DAN THE DOODLEBUG ✏️ Scrumdiddlyumptious

                                                                 It's been a while since I've done a Dan the Doodlebug! 

I'm back at it again with a new piece of tattoo art that I can't wait to tattoo on me this autumn! It's about time that I got something to celebrate myself and show off the world a part of myself that I've been ashamed to express for the longest time. It's not a pride tattoo per se, but it does announce my love of larger ladies. So without further adieu, let's start in on this Dan the Doodlebug piece.

For this piece, I'm drawing it with a standard number two pencil. Nothing fancy. Though I do prefer mechanical pencils, I don't have any at the moment, so I settled for what I had. Originally I had drawn this as a much larger piece. I'm liking the small piece that I've re-drawn for this blog. When I get it tattooed, I may want to go a little bit bigger. I'm not sure yet. I've seen some pretty amazing tattoos with this kind of detail done small. Only time will tell.

I started out sketching the part of the Wonka bar that's going to be the centre of the piece. I wanted to do something sweet with the tattoo, but just doing a chocolate bar or some sweets just didn't really sit right with me. I thought it would look strange on me or even trashy. That being said, I do have two Halloween suckers on me with the text 'Stay Spooky' above it and I love it so much. I thought of putting the sweets or chocolate inside a heart to show the love I have for large women, seeing as I love to give them treats of all kinds. Thus the idea was born that it would be a Wonka Bar. I've always loved the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory film, so I wanted to kinda give a nod to that amazing film that helped to shape part of my childhood. That would be perfect. 

Once I've got the centrepiece in place I start sketching the outline of the heart that I want around it. Just a simple heart looks too boring for me. I've never gotten a Valentine's day heart before so I figured I could kinda give myself one with this tattoo. While it can be seen as girlie in a way, it's a tattoo dedicated to women, so it's kinda fitting.


Drawing simple hearts has never really been my forte; realistic hearts? You got it. Can do those with no issues. It's the simple things I tend to struggle with. I see larger pictures and want to try and cram everything into a small space. Always have been like that. Maybe that's why I really enjoy chubby chicks in tight shorts. Who knows?
I wanted to mix traditional with new school, make a kind of mash neo-traditional piece with this. I wanted the chocolate bar to really pop out of the background, but what would I fill the background with? Of course roses. A universal symbol of love, affection and of course they are timeless. Not like I don't have enough of them tattooed on me...I went with an old school style of rose to fill in the background of the chocolate bar and fill in the heart. I still wasn't happy with it. A little lacey border would really make the piece pop and add another layer to the tattoo. I'm aware that it's not as complex as some of the pieces that I've shared here on Dan the Doodlebug, not filled with realism and this is somewhat child-like in comparison to the other pieces that I've done, but I really wanted to show the breakdown of this piece and I can't wait to see it come to life as a tattoo in a few months' time.

With the heart complete, I wanted to add the text around the heart. But what did I want it to say? Let's keep it with the Wonka theme, and then the idea just came to me as. I was sitting at my laptop. "Fat girls are scrumdiddlyumptious." Of course, I needed to look up the spelling for that one, to make sure that I spelt it correctly, but it was perfection. How many people can say they have that tattooed on them?

I wanted to do a kind of flowing script with this. I didn't want it to look stamped on me or use a font that was too perfect. I wanted it to be me, quirky, cute and unique.
I drew out a few fonts before I settled on one that I thought worked well with the piece. I wanted the text to arch over each of the top arches of the heart and the bottom text to be sort of showcased at the bottom of the heart, rather than attempt to have the word wrap around the bottom of the heart. After all, it's a long word. I figured it would look better if I added a little bit of flourish on that word too, make it sort of its own thing because, well, that word sort of became the focal word of the piece just as the chocolate bar in the centre was the focal part of the actual drawing.
I couldn't be happier with my idea. I've already reached out to a tattoo shop or two and have started making plans for it in the autumn! It's going to be a brilliant addition to my bodysuit and I'm not going to be bogged down or bothered by anything negative that people have to say about it. I think I might just count this simple design as some of my best work. Sometimes the simplest drawings and designs are the most difficult. While this isn't difficult, it's got a lot going on in a small space, different themes. I'm going to get the chocolate bar in colour and the roses as well, the lace on the heart will be a grey wash or a simple light grey. Maybe a bit of pink in the outer part of the lace? We'll be hammering out these details as we move forward in the tattoo consultation process and I really can't wait.

I don't know when there will be another Dan the Doodlebug instalment, but keep an eye out. I know I have one more that is just about done and some pieces that I want to work on to showcase some of the gothic pieces that I've completed. They won't be as broken down as this or the next one I don't think. I'm not sure what I want to do with them, but keep an eye out!