Watercolor Tattoos

Just like watercolor art on a canvas, a watercolor tattoo uses the spontaneity of art to decorate the human body. The style does not utilize bold outlines or heavy ink. Instead, it employs gradients, drips, and splatters to create unique pieces of art that resemble brush strokes. The artistry mimics watercolor painting techniques, like wet-on-wet blending, dripping, and transparency.

In the past several years, especially since the first half of the 2010s, watercolor tattoos have become a popular tattoo style in many parts of the world. People who like watercolor tattoos typically appreciate that it looks like a painting instead of a tattoo; they like it because it is a statement, a story, or just a design that looks fresh and innovative.

What Defines a Watercolor Tattoo

With their absence of hard outlines, vibrant and translucent colors that flow from one another, and paint-like effects such as drips and splatters, watercolor tattoos resemble splashes of color and brushstroke textures on a canvas. The ink is applied in layers so as to look somewhat translucent, much like watercolor paint on paper.

Many of today's watercolor tattoos merge the fluid, painterly style with a structural element such as a fine-line sketch, geometric pattern, or blackwork, which helps them age better. This hybrid technique was an attempt to counter the early perception that watercolor tattoos don't last as long as other tattoos.

Popular Watercolor Tattoo Subjects

The most common watercolor tattoos feature roses, peonies, and cherry blossoms; hummingbirds, wolves, butterflies, and koi fish; galaxies, nebulas, and auroras; abstract splashes of pure color; forests; mountains with sunsets; or musical instruments or notes. This style is most effective for organic subjects that allow for natural, fluid movement to complement the piece.

Best Placements for Watercolor Tattoos

Best placements for watercolor tattoos include large flat areas like the upper arm, forearm, shoulder, thigh or back. You can also elongate the image along your ribcage or calf. Small watercolor tattoos can also be done on the wrist or ankle, but the amount of detail may be restricted.

Do Watercolor Tattoos Age Well

The question that most frequently comes up in regards to watercolor tattoos is, do watercolor tattoos fade faster? The answer is more complex now than it was when watercolor was first popular, since the initial watercolor tattoos were created using soft color with no black or line structure. Those early watercolor tattoos did seem to blur and fade much faster. However, many experienced watercolor artists are currently doing fine-line or blackwork that creates a foundation which will keep the softer color from blurring in time.

To maintain a watercolor tattoo, you'll need to take proper aftercare, stay out of the sun, and choose an artist who has experience with heavy saturation. With that said, a good watercolor tattoo from a good artist can last for years if maintained properly and with very few touch-ups needed.

Choosing the Right Artist

Watercolor tattoos need a very specific skill set not all artists have. Look for an artist specializing in this style who has healed pieces to review. Important things to check are seamless gradation, purposeful drips and splatters that complement the overall piece, even saturation, and structural integrity.

On Inkjin, search for your ideal watercolor tattoo artist nearby. Their portfolios are sorted by style, and you can see healed photos from their previous works and read other customers' reviews. Feel free to inquire any questions before booking them.