Do you also find it hard to identify what style each tattoo is? In this article we list all the tattoo styles that exist.

Tattoos have transcended time and cultures, becoming a personal and unique expression for those who wear them. Today, the art of tattooing has diversified tremendously, offering a wide range of styles for those who wish to transform their skin into canvases. From realistic to avant-garde, each tattoo style tells a unique story and reflects the creativity of the artists behind them.

Realistic Tattoos

Realistic tattoos seek to reproduce images accurately, from human portraits to natural landscapes. Artists who master this technique have the ability to capture every detail and shadow with impressive skill, creating works that seem to come to life on the skin. 

Geometric Tattoos

Geometric tattoos are based on abstract shapes and patterns, creating stunning visual compositions, from mandalas to nature-inspired designs. Precision and balance are key in this style, where each line and shape intertwine to form a work of art.

Watercolor Tattoos

Watercolor tattoos are known for their vibrant colors and fluid appearance, mimicking traditional watercolor brushstrokes. These often lack sharp lines, creating a visual effect that more closely resembles a painting on canvas than a traditional tattoo. 

Traditional Tattoos

Traditional tattooing, also known as "Old School", is characterized by thick lines, bright colors and classic motifs such as anchors, roses and hearts. This style, rooted in the history of tattooing, evokes a sense of nostalgia and authenticity that makes it timeless. The traditional tattoo remains a popular choice among those looking for a design with character and style.

The Neo-Traditional

The neo-traditional style combines classic aesthetics with modern elements, creating pieces that are both nostalgic and contemporary. Inspired by traditional tattoos, these designs incorporate vibrant details and colors that make them stand out from the crowd.

Blackwork

Blackwork is characterized by the use of only black ink, creating graphic and dramatic designs that capture attention. Although seemingly simple, this technique requires a mastery of composition and contrast to achieve stunning visual effects. 

Dotwork

Dotwork style, also known as pointillist tattooing, uses tiny dots to build the desired shapes. Sometimes these dots are combined with lines to add depth and detail to the work. The density of the dots is manipulated to create shadows and areas of color, resulting in incredible compositions.

Japanese

Traditional Japanese tattooing, also known as irezumi, reflects a rich Japanese iconography, including masks, samurai, geisha, koi fish, demons and dragons. Characterized by its profusion of colors and realism, irezumi is a testament to meticulous artistry and deep-rooted tradition. On the other hand, neo Japanese, a modern evolution of irezumi, combines traditional elements with more detailed and sophisticated designs, offering a fresh and contemporary perspective on this age-old art form.

Tribal

The tribal tattoo style experienced a boom in the 1990s and early 2000s. Inspired by the ritual symbols of various ethnic groups, these tattoos reflect an aesthetic marked by simplicity and visual strength. Although sometimes these designs may have cultural or symbolic meanings, in many cases they are valued mainly for their aesthetic aspect.

Goth

Gothic style tattoos transcend beyond being simply a style, constituting an entire cultural trend. Gothic tattoos are inspired by classic horror movie themes, featuring motifs such as skulls, sinister castles and bloody roses. They are characterized by the abundant use of black ink, details and intense colors such as red.

Brush or Avantgarde

It stands out as one of the most interesting and challenging styles to perform. "Brush" means brush or paintbrush in English, while "avant-garde" is a French term meaning "avant-garde". These tattoos are abstract and are usually created directly by the artist on the skin, sometimes without a previous design. They are characterized by reproducing brushstrokes, color spots and strokes, generating abstract works of great visual interest.

Minimalist

Minimalist tattoos stand out for their discretion and for belonging to the small tattoo styles, which makes them very attractive. These tattoos, which are sometimes almost imperceptible, create a delicate and subtle look.

Trash Polka

Trash Polka, a relatively new tattoo style, emerged a few years ago in Germany. It is a unique fusion that combines trash style with realistic representation, which makes it distinctive and sometimes difficult to categorize. This style is composed of watercolor strokes with more solid and defined elements such as blackout, text or lettering, as well as surrealistic elements. It is also characterized by the predominant use of black and red.

Fine Line

These tattoos are characterized by their subtlety and precision. Mostly in black tones, these minimalist tattoos are used to represent very specific and delicate designs, standing out for their elegance and simplicity.

Blackout

It consists of saturating entire areas of the skin with black ink, letting the shape of the design or the figure naturally outlined by the untattooed skin become an integral part of the art. Generally, these designs are neo-tribal or geometric in style, with the intention of covering a specific part of the body.

Biomechanic

The biomechanical style, classic but constantly evolving, plays with three-dimensional effects to create the illusion of seeing the inside of the human body as a machine. It combines elements such as bones and muscles with gears and wires that seem to emerge from the skin, creating a futuristic and fascinating representation.

3D

3D tattooing is characterized by modern, thick, crisp strokes, which are combined with shading and motion effects to create a three-dimensional illusion. 

Ignorant Tattoo

The Ignorant Tattoo is a variant of graffiti on the skin without established rules. It is characterized by naive strokes, defying the stylistic norms of art and tattooing.

Anime

Anime tattoos are an expression for fans of Japanese aesthetics. They can represent from famous characters to entire series, ranging from recognized icons to less popular characters within the anime world.

Ornamental

Ornamental tattoos are characterized by geometric, abstract and symmetrical designs, which can be combined with a wide range of styles and techniques. They are an attractive choice for tattooing and often have diverse meanings, which may include religious and spiritual connotations.

Kawaii

Kawaii tattoos are recognized for their charming and colorful designs, inspired by Japanese culture. They feature cartoon characters, food and everyday objects in an adorable and cuddly aesthetic.

Geek

The Geek style is designed for fans of geek culture. In this style, you will find designs ranging from video game characters to movie symbols, references to manga series and science fiction elements.

Handpoke

This style of tattooing involves the use of a sterilized needle pushed by hand. It is considered the traditional form of tattooing, as tattoo machines are a relatively recent invention.

If you are looking for more inspiration don't hesitate to take a look at Ink on Sky or if you want to keep up to date with the most important news of the sector visit our Magazink!

And now you can try for free our all-in-one tattoo studio and artist management software / app Ink on Sky Pro !

Ink on Sky – The Home Of Tattoo