Traditional tribal tattoos aren’t your style? Then consider post-modern patterns found in blackwork and blackout designs.
While it is one form of tattoo style, it blackwork tattoos combine elements from other styles including geometric, line, negative space, dotwork, and beyond.
In reality, a blackwork tattoo can be as unique as you want to make it.
Even traditional tribal ink can be enhanced by surrounding it with solid black ink for a more bolder and modern look.
Tribal tattoos make up a large portion of the Blackwork style, however dark art, illustrative and graphic art, etching or engraving style,
and even lettering or calligraphic scripts have been considered to be within the vein of Blackwork when only black ink is used.
The origins of Blackwork lay within ancient tribal tattooing. Polynesian pieces, known for their often abstract patterns
made of shapes and swirls in large swaths of black ink, are a huge influence on the style in particular.
Blackwork tattoos are done with heavy amounts of black ink. Elements of this style of tattoo include thick outlines;
intense shading; and large, filled-in, black areas. While blackwork tattoos may sound heavy, they can actually create bold but delicate tattoos.
There are a variety of styles within the realm of blackwork tattoos—some artists prefer heavy grey shading, some prefer crisp, all-black designs.
