ReviewTattoo
Style guides

Every style, explained.

Origins, famous artists, pricing, and when not to pick it.

USA Navy ports · 1900–1950s

American Traditional

Bold lines, solid color, zero compromise. The style that won't quit.

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1970s California prison tattooing

Black & Grey

Diluted black, full rendering, no color. Photographic without the pigment risk.

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Ancient tribal + modern revival

Blackwork

Pure black ink, maximum impact. The style that ages best.

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East Los Angeles · 1940s–1970s

Chicano

East LA lowrider art, cursive script, roses, and religious imagery. Born in prisons, now in museums.

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LA / Instagram · 2010s

Fine Line

Single-needle precision. Delicate now, blurry later — unless the artist is good.

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Modern fusion (sacred geometry + blackwork)

Geometric

Sacred geometry, mandalas, and mathematical precision.

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Edo-period Japan · 17th c.

Japanese (Irezumi)

Dragons, koi, waves, and windbars. The style that built modern tattooing.

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Instagram / fine-line crossover · mid-2010s

Micro / Minimalist

Tiny. Cute. Statistically the most regretted style in tattooing.

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Early 2000s evolution of American Traditional

Neo-Traditional

Traditional backbone, modern palette, more detail.

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USA · 1970s, matured 1990s

Realism

Portraits and photographs, pushed into skin.

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Multiple indigenous traditions · 3000+ years

Tribal

The oldest style in tattooing. Not the Y2K armband, the real thing.

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Illustration crossover · 2010s

Watercolor

Painterly splashes of color. Beautiful — and the style that ages worst.

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