You can argue for quite a long time about which tattoo styles are better, but comparing black and white tattoos with colored ones is absolutely inappropriate. You should choose a tattoo consciously, based only on your own tastes and not listen to outside advisers.

Benefits of black and white tattoo designs

Monochrome tattoos always look different and differ from their colored counterparts. Firstly, these sketches have a restrained and strict plot; they are also distinguished by their clear edges. Secondly, with this type of tattoo you can create many designs that cannot be drawn with colored ink. In such drawings there are significantly fewer small details and tones. Black and white tattoo designs are great for men and girls. The female half often chooses various flowers, butterflies, angels, a rune or a regular artistic inscription. The stronger sex prefers signs, paintings, small images of animals, etc. Very popular are tattoo designs that depict predators, skulls and mythical creatures. The main advantages of black and white tattoo sketches can be noted:

• do not wash off;
• do not fade in the sun;
• practically do not require correction;
• relatively low cost;
• wide selection of designs.

People who have previously gotten a monochrome tattoo claim that, even despite the years, tattoos do not change their shape and color. As for the price issue, these drawings will cost much less than color ones. After all, with colored inks, several types of ink are used at once, which requires significant costs for their purchase.

Sketches of black and white tattoos

Most people choose black and white tattoo designs, guided only by their inner feeling, their tastes, and the vision of a certain image on their own body. After all, the picture will clearly reflect all the feelings and values ​​of a particular person. In the catalog you can select a suitable sketch from a photo for further application to the skin. With the right choice, a tattoo sketch in black and white will become a real exclusive that will highlight the individuality of its owner.

So you have decided to get a tattoo and are now thinking about which design to choose, color or black and white. To better understand yourself, answer the following questions:

• Do you plan to get more tattoos in the future, and how will they compare to each other?
• Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
• Are you strict or do you live on a grand scale?
• What is your profession? Do you love the exact sciences or do you prefer the more liberal arts?
• Do you like minimalism or baroque?

Once you understand yourself, you will understand which drawing will best reflect your essence. Ask yourself more questions and the more you lean towards accuracy, rigor and order, the more monochrome styles will suit you.

• When choosing a sketch, think over a concept for the whole body at once. Yes, most likely you won’t be bothered from head to toe, but having an idea of ​​how the tattoo will continue, you will save yourself from such problems when one person has several styles that are completely incompatible with each other and it all turns into a mess.
• Know that you can often add colored elements to a monochrome tattoo and thereby connect it with a tattoo of another style.
• Choose a color scheme based on the color of your eyes, hair, skin color, so that the tattoo does not look like a sticker, but rather is an extension of you.
• Select the size proportionally, this will also avoid the sticker effect. 😉
• Match the tattoo design with your type of activity.
• Listen to your heart. You should not doubt your choice. If you have doubts, then most likely you are not on the side of your heart.

Explore styles and trends in tattoo art!

Don't be lazy, study the question. The world of tattoos is great and it is a great pleasure to explore it. Our website has a large section dedicated to tattoo styles.

We have collected more than 25 styles and described each in detail, selected examples and made a video where we talk in detail about the features and nuances of each direction.

The first tattoos were monochrome, as is known from many ancient cultures. No matter where in the world this cultural phenomenon arose, one color was always used when applying tattoos. At the time of the appearance of the color tattoo, which originated in the land of the rising sun relatively recently, the black and white tattoo could already boast of its undeniable dominance in the world of body painting. And this status quo continues to this day, despite the fact that in recent years there has been a surge in interest in colored tattoos. Against the backdrop of colorful compositions, for which the fair sex has a special weakness, the traditional monochrome tattoo remains a universal symbol of courage and the best embodiment of the classic body art.

Advantages and disadvantages

To make an informed choice in favor of a black and white tattoo, you should familiarize yourself with its advantages and disadvantages. The first ones include:

• Classic elegant conservatism and restrained style characteristic of a monochrome tattoo;
• No need for frequent adjustments;
• Relatively painless tattooing compared to colored tattoos;
• Lower chance of an allergic reaction to ink;
• Monochrome tattoo never goes out of style.

The disadvantages of a black and white tattoo include less artistic appeal and the impossibility of discreetly applying a tattoo over another tattoo. However, if you are a follower of the classics, we recommend that you give preference to monochrome body painting.

Peculiarities

Black and white tattoos come in a variety of styles and themes. In the monochrome version, hieroglyphs, inscriptions, skulls, female images, patterns, dotted patterns, and tribal look great. The peculiarity of a monochrome tattoo is that it looks contrasting and bright. Each detail stands out clearly on the skin, which allows you to perceive the composition more holistically without being distracted by colors. This is the philosophy of a black and white tattoo - maximum meaning with a minimum of colors and shades.

Monochrome tattoos can be divided into male and female depending on the subject. Guys prefer to fill themselves with compositions of militant themes, images of predators, skulls, Polynesian patterns, crosses and much more. Girls prefer discreet subjects, such as birds, butterflies, hearts, curls, inscriptions with a sophisticated font, symbols, etc.

Celebrities

Among the stars who are ardent supporters of monochrome tattoos, we note Johnny Depp, David Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Eminem, Lenny Kravitz, Justin Bieber and others.

Since the technology for applying color tattoos appeared, the art of black and white tattoos has faded a little into the background. The classics of the genre were replaced by bright drawings with every possible palette of shades, but not for long. Since black and white body images as an ageless trend in the tattoo industry will always have its audience of admirers, and it is The whole history of tattoo art begins with black and white drawings on the skin..

To the origins - the first black and white body art

Black and white tattoos are literally the “pioneers” of an entire tattoo history. More than 4,000 years ago, Egyptian pharaohs decorated their bodies with monochrome designs, using natural dyes - plant juices, mineral pigments or the secretion of animal sebaceous glands. This is evidenced by archaeological finds of mummified remains with patterns on the skin that have survived to this day. This once again proves that a black and white tattoo can stand the test of more than one thousand years.

There is also more ancient evidence of the existence of black and white tattoos. During excavations in the Arctic lands, a male body was found, the age of which is determined to be the Stone Age. The frozen mummy was decorated with numerous black and white patterned ornaments.

The historical purpose of a black and white tattoo is to “leave” a mark on a person, the meaning of which could be different:

• People from Ancient Egypt with black and white tattoos belonged to the privileged nobility.
• During the Roman Empire, special patterns were applied to the faces of prisoners.
• The Japanese are considered practically the pioneers of tattooing, who used black and white tattoos as “makeup.”
• Marks often symbolized protective meaning; in the 16th century there was a widespread tendency to tattoo a symbol from biblical scriptures on the back area - a “protective” cross.
• If traditionally the black color is associated with a gloomy image, but in the East it’s the other way around - the white color in the tattoo expressed mourning, and the black color - the triumph of life, the beginning of something new.

A monochrome tattoo in itself implies a focus on the concept of the design and its details, since nothing unnecessary distracts attention from the body image. The contrast of color can distort the original meaning of the tattoo, highlighting the strict and direct, restrained nature of the black and white tattoo.

Interesting fact: in English, the phrase “black and white tattoo” actually sounds like “black and gray”, since initially the use of white skin pigment in applying a tattoo design to the body was not practiced. There is speculation that tattoo designs using white began to be drawn in prisons, where prisoners used cigarette ash to create a dye.

Black and white tattoo - what does it mean today?

Today, few people put a certain meaning into a tattoo; often the design is applied to the skin purely for aesthetic reasons in order to decorate their body in an original way. But if a tattoo nevertheless carries some deep meaning, then it is either a traditional interpretation of the symbols, or a special, personal explanation of the design invented by a person with an individual and personal subtext.

As a rule, the symbolism of the animal world directly expresses the character of a person. The image of ferocious predators on the body can tell about the strong-willed character of the owner of the tattoo, and decoration on the skin in the form of an image, for example, of a graceful panther is traditionally associated with sexual motives.

A tattoo using the technique of a black and white design with birds, where swallows are especially popular, expresses the meaning of a talisman, a special “helper” that guides a person through life so as not to stray from the right path.

Any admirer of tattoo art is free to come up with his own personal meaning for a classic black and white tattoo.

Popular black and white body designs

Any modern tattoo parlor has a huge selection of ready-made sketches for black and white body art, presented in catalogs in the form of illustrations or photographs of popular tattoos. Typically, this is a set of standard and most frequently requested images in the form:

• animals - bears, lions, tigers, dragons and snakes for men, and panthers, foxes, pandas, cats, butterflies and birds for women;
• ornaments and patterns - ornate floral designs, sharp and angular in the tribal style, linear weaves on the theme of the plant world in combination with elements of geometry;
• inscriptions - famous catchphrases and expressions, where the sayings of great people in Latin are classics;
• hieroglyphs - the eternal “theme” of the tattoo industry.

Advice: In order not to be like the overwhelming majority, but, on the contrary, to stand out from the gray mass of standardized designs that have long bored everyone, you should not choose an image for a future tattoo from a catalog. It would be better to contact the master directly to develop an individual and unique sketch.

Photos from albums can only give rise to certain ideas and suggest in which direction to give vent to your imagination.

About the benefits of black and white tattoos

Monochrome tattoos always compare favorably with their colorful “followers”. Sketches of black and white tattoos are predominantly designed in a strict and attractive style with a restrained subject composition and clear contouring. Minimizing small abstract elements and complex color transitions greatly simplifies the process of sketching. But many creative ideas cannot be brought to life using multi-colored ink.

Most devoted fans of tattoo art prefer black and white coloring pigments for their skin, guided by personal feelings, taste and individual vision of a specific image for a tattoo. They note that it is black and white tattoos that do not change their initial attractiveness after a long time. Thus, among the undoubted advantages of drawing in black-and-white technique, they highlight.

Black panther tattoo.

The meaning of the Lion tattoo.

Leo is the personification of fortitude, power and might.

Black and white tattoo sketch - a girl on a dragon.

Sketch of a tattoo - an eagle on a skull.

Tattoo sketch - a dagger in the heart.

Tattoo design - tiger.

Black and white sketch - dragon.

Tattoo sketch - a sword in a skull.

Tattoo design - cat.

Sketch of a spider tattoo.

Dragon tattoo meaning:

Dragon - desire for power, stands out, optimistic about the future, burdened by loneliness,

constantly strives for new sensations.

Tattoo sketch - a cross with a rose.

Black and white tattoo design - Pegasus.

Further on the site you will find many different tattoos, both male and colored female with Zodiac Signs.

The meaning of tattoos (tattoos).

People developed folk signs through numerous observations of their lives. Knowledge accumulated over thousands of years was passed on from generation to generation. Folk signs affect almost all areas of our lives. They did not ignore the features of our body, including the location of tattoos.

When interpreting a particular tattoo, it is necessary to take into account its visible characteristics. The larger the tattoo in size, the more strongly this or that quality of a person is expressed. The same applies to color intensity. The positive or negative impact of a tattoo on a person also depends on gender. So for women it is more favorable to have tattoos on the left side, and for men - on the right.

American psychologist K. Machover analyzed the personal characteristics and level of development of the artist and the nature of the tattoos applied. As a result, the following patterns were identified.

Mouth tattoo- means a symbol of aggressiveness. A special sign of aggression is clearly drawn teeth.

Face tattoo- carefully drawn - concern in relationships with other people.

Eyes. Closed or hidden hats are evidence of a desire to avoid unpleasant observations.

Tattoo of large, wide eyes- anxiety, anxiety, need for protection.

Muscular arms tattoo- need for physical strength, dexterity.

Leg tattoo- means support in activity.

Wide Legs Tattoo- dictatorial tendencies, self-confidence.

Nose- a sexual symbol.

Unicorn- an elegant but ferocious beast. Its white color symbolizes purity.

Crane- an allegory of justice and longevity, as well as a righteous and merciful soul.

Eagle- a symbol of height of spirit, like the sun. The eagle belongs to the elements of air and fire. It is characterized by fearless flight, speed, and is associated with thunder and fire. An eagle in the air is equal to a lion on the ground, which is why it is sometimes depicted with a lion's head.

Sword (dagger) - has the meaning of revenge and death, and is also associated with sacrifice.

Star- a symbol of spirit, light shining in the darkness. A star rarely has a single meaning. Supports the strength of the spirit opposing the forces of darkness. The most common is the five-pointed star. In ancient times, among the Egyptians it meant “ascent to the beginning” and formed part of such words as “enlighten”, “teacher”, “educate” and others.

The reason for applying this or that tattoo is often explained quite simply: the person liked not the predator itself, but the skillfully executed picture of the tattoo; he was seduced by the skill of the tattoo artist and the beauty of the animal. It’s just that the choice was made on an aesthetic principle, and not on any other basis.

This is exactly how many people choose a tattoo lately.