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Blackwork is one of the major tattoo styles on earth, and we can say the very first tattoos were in blackwork style.
Only for this you may have some curiosity about this tattoo style and, because of this, we want to show you this guide about blackwork tattoos.
On this article you can find:
Let’s go!
In this first example about what a blackwork tattoo is you can see a dagger and a rose tattoo.
As you can see, there is illustration style, dotwork, some inverted tattoos in rose petals and leaves, some American Traditional Tattoo styles, and a lot of strength.
The most difficult thing: This mix works perfectly on the skin.
This amazing tattoo is done by Cass, a wonderful blackwork tattoo artist working at Edoc Ink Tattoo, in Lubbock, Texas.
We want to remain the definition as simple as we can, so, letâs go for it:
That is, nothing more, nothing less.
With this definition, blackwork possibilities are endless, and that is the point of this tattoo style.
Well, the easy definition should be: Almost every other style, excluding Color, Watercolor and little more.
But, of course, there are some tattoo styles more correlated with blackwork, and we want to tell you more about them.
Some of this tattoo styles ver related with blackwork should be:
Just for telling you about five, you know.
Another nice example is this one, clearly framed in Botanical style 100%.
As you can see, this tattoo is about some flowers with leaves in the thigh. Maybe you think it is a simple tattoo, but it isnât, and we are going to tell you why.
First of all, this immaculate finish with these organic curve lines is very difficult to get and, moreover, the dotwork gives the composition some light shadowing effect making something unique.
This tattoo is made by Beltane, another fantastic woman tattoo artist focused in bold blackwork, working at Cutaway Professional Tattooing, in Tampa, Florida.
If you think about tattooing in human kind, maybe your mind travels to Polynesia, maybe to Amazonia, isnât it?
Well, we can say you are wrong, because humans tattoo themselves from 4000 BC in different places in the world, but you are right thinking Polynesia and Amazonia are two of the most influential ancient tattoo styles in Tatoo History.
So, centuries ago, back in Polynesia and in Amazonia the different tribes used to get inked, of course, in the traditional way, with black ink, for different reasons.
But letâs move on to another place like India.
India develops another evolution with geometry.
For Indian people, starting with henna and then with regular tattoos, geometry was really important because they used to think that perfect geometries in nature were made by the gods, so getting these perfect geometries in your body is always a good thing.
As you can see, blackwork tattoos have been with us for thousands of years, and we think this is beautiful.
Wow.
Yes, this is a blackwork style, technically speaking.
Of course, this tattoo is inside illustration tattoo too and, moreover, in realism one, but all done with black ink.
And this is the point of blackwork tattoo style, the possibilities.
This tattoo is done by Gaz Ink, a very talented tattoo shop in Daegu, a city in the South-East of South Korea, and only can recommend you to follow their Instagram.
And now, we want to show you some blackwork tattoos for you to get inspired, just enjoy!
We do love abstract tattoos with a lot of blackwork on it, and this one is a nice example.
As you can see, this is a huge size tattoo, like an entire leg sleeve, with a lot of different elements.
The lower part of the leg is about another botanical tattoo, this time an inverted one, with some abstract with geometry in the knee and more botanical in the upper part.
This artwork is done by Priit Salusoo, a wonderful tattoo artist working at Tattoo Circle Passau (in Germany, just on the Austrian border) and Roosikrantsi (in Tallinn, Estonia), and he has a lot of tattoos to show you on his Instagram account.
Yes, this character is from My Chemical Romance, in fact, it is like one of the mascots of the band.
And, as you can see, you can do a lot with blackwork for these kinds of tattoos, smaller than the previous one, with a lot of style.
This tattoo is done by Sean Dwyer, a fantastic tattoo artist working at Westside Tattoo Mermaid Beach, in Queensland, Australia, very talented for blackwork tattoo.
We said to you that blackwork style is very common for dark tattoos, and now, just 5 tattoos away, here is the first example.
This baby demon tattoo in dark style is maybe the perfect definition for blackwork in this style, perfectly finished, very bold design, and just gleaming.
We do love it.
This tattoo is made by Julia Shikari, a wonderful woman tattoo artist working in Tallinn, Estonia, and we think you should follow her right now because she is one in a million.
And now, another classic for blackwork tattoos like this amazing half sleeve tattoo.
As you can see, blackwork matches perfectly with geometry, this time, with mandala ones.
Here the dotwork of this tattoo design is just perfect, giving some 3D effect to the composition due to the smaller geometric elements among each other.
This tattoo is made by Erica Tatts, working at Avinit Tattoo, in Orpington, near London, in Great Britain.
Well, the very first impression of this tattoo is just a giant âWOW!â, and this is the first point.
Technically speaking this is a blackwork tattoo with a lot of different tattoo styles inside, for example:
This is a portrait concept with two butterflies wings as eyes, some botanical elements in the lower part and geometry in the upper one, all made in a perfect way to make the composition a lot of sense.
This fantastic artwork is done by The Kaos Ink, owner of ALI3N Tattoo in Vigo, Spain.
He is very focused on blackwork tattoos and he has a lot of masterpieces, so you must follow him.
And, if you want something even more delicate and cute in blackwork style, just see this fantastic fox.
We do love the mix between the marked bold lines for the silhouette and the dotwork as shadowing in the fox, with all the botanical details.
Just precious.
This tattoo is done by Pia Levie, a wonderful tattoo artist working at NĂ€lhjerte Tattoo, a private tattoo studio.
Another dark tattoo for this list.
Pretty, isnât it?
This time, is the Death (or the Reaper, if you want), with a remarkable oriental touch and, moreover, in a classic realistic illustration style we do love.
You know, these tattoos with a studied dirt finish are very difficult to perform, but the results are masterpieces.
As this one.
This tattoo is made by Hodu, a dark style tattooer very talented and we can say he has an unique personal brand.
We do love large abstract tattoos, like this one.
These abstract elements with some geometry inside and inside a huge composition are very bold and eye-catching designs and, you know, you have to be bold in life đ
What can we say, just one thing:
This tattoo just flows along the arm, and this is just a thing.
This tattoo is done by Cristian Neela, a wonderful blackwork oriented tattoo artist working at Fax Fox Tattoo, in Vienna, Austria.
We do like bold designs, and this is a very bold one.
Yes, it is âjustâ an illustration snake tattoo on the back, but you can do a lot with this.
As you can see, the work for the snake scales and the belly is fantastic, and you can feel the movement of the animal just with a two seconds view.
And you only can achieve that by being a very good tattooer.
This tattoo is done by Lao Ink, a very talented woman tattoo artist working at Workers Tattoo, in Marseille, France.
Another big âWOW!â, isnât it?
This bold design with a lot of blackwork for doing a unique arm sleeve is just fantastic.
As you can see, in the lower part of the arm is a botanical tattoo with a big flower and, in the shoulder, you can see a big geometric element with 3D between these two elements.
All, perfectly done for this masterpiece.
The tattoo is done by Monsieur Berdah, a very talented tattoo artist working at Kalil Tattoo Family in Rennes, France, and you should follow him right now!
We hope you have enjoyed our blackwork tattoo guide!
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