- Blackwork
- A style built entirely from solid black ink, ranging from bold graphic shapes and patterns to large areas of full-black coverage. It has roots in tribal and ornamental tattooing and is prized for its strong contrast and long-term legibility.
- Fine Line
- Delicate work made with very thin, single-needle lines and minimal shading. It suits small, detailed and script designs, giving a subtle, elegant result — though the fine lines can soften as they age and may need more careful placement.
- Traditional (Old School)
- The classic Western style of bold black outlines, a limited palette of solid colours, and simple, iconic imagery such as anchors, roses, swallows and hearts. Its heavy lines and high contrast are designed to stay clear and readable for decades.
- Neo-Traditional
- An evolution of traditional tattooing that keeps the bold outlines but adds a wider colour range, richer shading, more detail and greater depth. It often features decorative, illustrative subjects with a more painterly, dimensional feel.
- Realism
- Photorealistic work that reproduces subjects — portraits, animals, objects — with lifelike detail, depth and light. It relies on smooth gradients and shading rather than outlines, and can be done in colour or black and grey.
- Black & Grey
- Tattooing done with black ink diluted to varying degrees (or mixed with grey wash) to create a full range of tones. It produces soft, smoky gradients and is widely used for realism, portraits and shading-led designs.
- Japanese (Irezumi)
- A traditional Japanese style featuring iconic motifs — koi, dragons, tigers, phoenixes and flowers — set against decorative backgrounds of wind, water and clouds. Pieces are usually planned on a large scale, such as sleeves or bodysuits, with strong composition and flow.
- Watercolour
- A style that mimics the look of watercolour painting, with soft washes, colour splashes and blended gradients that appear to bleed across the skin. It often uses few or no black outlines for a loose, artistic effect.
- Dotwork
- Shading and imagery built up entirely from tiny dots (stippling). Varying the density of the dots creates gradients and texture, and the technique is common in geometric, ornamental and mandala designs.
- Geometric
- Designs based on precise shapes, symmetry, repeating patterns and clean lines — from simple linework to intricate sacred-geometry and mandala compositions. It frequently overlaps with dotwork and blackwork.
- Script / Lettering
- Tattooing focused on words, names, quotes and dates rendered in a chosen typeface or hand-lettered style. Legibility, spacing and placement are key, as fine lettering can blur over time if made too small.
- New School
- A bold, cartoonish style with exaggerated proportions, vivid colours, heavy outlines and a playful, animated feel. It draws on comic-book and graffiti aesthetics for eye-catching, larger-than-life imagery.
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