There are many different types of tattoo styles. Some date back hundreds of years while others started popping up within the last couple years. Sometimes there are so many different options of tattoo styles it can be confusing. In this post we’ll go through a couple of the most common and well-known tattoo stylization, such as Traditional, Neo-traditional, Illustrative, and realism. There are many, many more styles for tattoos to be checked out but we’ll start with these four.
Traditional Style
The traditional style tattoo is, as it implies, the classic old-school tattoo style, which has been around since the early 1900s. It started largely with sailors and traveling men. Through exposure to tattoo styles from the many cultures, they visited it, adhering to the well-known traditional style. Most recognizable for the thick black outlines and full, usually non-shaded colors. Most of the colors tend to stick to the primary colors, especially red, green, and yellow. Traditional-style tattoos tend to be on the simpler side, not overly intricate. They are very bold, so they would not fade over time as much as thin-lined tattoos. While the trad style is somewhat simple, many common designs have deeper meanings and symbolism. For example, memorial tattoos with the heart and banner, many people think of the iconic heart with “MOM” lettering over it, representing love, passion, and protection over a past or present loved one. Another example is the rose, which represents beauty and sacrifice. The trad style is great for medium-sized pieces.
Neotraditional Style
Not to be confused with the classic Traditional style, Neotraditional is the more modern version of the Traditional style. It generally includes a little more detail, as well as introduces more elements. It usually includes shading, more intricate linework, and a larger color palette. The style keeps the basic traditional style alive, through keeping the bold lines and designs similar to the Trad style. Neotraditional style started popping up in the late 1900s and is a more modern-looking, less rough way to get your tattoo while keeping the trad style in mind. One of the more common things tattooed in this style is human portraits and animals. The neo trad style is great for arm sleeves.
Illustrative Style
Illustrative style for tattoos is a less bold style. Often used with floral pieces or animal pieces. It has a more “hand-drawn” feel combined with the classic boldness of a tattoo. It uses dots and linework to create shapes. It started to be used more often and really become popular in the late 1900s. When colored, though most tend to stay black and grey, it uses vibrant deep colors with a large palette. The illustrative style is a large umbrella term for the style. It covers many different styles but in a more “sketched” way. The illustrative style is a very “pretty” style. Great for bigger pieces like arm sleeves or leg sleeves.
Realism Style
The last style we’ll go over is the Realism style. This style is as straightforward as it sounds. Most realism pieces are larger pieces because it helps the tattoo to look better as time goes by. They usually depict human portraits, animals, or floral pieces. Realism pieces are often seen on the legs or arms because they are amazing pieces of art and many people like to display them. The realism tattoo style is an oldie but a goodie starting back in the end of the 1800s.
There are so many different tattoo styles to choose from which makes it easy in modern times for so many different people to express themselves to the fullest. Trad, Neotrad, illustrative and realism are only a handful of the list of styles to choose from.
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