One of the most popular movie tattoos of the past few years is the highly stylized blackwork appearing on one character in REIGN OF FIRE. Set in the near future in England, dragons rule the earth, at least until the Americans show up outside London. The militaristic dragonslaying team is led by Denton Van Zan, played by Matthew McConaughey.

Van Zan has a few tanks, a chopper and a somewhat insane team of sky divers, and they’ve been taking down dragons one at a time. These missions have been taking their toll, and Van Zan wants a few good men to join him by hook or by crook before he makes his final campaign towards London. His extensive tribal style tattooing is visible during his fist fight with Quinn, the leader of the local community.

Part of what makes these tattoos so bad-ass is that they were designed to further accentuate a precisely developed musculature. Hit the gym with a trainer for a few months, then work it out with your tattooist and you too can look like this. Remember, you’ll then have to maintain that level of physical development for the rest of your life.

Each curl and twist and turn of the design echoes the physicality of both Van Zan and the dragons he hunts. Black lines curving around biceps are tails and wings at the same time, looking like dragons in flight at a distance as well. Denton Van Zan has made killing dragons his life, and he wears these dragons to capture some of their power, as he also does by wearing the dragons tooth.