Welcome to Class: Knowing What Defines a New School-Styled Tattoo

New School-Styled Tattoo

If you’re a fan of tattooing like we are, you’re probably familiar with the different types of tattoos that are around. However, if your first exposure to tattoos was through shows like Ink Master or accompanying a friend to Bike Week at the shore, you were probably overwhelmed with the many different styles of tattoos that exist. Between cleaning the skin with tattoo soap and sketching the right tattoo for the canvas, a major part of the tattoo is deciding on the style. From traditional to tribal, watercolor to black work, there are tons of different styles of tattoos from which you can choose. One style in particular that has grown in popularity is the new school style of tattooing.

New school tattoos are what rebelliously bold dreams are made of. Having started somewhere between the 70’s and 90’s, the new school style of tattooing takes elements of traditional  tattooing, such as the heavy outlining, and puts their own twist on the tattoos.

One of their most prominent features is the usage of bright, bold colors.  Advances in the tattoo soap, (used primarily to clean the skin, break down dirt, and improve saturation), needles, and the ink themselves, have created an endless amount of color saturation possibilities for the tattoo artist. This in turn makes the iconic features of the new school tattoo pop out even further.

In addition to bright colors, new school tattoos are defined by their large strokes and cartoon styling. It incorporates non-natural colors, graffiti shading, heavy outlining, and 3D elements.

Contrary to what some tattoo newbies believe, new school and neo traditional are not the same thing. Though both have grown from the same traditional tattoo tree, their roots have spread in completely opposite directions. Neo Traditional explores the concepts of traditional tattoos and reinterprets them with different shading, and colors.

It’s safe to say that new school tattooing is here to stay for all cartoon lovers and rebellious teenagers alike.