Moth tattoos in Knoxville

Moths are some of Julie’s favorite things to tattoo. They’re darker and stranger than butterflies, and they suit ornamental work: hanging jewels, crescent moons, flames, skulls and daggers.

What makes a moth look like a moth

Most moth tattoos that look “off” are drawn like butterflies. These are the details that tell them apart:

• Antennae: butterflies have thin antennae with a club at the tip. Moth antennae are feathery or saw-edged. A curled, feathered pair is the quickest way to make a moth read as a moth.
• Wings at rest: a resting butterfly folds its wings up over its back. A moth holds them flat or in a tent shape. That’s why a moth tattoo looks natural flat and wings-open, centered on a sternum, throat, hand or forearm.
• Body: moths are stockier and fuzzier, so the body gets more shading and texture than a butterfly’s thin one.
• Eyespots: many moths have eye-like spots on their wings, which make a strong focal point in black and grey.

There are far more moths than butterflies. The Smithsonian counts about 135,000 moth species and almost 20,000 butterfly species, and butterflies actually evolved from moths. If you want a design nobody else has, there’s plenty to choose from.

The death’s-head moth

The death’s-head hawkmoth is named for the skull-shaped pattern on its thorax. It’s the moth on The Silence of the Lambs poster. The real animal is stranger than the movie. It can slip into beehives to eat honey by mimicking the bees’ scent, and it squeaks when disturbed by pushing air in and out through its mouthparts. In the Middle Ages, seeing one in a candlelit room was taken as an omen of death.

For a tattoo, the skull on the thorax is the whole point, so it needs enough size to stay readable. Julie’s hand piece frames the moth in a dotted circle so the skull sits in the center.

The luna moth

The luna moth is a North American native with pale green wings, eyespots and long trailing tails on the hindwings. The adults don’t eat at all and live only about a week, just long enough to mate. That short life is why many people choose one as a memorial or a reminder to live in the moment. The long tails are what make it a luna, so leave room for them. They look best trailing down the forearm or spine.

Moths and the moon

Most moths fly at night, so they pair naturally with crescent moons, suns and stars, mushrooms and flames. Julie’s moths include a moth under a crescent moon, one with a sun, moon and mushrooms, and one framed in red flames.

Ornamental moths

A moth’s flat, symmetrical shape is a good frame for ornament: jewels hanging from the wings, filigree, ferns, or a dagger straight through the body. Mixing moths with blades or sigils is close to Julie’s signature style. See her cyber sigilism work for the sharper end of that.