Memorial Tattoos: How to Honour Someone You've Lost
Published · Updated
Memorial tattoos are some of the most meaningful work we do — and some of the most careful. They are also some of the longest conversations. Most clients who come in for a memorial piece have been thinking about it for months, sometimes years. Our job is not to talk you into anything; it is to help you arrive at a piece you will be at peace with for the rest of your life.
Here is how we approach this work, what we ask before you put down a deposit, and what kind of pieces tend to land well.
Take your time
There is no good reason to rush a memorial tattoo. Grief moves through phases. The piece you wanted three weeks after losing someone is not always the piece you would design six months in.
If you reach out to us in the first weeks after a loss, we will gently suggest we book the consultation — but plan the actual session a few months out. There is no expiry on this kind of work, and the right time is often later than you think.
What kinds of memorial pieces work best
Portraits
Photographic portraits of a person, in black & grey realism, are the most common memorial subject. They work best when:
- The reference photo is high-resolution and well-lit.
- The face is at least 4–5 inches at final size — much smaller and the detail will not hold long-term.
- The placement is somewhere you will see often, but not somewhere it will stretch (avoid hands, knees, sides of the foot).
Pet memorials
Pet portraits work in both black & grey and colour. Colour usually carries pet personality more strongly — eye colour, fur tone — but black & grey can be equally moving with the right reference. See our note on pet portraits for the photo guidance we recommend.
Handwriting and signatures
A handwritten note, a signature, a date — all carry weight that no font can replicate. We can scan and refine handwriting from any source: a card, a recipe, a margin note in a book. The piece is small, simple, and deeply personal.
Symbolic and abstract pieces
Sometimes the most fitting memorial is not a portrait at all. A flower the person loved, a song lyric, a constellation that means something, an animal they identified with. These pieces often surprise clients — a small symbolic tattoo can carry as much weight as a full portrait, and ages more gracefully.
Composite tributes
Some clients want a piece that combines several memorial elements — multiple family members, a date, a symbol, a verse. These work, but the composition needs care so it reads as one piece, not a list. We plan composites over multiple consultation rounds.
Reference photo guidance
For human portraits, the photo matters more than almost any other factor.
What we do not do
We do not invent detail that is not in the source photo. If the eyes are out of focus in the only photo you have, we will tell you — we can render what is visible, and we can stylize the rest, but we cannot pretend to know what was there.
We do not promise that a portrait will look like a photograph of the person from any distance. A great portrait reads at three distances: across the room (composition), arm-length (likeness), and close-up (detail). We aim for all three; we do not promise photo-to-skin perfection.
Pricing and time
Memorial pieces are priced at our standard hourly rate of $180–$250 per hour, HST included. Smaller memorial work (signatures, dates, small symbols) often fits in one 1–2 hour session and is billed at the studio minimum of $135 if it is very small.
Full human portraits in black & grey realism are typically a single 4–6 hour session for a forearm or shoulder placement. Larger composite pieces are split across sessions like any large work.
Bring this to the consultation
- The reference photo (printed and on your phone if possible).
- A few sentences about the person or pet — not for sales, but to help your artist understand what you want the piece to feel like.
- An idea of where on the body. We can suggest alternatives at consultation.
- Your timeline — if there is no rush, say so. We will plan the right pace, not the fastest one.
Related reading
- Our portrait & memorial tattoos service page.
- Book a free consultation — bring photos and we will design something honest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon after losing someone should I get a memorial tattoo?+
There's no right answer, but most people are happier with the piece they design 6–12 months on rather than the piece they reach for in the first few weeks. Grief shifts. The image that feels essential at week three may feel small or wrong by month six. Book the consultation early if it helps you process, and schedule the actual session later.
What's the best style for a memorial portrait?+
Black & grey realism. Skin tones, expressions, and the subtle features that make a face recognisable read more honestly in greyscale than in colour. Faces should be sized at least 4–5 inches across so the eyes, nose, and structure have room to render properly.
Can I get my pet memorialised the same way?+
Yes. Pet portraits work in either black & grey or colour, and the considerations are similar — bring the best-quality reference photos you have (good light, clear angle), and pick a size that lets the eyes and fur texture read at arm's length. Pet memorial pieces often combine the portrait with a name or a date.
What if I only have a low-quality photo of the person?+
Bring it anyway. Your artist will tell you honestly what the image supports. We can work from older or imperfect photos, but we won't invent details that aren't in the source — if the eyes are blurry, the eyes will be soft in the tattoo. If the photo really doesn't carry enough information for a portrait, we'll suggest a different angle: handwriting, a date, a symbol the person carried, a pet they loved.
Are handwriting tattoos a good memorial?+
Yes — and they're some of the most meaningful pieces we do. A signature, a sentence from a card, a phrase the person used — it carries the person's literal mark. Bring the cleanest scan or photo of the original handwriting; we trace it directly so the line weight matches the real thing.
Where on the body do people usually get memorial tattoos?+
Inner forearm, ribs near the heart, inner bicep, calf, and back are the most common. Inner forearm is the top pick because you see it daily — it stays present without being public. Placement is personal; your artist will help you think about visibility (do you want it daily-visible, only when undressed?), pain level, and how the design's shape sits on that part of the body.