Realistic Tattoos

What is a Realistic Tattoo aka Realism Tattoo?

Witnessing an artists’ 3D artwork on something 2D, like a piece of paper, a portion of a canvas, or even skin is an awe-inspiring thing. With lots of hard work, dedication, and talent, there are people who work under the realm of hyperrealism to make unreal Realistic tattoos. From exercising their imagination to working on it on a piece of paper, and finally, on the skin, the amount of effort and technique that goes into the whole process is astounding. In this blog, we will be shedding some light on another tattoo style that is “Realistic Tattoo Style/Realism”. 

Dating back to the Renaissance period, classic realism has been a part of fine arts. Emerging in the 1960s, photorealism is a tattoo art genre which was discovered by the art movement that led to the evolution of pop art and made way for “Realism Tattoos”. Have you seen a tattoo that looked like a 3D illustration, or a tattoo that was so detailed that it felt like it would jump right off out of the skin? That is exactly how realistic tattoos are. Their characteristics include that they often depict scenes of nature or surreal art, are related to faces of people who are close to you or celebrities, are usually made with hues of black and grey, and truly depicts the talent of an artist who knows how to make ink art appear like a sketch. 

Realistic Tattoo Techniques

The mapping of shadows is the most fundamental technique of making realistic tattoos. In a realism tattoo, you will probably see the contour lines that cover outlined zones of shade and highlights similar to a topographic map. To create a piece of art in a realistic style, tattooists have two of the ways only. For instance, there is an arrangement of inks; like a wheel of shades, colours for mixing are put together in order to get the accuracy of shades matching when placing it on skin. Apart from skills and technical practice, realist tattoos need a lot of planning. 

Renowned Realism Tattoo Artists 

There are plenty of artists whose delicate work of art on skin reflects the true essence of ethereal realism. Many artists like Chuey Quintanar, Fred Thomas, Freddy Negrete, Ralf Nonnweiler, and Inal Bersekov prefer creating black and grey realism tattoo sleeves, while others like Steve Butcher, Liz Venom, Dave Corden, Phile Garcia, etc. are recognized for their saturated shades of realistic tattoos. Moreover, there are many renowned artists like Chris Rigoni who mix different styles and create a masterpiece out of it. For example, he would combine different ideas of illustrative art, abstract and pop art, and merge them within realistic forms to create a unique design. 

Apart from these high-caliber realistic tattoo artists, some others are also known for their commendable contribution. 

• Tony Santos
• Rob Richardson
• Matt Jordan
• Matteo Pasqualin
• Kevin Ibanez
• Ganga Kade
• Megan Massacre

Types Realistic Tattoo Style

Surrealism Tattoos

Surrealism Tattoos are a hodgepodge of portions and pieces that collectively create a magical creation. They can be defined as being too realistic to be an abstract design, yet too excessively equivocal and conflicting to establish a coherent impression. It is all about expanding the boundaries of your imagination. Surrealist tattoo designs can be about a child peeking out of a window, beasts coming out of a 2D shape, animated creatures, galaxies, mother nature, a distorted view of a memory that is close to your heart, etc. As long as you precisely place the fragments of your imagination in an arbitrary display, it will turn out to be a fantastical piece of art. There are many categories of “Surrealism tattoos”. For example, arm surrealism tattoos, forearms surrealism tattoos, calf surrealism tattoos, thigh and back surrealism tattoos, etc. 

Minimalist Surrealism Tattoos

The name of this is pretty much self-explanatory. They are a form of surrealism tattoo but with precise and low-key designs. Minimalist Surrealism is about creating unorthodox tattoos in a minimalistic yet delicate style that occupies a smaller portion. 

Double Exposure Tattoos

A blend of more than one design and idea on the skin is how you can understand double exposure tattoos. It superimposes a single image/idea over another for a unique tattoo. A tattoo artist will create unreal details by merging two or more things. From a monster head coming out of a building to breathtakingly beautiful landscapes in order to create a mythical creature out of it, these tattoos will leave you fascinated. 

Do Realistic Tattoo Styles last? 

With the rapidly growing trend in realistic tattoos, it is also important for people to know the limitations this type has to offer. By now we know realistic tattoos depend on shading and highlighting to get the hyper-realistic effect which is why they are susceptible to fading; hence, you cannot expect these tattoos to last for a very long span when compared with traditional tattoo style. That is because, in traditional styling, the black outline of the tattoo is what keeps the design compact even after its color fades away. As your tattoo will age, it will lose its freshness and that glow. 

Some pictorial examples of most common realism tattoo ideas 

If you are already fascinated by the mystical yet exquisite art of realism tattoo then you need to see the following images to get some ideas and inspiration. From realistic 3D tattoos to realistic animal tattoos, from realism flower tattoos to black and grey tattoo sleeves, we have covered all types in the following pictures.