Flash is either drawn by the individual tattooer for display and use in his own studio, or traded and sold among other tattooers. Hand-drawn, local tattoo flash was largely replaced by professional "flash artists" who produced prints of copyrighted flash and sold them at conventions or through the Internet. By the turn of the new century (2000), most tattoo studios have become custom shops with the flash serving as more of a reference for ideas. Most designs are created by the tattoo from an idea brought in by the customer. Once again tattoo flash is being produced by the individual tattooers for display in their own studios and to be traded or sold to other tattoooers. There is no standard size for tattoo flash, but it is commonly found on 11x14 inch prints in North America, and at A3 paper size in Europe. Tattoo flash may or may not come with an outline, also known as a line drawing. This outline is typically printed on a separate sheet. This is convenient for the tattoo artist, who would otherwise have to draw the linework for themselves.
Anchor: Closely identified with sailors, mainly young sailors who would get the tattoo as a rite of passage after their first crossing of the Atlantic.
Anchor: Closely identified with sailors, mainly young sailors who would get the tattoo as a rite of passage after their first crossing of the Atlantic.
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