Graphic tattoo style

Graphics is perhaps the most popular tattoo style in the 21st century. It originated in the mid-1990s in Europe. Today, thousands of artists represent this style, and people are drawn to its clarity and expressiveness. Graphic tattoos are some of the most contrasting.

Features of the Graphic Tattoo Style

Many people often confuse this style with other monochrome styles, such as chicano or black and gray tattoos, although the only thing that connects these styles is the use of black pigment. It is important to understand how graphics differs from other styles. When working in the graphic style, the artist uses only black pigment.

The most prominent feature of graphics is the expressive linework. That is, the volume of the image is conveyed through strokes. The denser the linework, the darker the tattoo area, and the sparser the linework, the lighter it is. Because of the use of linework, this style is often referred to as engraving. Clear outlines of tattoo elements are another important feature of the style. Tones are not applicable in graphics, so the black color in such tattoos is as saturated as possible. As we mentioned earlier, volume is achieved through linework, not tones. Modern artists are increasingly experimenting with graphics, mixing it with other monochrome styles such as dotwork and linework, and even with colorful styles such as realism and watercolor.

Subjects of Graphic Tattoos

As we already mentioned, this style is often called engraving. This is because at the dawn of the formation of this style, artists drew inspiration from the pages of old historical books, encyclopedias, and botanical reference books. That is why the subjects of modern graphic tattoos refer to the same sources: they can be plants, fish, insects, snakes, skeletons, and buildings. The main thing is that the main element of the tattoo has a clearly defined structure and shape.

Graphics is considered a complex style due to the complexity of designing a sketch that takes into account the features of human anatomy. In addition, it requires precise execution in order for the tattoo to look impressive, because, as we recall, it consists of thousands of small strokes. That is why we strongly recommend choosing only professionals in their field!