Traditional Tattoo Design

Traditional designs are using heavy black outlines with minimal color and a lot of black shades. So, they are usually darker in appearance and the color choice is limited to simple colors such as average blue, green, red and yellow. Colors are used in blocks with very few details. Also, they are being styled in such a standard way that everything they portray appears as a two-dimensional shape, without any three-dimensional depth.

Traditional designs usually lack a lot of complicity since they were done years ago with less advanced equipment and the tattoos were made fast at lower prices. Many traditional tattoo designs are portraying military and nautical motives and themes, as navy and army men were the primary tattoo clients. This traditional style preserved its popularity throughout the years, thanks to its historical significance, clearly readable simplicity and traditional American roots.