Tattoos

Recently I have been seeing people more and more sporting their tattoos around like trophies and who could blame them when they all look so cool. Growing up, I was use to tattoos; both my mom and dad had more than one. I always found myself tracing them with my fingers and wondering who could produce such amazing artwork.

It wasn't up until I turned about twelve that I started to realize that, though each tattoo is different, they all follow a sort of style depending on the artist. I had always thought that you asked the tattoo artist for what you wanted and they just tattooed it the way they wanted. I had no idea that there were actually different style groups.

Groups I am going to explain.

Image Source: http://grey-ghosts.blogspot.com/2012/02/some-old-paintings.html

The first style of tattoo to come around is what we today call "Ol'School" style. Ol'School is a semi-realists/dreamlike concept that incorporate a lot of symbolistic artwork. The art concept is a Western-American style that incorporates thick, bold black and blue lines as well as a handful of bright colors.

The first people to start getting tatted were usually navy sailors, hence the fab of sparrow tattoos. When A sailor hit a certain mark they were aloud to show off their sailor expertise by getting a sparrow on one of their shoulders.

Ol'School tattoos almost look cartoon like with their simple detail and bright coloring, but this just gives them the charm and effect that makes them so appealing to most people. Ol'School tattoos usually incorporate some sort of message of remembrance for the canvas (person with the tattoo). Either they are trying to give remembrance to a certain event or person they held dear in their lives.

Image Source: http://atcloud.com/discussions/91541

Next, we have one of the more well known and appealing tattoo styles. The intricate design above is a Japanese Traditional tattoo that are highly popular among most canvases. Opposite of the Ol'School style, Japanese Traditional are very highly detailed and use what is referred to as white space.

White space is when the tattoo uses the Canvases' skin is used to accent shading and detail in the tattoo, as well as extort the high detail of thing black lines used.

Original Japanese Traditional tattoos were used for religious and spiritual beliefs, and some say that they style of art concept could dat back all the way to the Jomon period.

Also unlike the Ol'School style, Japanese traditional are much more realistic and sharp cut to make the tattoo look like old japanese artwork from different eras. Japanese Traditional tattoos are one of the more highly popular styles used, not only because of the amazing look they have to them, but also because of the time and effort that goes into the creation of the tattoo.

It becomes a sort of pride for the Canvas.

Image Source: www.jessesmithtattoos.com

New Skool tattooing is a concept that seems to be taken right out of cartoons themselves. Usually with a New Skool tattoo, dull colors will be used for the basic shadings and areas of the tattoo, and later on brighter colors will be added to make the tattoo as a whole pop.

This style of tattooing has only recently become popular, and anyone who was raised around the first two types of tattooing sometimes see the New Skool take on the art as a bit of an insult.

New Skool tattoos are usually sported on a wider area of the canvas such as their back or arms to get all the cartoon-like detail visible to anyone who sees the tattoo. Everything about this style seems almost unreal, but this is what makes it just all the more interesting to look at, to the point where it's hard to look away.

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Our friend above (rico the zombie) is sporting a style of tattooing that could be called all three styles combined. As scary as he looks, I don't think anyone could help but to marvel at the glorious artwork that has been imprinted upon his skin my countless artists.