One of the issues that crops up during consultations for me is the subject of style. A lot of people don't know how to express the style they like most in tattoos. What makes it more difficult is the fact that there is a wide spectrum of styles and techniques and mashups that can overlap. Every artist will have their own way of doing what they do, but they will usually fall under a larger umbrella in terms of style.
A Brief Overview of Art Terms
Before delving into style, here is a short glossary of terms that can help with your vocabulary on discussing style.
Style should not be confused with Subject Matter. Subject Matter is the object of the image itself. For example, the subject matter of a piece can be a tiger portrait, roses, or a crow. Its how that subject matter is drawn / painted / tattooed / conveyed that we call style.
Composition is how the subject matter is organized. Composition is an important part of any art form. With tattoos, the composition is greatly dictated by the shape of the body part it is on, and what other tattoos may be around it. In the case of coverups, the composition is also dictated by hiding the old tattoo.
Value is where a color lands on the spectrum in terms of darkness. If you were to convert a colored tattoo to black and gray, you would want all the values to still be strong to maximize legibility.
Contrast describes the relationship between two values. The highest contrast possible is black next to white. A low contrast relationship would be two grays or 2 colors that when side by side have very similar values.
Opacity describes the ability of a given ink to block light. For example, a watered down dye is relatively thin and easy to see light through if applied to a clear sheet of glass. Meanwhile, a thick wall paint will coat that clear glass surface without much effort and block your ability to see through it. Tattoo inks come in a myriad of opacities to suit the design needs of any given artist. For example, an artist might opt for more opaque inks for a coverup.
Rendering often times refers to how developed an image might be in terms of shading / color / lighting. A highly rendered tattoo would be fully detailed, have fully realized textures, and many times a sophisticated lighting situation.
The strength of a Design for any given purpose is dictated by the use of these concepts all together by the artist.
American Traditional / Americana Tattoo Styles
This style is most associated with the work of a tattoo artist from the first half of the 19th century named Sailor Jerry. It is characterized by strong, black linework, a limited palette of mostly primary colors, a somewhat naive rendering, and specific subject matter like pinups, eagles, daggers, roses etc.. Many people who are interested in this style tend to collect small to midsize pieces and puzzle them together in an aesthetically pleasing way. Nowadays, the subject matter for this style has exploded into all kinds of modern options.
Japanese Traditional
Japanese traditional is associated with large, bold subject matter (dragons, samurai, cherry blossoms, waves, Oni masks, etc.) as well as bold, black lines, a limited color palette as well as with blacks and grays. Usually the wearer will be heavily covered in a specific configuration with not much bare skin showing through the design. Again, more modern versions of this might explore more subject matters, more complex palettes, or a more polished rendering.
Neo-traditional
Neo-traditional is usually characterized by bold linework and stylization but with an updated color palette, and a more modern aesthetic. You can find traits of Art Nouveau or Art Deco in this style. They are generally larger, more detailed, and are characterized by skillfully applied washes of smooth colors and gradients.
Illustrative / Line work
I characterize illustrative work as simply not trying to look overly realistic in the world of tattoos. Any of the afore-mentioned styles could be considered illustrative. When working with my clients, "illustrative" is usually associated with botanical "scientific illustrations". Other times it is defined as "fine line". Many times there is visible line work but it is fine or thin. In this context, illustrative work can look quite realistic, but it is still clearly a drawing. This style can be done with (usually limited) color or black and gray but the key is that carefully done line work is appreciated by the viewer. Sometimes illustrative work can be very simple, where there really is no shading or color.
Watercolor Tattoos
This style can be coupled with a few different styles, but ultimately it will usually include a "splatter" or "dripping" effect with a varied palette. I see a lot of tattoos that will have a fine-line drawing with watercolor splatter effect through or behind it.
Usually if a piece has a splatter look but it is all black it would be considered "ink splatter". Technique-wise it is similar.
Although there is no dripping effect in the elephant tattoo below, the palette is exaggerated giving it a bit of a watercolor, or "painted" feel.
Realism
Realism has it's own little spectrum that tops out at "hyper-realism". Many times this style has very saturated, opaque color or grays, an extremely realistic lighting situation, and fully rendered detail and texture in the subject matter. This style is usually based on photo reference. Realism can be lots of subject matter but I associate hyper-realism with portraits and florals.
The realism I do I think lies on the more "painterly" or "illustrative" side.
Micro-Realism
Originally this style was most associated with non-opaque blacks and grays but recently I have seen some quite beautiful examples of opaque color work in this realm. This style can be all kinds of subject matters but the designs are generally made from photos / photo collage. It is characterized by detailed work at relatively small sizes. For example, you could have a full sleeve as micro-realism, but these artists will do things like faces at a smaller size inside a larger design. This style can be collected as small works puzzled together or large areas like a sleeve designed together as one piece. There is some debate in the industry over how well these tattoos age. As with all things, it depends.
Abstract Tattoos
In tattoos, abstract simply means the subject matter of a design isn't something material. It is usually done over large areas that are simply meant to compliment the body but they can also be small or midsize. Examples of abstract are geometric, or many forms of tribal. They can simply be meandering shapes or patterns. Some forms of abstract do include elements of other styles including realism, watercolor or geometric.
Techniques
Techniques can sometimes take on lives of their own as they can be heavily associated with particular styles. Dotwork and whip shading tend to be prevalent in illustrative and micro-realism but they can be found in other styles. Blast-over is a term for a coverup that doesn't try to pretend the old tattoo isn't there. It's just a large, usually abstract design that creates it's own aesthetic which includes the old work.
In Conclusion...
... I find that these styles and terms come up most when talking about tattoos with my clients. Particularly the relationship between illustrative and realism as my style tends to land at different points on those spectrums. You'll notice I used the word "brief" a few times here; just know that this really is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's out there. My descriptions are purely aesthetic and lacking in terms of meaning, history, and context.
My interest in creating this post is to give clients a basic vocabulary when talking about the styles they like. If a style interests you, I encourage you to do more research into the evolution of it, the historical implications, and meanings of certain colors, or shapes in it (Tribal, Celtic and Japanese for example have a lot more to it).
Many artists mash styles up depending on their influences and apprenticeship experiences. Some artists fall very strictly into a particular category. Every artist is different. It is very rare that an artist will be able to successfully emulate another artist; please keep this in mind when working with your tattoo artist. No human being can serve as a copy machine, and will have their own way of solving any given design.
When considering an artist, it's important to have a good grasp on the style they do. For example, an amazing hyper-realism artist probably won't be interested in an illustrative linework piece. Someone who specializes in micro-realism probably won't be doing too many Japanese body suits. If you don't hear back about your inquiry, consider if the style of the references you included really seems like a good fit to the artist.
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