The dragon tattoo appears in many styles and forms and is a very popular tattoo. The dragon is very popular throughout history and is the national emblem of countries like Wales and is closely associated with places like china that use dragon symbolism in their culture. Although the basic they of fire breathing, four legs and a scaly body are common with a dragon the actual design used have many variations. The differences occur in scale, colour and facial designs mainly, each country and culture tending to have different focal points in their drawings for dragon tattoos.

The above example of a dragon tattoo is one that is more Chinese and Japanese styled then some, it’s virtually all dark coloured with some lighter shading on it. You do have to look closely in order to see the dragons head such is the intricacy of the drawing. With the dragon tattoo being applied to the arm it allows the dragons body to twist around the arm, the tail going all the way down the arm if needed, with the scales being shown down the body and into the tail.

The dragon tattoo is also one that can be simply formed of the dragons head, with detailed scales and some fire breathing it can look very impressive and even some what threatening. How the dragon is drawn reflects something about the wearer, the more aggressive the dragon the tougher the wearer will want to appear. If it’s a welsh person showing their national emblem then the design is a fairly standard side on design of a red dragon, the word is even important to the welsh.

With so many designs possible the variations are endless for a dragon tattoo, add the possible back grounds there can be added and the variations expand even further. The historical significance in Britain and many other countries is having someone brave and noble fighting a dragon, England's patron saint is Saint George whose claim to fame is defeating a fire breathing dragon. This is often reflected in action based tattoos that show a knight fighting against a dragon.

As with all tattoos some research is wise before doing anything. Look at books and on the internet in order to decide on the design you would like. Also work with the tattooist to see what they can do and what images they can offer you. There will be images displayed on the walls and in books, you then work together to decide what you want.