Skulls are represented in a number of tattoo design genres, and a classic tattoo design that has been popular for generations of tattoo enthusiasts. Nautical Tattoos with the Jolly Roger, or famed pirate's flag of Skull and Crossed Bones, Old School Tattoos, New School Tattoos, Bio-Mechanical and every School of Tattoos in between.
Skull symbolism is instinctive in human nature. The human mind is primed to recognize faces, and so eager to find them that it can see faces in a few dots and lines or punctuation marks; the face that looks back from a human skull cannot avoid recognition as having been once human. Moreover, a human skull, with its eyes much larger than in life, displays a degree of neoteny (think of kittens, puppies and babies, no, seriously), which humans often find visually appealing. Yet, a skull is obviously dead. As such, human skulls have a visual appeal beyond the other bones of the human skeleton, and can fascinate even as they repel.
One look at a skull and we can see death staring at us from those big empty sockets. It's not surprising then that the skull is known all over the world as a symbol of death. In many cultures, it is held up as a reminder of our own mortality or, in the universal Latin, a memento mori - a memento of mortality.
Below you will find a gallery of inspirational images that will help you in your quest of creating the perfect skull tattoo.
Also Check out: Death's Head Skull Tattoos, Skull and Crossed Bones and Religious symbol tattoos
