Your Guide To The Illustrative Tattoo Style

When it comes to tattoos, even those of us who have more than a few can become overwhelmed by all the options. It seems that every time one waltzes into a tattoo studio, they're inundated with new styles from which to choose — and that's a great thing! If you're going to get something permanently on your body, you don't want for lack of choices.

Recently, one of the most popular tattoo styles that's been garnering more and more fans is the illustrative style. But the kicker with this style is that it can encompass several other styles, techniques, and artistic elements. According to NYC Tattoo Shop, for a tattoo to be considered illustrative, it must "retain a drawn, animated feel, rather than being shaded to look photo-realistic," giving both the "artists and clients a lot of flexibility to design either a simple illustration or a complex, abstract piece. Creativity and a touch of whimsy are key ingredients to these tattoos."

In other words, illustrative tattoos are for those who love a little bit of everything tossed together to make something absolutely magical. Bring on the beautiful quirky images.

Because illustrative tattoos encompass more than one style, they're also inspired by more than one movement. An illustrative tattoo can have elements of traditionalism, neo-traditionalism, realism, tribal, abstract, trash polka, biomechanical, cybersigilism, ignorant, expressionism, all the types of expressionism that fall under that umbrella, and so on down the (very long) list. 

When it comes to how these tattoos are brought to life, an illustrative tattoo could include anything from fine-line work to stippling, cross-hatching, or any variety of shading that creates depth and texture. They also don't have to be strictly done in black. From soft, watercolor shades to big bold colors that pay homage to traditionalism, the color choice is for the one rocking the tattoo. That's why illustrative tattoos are so great — they leave an abundance of room for the client and artist to work together to create something unique by drawing inspiration from an entire world of tattoo styles, both ancient and modern. 

Although reality is unavoidable, we're lucky enough that parts of our life that don't have to be prescribed to the real world. Illustrative tattoos do exactly that. These tattoos should be so far away from anything realistic that when trying to decide if a tattoo is illustrative or not, Tattoo Co. Nashville suggested asking yourself these three questions: "Does the tattoo look like something from the pages of your favorite children's book? Does it take on a 2D appearance? Does it look like something you would find sketched on paper?" According to them, if you can answer affirmatively to all of the above, then you're talking about an illustrative tattoo.

Takeaway? Illustrative tattoos are ideal for those who don't want to commit to just one style, one color, or one technique. No matter what it takes to bring the tattoo to fruition, the final piece should rely far more heavily on being more animated and abstract in appearance, as opposed to realistic.