Tattoos of different styles. What types of tattoos are there?
Have you ever thought about what types of tattoos there are? I'm not talking about styles and trends. I decided to divide tattoos by type based on the social status of their owners. I want to warn you in advance that this is just my opinion and does not claim to be the ultimate truth. Just interested in shedding some light on this issue.
So let's get started, I divide tattoos into the following types:
- Elite tattoos;
- Creative;
- Popular;
- Image;
- Portaki;
- Tattoos;
Let's talk about portacas.
Everything is relatively simple with them, and there is no need to compare them with tattoos from the world of thieves, because there are some pretty decent works there. Stuffed by force, however, should be regarded as a stigma that has only a semantic function.
Portac, in turn, is simply cheap, but quick hand a daub made by a newbie. They wanted a formidable dragon wide back, got an angry worm. We wanted a ferocious wolf on the shoulder, but we have a ball dog, whose face is twisted from flea bites in the causative place.
The problem with portacs is that they are often very large in size and very difficult to correct. As my tattoo artist friend says, you will pay three times for greed. 1 time to fill, 2 times to lighten with a laser and 3 times to refill. (and re-painting a tattoo costs an order of magnitude more)
Portacs reflect several characteristic features its owner, this is greed, self-dislike and the desire not to be, but to be known. It is these ingredients that lead a person to such marks of the devil. In general, the partak still needs to be earned! Long and persistent unwillingness to love yourself.
Elite tattoos.
The next type that is worth discussing is elite tattoos and their difference from creative ones. Often both are good in terms of performance and quality. The differences are more in the psychological aspect.
Creative tattoos are often more interesting, brighter and better emphasize the individuality of the author, but cannot boast of having a big name as a tattoo artist. Such tattoos are done by good, but not highly promoted artists or young talented artists.
Elite tattoos, on the contrary, are performed by famous and very famous, seasoned artists with big name. With the presence of the author's easily recognizable style. So it would be immediately obvious who got the tattoo. Often such artists become the founders of new trends in tattoo art, because sooner or later they begin to be copied. For example or. Nowadays this is the trash-polka style, found in any salon, but before it was immediately clear whose hands it was, namely the work of the family couple of masters, Simon Plouffe and Volko Mershsky, the founders of this now popular style.
Image tattoos.
The next class of tattoos are image tattoos. This is a rather controversial type of tattoo, since there is a very thin line between an image tattoo and a portak. The fact is that some, often not poor, but free-spirited people, for example, people of creative radical professions (metal or punk musicians, street art artists, genius photographers) seek to get tattoos with protest.
They find good, slightly crazy craftsmen who are ready to make them something like a portac. The funny thing is that although such tattoos are made like portacas, they look very daring and suit their wearers perfectly. Not everyone is able to decide on such an experiment. More often than not, these are people who have already realized something and achieved success. They are the ones who can afford to get such bold tattoos.
Usually these tattoos are compensated by well-chosen, expensive-looking clothes and image in general. For example, at sexy girl in steep leather jacket on the shoulder is a nasty pink rabbit, and recently stuffed. It turns into a feature, can be punctured for weeks and looks impressive.
How Steve Jobs could afford to wear a black turtleneck, blue jeans and white sneakers. And this became his personal, recognizable style. It’s the same with image tattoos, not everyone can consciously get a portak on themselves, and in such a way that it becomes a cool feature.
A prominent representative of such tattoos is.
Popular tattoos.
Well, let's end this essay with a look at popular tattoos. They are not bad and not good, there are more of them. Often these are works on popular topics, made from sketches from the Internet. Maybe even good craftsmen, but without any special frills. This is the conveyor.
For most people, these are excellent jobs; only people from the crowd can understand that this is a passable job. It follows from this: if you just want a tattoo and don’t want to bother too much, develop an individual sketch, pay extra money, you’re surrounded by only clean-skinned people, don’t bother, everything will suit you.
But when you want to surprise with a new beautiful tattoo, if you want to take part in competitions or simply be original and not a copy, then try to take advice and don’t skimp. Nice sketch that's 50 percent success. And believe me, if the idea is good and the artist draws a sketch himself, he will try to get the tattoo as cool as possible. Such work will be individual, and masters want more such works in their portfolio.
Now think about it, since the artist will give you a tattoo with the desire to add it to your portfolio, then believe me, he will give his 100%.
So the power is in the sketches, the main thing is that the idea is interesting!
Initially, tattoos had rather a conditional meaning. You could say they were certain symbols or decorations on the human body. Now tattoos can be safely attributed to a certain type of art, rather than just drawings on the body. A huge leap in the development of tattoo techniques over the past decades has led to the emergence of certain tattoo styles that are known throughout the world. You can even come across directions that did not exist at all before.
Chicano style
It originates in Latin America, and its rapid development began in the state of California in the middle of the last century. Images in this style originated in American prisons, they were applied to themselves by Mexicans who were serving time there. Tattoos in the Chicano style are images with sacred themes. All of them have graceful thin lines. This feature is due to the fact that tattoos were applied using ordinary improvised tools - a sewing needle and ink. Typically, Mexican prisoners painted images of symbols that were important to them: images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, women they liked, some phrases that had special meaning for a particular person.
Watercolor style
The appearance of this design completely changed humanity's attitude towards tattoos. Now they are regarded as works of art, and not just blue-black drawings on the body. Graceful rainbow tattoos in watercolor style resemble body art under the skin rather than regular tattoos. Bright colors and patterns applied with a needle, as if with a brush, provide the effect of a picture drawn by the artist, which has not even dried yet. You can look at such tattoos for hours and receive aesthetic pleasure.
The history of the creation of the watercolor style
Its founder is Amanda Wachbob, who lives in New York. It all started when, one ordinary morning, Amanda discovered unusual patterns on her hand - traces of folds bed linen. This inspired Amanda to paint similar designs under her skin to immortalize them. She decided to imitate brush strokes with an ordinary tattoo machine and got an unexpectedly great result. Now her work is valued at $350/hour, and people sign up for a waiting list six months in advance. You can depict almost anything in watercolor: from a flower to a portrait, everything will look very elegant and unusual. That’s why the watercolor style is so quickly becoming popular all over the world, and masters are trying to master new method. Despite many others exquisite styles tattoos, images of this particular type indisputably prove that tattoos are real works of art and refute the opinion that they can disfigure the body.
Trash polka style
This view was created married couple tattoo artists from the city of Wüzburg in Western Germany. This name gave rise to their love for the folk music of the Gypsies and Germans. The style emerged as a result of manipulation of photographs: artists took magazine clippings and photos and then applied an image on top. Suddenly out of this came new style tattoos. Today, many artists around the world use this unique genre. Trash style tattoos usually consist of two colors - red and black.
This design is necessarily associated with the symbolism of death - images of skulls, crosses, red flowers. These original, stylish tattoos will never go unnoticed by others.
Mankind has known the art of applying drawings and inscriptions to the body for many centuries. At all times, people who dared to paint their skin challenged society. Today, despite disagreements regarding this type of creativity, many decide to get a tattoo. There are all kinds of styles and trends. The types of tattoos should be considered in more detail before applying any inscription or design to your body.
History of origin
The concept of “tattoo” first appeared in 1773. The famous traveler D. Cook used the word “tatua” in his writings. From Polynesian it means "drawing". D. Cook used this term to describe the images on the bodies of the inhabitants of Oceania.
This concept was first documented in the Dictionary of Medicine, published in 1856.
In the 20th century, the most common one was custom. It became most popular from the 40s to the 80s. It can be called the only type of tattoo at that time. A feature of this style was the presence of clear lines without shadows. One or two colors were used to apply the design. The tattoo was done on various parts of the body.
The USA is considered the birthplace of this style. At that time, more attention was paid to the presence of a tattoo than to its appearance. Today this style has practically sunk into oblivion. The types of tattoos (photo below) that are performed today modify the custom style and are applied to the skin in this form.
The most striking representatives of body designs of the twentieth century are mermaids, ships, hearts pierced with daggers, snakes, roses, and daggers.
Types of tattoos by time of use
There are several types of tattoos. Depending on the duration of their use, there are permanent and temporary images on the skin.
Temporary tattoos are applied with sticks or brushes. In this case, the skin is not pierced by equipment with paint. Henna is usually used for these purposes. This type of tattoo is completely washed off a maximum of two months after application. Similar designs are used as popular types of tattoos on the arm, shoulder and other parts of the body.
Permanent images are permanently etched onto the skin. It is very difficult and painful to bring out such work. Such designs are applied using an induction machine. The equipment has one or more needles. A special paint is also used, which is driven under the skin when applying the design.
All kinds of tattoos on the arm, leg, shoulder, back and other parts of the body are done using a permanent method.
Types of tattoos by purpose
There are different types of tattoos according to their purpose. They can be cosmetic or ordinary.
The latter are intended for personal self-expression. They are applied to emphasize individuality. Sometimes the purpose of tattooing is to follow fashion.
Cosmetic designs come in two types. The first type is used to hide cosmetic skin defects, such as scars or blemishes. The second type often means various types tattoos for girls. They help replace makeup. Cosmetic types of tattoos (an example is shown in the photo below) are designed for a period of 2 to 5 years.
Their service life, like the quality of the drawing itself, directly depends on the qualifications of the master, as well as the materials and equipment he uses.
Ancient styles
There are many types of tattoos for girls and men, which differ in their style. Throughout the history of this art, there have been a huge number of areas of tattooing. The most popular of them deserve a more detailed consideration.
Types of tattoos that originated in earlier times of the development of the art of applying pictures to the skin are characterized by Japanese, Celtic and Polynesian styles.
Celtic is represented in classic version interweaving of natural motifs. Modern tattoos also contain images of animals. All elements are stylized to resemble ancient fairy tales and legends that have survived to our time.
The Polynesian style originates from the inhabitants of Oceania. At one time it was forgotten, but now such tattoos are very often used in cosmetic work. Polynesian women in mandatory cosmetic tattooing was applied, especially on the lips. Without this they were not taken as wives. Main feature This style is considered bright colors.
The Japanese direction in tattooing is one of the oldest and most conservative. This style is not subject to fashion changes. Originally japanese tattoo performed manually, without the use of electrical equipment. Masters use only bamboo sticks that have one or more needles. Japanese skin designs are known as a type of back tattoo due to their extensiveness.
New styles
Today, several new trends in the art of tattooing are rapidly developing. These include pop art, ethnic style and biomechanics.
The pop art direction is not about expressing individuality, but simply following fashion. It is characterized by various marine motifs and “baubles”. This style also includes those that have become popular in recent years, inscriptions on hands and other parts of the body.
The ethnic style is quite new in the art of tattoos. He doesn't have enough distinctive features, which is due to a large number of details borrowed from other directions. This style includes Slavic, Scythian or African images.
Biomechanics is a field that helps a person express his individuality. Such designs on the body are distinguished by their originality and avant-garde. Technical, fantastic elements are intertwined into all sorts of incomprehensible images. Such designs are quite common as types of tattoos on the shoulder, arm and other parts of the body.
Objects and their meaning
To apply a design to the body, many objects are used, the meaning of which should be known before performing the work. Popular elements today include images in the form of a cross, a star, a girl and an inscription.
The cross is one of the amulets tattoos. They are designed to protect their owner. Sometimes they have a religious meaning.
Images of a girl also have the meaning of a talisman. Sometimes they have a religious meaning, the Virgin Mary or other saints are implied in the female form.
Inscriptions today are extremely popular. They are applied in various languages and various design styles are used for this. The main thing is to deeply understand the meaning of such a phrase before applying it.
Star tattoo
One of the most popular types of tattoos is the star. The meaning of such a drawing can have many meanings.
Tattoos in the form of stars highlight their owner, giving him popularity and fame. This is a symbol of rebirth. The star sign will help you move out of darkness into light.
Similar tattoos are applied in various configurations. starfish preferred by sailors to protect against misfortune. The six-pointed Star of David serves as a symbol of health and prosperity.
In ancient times, this particular object was applied to the body to attract success and good health. Today, such a symbol has a similar meaning and is applied to almost any part of the body.
Where to make the drawing?
The place for tattooing must be chosen taking into account certain requirements. The picture should not be distorted when moving; depending on the client’s wishes, it can be hidden or clearly visible. Each area of the body requires a different tattoo.
Portraits are not pinned on the back, otherwise the features will be distorted and the effect will be the same as in a distorting mirror.
Types of tattoos on the leg most often involve drawing a design on the thigh. Calves and ankles are also suitable for this purpose.
Quite popular places for tattoos are the neck, area behind the ear, stomach, arms, shoulders, chest, shoulder blades and lower back.
Women often prefer more hidden places for drawing. Men, on the contrary, choose large and open areas for tattoos.
Drawing for girls
Men are less picky about the location and size of the tattoo. When choosing a design, as well as its location, girls strive to emphasize their femininity. Typically feminine ones include images of butterflies, cats, panthers, and all kinds of floral motifs. Perhaps the image of a tiger, scorpion, dragon, snake.
Various abstract patterns, mythical scenes, lace and many other elements are suitable for girls. The main thing is that the design is distinguished by elegance and femininity. It can contain a wide variety of colors and shades.
Before applying a design, you should carefully consider your choice. After all, the image will remain on the body for life.
Having considered the types of tattoos, as well as the rules for choosing and applying them, you can choose the image that suits you. In order not to later regret your choice, you should carefully consider the place where the drawing is applied, as well as the entire composition. The meaning of a tattoo must be understood and accepted by its owner. A well-executed tattoo can become a real work of art that would decorate a museum or exhibition when applied to canvas.
We will also secretly hand over your appearances and passwords. best tattoos masters in Ukraine, whom you can see at the “bench” on May 19-21 at the Tattoo Collection 2017 festival.
1. Dotwork
Dotwork - from English. “dot” and “work”: “dot” and “work”. From this it is clear that the tattoo is performed in point technique. Depth and contrast, gradients and shades are conveyed by the density of dots per square centimeter. Thanks to this, the tattoo completely merges with the texture of the skin. To feel the beauty of this technique, you need a fairly large drawing - usually with complex geometric shapes or abstract patterns. It’s especially nice that this tattoo is the least painful and heals faster than others. However, the master must have really cool technical skills.
2. Graphics
Graphics are also known as “engraving”. It really resembles an old engraving or pen drawings: exclusively black color, clear lines, fine virtuoso shading. There are no blurry contours here, and combinations with other colors are used extremely rarely. The theme of the style is very wide. But first of all, these are motifs inherited from real engravings: knightly accessories, ships, mythological animals and plants, skulls and skeletons... Modern abstract motifs and popular optical illusions also look great on the skin in this style of execution. A master who loves “engraving” simply must be an excellent artist.
3. Linework
Linework - the name, by analogy with dotwork, was formed from “line” and “work”. Which can be translated as “working with lines.” The style is quite young, but quickly took its place among the main trends. If you like minimalism and laconicism, this is the place for you. Straight lines are the unshakable foundation of this technique. They are necessarily present both in the drawing itself and in its composition. These are thin outlines of plants or animals, reminiscent of pencil sketches, geometric shapes and even imitation of drawings. The lines can be intertwined into grids, lattices and even ribbons. And if you combine all this creatively, you can get not only new forms, but also new meanings of the drawing - which is what became characteristic feature linework style.
4. Realism
As in painting, so in tattoos: realism is the most complex and time-consuming technique. Applying a color (or black&grey) image to the skin that conveys depth, volume, light and shade, etc., or achieving complete resemblance to a portrait, is even more difficult than painting on canvas. No one can complete such a piece of jewelry in one session. This is an expensive “game”. But it's worth the trouble. After all, in the end you will “wear” at least a reproduction of Michelangelo. And the style of realism in the world of tattoos seems to never lose its relevance. Today it is often called “3-D,” which is not entirely correct. A 3-D tattoo, which creates the complete illusion of three-dimensionality, is just one of the areas of realism.
5. Old school
Old school is a classic of the genre. What has always been, is and will be. For all these are our dreams taken from childhood: about distant worlds, about priceless gifts, about beautiful women and brave men... Tattoos in the old school style are always a little naive. Thick contours and bright colors are reminiscent of children's drawings, and the themes are reminiscent of cartoons. Roses and hearts, maps and pistols, anchors, steering wheels and other nautical themes - “yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”, cats, owls, a proud eagle, the boyfriend’s name on a pink bow - it’s all here. Old school does not strive for realism, but at the same time does not lose its appeal. His sincerity and expressiveness have earned him places on the charts for almost 200 years.
- Alexey Levsha: https://vk.com/id8314955
- Roman Sagaidachny: https://vk.com/wolf_tea
- Dima Naumov: https://vk.com/naumtattoo
- Roma Owl: https://vk.com/owlpunktattoo
