From artistic interpretations to realistic memorial pieces, tattoos are as vast in category as the individuals that walk through the doors of a tattoo parlor.
“I meet different people and all their stories on their tattoos are different — never the same,” says Shauna Hope, tattoo artist at Tattoo Social Club.
And like other art forms, there’s different styles. If you’ve been wanting to get your firsttat or add more to your canvas, here are some different styles popular on Guam according toHope and Edong Elenzano, tattoo artist and owner of Megavision El Drako Tattoo. Hope’s been in this industry for over 15 years, and Elenzano has over 30 years of experience.
Tribal tattoos
Tribal tattoos are one of the ancient forms of body ink that is still popular today, Elenzano says. The modern, abstract tribal tattoos are just thick, dark lines with sabertooth-like curves. But the Micronesian, Polynesian and Hawaiian tribal tattoos convey meaning through smaller symbols that can make a whole, Elenzano says.
A conglomerate of them create a story or add deeper meaning. Ancient tribal tattoos represented family, protecting the family or a way of life. “A continuous row of shark’s teeth or arrow heads symbolizes protection and strength, for example. Weaving is found wherever you find an island. The leaves you weave can be used as housing. All the things you need to survive. We respect the ocean and it surrounds us, so those animals are used for art,” he says.
Japanese
Japanese tattoos come from the Edo, Samurai era. This Asian art revolves around myths and legends from that era. Characters and figures from Kabuki plays like the hannya maskare also used.
Hannya masks areworn to depict a character’s face. One character has multiple masks, each with different facial expressions in different moods — happy, sad or angry.
Elenzano says he’s “old school,” in the sense that as an artist, he believes people should know the meaning behind the art. “Some say, ‘I want a koi fish’ and they don’t know why,” he says.
He takes his time to explain the details to his clients. Koi, a popular Japanese tattoo, is a powerful fish, he says. They can swim upstream against rapid current.
“There’s a saying that when the koi reaches the top, it’s reached the gates of heaven, so there’s a saying, ‘koi in heaven,’” Elenzano says. So positioning of the tattoo is important. The fish facing up, means going against the flow and succeeding. Facing downwardmeans going with the flow.
“But sometimes, people have their own interpretations, which I respect,” he says.
Watercolor
Watercolor tattoos basically look like watercolor paint on paper, Hope says. This style is typically colorful. To make it easier for her clients to understand this type of tattoo, she explains three basic things.
There’s the blotted, “messy” style where the paint is purposely outside of the lines like it’s leaking, and the ink is made to look blotted and splattered.
The second is more like smooth imperfections. For example, lines of thick brushstrokes. “It looks like you intentionally put in the imperfections. Everything is painted outside of the lines in different shapes and strokes,” Hope says.
The third style has no imperfections. The paint is within the lines.
Keep in mind when you see a sample in paper, it’s against a white contrast versus skin, which has a color tone, so it will look faded. “I also warn the clients that in order to contrast the background, I have to put a black or a deeper blue background and the final tattoo will be bigger,” Hope adds.
Black and gray
Black and gray tattoos means solely using black and gray in the tattoo. Any tattoo can use this contrast, even water color. However, probably the most difficult is black and gray realism. You really must be an artist to duplicate a face, for example, and make it look real with just black and gray, Elenzano says.
There’s tattooists who follow a pattern or drawing exactly, like the stenciled stamp that’s put on the skin. Usually the more commercial tattoo parlors where you pick a pattern from a book. "Which isn't bad because it's about what the client wants,"he adds. Then there are artists. They can create and adjust the design as it’s inked on — like a true artist.
So keep that in mind when deciding on who does your ink, especially when it’s realistic. You want a seasoned artist.
Stippling
Stippling is the use of dots to create a bigger picture, or it can simply just be a dot. Usually those wanting a Mandala tattoo or henna-like tattoo prefer this style.
Both are repeated patterns that create a grander shape. Mandalas are more circular and imitate the Buddhist monks’ giant mandalas — which are created by them for meditation — and the henna tattoos are more linear.
“The dots closer together look darker and farther apart look lighter,” Hope says.
Memorial Tattoos
Memorial tattoos are any tattoos that symbolizes a person that died, or are in memory of something. “And just for them to feel like it’s always with them. A tattoo is forever, so even if the loved one is long gone, they’re remembered. It offers closure to some,” Hope says.
Cover-ups
For those who regret their initial ink, there’s also cover-ups. “I love doing cover-ups and that’s one thing people come to me for. It’s sad when someone doesn’t want their tattoo. I want them to like it again,” Hope says.
The client and artist will go through several drawings to find one that can align with the old tattoo to hide it. The modern, abstract tribal tattoos are the hardest to cover up, she says. “Because of the bold and thick dark colors, it’s more difficult to blend.”
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