History Main / StoryboardBody

* Played straight in ''TheGodlessWorldTrilogy''. The Kyrinin tattoo their faces based on a level system. First for killing an enemy. Second, I currently forget. Third, for stealing an enemy's fire. The Kyrinin achieve the highest level by literally stealing the enemy's ''cooking'' fire.

* The titular character in ''{{Soldier}}''. The cheek tattoos are lists of battles and also his rank.

* Enola from ''{{Waterworld}}'' has a Chinese-looking tattoo on her back. It ends up being the story's MacGuffin.

* In ''{{Cars}}'', Sally Carrera has a "tattoo" on her... trunk, hinting at her big-city past.

* A subversion is in ''JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell''. Vinculus has the complete text of a book of magic tattooed on his entire body. However, this would seem to reveal something about the character.

* In ''StrangerInAStrangeLand'', Patty Paiwonski is entirely covered with scenes from the life of the founder of her religion, Fosterism.

Due to TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, characters rarely have tattoos unless they're in some way important to the character. These don't have to be some extremely significant plot point, but they usually do give us greater insight into the character's personality. The tattoos often involve symbolism of some kind related to the character's past or purpose. Many times the character will be a part of some society, such as a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]], {{Gang Bangers}}, or TheSyndicate.

* [[{{One Piece}} Nami]] has a tattoo that represents her past (as well as her greedy nature). Whether she would have gotten this tattoo if her former 'pirate crew' tattoo could have been cleanly destroyed is not quite clear.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Slayers from ''{{Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle'' are Dwarves who had shamed themselves in some way and [[DeathSeeker seek redemption via death in combat]]. Part of the Slayer appearance includes ornate tattoos covering most of their faces and bodies.

* [[AxCrazy Jack]] in MassEffect2 has a lot of tattoos. Some are for prisons she's been in, some are for kills (good ones), some are for things she's lost (those aren't your business), and some are there because, well, why not?

* [[AvatarTheLastAirbender Airbenders]] have tattoos that map the chi paths in their bodies, and are made to resemble the markings on their Flying Bison. Since as of the current time of the story the Avatar is known to be [[TitleDrop the last airbender]], Aang's tattoos often serve to indicate his identity.

* Lunars in ''{{Exalted}}'' have similar silver tattoos, but for different reasons. As Lunars had their Exaltations tainted by [[RealityIsOutToLunch the Wyld]] as a result of hiding out their for centuries, they came up with the tattoos as a way to affix their Caste and protect from the Shaping magics of the Wyld. Part of the process of getting the tattoos involves telling the story of your life and having another Lunar translate it into tattoo form.

A character description trope.

Sometime this trope is played for laughs.

This trope overlaps with TattooedCrook. However, in this instance the character is not always a rebel or bad guy.

[[AC: ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* The titular character in ''{{Soldier}}''. The cheek tattoos are lists of battles and also his rank.
* Played for laughs in ''BladesOfGlory'' as Chazz Micheal Michaels' tattoos are for each famous figure skater he allegedly banged.
* Lenny in ''Film/{{Memento}}''.
* Violet in ''{{Ultraviolet}}'' has tattoos in Thai Hindi on the fingers of one hand, listing romantic life stages. The pinky is "Comrade", the ring finger "Lover", the middle finger reads "Wife". She became a hemophage before the next finger could be tattooed with "Mother".

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* An inversion occurs in ''The Illustrated Man'' by RayBradbury, as his tattoos tell other people's stories, and eventually how the person watching will die.
* A subversion is in ''JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell''. Vinculus has the complete text of a book of magic tattooed on his entire body. However, this would seem to reveal something about the character.
* Played straight in ''TheGodlessWorldTrilogy''. The Kyrinin tattoo their faces based on a level system. First for killing an enemy. Second, I currently forget. Third, for stealing an enemy's fire. The Kyrinin achieve the highest level by literally stealing the enemy's ''cooking'' fire.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* Slayers from ''{{Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle'' are Dwarves who had shamed themselves in some way and [[DeathSeeker seek redemption via death in combat]]. Part of the Slayer appearance includes ornate tattoos covering most of their faces and bodies.
* [[WerewolfTheForsaken Werewolves]] calculate worth in their society by Renown, split up into five categories -- Cunning, Glory, Honor, Purity, and Wisdom. These categories are recognized by the spirits as a form of status, and appear on their bodies as silver brands whenever they enter [[SpiritWorld the Hisil]].
* Lunars in ''{{Exalted}}'' have similar silver tattoos, but for different reasons. As Lunars had their Exaltations tainted by [[RealityIsOutToLunch the Wyld]] as a result of hiding out their for centuries, they came up with the tattoos as a way to affix their Caste and protect from the Shaping magics of the Wyld. Part of the process of getting the tattoos involves telling the story of your life and having another Lunar translate it into tattoo form.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Played for {{Squick}} laughs in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' as you have to remove a tattoo of a map of the tri-island area from a music promoter's back. Played straight in that the whole reason he had the tattoo was that he was traveling to those places all the time.
* The Nameless One from ''PlanescapeTorment'' has a variation of this: He has '''instructions''' to find his life's story tattooed on his back.
* The Minmatar in ''{{EVE Online}}'': The tattoos are supposed to reveal the character's life task or purpose. Also a RiteOfPassage.

** This becomes amusing (relatively, anyway), when you look closely and realise that many of the tattoos on her arms are her different looks in the official Mass Effect concept art.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Hun, of ''[[TMNT2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (second series) fame, originally started out with two tattoos, depicting the logos of the two syndicates he was loyal to, The Foot and the Purple Dragons. When the character was redesigned for season 7, he no longer sported the Foot tattoo, reflecting how he'd left that particular group behind.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Several cultures have tattoos which are significant to their culture and/or tell the story of the bearer. DwayneJohnson (who is half Wild Samoan) has a fair amount of Culturally Significant Tattoos on his upper body and at least one arm, which are usually digitally removed or covered with makeup for films.

[[AC: Anime & Manga]]
* [[{{One Piece}} Nami]] has a tattoo that represents her past (as well as her greedy nature). Whether she would have gotten this tattoo if her former 'pirate crew' tattoo could have been cleanly destroyed is not quite clear.
** A pirate crew composed of some former slaves took on a tattoo somewhere on their body to hide who had been a former slave and who hadn't to turn the mark of shame into a mark of the bond of shipmates.
----

* Psymon Stark of the ''{{SSX}}'' series. Each of his tattoos are designed by him first, and they all tell a story and carry a deep personal meaning, at least according to DJ Atomika; Of course, you don't get to see many of his tattoos (he's a freaking pro snowboarder, you can't blame him for bundling up), but still.

* Dakan, who's even more of a HeroicSociopath than his father Wolverine, has a large tribal tattoo on his chest and arms.

* Nikoli in ''EasternPromises''. Each tattoo has some sybolism. Also a subversion of TattooedCrook [[spoiler: as he is an undercover cop.]]

* An inversion occurs in ''The Illustrated Man'' by RayBradbury, as his tattoos tell other people's stories, and eventually the how the person watching will die.

* Jack's Tattoos in ''Series/{{Lost}}''. The producer chose to openly show actor Matthew Fox's personal tattoos during the first season and eventually reveal the circumstances under which the character got the tattoos with special attention towards their meaning (in traditional Lost-fashion).

** She also has a very plausible [[RapeAsBackstory reason]] for all the tattoos; the symptoms of the psychological disorder known as Rape Trauma Syndrome often include getting tattoos to reassert control over one's own flesh, and Jack has a ''[[BeyondTheImpossible ridiculously]]'' DarkAndTroubledPast.

* Played for {{Squick}} laughs in ''TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' as you have to remove a tattoo of a map of the tri-island area from a music promoter's back. Played straight in that the whole reason he had the tattoo was that he was traveling to those places all the time.

* Lilith from ''{{Borderlands}}'' has a large blue tatoo running across her chest. This tattoo most likely serves as an indicator that she's a Siren, and also draws attention to her, erm, assets. Commandant Steele has a similar tattoo.

* Lenny in ''{{Memento}}''.

* Jack's Tattoos in {{Lost}}. The producer chose to openly show actor Matthew Fox's personal tattoos during the first season and eventually reveal the circumstances under which the character got the tattoos with special attention towards their meaning (in traditional Lost-fashion).

* Played for {{Squick}} laughs in ''The Curse of MonkeyIsland'' as you have to remove a tattoo of a map of the tri-island area from a music promoter's back. Played straight in that the whole reason he had the tattoo was that he was traveling to those places all the time.

* {{Talislanta}}n [[ProudWarriorRace Thralls]], a race of [[GattacaBabies clone troopers]] so uniform in appearance that they can only be distinguished from one another by their unique tattoos.

* In ''TheATeam'' film, all four have Ranger tattoos.

* D'Argo's tattoos in ''{{Farscape}}'' mark him as a general. They're actually fake, as he got them so he could act as a decoy to protect his own general.

* Lilith from ''{{Borderlands}}'' has a large blue tatoo running across her chest. This tattoo most likely serves as an indicator that she's a Siren, and also draws attention to her, erm, [[MostCommonSuperpower assets]]. Commandant Steele has a similar tattoo.

* Jack Knight as Comicbook/{{Starman}} (until [[spoiler:his death and regeneration into a new body with no tattoos]]. Seems to be a defining "Tony Harris is no longer the artist" moment.

----
<<|PersonalAppearanceTropes|>>

* Jack Knight as StarMan (until [[spoiler:his death and regeneration into a new body with no tattoos]]. Seems to be a defining "Tony Harris is no longer the artist" moment.

* Nikoli in ''EasternPromises''. Each tattoo has some sybolism. Also a subversion of TattooedCrook as he is an undercover cop.

* The [[ProudWarriorRace bahmi]] in ''{{Rift}}'' are stated to cover their skin with PowerTattoos to commemorate their accomplishments. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Unfortunately, player characters are somewhat limited in that regard]].