Tattoo styles explained

Blackwork

Blackwork uses solid black ink only: bold shapes, heavy fills, patterns and strong contrast, from ornamental pieces to large coverage.

Fine line

Fine line tattoos use thin, delicate lines for small, detailed and elegant motifs — flowers, script, small symbols, botanical drawings.

Traditional (Old School)

Traditional tattoos have bold black outlines, a limited colour palette and classic motifs such as roses, anchors, swallows, skulls and daggers.

Neo-traditional

Neo-traditional builds on the traditional style with more detail, a wider colour range, varying line weights and an illustrative look.

Realism

Realism recreates photographs, portraits, animals or objects as true to life as possible, in black and grey or colour.

Black & grey

Black and grey work uses diluted black ink for smooth shading from light to dark, without colour.

Colour

Colour tattoos use a full palette. The result depends heavily on skin tone, pigment and the artist’s technique.

Watercolour

Watercolour tattoos imitate paint: soft colour washes, splashes and gradients, often with few or no outlines.

Japanese (Irezumi)

Japanese tattooing has a long tradition with motifs such as dragons, koi, waves, cherry blossoms and masks, shown in large, flowing compositions.

Tribal

Tribal tattoos use bold black patterns and shapes with roots in many cultures, such as Polynesian, Maori or Borneo designs.

Geometric

Geometric tattoos use lines, shapes and symmetry: mandalas, sacred geometry, polygons and abstract patterns.

Dotwork

Dotwork builds images from thousands of small dots; density creates shading and depth.

Minimalist

Minimalist tattoos reduce a motif to its essence: simple lines, small symbols and plenty of empty space.

Lettering

Lettering tattoos use words, names, dates and quotes in script, block letters or custom calligraphy.

Portrait

Portrait tattoos depict people or pets as realistic likenesses, often in black and grey.

Ornamental

Ornamental tattoos use decorative patterns, lace, filigree and jewellery-like designs, often following the shape of the body.

Illustrative

Illustrative tattoos look like drawings or book illustrations — sketchy lines, engraving or etching styles, with creative freedom.

Surreal

Surreal tattoos combine dreamlike, unexpected elements — melting shapes, mixed animals, impossible scenes.

Anime

Anime tattoos bring characters and scenes from anime and manga to the skin, from clean line art to full colour.

Cover-up

A cover-up hides an old or unwanted tattoo under a new design, usually larger and darker than the original.