A plain-English guide to the most popular tattoo styles — traditional, fine line, realism, blackwork, Japanese, illustrative and more — to help you choose.
Choosing a style first makes it far easier to find the right artist. Each style has its own techniques, look and best-suited subjects, and most artists specialise in one or a few.
Traditional: bold outlines, classic imagery, ages well. Fine line: thin, delicate, minimal. Realism: photographic detail in colour or black-and-grey. Blackwork: solid black, dotwork and ornamental patterns. Japanese (irezumi): mythological, flowing, large-scale. Illustrative: artistic, stylised, graphic. Watercolour, geometric, biomechanical and lettering round out the most-requested styles.