Original, my first design in Gallifreyan, or the Time Lord language from Doctor Who!
Since my son reached age 2 I haven’t been able to keep up with my favorite shows anymore. My favorite show has been Doctor Who, and I love talking with my clients about the show as they get their favorite quote, or a name, hennad in Gallifreyan. I basically always want to know who your favorite Doctor is and why. (Mine is Nine)
Gallifrey, if you missed that episode, is where the Doctor and all other Time Lords come from. They have a peculiar circular language that looks like a cross between an astronomy chart and the inner workings of a watch. In the show there isn’t a base language, just art, but one person took the visual elements and sorted them into a writeable, readable, Gallifreyan alphabet. He made a guide, and a translator. I learned Gallifryean from the online translator, and got permission from the creator for using it in a for-pay fashion.
It’s challenging in general, and particularly challenging to write evenly with a cone of henna goo onto a three-dimensional person; I’ll admit it. But the look is so wonderful, and so calming that I never mind the challenge. On the right is my very first try at Dr Who henna. The words are “Tardis”, “Allons-y” and “Sexy”, as the Tardis is my favorite character.
More Gallifreyan.
I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with it now, and can sling out some of them very quickly. I have a small poster of commonly requested words, but use a translator app on my phone for custom requests. My favorite thing to do is use one or two words as a base for a more full design, letting the circles and radials float freely across the hand like a solar wind.
At Awesome Con DC I did a TON of gallifreyan hennas! It was great. A couple of girls who had it done got compliments on it from Billie Piper (the actress who played Rose)! How cool is that! *fangirl*
Well, that’s pretty cool, but my favorite part is bringing people closer to their fandom in this way. Especially when the henna tattoo is words like their kids name, or a quote that’s had a lot of meaning for them, I feel truly honored to be the hand between a dream and a reality. That, in a nutshell, is why I love my job.
But the geeky stuff is a big plus.