Blackwork style literally means “black work.” Any blackwork painting is a dense painting and a celebration of rich black color.
Not every tattoo can be called blackwork. Black patterns, realism or many dots are not black, even if they sometimes dilute this style. But the famous “Square” by Malevich in full back is an absolute blackwork.
The style is specific, but that’s why it’s interesting: some will be scared by the densely painted areas of the body, others will admire the minimalism and simplicity. In the article we will tell you where blackwork came from and why only a professional can handle the application, show the creations of our masters and share interesting stories. Forward!
History of style
Tattoos in the blackwork style come from Polynesia, tribal and Mayan tattoos, only in a broader sense - in the first place are not patterns, but color. Thick, rich black covers some part of the body - for example, the entire arm or leg - or draws complex figures. Blackwork can both emphasize the anatomy and break the geometry of the body, in both cases it looks unusual and attracts attention.
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Often a black tattoo is slightly diluted with finishing work, white color or scarring to add a memorable accent or zest to the picture.
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Blackwork is mainly used to cover up some unsuccessful or boring work. Black color easily absorbs any patterns, lines, scars on the body, rarely anything shines through under it, so this style is popular for covering.
“Any tattoo fades over the years, so that the picture remains juicy, adjust it once every 5-10 years”
– studio master Kirill shares
Interesting: people with tattoos in this style
Lucky Diamond Rich
In 2006, performance artist Lucky Diamond Rich was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most tattooed person in the world. Tattoos cover almost 100% of his body, including his ears, mouth and private parts. He dreamed of this way of self-expression since childhood and decided after his first tattoo. This is truly a performance!
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Monami Frost
Latvian model and video blogger Monami Frost is known for her incredible charm and numerous tattoos. In the video blog, the girl talks about her life and family, food and travel, makeup and tattoos. Recently, on a Russian channel, she dedicated an entire video to her blackwork on her arm - she said that this style has always attracted her, that it hides her very first tattoos, and that it was difficult to decide.
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Features of style and work in it
It seems that sketches in the blackwork style are easy work, and getting such a tattoo is easier than any other. This is wrong. Behind the external simplicity lies the professionalism of the master and long, painstaking work.
It is important that the master
- geometric shapes,
- areas of the body completely covered in black paint,
- patterns.
- Neo-tribalism.
- Art Brut.
- Ethnic tattoos.
- Buddhist/Thai tattoos.
Blackwork is one of the most popular styles for tattoos. The name itself means that the sketch contains large spots of black (tone or halftone) and the remaining colors are reduced to zero. Sometimes there are inclusions of red or white elements. Such tattoos are not gender specific and are ideal for both men and women. Sometimes it’s just a beautiful image, and sometimes it’s a whole story on the body, a comic book, a secret sign for its owner.
The Internet is replete with photos of works different masters in this style. On many sites dedicated to tattoos, you will find entire sections with works in the blackwork style. To apply the design, choose a variety of places: on the arm, leg, neck. It all depends on the sketch you choose and your desire.
Blackwork tattoos are often used to cover skin defects. This is one of the most convenient designs for redoing “old” tattoos and covering scars. Thanks to the large dark areas in the work and the graphic nature of the lines, such a sketch will best hide scars.
Virtually any design can be stylized and processed in this style. If the drawing is not very complex, you can do it yourself. For more complex and creative types of work, it is better to make a sketch to order.
Tattoo - new way self-expression. This is the art of our time, the response of the era. Why don't you try to plunge into this bright world body drawing and painting. Blackwork is not necessarily a crude, stylized sketch. It may well have volume and shadow parties. Often they are solved not with the help of shadows, but with the help of dot work. For an accurate representation, of course, it is better to view photos of the works.
The complexity and price of the work can be completely different. It all depends on the subtlety of the work and the amount of material used. Blackwork can easily be considered one of the most popular styles. It can easily combine animalistic drawings, inscriptions, and even. A classic example of such work is the black square. Many people now simply paint themselves geometric shapes filled with black paint.
Some classic blackwork designs echo motifs with Polynesian style. They are similar due to their themes and technique. Such work takes quite a lot of time due to its complex geometric structure. Therefore, immediately calculate the time so as not to rush the master. There are many specialists who concentrate their work in this area. Just search the Internet and you will find many similar ones.
The wonderful world of tattoos offers such a huge selection of different styles of tattoos that clients are simply at a loss for choice. This is especially true for lovers of bright colors. For those who prefer only classic black, things are simpler. By immersing yourself in the Blackwork style, you can quickly find what you want.
Blackwork style involves applying black paint to large areas of the body. An ordinary tattoo made in black has no right to be called Blackwork, but applying, for example, a black square on the body is undoubtedly Blackwork style. Not everyone is ready to transform their body in this style, but to the surprise of fans, there are plenty of such large-scale tattoos. The choice of this style is the choice of people who admire the minimalism and severity of black.
Combining Blackwork with other styles
Most often, artists combine the Blackwork tattoo style with other styles. Having done high-quality work, unique, beautiful tattoos. Blackwork harmonizes best with the Dotwork style. Thanks to the black background, the dot tattoo will have good contrast.
Many people come to this style because of a not very pleasant experience of getting a tattoo in the past. To hide the artist’s unsuccessful work, a new one is applied on top of the old tattoo in the Blackwork style. This technique works well and saves many from disappointment with their body.
Those who decide to get a tattoo in this style must be warned by the artist that this type of work cannot be corrected in the future. Applying another style on top of the Blackwork style will only make the situation worse. The tattoo will turn out to be of poor quality and cloudy.
The most common tattoos in the Blackwork style are:
There are other images, but most often they perform the above.
Blackwork gives direction to the following styles:
For tattoos in the Blackwork style, good artists will ask for quite a lot of money. A seemingly simple and unpretentious tattoo is actually a painstaking work of a master. This style should be performed by a person with extensive experience; beginners cannot do this. The master must have a good feel for the working machine and understand the specifics of human skin.
Blackwork translated from English means “dirty work.” Tattoos made in this style fully correspond to their name.
The work is done in rich black, painting mainly large areas of the body. The basis for this style was the ritual tattoos of Buddhists, since they were also done in black colors. This direction completely excludes other shades that are possible in this art, revealing to us all the mystery and mysticism of darkness.
If you are a lover of black color and respect large tattoos, you will like the blackwork style. Of course, the sketches can be different; you can depict anything in this style.
Men love drawings in the form of clear geometric shapes, which give special brutality and effectiveness. The blackwork forest tattoo is considered popular - it is an image of a mysterious black forest on white skin. If desired, other details can be added to the drawing, for example, birds flying over the treetops. The picture fascinates with its mystery and gloom. You don’t want to hide such work under layers of clothing, so it is depicted on the sleeve.
The strength of this direction is the refusal fashion trends. Even if the whole world decorates their bodies with colorful paints, blackwork tattoos do not lose their relevance and are considered true classics that are unable to disappear or become obsolete.
Often, unsuccessful tattoos, the so-called “portacs,” are painted over with blackwork. Any imperfection in the skin or portac will be hidden under a layer of black pigment. But you should understand that this style permanently pigments the skin, so it will most likely be impossible to remove a blackwork tattoo.
