Realism Tattoos: What They Cost, How They Age

People argue about whether realism tattoos fade more or stay well. Now it is time to expose the real truth From a tattoo artist's perspective. I've worked with both black realism and color realism,In general, the conclusion is this: color realism stays much better than black realism.Black realism smudges and flattens over the years, whereas color realism mostly stays the same, except the color looks older. In this article, I will explain more of what I know about realism tattoos.

Garlic scallion ginger tattoo design for men, realism style, on the forearm, with spring onion, appearing as fresh produce on the skin

What is a realism tattoo? Definition and key traits

A black ink realism tattoo builds its image out of value — how light or dark each patch is — instead of out of line. The goal is to make it as real as black and white photos. A color realism tattoo is to be as real as color photos.

Outlines can make a tattoo look stiff and flat or Cartoonish, So the goals for realism tattoos is definitely to have zero outlines.

Man portrait tattoo design for men, realism style, on the thigh, of a man's portrait with cityscape elements and a golden trophy below

Pro tip about realism tattoos

Written by tattoo artist Jing

Tattoo longevity is more related to the artist's execution and technical skills, rather than their design ideas or art input. Let's make it clear: If the ink is saturated in the skin, Meaning, different colors fill in your skin completely, then it will have the best longevity.Because then the ink particles have no space to travel around (smudging).

This naturally makes color realism tattoos have better longevity than black realism tattoos.Because the brightest contrast in black realism tattoos is created by different values of black ink,And anything that's lighter than full black is an unsaturated black ink.For example, a 30% black is equal to 30% saturation.By its nature,Black inks have more space to smear over time, And it will.

This is why some of the best realism tattoo artists in the world all had a career change, going from black realism into color realism.Simple as this: they discovered that using color can give better longevity to the tattoo.

If your biggest concern when getting a realism tattoo is "whether the portrait will actually look like my mom",Then the solution is even simpler: find an artist that has a solid art background.Portrait drawing is an art foundation, any art college graduates Would be able to do it much better than those who came from "art as a hobby" background. I shouldn't say much about this because you'll be able to see from their portfolios.

Design for the contrast you'll have in ten years, not the contrast you have today. Ink spreads in skin — a small amount, slowly, in every direction. On line work that spread makes lines thicker and the design still reads. On realism it pulls neighbouring tones toward each other, and every year your darkest dark gets a little lighter while your lightest light gets a little darker. So ask your artist to push past the reference photo: darks darker, highlights cleaner, the gap between them wider than looks right on day one. A realism piece that looks slightly overcooked when it's fresh is a realism piece that still reads at year ten. One that looks perfect on day one has nowhere left to go.

Fox rainbow tattoo design for men, realism style, on the bicep, with a rainbow aura around its head and body

Design principles

There is no or very few designs, so minimum designs principles included in realism style. Trust your artist and provide a clear photo because all the quality comes from that photo reference And your artist's understanding of art.

One thing to look at is healed photos.A good realism tattoo really comes down to the artist's understanding of tattoo techniques and the skill.There are lots of art graduate tattoo artists that treat realism tattoos just like a realism painting on A piece of paper - Using art techniques that would work on paper but create skin traumas, which wouldn't show immediately on the fresh tattoo photos, but you'll definitely see it from the healed photos.

Man flowers tattoo design for women, realism style, on the calf, with a moth, colorful flowers, and roman emblems, set against geometric shapes

Stuff like black realism tattoos gets a lot lighter after healing, or color heals to be patchy are direct signs to show that the artist can improve their technical skills.Black ink heals to be lighter is not a norm, and has nothing to do with ink brands/ How you take care of your tattoos.If we look into a 10-year-old tattoo, then yes, probably a little bit has to do with the ink brand.But if we're looking into a year-old tattoo, ink being pulled out is a pure technique issue.

If you've ever heard of different argues (I call them excuses) Such as The Inkbrand/ Vaseline/ aftercare causing ink being pulled out, In my opinion, It's either because the artists do not understand how techniques impact the skin, or they know the facts and are just looking for excuses to blame it on the products. We must admit the fact that most tattoo artists nowadays aren't taught enough about the skin. Drawing techniques were very Emphasized in the industry, meanwhile skin knowledge are very ignored.If you're a tattoo artist reading this article,I would say the understanding of skin is equally important - or even more important - than drawing skills, if you acknowledge that tattooing is first a small surgery, then art.

Over-build the contrast.

Good contrast in both brightness and color temperature Help the realism tattoo to stand out more. This now comes down to the artist's understanding of art,And my suggestion, again, is to find an artist with a solid art background-Somebody whose eyes are trained to see the contrast.

Cat portrait tattoo design for women, realism style, on the forearm, with intense eyes looking forward, in black and grey with white highlights

Why people choose realism

People usually choose it for memorable moments or subjects. Realism is the only style that can be your grandmother rather than a portrait of a woman. For memorial work that difference is the entire point.
It doesn't carry a date stamp. Some styles announce the decade they were done in. Photographic rendering mostly doesn't.

The honest downsides

Portraits of people are still the highest-risk work in tattooing. It is still hard to find an artist that has Both strong art skills for portraiture, and at the same time, solid tattoo techniques.A portrait 2% off can read differently. it's expensive, Given the amount of detail that goes into a realism tattoo, especially if you find a good artist, they're not cheap. it's hurtful Also, because of the amount of details (layers on top of layers), realism tattoos might be one of the most painful tattoo styles. Touch-ups are long sessions Refreshing line work means going over lines. Refreshing realism means rebuilding tone across the whole piece to match what's already there — closer to a new session than to a repair.

Bald man tattoo design for men, realism style, on the calf, wearing a blue and yellow track jacket, with chemical apparatus in the background

Who I'd talk out of it:

Anyone who doesn't have enough budget to afford a very good realism artist who specializes in it. Going for someone who's not a realism specialist isn't a smart idea- There is a high chance of regret because of the quality of the work.

Two reasons I see the most that would cause regret:

Cutting the budget and going for a cheaper artist.
Did not do your homework and find an artist who's capable of doing realism tattoos- Walked in a shop and found a random traditional or script artist to do a very difficult portrait piece.

Some artists may be capable of doing realism tattoos, but they choose to dedicate themselves to another style, For example, their own personal style that could be anything.If an artist is good at realism tattoos, they will have a current or past portfolio to prove it, or you can ask them directly: "Have you done any realism tattoos, and can I see your work, especially healed work?"

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Cost, pain, and how realism ages

Realism is priced by the hour rather than by the piece, typically $150–$300 an hour in the US, and a forearm-sized black and grey piece usually runs two to three sessions of four to five hours. A full sleeve is a multi-month commitment measured in double-digit hours. For colored pieces, it would only take longer-I would say that for the same size tattoos, color pieces usually require sessions that are at least one-third longer than black and gray pieces.

On pain: On average realism hurt more than other styles, Due to the layers building. Very good tattoo artists can reduce the layer building and so reduce the pain. Realism tattoos also take a lot longer than other tattoo stylesSo I would say yes, the style is a little bit more intense, pain-wise.

On aging, We talked about it in the beginning, and it is really due to the artist's techniques.Whether you're looking for realism tattoos or any other style tattoos, try to think of the quality from two perspectives: art and techniques. Some people can have very good techniques, but poor art taste.Others can have very good art techniques, but poor understanding of the skin, aka bad tattoo tehcniques. And the ones who have both good taste and good techniques are expensive.

Tiger crown tattoo design for men, realism style, on the forearm, roaring with a crown on its head, in black and grey ink

Black and grey vs color vs micro realism

Black and grey realism

Among all the realism tattoo styles, black and gray are the easiest to accept because the sessions are shorter, the prices are cheaper, and there are more artists who can do it well compared to color realism.The downside is that they spread more and would definitely smear into each other over the years. Let's say after 10 years, most black and gray realism tattoos will lose their contrast. A good thing, though, about black and gray realism tattoos is that you can always refresh them- Find your artist to redo it all over, and it will look sharp again.

Color realism

Best longevity if done right. Although in reality, very few artists can do it completely right, technique-wise.The most expensive, the longest session, the most painful,But it's probably worth it if, at the end of the day, you find a really good artist and have this wonderful piece done.

Micro realism

People argue that micro-realism tattoos don't heal well or smudge a lot, But in my perspective, it doesn't come from the size of it.In any case, losing details or tattoo smudging is all because of artists lacking an understanding of the skin.Micro realism doesn't require more technique than a normal-sized realism,The fact is, they are smaller, so they're done much faster. A lot more of these tattoos are done every day than large back pieces, so the problems are seen more often.

A micro-mini realism tattoo also does not require more details than a normal-sized realism tattoo. The best realism tattoo artists put a ton of details in their realism works, no matter the size of the tattoo.The amount of details is what makes a tattoo look realistic.

Speaking of this, I also want to remind people that if you're unhappy with your existing realism tattoo, you can always find a better artist to redo it - As long as the spec artists are willing to, a lot of them don't.

Galaxy tattoo design for men, realism style, on the forearm, with a black hole and swirling nebula in vivid colors

Best placements for realism tattoos

Realism wants a spot that's not upside down. Some clients like to request the artist putting a portrait tattoo on their forearm upside down so that they could see their beloved ones from their angle.It doesn't matter for a simple script or other style tattoos, but for realism tattoos, this would make the artist struggle.It is a lot harder to make realism tattoos upside down or sideways.Doing this will definitely decrease the quality of realism tattoo, which is a result you don't want.

The best canvases are the outer forearm, the outer upper arm(Popular one, but sometimes they wrap around too much), the thigh, the chest, and the back — flat enough to hold an undistorted image, big enough. I personally like to work on the inner upper arm. The only downside of that placement is that it hurts.

Steer away from hands, fingers, feet, ribs, and anything crossing a joint. Realism has the least tolerance of any style for skin that doesn't sit still, because You'll lose the details because of the skin texture.

Sun matters more If you have a black and gray realism tattoo. More impactful than on line works and colors. What UV takes first is exactly the fine value contrasts realism depends on.

Cecropia moth tattoo design for men, realism style, on the upper arm, with vibrant blue and orange wings, perched across the arm

How to choose a realism artist

The portfolio tells you everything.

Use "whether it looks alike" to judge whether this artist has a solid art foundation. Use "How it looks after it heals"To judge whether this artist has good techniques and skin understandings.

Red flags, all in the photos rather than the person. No healed work — fresh photos hide the technique problems, and they can be Photoshoped.

What to ask. "Can I see your healed works?" and "What kind of reference photo should I prepare?"A good artist usually has a high standard for reference photos because they know what makes a good base.