Illustrative tattoos are a style of tattooing that draws from traditional art techniques, blending them with modern tattooing. They resemble illustrations or drawings, and can range from realistic to abstract. The illustrative style is inspired by fine art, comics, storybook imagery, pen and ink drawings, woodcuts, watercolor paintings, etc. Illustrative tattoos have a hand-drawn feel, and could be mistaken as etchings on skin.
There are many different ways to approach an illustrative tattoo. Some artists use strong defined outlines for their work, while others take a painterly no-outline approach for a softer, more organic look. Others combine both approaches. Illustrative tattoos often incorporate hatching, stippling (dot work), and smooth gradients, which mimic the strokes of a pen, pencil, brush, etc. The wide range of illustrative styles allows for everything from highly detailed realism to surrealism to abstract expressionism.
Because illustrative tattoos vary so widely between artists, it’s important to research a potential artist’s portfolio before booking a session. Not only do illustrative artists vary drastically from one another in terms of style, but they also differ subtly in terms of nuances, subject matter, and approach. Here are some illustrative artists whose work I like:
Bone & Blossom
Sara
April
Emily
Kelsey
Patrick Cornolo
Sean Adams
buddy.beans
Eugene Matsapura
Ksenia (Xenia) Anikina
Zen (Gyungwook Kim)
Carlos Elian
Dina Litun
Clean designEvaluating Skill and Pricing
When evaluating an artist’s true skill, clients should avoid relying on social media popularity or surface-level signals like how much time they quote for a design. A large Instagram following doesn’t necessarily mean a more skilled artist; sometimes it just means the artist has been marketing their work well and/or has good photo editing skills. If one illustrative artist quotes you 2 full days, and another quotes half that time, it’s worth questioning why the second estimate is so low. It may not reflect the artist’s actual level of skill.
Tattoo pricing varies wildly between illustrative artists. This is because cost is influenced by how much time an artist spends tattooing. Most illustrative artists charge either an hourly rate or a day rate. Design time outside of your session also contributes to overall cost. In addition, some countries require tattooists to spend money on regulatory compliance, such as in Western Australia, where artists must comply with a strict Code of Practice. This means illustrative artists in less-regulated markets don’t have to spend money on these things, allowing them to pass those costs onto clients.
The Standalone Illustration Debate
The debate over whether a skilled illustrative tattoo artist should be able to produce standalone illustrations beyond tattooing goes back at least several years. On one side, there are people who argue that many tattooers learn to draw only through the lens of tattooing, limiting their ability to create standalone illustrations. Professionals should work across mediums, they say. On the other side, there are people who counter that years of tattooing-specific drills—linework, black fill, color in strict order, etc.—make drawing any other way feel backwards, reshaping the creative process.