Tattoo Info/ Tattoo Aftercare/ Vegan Tattoos : Tattoo Studio Glasgow & Tattoo Studio Edinburgh

Popular tattoo styles and who to ask for

Japanese tattoos

Japan has a long and rich tradition of tattooing, with recurring themes like dragons, koi, samurai, geishas and of course flowers like cherry blossoms and peonies. If you look into the symbolism of each of these designs, you will find something that speaks to you, as they are often representative of human archetypes or struggles. The koi swimming upstream for instance, is symbolic of the struggle of humans to attain wisdom and to overcome obstacles.

Japanese tattooing focusses on covering large areas of the body, like a whole arm or back, and less on small, individual pieces.

Morag is our japanese tattoo specialist 

Blackwork, Celtic, Polynesian tattoos, Maori tattoos, mandala tattoos

These styles are drawn from indigenous art from cultures around the world, and are usually in black ink only, although splashes of colour can be quite interesting when added here and there. They are abstract and often made up of repetitive shapes that make up their own patterns and textures. These pieces look best if done a good size to really let the patterns emerge and can be rendered in lines and dots.

Raffaella is our queen of blackwork. Her freehand work is amazing, she tailors every piece to the wearer’s shape.

Illustrative tattoos

This is a large category and includes big and small pieces, colour and black and grey, or just black linework. Usually, these pieces are highly individual and are custom drawn for the client. Nothing is too big or small, too ‘out there’ or too dark for our two artists who specialise in this style, Nik, and Brunella.

Watercolour tattoo

A fairly new style that imitates the effects of watercolour on paper, with delicate colours that blend together or drip out of the lines for an artistic effect. Most things can be rendered in a watercolour style, if the concept isn’t too complex, and if enough space is given to really let the loose line work and colour splashes shine. It’s a nice way to introduce a bit of lively linework and artistic flair to a tattoo design.

Best artists for this style are Morag, Erik and Simon

Script tattoos and lettering

Tattoos that are just decorative lettering have emerged out of the Latino/Chicano culture of California and have evolved into proper works of art in their own right. The words are sometimes not immediately legible, adding to their mystique and beauty.

Our tattoo lettering specialist is Fraser

Trash Polka tattoo

A new way of designing tattoos that take inspiration from graffiti, technical drawings, realism and script, and chuck them all together in an anarchistic way, splashed across the body in a seemingly random way. These pieces can be completely customised to reflect the wearer’s interests/ likes/fears- anything goes!

Artists to ask for are Nik and Tim

Realistic tattoos

These categories include colour and black and grey portraits, and images like flowers, animals and even comic book art sometimes

Artists who specialise in this are Simon and Morag

Of course, your tattoo idea doesn’t have to fall into any of these categories, just chat with the receptionist, email or facebook your thoughts and we can take it from there

how do I go about finding a design/ getting a custom piece designed up?

Good old google is a great place to start looking for designs but so is artwork and fabrics.

If you are looking for japanese inspiration - http://tattoo-journal.com/35-beautiful-japanese-tattoos/

Mandala ideas - http://tattoosme.com/mandala-tattoos/

black and grey - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-gray

Next contact your local tribe studio - Glasgow or Edinburgh either by phone, email or by popping in.

Bring/email any reference images and let us know the size, placement, colour choices and anything else relevant to the tattoo.

From all that we can organise either a free consultation with the most suitable tribe artistd