Dark Jester Tattoos

A Jester, or Court Jester, was largely a product of European culture, and was employed to provide a variety of entertainment, and also in some cases, to provide advise to political leaders, especially the king or queen.

Another role was that of criticizing the reining monarch, which could be good or bad, depending on the disposition of the particular ruler at the time.

Jesters remain interesting characters and are always seen at various fairs.

As it relates to tattoo material and designs, it has taken on a darker tone, and for the most part displays the evil side of human nature.

But a surprising number of people choose the Jester as one of their choices of ink. That's not a surprise because a large number of those bearing tattoos have an edginess to their personalities.

This first Jester tattoo is probably an accurate caricature of what we think of when visualizing a Jester from long ago.

While not a fan of colors in tattoos, I do like this particular, as it is done well and looks good as a tattoo. The rubber chicken in his hand is funny.

Pretty wild Jester here. I like the over exaggeration of the eyes and teeth, giving him somewhat of a crazed look. The pool ball is an interesting prop as well.

As with all tattoo genres, there is a tribal element with Jesters as well. This is a very unique look, and as far as shadowing and lines, is very well done.

This is quite an amazing design, and I could think of a lot of tattoo themes that would look great with it. The teeth are particularly over exaggerated, even more than the one above.

The way the light is used around the eyes and for the teeth, against the dark background, is very effective. Also powerful is the red outline, adding a sense foreboding to the image.

Cool how the artist in this tattoo tied in the Joker, included with a deck of cards, and the cards themselves.

The way the jester is prancing about is a nice touch to the design.

Among some tattoo fans, the ripping the flesh motif is very desirable, and the demon Jester below has everything for those making this choice.

The clawed fingers, emerging out of the flesh, and the hideous face definitely make a statement, even if it's one most prefer not to display.

This skull Jester tattoo is pretty awesome. It has the sharp teeth and evil look.

What is particular compelling to me is how the shadow and lines were used to give that crinkled look to the overall image. Also cool are those dangling little skull heads off his hat.

If you want to capture the essence of evil, the tattoo below does it as good as it gets. Everything about it drips of evil, including the blood coming out of the mouth. And those eyes, they're the type you wouldn't want to see in a stranger you met.

Another very well done part is the hand holding the dice. Put together, the image seems to convey your luck may be running up, or its related to the toss of the dice.

All of these were a very unique spin from what a Jester in fact was in reality, but tattoo artists have taken the one side of the Jester and magnified it many times to come up with the look that we see in the tattoos in this article.