ReviewTattoo

Every style,
dissected.

Origins, iconic artists,
real pricing — and the honest
word on when to avoid it.

New to tattoos? Start with our first tattoo guide →

3D tattoo — Shading that makes a flat tattoo look raised or floating off the skin.

Trompe-l'oeil · realism tradition · 2000s

3D

Shading that makes a flat tattoo look raised or floating off the skin.

$180–$350/hr, with strong artists often booked by the piece →
American Traditional tattoo — Bold lines, solid color, zero compromise. The style that won't quit.

USA Navy ports · 1900–1950s

American Traditional

Bold lines, solid color, zero compromise. The style that won't quit.

$150–$250/hr →
Animal tattoo — Pets, wildlife, spirit animals, and insects — realistic or stylized, your call.

Timeless tattoo subject

Animal

Pets, wildlife, spirit animals, and insects — realistic or stylized, your call.

$150–$300/hr →

H.R. Giger-inspired · 1980s–1990s

Biomechanical

Coming Soon
Black & Grey tattoo — Diluted black, full rendering, no color. Photographic without the pigment risk.

1970s California prison tattooing

Black & Grey

Diluted black, full rendering, no color. Photographic without the pigment risk.

$200–$350/hr →
Blackwork tattoo — Pure black ink, maximum impact. The style that ages best.

Ancient tribal + modern revival

Blackwork

Pure black ink, maximum impact. The style that ages best.

$180–$300/hr →

Insular Celtic art (Ireland & Scotland) · ~7th century onward

Celtic

Coming Soon
Chicano tattoo — East LA lowrider art, cursive script, roses, and religious imagery. Born in prisons, now in museums.

East Los Angeles · 1940s–1970s

Chicano

East LA lowrider art, cursive script, roses, and religious imagery. Born in prisons, now in museums.

$200–$350/hr →

Pop art + comic-book print culture · 1960s onward

Comic

Coming Soon

Stipple engraving tradition, modern revival 2000s–2010s

Dotwork

Texture, gradient, and depth — built one dot at a time.

$180–$300/hr →
Fine Line tattoo — Single-needle precision. Delicate now, blurry later — unless the artist is good.

LA / Instagram · 2010s

Fine Line

Single-needle precision. Delicate now, blurry later — unless the artist is good.

$150–$300/hr →
Geometric tattoo — Sacred geometry, mandalas, and mathematical precision.

Modern fusion (sacred geometry + blackwork)

Geometric

Sacred geometry, mandalas, and mathematical precision.

$180–$280/hr →
Illustrative tattoo — A drawing on skin — the artist's hand is the point.

Modern studio era

Illustrative

A drawing on skin — the artist's hand is the point.

$150–$280/hr →
Japanese (Irezumi) tattoo — Dragons, koi, waves, and windbars. The style that built modern tattooing.

Edo-period Japan · 17th c.

Japanese (Irezumi)

Dragons, koi, waves, and windbars. The style that built modern tattooing.

$200–$350/hr →
Lettering & Script tattoo — The words are the art — typography, script, and blackletter on skin.

Calligraphy, sign painting, and Chicano fine-line lettering traditions

Lettering & Script

The words are the art — typography, script, and blackletter on skin.

$150–$280/hr →
Memorial tattoo — Tribute pieces for the people you've lost — portraits, dates, handwriting, and symbols.

Timeless tattoo subject

Memorial

Tribute pieces for the people you've lost — portraits, dates, handwriting, and symbols.

$150–$300/hr →
Micro tattoo — Tiny. Cute. Statistically the most regretted style in tattooing.

Instagram / fine-line crossover · mid-2010s

Micro

Tiny. Cute. Statistically the most regretted style in tattooing.

$150–$300 flat per piece →
Minimalist tattoo — Say it in one line. Restraint is the whole style.

Modern studio era · 2010s

Minimalist

Say it in one line. Restraint is the whole style.

$120–$250/hr →
Neo-Traditional tattoo — Traditional backbone, modern palette, more detail.

Early 2000s evolution of American Traditional

Neo-Traditional

Traditional backbone, modern palette, more detail.

$180–$300/hr →
Old School tattoo — Sailor Jerry-era flash — bold lines, a handful of colors, and designs built to last a century.

American port cities, naval tattoo parlors · early 1900s–1950s

Old School

Sailor Jerry-era flash — bold lines, a handful of colors, and designs built to last a century.

$150–$250/hr →

American commercial illustration 1930s–1960s, adapted into tattooing by the mid-20th century sailor tradition

Pinup

Classic American illustration — bold color, idealized figure, vintage charm.

$160–$280/hr →
Portrait tattoo — A real face on skin — the least forgiving subject in tattooing.

Black-and-grey lineage · modern realism era

Portrait

A real face on skin — the least forgiving subject in tattooing.

$180–$350/hr →
Realism tattoo — Portraits and photographs, pushed into skin.

USA · 1970s, matured 1990s

Realism

Portraits and photographs, pushed into skin.

$200–$400/hr →
Stick & Poke tattoo — Hand-poked, machine-free — punk heritage with a real hygiene asterisk.

Ancient hand-tap roots · modern DIY/punk revival

Stick & Poke

Hand-poked, machine-free — punk heritage with a real hygiene asterisk.

$80–$200 flat for small pieces →

Germany, early 2000s — Volko Merzbach and Simone Pfaff, Buena Vista Tattoo Club

Trash Polka

Controlled chaos — bold black realism collaged with red typography and graphic noise.

$200–$350/hr →
Tribal tattoo — The oldest style in tattooing. Not the Y2K armband, the real thing.

Multiple indigenous traditions · 3000+ years

Tribal

The oldest style in tattooing. Not the Y2K armband, the real thing.

$150–$300/hr →
UV / Blacklight tattoo — Invisible in daylight, glowing under blacklight.

UV-reactive pigments · 2000s

UV / Blacklight

Invisible in daylight, glowing under blacklight.

$150–$300/hr, often higher due to specialty ink and added difficulty →
Watercolor tattoo — Painterly splashes of color. Beautiful — and the style that ages worst.

Illustration crossover · 2010s

Watercolor

Painterly splashes of color. Beautiful — and the style that ages worst.

$180–$300/hr →