Traditional or “Old School” – This style uses bold, blue-black outlines, usually filled with solid red and green with rare additions of blue, yellow, brown and purple; and embellished with little or no shading (examples: Cherries, pin ups, roses, nautical stars, etc.).
Contemporary or “New School” – Bold, bright and in your face style. It includes contemporary and fantastical designs. This style contains more elaborate blending and shading with extensive coloring and heavy outlines.
Black and Gray or Realistic – This style uses only black ink in a variety of shades. By mixing black ink with distilled water it creates a “wash” where lighter shades can be produced. This is the most popular method of tattooing.
Tribal – This style is most recognizable with its dramatic use of aggressive dark lines in jagged symmetrical shapes and spread throughout the skin. These tattoos are more often done in bold black and skin tones.
Portraits – This style is simply the replication of a person, animal or any human realism. Most clients will bring in an actual picture so the artist can better capture the details. Portraits can be done in both color and black ink; however, many people find that black and gray is more realistic.
