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Tattoo Styles Series – Traditional and Neo-Traditional

“Show me a man with a tattoo and I’ll show you a man with an interesting past.”

– Jack London

Next up in our tattoo styles series are Traditional tattoos (also known as Old School, Old Skool, or American Traditional).

This is the ink you see in gramps’ photos from the navy. Traditional tattoos are easily identified by their two-dimensional design without shading; bold blue or black lines; bright, solid colors (predominantly red and green, as well as yellow, blue, brown, or purple); and predominantly nautical (or military) themes.

The most commonly used images are mermaids, anchors, sparrows, ships, eagles, hearts, pinups, roses, nautical stars, skulls, daggers, banners with phrases, and snakes.

Traditional Tattoos

Following an earlier tradition of using tattoos for identification, this style of ink developed in the 1800’s as Western sailors traveled the globe, coming into contact with tattooed cultures.

Exposed to these new ideas, and spending a great deal of time away from home, sailors began inking themselves with portraits of their wives, girlfriends, and loved ones. And, as sailors are an especially superstitious group, tattoos were also used as a defense or talisman against the dangers of the sea.

From there, the practice spread, primarily to other branches of the military. The invention of the electric tattoo machine let to greater demand for the art beyond the military, and pre-drawn designs, which we call “flash,” developed as artists grew too busy to create original art for each customer.

It’s impossible to talk about Traditional tattoos without mentioning Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, a sailor and tattoo artist who helped popularized the style in the mid 1900’s and is the style’s best-known artist. However, credit must be given to other great artists such as Ed Hardy and Bert Grimm.

This style’s bold, simple designs hold up extremely well over time. Because of this and their timeless styling, Traditional tattoos are still one of the most popular styles today.

Today’s Neo-Traditional school looks back to the style and design of the Traditional style, but this style tends to incorporate more colors and shading. Neo-Traditional artists also work with an expanded range of images, such as coffins, lighthouses, candles, and more.