Okay, so I’ve been seeing this “Ben Whittaker tattoo” thing pop up on my Pinterest and TikTok feeds, and I was like, “What’s the deal?” Turns out, it’s referencing Robert De Niro’s character in the movie “The Intern.” He’s this super sweet, old-school gentleman, and people are getting tattoos inspired by him – mostly quotes or imagery related to the film.
I got curious and went down a little rabbit hole. I started by just Googling “Ben Whittaker tattoo” and “The Intern tattoo.” Then, I browsed a ton of images. I saw a lot of variety!
My Tattoo-Design Process
I’m not getting a Ben Whittaker tattoo (not yet, anyway!), I love getting inspired to draw and paint, So here is what I did:
- Gathering Inspiration: I created a new board on Pinterest and just started pinning anything that caught my eye. I found some cool minimalist designs, some more detailed portraits, and a bunch of text-based tattoos with quotes from the movie. My favorite was, “You’re never wrong to do the right thing.” so classic!
- Finding My Favorite Styles: I noticed I was drawn to the simpler designs, The ones that looked like they could be easily translated into a small, delicate tattoo. I also liked the idea of incorporating a vintage typewriter or a briefcase, because those are such iconic images from the movie.
- Sketching and Making a Rough draft: I grabbed my sketchbook and started doing some really basic doodles. Just trying to combine the elements I liked. I wasn’t aiming for perfection, just getting ideas down on paper. I played around with different fonts for the quote, too.
- Thinking About Color (or Lack Thereof): I’m a big fan of black and grey tattoos, so I knew I wanted to stick with that palette. I did see some with pops of red, which was a nice touch, but I felt like black and grey would be more timeless.
- Mocking it up on paper: I don’t have any fancy design software, so I just I cut it out and, held it up to my arm to see how it looked.
It’s still a work in progress, but I’m really happy with how it’s coming together! It’s a fun little reminder to be kind, stay classy, and always be open to learning new things – just like Ben Whittaker.
