.
French-suited playing cards are the deck most of us picture in the United States as well as throughout Europe. These cards feature four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Hearts use the familiar heart shape, diamonds use a faceted diamond, clubs use a three-lobed clover shape with a stem, and spades use a pointed, leaf-like shape with a stem.
The numbers 2 through 10 are typically represented by numbers, but they may also be represented by pictures of pips. Then there’s the ace and the face cards, or court cards: jack, queen, and king. In some cases, these cards may also be represented by pictures. In addition, many playing cards use different designs for each suit. For example, hearts may be shown with hearts, diamonds with diamonds, clubs with clubs, and spades with spades, but not all playing cards will use this design.
So when choosing your card or cards for your playing card tattoo, keep in mind that there are so many possibilities. There are even multi-card tattoos, which include several cards arranged together in a hand or in some other arrangement.
Clean designMeaning and Symbolism
As far as meaning goes, playing cards are traditionally associated with luck, fortune, fate, and death. However, the meaning is never fixed. It depends entirely on the specific card(s), the imagery added to the card(s), and the wearer’s own intent. So, for instance, a card with a skull and bones may represent death, but it could just as easily represent the idea of luck and chance. A skeletal hand holding cards could represent a final hand in a game, or it could simply represent the inevitability of death.
Of course, I’m sure that you’ve heard of the old school gambling and mortality themes that accompany playing card tattoos. And yes, those are still very popular. But there are also plenty of other ways to incorporate playing cards into tattoos, including using them as companion motifs. For instance, skulls, dice, and other items related to gambling and games have always been popular additions to playing card tattoos. You’ll find quite a few examples of these kinds of combinations online.
Patchwork Layout Ideas
But perhaps the most interesting way to incorporate playing cards into tattoos is to use them as part of a patchwork layout. If you’re interested in trying this technique, then you’ll need to consider how much space you’ll need to work with. Obviously, the larger the playing cards, the more space you’ll need. But even small cards can be used in patchwork layouts.
A very simple patchwork layout can be made up of rectangular playing cards.
You can also use smaller suit symbols to fill out a patchwork layout.
Clean designDesigning the Patchwork Composition
I think the key to making sure that the patchwork layout works well is to make sure that the cards or suit symbols are either solid or outlined, and that they’re placed close enough together so that you can tell where one card or symbol ends and another begins. This can be done by using a dark focal point, like a suit symbol, and leaving open skin between the tiles.
When creating a patchwork layout with playing cards, it’s also important to remember that the cards should be arranged in such a way that the overall composition makes sense. If you’re using a lot of small cards, then it’s best to start by placing the largest card or suit symbol first. Then add the next largest card or suit symbol, and so on, until the entire layout is complete.
Adding Details to Cards
Once the layout has been completed, it’s time to decide which details to add to the playing cards. Keep in mind that playing cards aren’t meant to be turned into rigid symbols. They were originally designed to identify kings, queens, and soldiers, and have often been reinterpreted or misinterpreted over the years.
It’s also important to remember that the playing cards themselves are the main focus of the design. If you’re going to add additional imagery to the playing cards, then those images should be secondary to the playing cards themselves. That means that if you’re adding roses, daggers, flames, filigree, portraits, or scrollwork, they shouldn’t be so detailed that they overshadow the playing cards.
Placement by Card Size
Finally, when deciding on the placement of your playing card tattoo, keep in mind that the placement should be based on the size of the playing cards. If you’re using large playing cards, then you’ll probably want to place them somewhere where they’ll be noticed, like on the forearm, wrist, back, chest, thigh, or shoulder. If you’re using small playing cards, then you’ll probably want to place them somewhere where they’ll be noticed, but not necessarily in a prominent location.