Snake tattoos in Knoxville

A snake is one of the few tattoos that can follow the body instead of sitting on it. It can curl around a forearm, run down a spine or wrap an ankle. Julie’s snakes run from clean fine line to red heart patterns, full color and ornamental snakes twisted around a dagger.

East Tennessee’s own snakes

If you want a snake with local roots, there are two venomous species in East Tennessee: the copperhead and the timber rattlesnake. Both make great tattoos because their patterns are so distinctive.

• Copperhead: a coppery-red head and dark brown hourglass bands that are wide on the sides and narrow on the back. That hourglass pattern works in black and grey, with color saved for the head.
• Timber rattlesnake: black chevron-shaped crossbands and a rust-colored stripe down the back. The rattle is made of hollow, interlocking segments, and a new one is added each time the snake sheds. Some people get a rattle with one segment for each year or milestone.

Details that make a snake look real

Most flat-looking snake tattoos miss small anatomy details:

• Eyes: snakes have no eyelids. Each eye is covered with a clear, hard scale, which is why a glossy highlight on the eye makes a snake look alive.
• Pupils: Slit pupils and a wide jaw read as dangerous. A round pupil and a slim head read as calm.
• Tongue: the forked tongue isn’t a threat. Snakes use it to pick up scent from the air, so a flicking tongue makes a snake look curious and alert.
• Scales: some species have smooth scales and others have keeled scales, with a ridge down the middle. Keeled scales give the shading more texture.

Planning the wrap

The curve of a snake should follow your muscles, not fight them. Julie places the stencil while you hold the arm or leg the way you normally do, so the S-curves sit right when you move.

• Forearm and upper arm: the classic wrap. Most of Julie’s snakes are here.
• Spine: a long, straight snake or one that follows the curve. See spine tattoos.
• Collarbone, ankle and hand: smaller snakes that hug the bone.
• Thigh and hip: room for a snake with flowers.

Snakes and daggers

The snake and dagger is one of the oldest pairings in tattooing, and close to Julie’s ornamental style. Her sternum piece has twin snakes coiled around one ornate dagger. More blades are on the dagger and sword tattoos page.

Snakes and flowers

A snake winding through flowers softens the look without losing the edge. Julie’s heart-pattern snake sits beside an orange lily. Lilies, roses and peonies all work. See more on the floral tattoos page.

Snake symbols worth knowing

• Ouroboros: a snake eating its own tail. The oldest known one is on a gold shrine in Tutankhamun’s tomb, where it stood for time that cycles back on itself.
• One snake or two: if you work in healthcare, the medical symbol is the Rod of Asclepius: one snake on a staff, no wings. Two snakes with wings is the caduceus of Hermes, the messenger god, which is often used for medicine by mistake.