Hey ya'll.
Well ive been decided on my the basic design of my new tattoo for quite some time now, just been missing one aspect. First though, i guess ill explain what im after.
Im only a skinny bloke, so keep that in mind. Im getting a half sleeve (from top to elbow), greys shading and no colour.
Im looking for 3 main elements to blend in. Firstly, water for the bottom half, a dragon head for center and smoke/clouds for top half.
sounds generic i know, but im about the design, not the meaning. and besides, regrets are for your 40's.
Now its all jap themed of course, so very rounded clouds, with large fingers of water. The dragons head though is the most important, as i want its gaze to be neutral, not angry or happy, ie. http://z.about.com/d/tattoo/1/0/y/4/1/tonygal14.jpg., with the flow looking something like this.
So, any ideas on little features that could help my tattoo stand out? any opinions?

Just curious - why no color? Too expensive?

colour tends to fade if the tattoo gets alot of sun, and i tend to get sunburnt alot. Also, i just dont like the look of brightly coloured tattoo's, i just like the look of shaded.

Ah. Fair enough - i happen to favor color, and my color tattoo has faired rather well here under the desert sun. I sometimes put sunblock on it, but mostly forget.

I would suggest a light source with the clouds / smoke. With clouds i think of sun or moon, with smoke a fire, maybe from the dragon's nostrils or mouth - if you're going monochrome contrast i think is the key. The 'flow' example you posted uses this well. And go for iconic, recognizable representations rather than overly detailed, ultra-realistic images. Without color too much detail turns to that much static noise.

yeah the design of the water and clouds are very simple, rounded. i dont want ripples or anything like that, more stylized water and clouds.
And ive seen many great colour tattoo's, i dunno, i guess there just not compatable with me. You got any pics of yours be chance?

could be cool, but how many people have dragon tattoos??

i have one.
dragons are awesome
who cares

Direct sunlight is the enemy of every human.

are you asian?

This is critical.