American Traditional

PopularizedbytattooistNormanSailorJerryCollinsinthe1930s,thisstyleisbasedonbold,cleanblackoutlinesanda
minimal,wellsaturatedcolorpaletteconsistingmainlyofprimarycolors.Traditionalimagerytypicallyconsistsofskulls,
roses,anddaggers.

Traditional Japanese (Irezumi)

InspiredbytheancientJapanesetebori(handcarved)tattooingtechniques,thetraditionalJapanesestylewaspopularizedin
JapanbytheYakuza,theJapanesecriminalunderworld.LikeAmericantraditional,itisbasedonboldblackoutlinesand
minmalshading,buttypicallyfeaturesimagesinspiredbytraditionalJapaneseartandnatureaswellascreaturesand
charactersfromJapanesefolklore.TraditionalJapanaeseimagerytypicallyconsistsoflotusflowers,koifish,tigers,warriors
andwaves.

Realism
Realismisastylethattriestorecreateimagesastheywouldappearinreallife.Realismtypicallylackstheboldoutlines
foundinmoretraditionalformsoftattooingandinsteadusesshadingandcolorcontraststorendertheimage.

Black and Grey

Blackandgreytypicallygoeshandinhandwithrealismtattooing,howeverinsteadofusingcolor,traditionallyblackandgrey
tattooingonlyusesblackinkandwater.Tattooistswillwaterdowntheblackinktomakeitsofterandmoregreyinorderto
createshades,huesandcolorcontrasts.Nowadaysmanynewerartistswillusegreywashes,orprewatereddownblack
ink,aswellasactualgreyinkandwhiteinkforhighlights.

Portraiture
Portraitureisastyletypicallydoneinrealisminwhichaportraitofsomeoneisrecreatedasatattoo.Realismportraitscan
befoundincolororblackandgreyandusuallyarecreatedbymakingastenciloverapreexistingphotographorimagein
ordertogetanexactlikenessoftheimagetobeinked.

Illustrative
Illustrativestylescombinetechniquesfrombothtraditionalstylesoftattooingandrealism.Typicallytheyfeaturebold
outlineswithintensecolorsaturationpairedwithrealisticshadingtechniquesinordertocreateatattoothatlooksmorelike
anillustrationthanatattoo.

New School
NewSchoolisahighlyanimatedstyleoftattooingthatreadslikeamoreexaggeratedversionoftheillustrativestyle.
Typicallytheimagescreatedarecaricaturedcharactersdoingoutofcharacterthings.CommonNewSchoolsubjectmatters
includepersonifiedobjectsandanimalsinfancyclothing.

Biomechanical
Biomechanicaltattoos,alsoknownasbiomech,aretattoosdesignedbasedoffoftheclientsbodyflowandaretypically
freehanded.Usuallythesetattoosmimicbodyflowthroughpatternsthatareofmechanical,cyborg,oralienaesthetics.
Bioorganictattoosaresimilartobiomech,excepttheyfeaturepatternsreminiscentoforganicorganismsratherthan
machines.

Color Horror
Horrortattooingtypicallyincludesdarkormorbidsubjectmatters.Colorhorrortattoos,however,aretypicallyportraitureand
realismgoneevilwithpopularsubjectmattersbeingportraitsofcharactersfromhorrorfilmsandfreehandedmonsters.

Black and Grey Horror

Likecolorhorror,blackandgreyhorrorisrootedindarkandmorbidsubjectmatters,howeverthisstylepopularizedby
tattooistPaulBoothtypicallyfeaturesacombinationofbiomechanicalorbioorganicelementswithblackandgreyrealism.
Typicallyblackandgreyhorrorisalwaysfreehandedonthebodyanddoneaslargescalepiecessuchasfullbackpiecesor
sleeves.

Lettering
Letteringrangesfromsimpletattoosoflettersandwordsinstandardfontstohighlystylizedcustompiecesthatareusually
freehandedonandlookbothlikeanaestheticallypleasingdesignaswellaslegiblelettersornumbers.

Neo-Traditional
NeotraditionalisamoremoderntwistonAmericantraditionaltattooinginwhichmorerealisticdepth,shading,colorand
detailareaddedtotraditionalconventions.Manyneotraditionalimagesincludestylizedportraitlikeimagesofwomenand
personifiedanimals.

Neo-Japanese
NeoJapaneseisamoremoderntwistontraditionalJapaneseinwhichmorerealisticdepth,shading,color,anddetailare
addedtotraditionalJapanesestyleconventions.ManyneoJapanesetattoosfeaturethesameiconicimageryastraditional
Japanese,butareallrenderedmorerealistically.

Surrealism
ThisstyleisheavilyinfluencedbySalvadorDaliandconsistsofexaggerated,imaginaryimages,mashedupstyles,and
fantasticalcreationsthatcouldntactuallyexistinnature,butlookliketheycould.

Trash Polka
TrashPolkaisastyleoftattooingmadefamousbytheBuenaVistaTattooClub.Itconsistsentirelyofablackandredcolor
schemecharacterizedbycollagelikeimagesfeaturingmomentsofrealism,lettering,andabstractorgeometricshapes.

Polynesian
PolynesiantattoosarebodyartderivedfromtheculturaltraditionsofmanyPolynesiantribalpeoples,liketheMaoriandthe
Samoans.Uniquedesignsrootedintribalsymbolismarecreatedfortheindividualreceivingthetattooandarethenusually
chiseledorhandpokedintotheskinviathetribescustomarytattooingtechniques.

Blackwork
Blackworktattoosarecharacterizedbyusingonlyblackinktorenderimages,designsorpatternsthroughintensecolor
blockingand/orimpeccablelinework.Mandalasarecommonimagesusedinblackworktattoos.

Dotwork
Dotworkisastyleoftattooingthatrendersvariousimages,designsandpatternsentirelythroughdots.Shadinganddepthis
createdthroughhowfaraparteachdotisfromthenext.Commonformsofdotworkincludesacredgeometryandstipple
portraits.

Geometric
Geometrictattoosaredonetypicallyusingonlylinesandgeometricshapes.Sacredgeometryandornamentalcolordesign
workallrelyheavilyonbasicgeometricconventions.

Stick and Poke

ThismodernformofDIYtattooingisdoneusingasingleneedlethatisdippedininkandthenpokedthroughtheskin
repeatedlytocreateasimpledesign.

Watercolor
Watercolortattooslackalloutlinesandimitatethebrushstrokeaestheticandstandardcolorpaletteofwatercolorpaintings.

Sketch Work
Sketchworktattoosimitatetheroughimageaestheticfoundinanartistssketchbookanddepictwhatappearlikeunfinished
imagesordesigns.Theytypicallyfeaturesemicoloredinareasandunclearoutlines.