Daria Rei is a Berlin-based artist who creates black ink tattoos in a style that is unique to her. The style of her tattoo designs is a mixture of contemporary illustrations and Ukiyo-e, an artistic style that has existed in Japan for centuries. Ukiyo-e means “pictures of the floating world” which means that the scene […]
American tattoo artist Ben Shaw has been inking designs into skin since the turn of the century. He started out his career by travelling the United States, gaining experience in different tattoo parlors before finally settling down at Octopus Tattoo in Derby in the United Kingdom. Shaw’s style is a mix of traditional design elements […]
American tattoo artist Mark Longenecker spends his days between the beach and his tattoo shop, surfing and creating cheerful surf tattoos for his clients. The name of his shop, Endless Summer, is based on an idea that surfers around the world often refer to; the concept of travelling around the world chasing the summer season […]
The Venus Flytrap tattoo studio, based in Edinburgh, UK, is home to tattoo artist and studio owner, Charlotte, who combines traditional Japanese art, manga and Art Deco to create unusual and attractive geisha tattoos. Geisha are female Japanese entertainers who are celebrated for their beauty and skill. Although the Geisha have had some links to […]
Hide Ichibay creates line-perfect tattoos in an Oriental style, drawing inspiration from classical Japanese paintings and illustrations. Like many traditional Oriental art works, Ichibay’s tattoos contain a wide range of textures. Some areas contain bold, flat colors while other areas are textured with intricate patterns.What is impressive about the patterned areas of Ichibay’s tattoos is […]
Traditional Japanese tattoo art, known as irezumi, is created by repeatedly stabbing a “brush” of needles into the skin, as shown in this video. The artist repeatedly stabs the brush into the client’s skin to create the design, in this case a large koi fish. As you can see in this video, building up a […]
Yakuza tattoos are a source of fascination for many tattoo lovers. The high level of secrecy surrounding the tattoos, combined with the painful method of “hand-poking” the designs and the association with the Japanese underworld gives yakuza tattoo art a mysterious appeal. The History of Japanese Yakuza Gang Tattoos The history of the yakuza […]
National Geographic takes a look at the link between the historical tradition of tattooing prisoners in Japan and the full body tattoo suits worn by members of the modern Yakuza gangs.
Anime is a style of Japanese animation that has become popular around the world. The characters in Anime are based on manga characters, with large eyes, small mouths and unusual hairstyles. The characters are often brightly colored – they may resemble humans but their skin, hair and eyes can be a rainbow of hues. The […]
Goldfish are a form of Asian carp that have been bred for centuries to have specific physical characteristics. Since around 10 AD, fish keepers in China and Japan have coupled spawning goldfish with similar traits to create a wide variety of different goldfish breeds. One of the most popular carp varieties for use in tattoo […]