What Is Your Tattoo Type

With so many different styles and types of tattoos the uninitiated average person can easily get confused. If you don't want to get confused by the different variety of tattoo designs then read on. This will help you not look like a fool when you go to your local tattoo shop and it will help you in working with a tattoo artist to know the vocabulary of basic tattoo styles.. This article will explain the major difference between such tattoo styles as Tribal, New School, and Old School.

Old School Tattoos

Old school tattoos are tattoos that were design in the first half of the 20th century and they are often referred to as traditional or old school tattoos. These wonderful classic designs typically done with strong and bold black lines and had very little to no color in them. The designs typically featured patriotic themes that were popular among sailors. In fact Sailor Jerry is probably the most notable tattoo design of the period and considered by many to be the father of modern tattooing. He worked out of a little tattoo shop in Hawaii where he did powerful and edgy tattoo designs for sailors that were stationed in Hawaii. You can spot these designs by their lack of color and use of heavy black lines. The inks and tools used to tattoo back in the day were very crude and basic and the designs well very beautiful and classic in style now were fairly simple.

New School Tattoos

Within the last 15 to 20 years there have been many advancements in the tools and inks used to do tattooing and this has lead to a rebirth of tattoos. New school tattoos are also sometimes referred to as West Coast Tattoos since they were popularized on the west coast first and then later filtered throughout the country and world. These wonderful tattoo designs are often very bright and have strong bolder colors and styles. The designs often take the old school themes and then updates them. For example a sparrow was a very typical design for old school tattoos. These are very popular among new school tattoos also however they are very bold, brightly colored and often more complex then the old school design.

Tribal Tattoos

The art of tribal tattooing dates back through centuries of time to many of the ancient cultures. Many of the native and ancient cultures participated in some form of ritualistic tattooing. This was often done to mark a special occasion as a rite of passage or to adorn oneself. These very ancient tattoos were done with the most crude tools and inks were very basic. They were done by hand and by piercing the skin one pierce at a time and very slowly. The larger designs would take years and years to complete. However, within the last 10 or so years these ancient designs have been revived and gone through a rebirth and become very popular again. Just like the new school tattoos these ancient designs and patterns are now being done with modern tools and inks. As this trend has grown in popularity there has been many new designs created so many of todays tribal tattoos don't look like the designs of old. However they still feature a predominance of the use of black ink and line work and make a very strong and bold tattoo design that is popular with both men and women.

So what tattoo design and style do you like? If you are contemplating getting a design spend some time thinking about the over all look and feel that you are after. Do you want something that is old school, new school or maybe a tribal design? The choice is yours to make don't let anyone tell you what you should get.

Note:

Some of the designs in these galleries expecially the Old SChool Tattoos are kind of a cross over between old school and new school. The old school tattoos would be done in black, red and maybe green ink only becuase those were the primary color of tattoo inks. Some of the pictures in the old school tattoo gallery are older designs some of them even done by Sailor Jerry but they have been redone with bright newer ink colors crossing them over into new school.