The Styles
Guide.

Fine line tattooing emerged as a distinct style in the late 20th century, influenced by the delicate linework traditions of Japanese tattooing and later refined

Black and grey tattooing has its roots in the Chicano art movement of East Los Angeles in the 1970s and 80s, where inmates created ink from pen cartridges and b

Traditional American tattooing — also called old school — is the foundation of the Western tattoo industry. It developed in the late 19th century through sailor

Japanese tattooing (irezumi) has a documented history stretching back to the Edo period (1603–1868), when woodblock print aesthetics began influencing full-body

Blackwork is a broad category united by the use of solid black ink — no colour, no grey wash — applied in bold, graphic forms. Its influences range from tribal

Realistic tattooing attempts to replicate the appearance of photographs or three-dimensional subjects on skin. The style demands exceptional technical skill: un

Mythical and fantasy tattooing draws from the vast reservoir of human storytelling: dragons, phoenixes, kirin, serpents, celestial bodies, and creatures from ev

Tattooed text and lettering is one of the oldest forms of body marking, found across cultures from ancient Egypt to medieval Europe. In contemporary tattooing,

Nature tattooing encompasses the full spectrum of the natural world as subject matter: botanical illustrations, wildlife, landscapes, celestial bodies, and elem