01 / About
What is Graveyard Flash?
Graveyard Flash is a free tattoo flash idea generator for artists, illustrators, and anyone who wants a nudge out of an artistic rut. It combines subjects, extra elements, twists, compositions, and styles to kick-start a concept.
The simple concept sentence is built from a set of local rules. It does not generate images, and it is not a substitute for your own design decisions. The point is to give your imagination something to bite into. You can also draw a timed creative challenge, browse artist resources, and export shareable concept cards.
It's an independent little project made with love and a healthy amount of weirdness.
02 / How to use it
Summon an idea
- Choose a primary family, like Animals, or leave it on Any family.
- Choose a secondary family, like Birds, to narrow the subject pool.
- Use the small reroll arrows to change one ingredient at a time.
- Lock any field you love. Reroll unlocked fields to keep the good bits and remix the rest.
- Read the simple concept, open the full prompt for all ingredients, and save favourites that spark an idea.
03 / Challenges & resources
Practice when you need a nudge
Challenges: Open Challenge Mode to draw a random prompt, choose a short timer, and sketch until it runs out. Mark a challenge complete when you're done; your completion count helps you track practice.
Resources: The Resources page collects artist tools, pose and anatomy references, Procreate help, and other places to find visual reference.
Concept cards: Download a PNG card from the generator or Favourites to save or share a concept outside the app.
04 / Design tips
Make the idea tattooable
- Start with the silhouette. The concept should still read when reduced to a dark shape.
- Give the focal point room. One clear subject usually beats six competing details.
- Protect negative space. Chains, fur, feathers, and florals can become visual noise if every gap is filled.
- Choose contrast with intent. Decide what stays solid black, what stays skin, and where detail earns its place.
- Mind the size and placement. Fine detail that looks great on a screen may not hold up at a small tattoo size.
- Make the elements interact. A chain can act as a leash, a rose can grow through a skull, or a moth can sit on a creature's nose.
05 / A little reminder
Prompt, not prescription
Random combinations are raw material. Change the pose, remove an element, swap the framing, or throw the whole thing away if a better idea appears. Your eye, drawing skills, and judgement are what turn a prompt into original flash.
Check anatomy and reference details before tattooing unfamiliar animals, creatures, plants, or objects. Treat each generated concept as a sketch brief, not a finished design.
06 / Support & creator
Made by an artist, for artists.
Graveyard Flash is created by Charlie Jackdaw, tattoo apprentice and artist. Keeping the site online costs money, and donations help cover hosting and fund future improvements. There's a bigger dream of turning Graveyard Flash into a proper app someday, too. That takes time and funding, so every bit of support helps it get closer. No pressure, ever. Sharing the site or using it to make something cool helps too.
07 / Your data
Saved here, not in the cloud.
Your lists, favourites, sorting preferences, and challenge completion count are stored locally in this browser. They don't automatically follow you to another device or another website domain, and clearing this site's browser data can remove them. Use Edit lists → Export lists + favourites to download a backup and import it on another device or browser.
Sharing the website shares the link, not your saved prompts or custom lists.