Tattoo style
Colour realism
Lifelike rendering in full colour, for the pieces where the colour is the point — skin tones, light, and the depth a monochrome version could not carry.
Colour realism is the same discipline as black and grey with one more variable to control. The image is still built from tone rather than outline, but now the tone has temperature: a face needs real skin, a flame needs real heat, and a piece with a light source in it needs that light to behave. Done well it is the closest tattooing gets to painting.
It is the right choice when the subject stops making sense without colour. A backpiece lit in neon, a face under a coloured light, wildlife whose markings are the whole story. Larger colour pieces are drawn as one composition and built over several sittings, because saturation laid too fast in one go is what makes colour look muddy rather than deep.
The honest trade, and it is the same one we put on the black and grey page: colour asks more of you afterwards. Saturation sits closer to the surface than a grey wash, so sun is its real enemy and a covered, looked-after colour piece will outlast an exposed one by years. That is a placement and aftercare conversation, and we have it before anything is drawn rather than after.
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Suited to
- Subjects where the colour carries the meaning
- Large-scale sleeves and backpieces
- Pieces built around a light source
- Reworking a faded colour tattoo into something with depth
Before you book
Will a colour tattoo fade faster than black and grey?
Usually yes, and we would rather say so. Colour sits closer to the surface and sunlight is what takes it, so a piece that is kept covered or protected holds its depth far longer than one that is not. Placement, sun sense and the occasional touch-up are what keep colour looking like the day it healed.
Can colour work on darker skin?
Yes, with the right palette. Some colours read beautifully and some do not carry, and which is which depends on your skin rather than on a chart. We will look at it properly at the consultation and design to what will actually show, instead of promising a colour that would disappear.
Can you add colour to a black and grey tattoo I already have?
Often, yes. It depends on how dense the existing black is and how well it has healed, because colour laid over heavy black will not read. Bring it in and we will tell you honestly what it can become.
How many sessions does a colour sleeve take?
More than the same piece in black and grey, usually. Colour is built in passes and the skin needs to settle between them, so the plan is mapped out at the consultation rather than guessed at here.
Consultations are free. Bring a reference, a story, or nothing at all.
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