25 Popular Tattoo Styles

A tattoo style is a design element that can create a unique aesthetic and enhance your artwork. If you want new ink, the different tattoo styles are creative choices that will determine the way your artist approaches your artwork, linework, coloring and shading. The most common styles are American Traditional, Japanese, Tribal, Realism, Outline, New School, Geometric, Trash Polka and Watercolor.

From classic to modern styles, knowing the different names will also allow you to effectively communicate your preferences to your artist.

Whether you want a modern and simple or old-school and detailed approach, the style will affect the look of your tattoo. After choosing an approach, you can find a professional artist who specializes in that type of tattooing.

For inspiration, here is a list of the most popular tattoo styles that will ensure you design the perfect piece.

Different Tattoo Styles

Traditional Tattoo Style

A traditional tattoo is a unique style that features bold lines, saturated shades and clean designs that are often nautical or military-related. Also known as American Traditional or Old School, this style became a popular look in the 1940s when sailors chose to immortalize their travels or represent loved ones while they were fighting in the Pacific during WWII. Stark black outlines characterize this style, but you will also find minimal shading and classic images like animal heads, arrows, pin-up girls and compasses appearing on most designs. Since the shading is achieved with small dots and lines instead of modern gradient work, the result is a retro and extremely striking look.

Neo Traditional Tattoo Style

A Neo Traditional tattoo is a new style that combines the stark black outlines of the American Traditional style with an extensive color palette and decorative shading. These stylings typically feature stark differences in line weight and allow you to choose from a large selection of motifs that align with popular culture. Popular designs for Neo Traditional pieces are natural images like animals, florals and skulls that can be jazzed up with detailed shading. It is said that these designs are inspired by the sumptuous Art Nouveau movement that is characterized by intricate lines and flowing curves.

Japanese Tattoo Style

The Japanese tattoo style can be a bold and meaningful choice for anyone who appreciates dramatic artwork with traditional symbolism stemming from dragons, kirins, warriors and phoenixes. Also known as Irezumi, this iconic approach first appeared during the Edo Period between 1603 and 1868 with mythical creatures and beautiful designs. Over time, the artwork began to feature koi fish, geishas and samurais to tell the story of Japan’s fascinating history and cultural landscape. Combined with powerful imagery, the Japanese style incorporates intricate linework, detailed shading and bright colors to create a beautiful piece.

Tribal Tattoo Style

The tribal tattoo style is a cool and meaningful design that allows you to showcase your cultural roots with a layered and geometric piece. The most popular tribal tattoo ideas creatively use negative space and traditional symbols to create sprawling artwork that replicates indigenous patterns. The tribal umbrella covers designs from Filipino, Māori, Polynesian and Native American tribes and usually incorporates bold and precise black ink and elaborate symmetry for a striking finish.

New School Tattoo Style

The New School tattoo style uses a vibrant color palette to create caricatured designs that instantly command attention. New school tattoos often have a 3D effect that looks almost graffiti-like, but this iconic style also exaggerates facial features and shadows for an otherworldly look. The most popular new school designs are based on cartoons, celebrities or figures from history. If you want to embrace your feminine side, you can dial up your artwork with pastel shades and cute animals.

Realism Tattoo Style

A realism tattoo can be a powerful and meaningful choice that allows you to honor and memorialize a special person, animal or life concept. Also known as a portrait tattoo, the realism style is often a recreation of a photo and requires accurate details, coloring and design work to portray something from real life. Black and white portraits can be extremely eye-catching, but a hint of 3D detailing and pops of color can instantly lift your design. Before diving in, make sure that your artist has a wealth of experience with portraiture.

Minimalist Style Tattoo

A minimalist tattoo is a simple style that gives you the chance to get crisp and refreshing ink for a stylish design. This basic artwork combines clean black outlines and a bold color scheme to create an image that stands out on the skin without being overly detailed. You will also see minimalist designs using negative space to create contrast and dimension without any shading. For a result that looks timeless, stick with simple concepts that can be drawn with just a few lines. This will help you avoid a cluttered piece and minimize bleeding ink that may disrupt your image.

Biomechanical Tattoo Style

A biomechanical tattoo style is a cool and contemporary design that completely transforms the skin with hyper-realistic cogs, screws and wires. These mechanical tattoos are designed to make you look bionic and can be dialed up with peeled flesh effects and vibrant colors like blue and red. Popular with men, biomechanical artwork is often completed with strong black and grey ink to recreate the look of steel or iron, but trickles of blood can be an effective way to intimidate passersby. Whether you want to fashion a sleeve, a robotic leg or a terminator’s spine on your body, the biomechanical style is unlikely to disappoint.

Trash Polka Tattoo Style

The trash polka tattoo style is an attractive and modern approach that combines surrealism with photorealistic images to create a dramatic and daring piece. This style tends to use stark black ink and bold splashes of red ink. It also incorporates slashes or ink drips for an intimidating finish. As one of the most badass tattoo styles, this artwork looks jagged and chaotic by combining different images and shapes for a collage vibe.

Black and Grey Tattoo Style

A black and grey tattoo style uses black and grey wash for a monochromatic and dimensional design that looks timeless. The black outlines provide a striking base for your ink, while the grey wash adds light and shade to your piece for a heavily contrasting result that often looks photorealistic. Artwork in the black and grey style is typically completed with one needle, making it a relatively straightforward choice for most first-timers. The only rule with these gradient designs is using color is completely out of the question.

Chicano Style Tattoo

A Chicano tattoo is a classic style that first burst onto the scene in Mexico during the mid-twentieth century and can be characterized by smooth shading and minimal color. These designs started their life in prisons, which explains the simple approach and fine lines. The most popular Chicano artwork incorporates photorealistic portraits, meaningful religious figures, lowriders, cultural symbols and city or neighborhood names.

Ornamental Tattoo Style

An ornamental tattoo style always looks fresh and highly detailed, making it an elegant option if you enjoy decorative designs. These images can be large or minuscule, but sprawling artwork allows you to incorporate delicate linework and heavy shading for a truly exceptional piece. The most attractive ornamental designs incorporate mandalas, symmetrical patterns and elements of tribal ink for a cool and cohesive style.

Script Style Tattoo

A script style tattoo can be a meaningful design that allows you to turn words of wisdom or lifelong philosophies into stunning artwork. This fashionable and simple ink offers the scope to create a unique piece since there are hundreds of fonts at your disposal. A narrow phrase across the ribs can look delicate and feminine, while bold lettering across the knuckles or forearm is a badass way to drive home a motto. For a deeply personal piece, consider getting a handwritten design made by someone you love.

Blackwork Style Tattoo

A blackwork style tattoo uses traditional black ink to create bold lines, geometric shapes and custom imagery. This approach can cover any design made using exclusively black ink, including geometric mandalas, simple outlines and other creative pieces. Contrast and dimension are created using negative space and whip shading which involves rotating the needle on a rounded axis to create lighter strokes.

Stick and Poke Tattoo Style

A stick-and-poke tattoo style can be an awesome way to achieve a simple old-school look. These single-needle designs are often relatively painful to get but can be worth the effort and sacrifice. Sometimes called hand-poked or machine-free ink, this artwork tends to have a punk-rock and minimalistic feel created by individual dips of the needle. Whether you want to get a gorgeous moon design or a playful cactus and smiley face, this basic technique is timeless.

Dotwork Tattoo Style

The dotwork tattoo style uses a signature dotting technique to create a heavily shaded and striking image. It is said that this style was inspired by the rise of pointillism in the 1880s, giving artists the scope to create creative portraits, stunning dreamcatchers and symmetrical mandalas with subtle shading. These striking designs are usually crafted with an electric needle, but your artist should painstakingly place each dot for a clean-cut and sharp finish.

Horror Style Tattoo

A horror tattoo is an edgy style that can be used to create intimidating designs for a bold look. While not a traditional styling choice, this technique offers an eye-catching finish to photorealistic and 3D pieces. You can take a general approach to your artwork with spooky skulls, possessed zombies and screaming victims or create a breathtaking collage of your favorite horror movie villains. If you want to avoid frightening strangers, choose a placement that can be easily concealed.

Otaku Tattoo Style

The Otaku tattoo style is a popular option for anime lovers as it offers serious scope for a cute and youthful piece that is bursting with color. You might want to represent your favorite scenes from movies like Spirited Away, Sailor Moon or Pokémon, but you can also create thought-provoking artwork that depicts iconic fight scenes from top manga stories. The most important thing to remember is that your artwork should be packed with vibrant colors, detailed shading and tons of personality.

Illustrative Style Tattoo

An illustrative style tattoo is a striking and timeless option for anyone who appreciates unique and expressionistic artwork. There are no set rules for illustrative pieces, but they tend to include artistic concepts, calligraphy and elements of animation. Popular illustrative designs incorporate beautiful flowers and stunning creatures like peacocks, fish and dragons with distinctive features. If you are a fan of large artwork, a sprawling leg sleeve or narrative across the back can look amazing using a brushstroke technique.

Sketch Work Style Tattoo

A sketch work style tattoo lets you experiment with various inking techniques to create a classy and elegant piece that looks etched onto the skin. This style is meant to replicate an artist’s pencil and usually features thin linework and frayed edges. The rough sketch effect looks gorgeous as an outline piece, but you can incorporate patchwork detailing, careful shading and even contour lines for an undone effect. If you enjoy bold artwork, consider creating a full or half sleeve that combines different images into a striking collage.

Watercolor Tattoo Style

The watercolor tattoo style is a refreshing and vibrant choice that looks effortlessly chic and modern when designed well. You can choose a splattered design that splashes color over a black outline piece or craft detailed artwork of a landscape or narrative scene across the back. If you adore feminine and pretty ink, a bloom painted with several different tones of the same color can be a gorgeous and abstract option if you use pastel shades. Using the same needle as traditional ink, you can create an attractive gradient without extra time in the chair.

Abstract Style Tattoo

An abstract style tattoo uses interesting concepts, bright images and texture to create an imaginative piece. The best abstract designs look otherworldly and often use symmetrical shapes, blobs of colored ink or varied brushwork to craft a unique design. This technique is ideal for creative types who appreciate the meaning behind their ink and enjoy telling stories. If you want to add flair to your piece, consider adding in UV ink for a glowing look.

Surrealism Tattoo Style

The surrealism tattoo style is a flattering and trendy approach that pairs photorealistic imagery with mind-bending effects for an abstract design that turns heads. Your artwork can feature a butterfly transforming, faces hiding within sculptures, waves crashing or serene forests in all their beauty. The most popular surrealist designs will make you do a double-take since these pieces are not what they appear to be at first glance. From clever linework to intense shading, these unique pieces are bound to make you think.

Fine-Line Tattoo Style

A fine-line tattoo style is a minimalist look for anyone who wants low-maintenance ink that can be completed in a single session. These designs focus on simple concepts and are typically outlined images without color or shading. The result should be a clean-cut and fresh styling that catches the eye without overwhelming your skin. Classic choices for fine-line artwork include flowers, hearts, vines and animals, but virtually any image will work if it can be stripped back.

Geometric Style Tattoo

A geometric style tattoo is a classy and cool choice that works with symmetrical artwork, stunning patterns and intricate lines. These designs are usually large and detailed, incorporating different line weights for a textured piece that instantly commands attention. Although some geometric artwork is inspired by tribal imagery, you can also play around with classic mathematical shapes like pyramids or cubes for an awesome angular piece. The most popular geometric ink features apex predators, galaxies and splashes of color for a multi-dimensional result.

Patchwork Tattoo Style

The patchwork tattoo style combines several small to medium-sized images with open space to create a large and textured piece that looks incredibly badass. This style is ideal for anyone who wants a full sleeve without a central concept. You can combine American Traditional artwork with Yakuza imagery for a contrasting piece or stick with a single technique for a more cohesive finish. If you are new to ink, choose a classic placement for your first design and gradually build up a patchwork collage over time.