40 Genius Tattoos That Reveal All Their Glory Only After Their Canvases Move

While tattoos are sacred pieces of art in some cultures, they are still considered taboo in others. Particularly in Western society, attitudes towards tattoos have shifted over time. While once viewed by some as only for sailors and criminals, getting tattoos done was even outlawed in various places in the US in the 1950s. This was mostly due to fear of disease, but tattooing remained illegal until long after in some states. South Carolina finally changed their stance on body ink in 2004, and Oklahoma was the last state to allow tattooing beginning in 2006.

Dr. David Lane, an assistant professor at Illinois State University who has done extensive research on tattooing, told Byrdie that tattoos started to be viewed differently over the past 60 years as celebrities, athletes and people in the fashion industry started sporting them publicly. Tattoo artists with art degrees, including Cliff Raven and Ed Hardy, also gained popularity and “were largely responsible for revamping some of the public imagery of tattooing in the '60s and '70s”. Lane also notes that “initial tattoo conventions were actually about trying to create a kind of professional image”, and tattoo artists were at the forefront of pushing for regulations to ensure safe practices, licensing and oversight. 

After being presented with an influx of tattooed celebrities in the 1970s, including Cher, Peter Fonda and Janis Joplin, public opinion in the US really began to shift. "In a sense I think we were seeing more of it or more different kinds of bodies,” says Dr. David Lane. “NFL players started getting tattooed on their arms, basketball players, baseball players." While it’s still common for employers to have policies regarding visible tattoos, they are being viewed more and more as examples of self-expression, rather than hindrances to our appearances. Currently, 59% of women and 41% of men have at least one tattoo, and annually, the United States spends approximately $1.6 billion on tattoos. And if you're looking to get a tattoo or find a job as a tattoo artist, Miami might be the destination for you. It has the most tattoo parlors of any other city in the nation, with 24 shops for every 100,000 people.   

When getting a tattoo, it can be hard to decide exactly what style you like, and articulating your vision to an artist can be even trickier. To help understand the 12 styles of tattoos, Byrdie breaks them down in their “Comprehensive Guide to Every Type of Tattoo”. The first style mentioned is minimalist tattoos. It’s noted that these don’t actually have to be small, but they follow the “less is more” idea, typically using delicate, clean lines and one or very few colors. These are best for designs that can be visualized and portrayed with little complexity.

Next up is negative space tattoos. These are designs that “rather than using an outline to create the tattoo’s image… use the skin as the outline and the pigment as the normally ‘blank’ parts of a design”. The third type of tattoo is hand-poked or stick-and-poke designs. While these don’t require an electric machine, they can still be beautifully detailed and complex pieces. The next popular tattoo style features words and phrases, also known as “script” tattoos. There are no real rules when it comes to these designs, just be sure you spell check them before the needle touches your skin.     

Another common tattoo style is floral art. These can have a variety of meanings, with each being symbolic of a different trait, birth month, etc. Of course, they can always just be purely aesthetic as well. The next type of tattoos are line art pieces. These are essentially any picture portrayed through one continuous line, and they’ve become increasingly popular in recent years. Then we have watercolor tattoos. These are done with color in a way that “mimics the look and fluidity of a watercolor painting. They require more colors of ink than the average tattoo, to create that trademark gradient effect, but they can be done with almost any color or image. Abstract tattoos are another popular style that “don’t necessarily represent the reality around us but instead focus on the shapes, colors, and textures that make up that reality”. Since these tend to be more about the aesthetic than the meaning of the tattoo, it’s crucial to find an artist who really understands your vision before getting one done.   

The next style of tattoo is a very interesting one: UV or glow-in-the-dark tattoos. These use “vivid, fluorescent pigments that are difficult to view in daylight” but come to life when under ultraviolet lights. These were a popular trend in the 90s while neon was all the rage, but you can still get them done today if you find an artist who specializes in them. Geometric tattoos are another common style, which are often inspired by traditional tribal tattoos of various cultures including Maori, Polynesian and Thai.

Next up we have blackwork tattoos, which feature heavy amounts of black ink. These can include heavy gray shading or only crisp, black lines, but they certainly require precision to achieve the desired effect. Lastly, American traditional tattoos, also known as Americana or Western style, are another popular type of art. These first appeared on sailors in the 1700s, but they’ve made a comeback often featuring roses, pin-ups, hearts and animal heads. With their bold black outlines and heavy but minimal black shading, these are classic tattoos that stand the test of time.