Black & Grey
Pain level
5/10 — Moderate
Pain varies significantly by placement — ribs and hands hurt more than upper arms and calves, regardless of style.
History & technique
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 ball-point pens — limiting them to a single colour diluted to varying densities.
The style spread rapidly through professional shops, evolving into one of the most versatile and widely practiced forms of tattooing. It relies on a single black ink, watered down to create a full tonal range from near-white to deep shadow. Realistic portraiture, religious iconography, and hyper-detailed nature scenes are its most celebrated applications.
Today black and grey encompasses everything from soft watercolour-influenced washes to crisp photorealistic renderings.