Over the last few years, social media, celebrity tattoos, and relaxed job requirements have led to an increase in the popularity of tattoos - as well as the number of tattoos people are getting.
As tattoos become more and more popular, certain trends in tattoo designs, placement, and color are becoming common.
As an artist, it’s important to know what kinds of tattoos are popular so that you can be ready for clients to request them, as well as create some on-trend designs ahead of time to help you gain more clients.
In this article, we’ll break down:
What Makes For A Popular Tattoo Design?
In 2019, it was reported that 30-40% of Americans have at least one tattoo, and that number is growing quickly. As you see more and more people with tattoos, you’ll notice that some types of tattoos - including design, placement, size, and style - are more popular than others.
What Causes a Tattoo to Be “Trendy”?
The popularity of certain tattoo designs can be caused by a lot of different things including celebrities getting tattoos, social media trends, and themes that are common in pop culture.
It’s not uncommon to see tattoos of popular quotes or characters from movies and TV or song lyrics from famous artists.
As it gets easier for people to learn about their histories and cultures, culturally-based tattoos or tattoos showing ancestry are becoming more common.
The way that social media and access to the internet have connected people based on similar ideas and interests like pets, nature, activism, and music has led to shared tattoo ideas as well.
Tattoo Trends from 2018 to Now
Here is a look at some of the biggest tattoo trends over the past 5 years:
Matching Tattoos
Though they’re sometimes frowned upon by tattoo artists and tattoo enthusiasts, matching tattoos that people get with a partner or friend are gaining popularity.
Matching tattoos often have some kind of symbolism and represent something that is important to all of the people getting the tattoo. They can be identical, or they can have slight variations.
Matching tattoos frequently symbolize love and connection.
Full Sleeve Tattoos
As the popularity of tattoos has increased, so have the size of tattoos. More and more employers are loosening their rules on visible tattoos, allowing tattoo clients to get bigger tattoos that are harder to conceal. This has led to full sleeves becoming some of the most popular tattoos.
Full sleeves have become pretty common because they can be designed as a full piece, or they can be put together as a patchwork of a bunch of smaller designs.
Micro Tattoos
Full-sleeve tattoos are becoming more and more common, but so are the exact opposite: micro tattoos.
Micro tattoos are small, fine-line tattoos that are usually an inch long or smaller and sometimes done with a single needle. They’ve become increasingly popular through social media and celebrity trends over the past few years.
Micro tattoos are becoming very popular because of their simple, delicate appearance and the ability to hide them in plain sight.
Popular tattoo designs for micro tattoos include hearts, infinity symbols, insects, flowers, singular words, and small geometric shapes.
Water Color Tattoos
Bright color is incredibly popular in tattooing right now, which is a big change from the limited color palette you see in the traditional tattoo style.
Tattoo styles like neo-traditional and new school have increased the possibility for color in the tattoo world, which has led to artists trying out new ideas and effects. One example of this is what’s known as the watercolor tattoo.
Landscapes and Nature
Some of the most popular tattoo designs out there right now feature landscapes and natural themes. Nature scenes like mountains, campsites, winding roads, and the ocean are very popular, and are often contained inside a geometric shape like a triangle or oval.
Geometric tattoos
Geometric tattoos, both large and small, are also popping up more frequently. They often feature shapes like triangles, squares, and circles, and can be filled in with bright colors or just black ink.
Strong, angular shapes like triangles are sometimes thought to symbolize strength, and a lot of clients will lean on the symbolism of certain shapes to develop their tattoo ideas. Tattoos with multiple stylized geometric shapes organized into a line that covers the forearm or wrap around a limb are popular.
Pet Tattoos
Insects and other animals have remained popular. The most commonly searched tattoo designs are butterfly tattoos, closely followed by the bee tattoo as well as dragons, snakes, and lion tattoos.
A common trend in tattoos right now is photorealisitic pet portraits or paw print tattoos to memorialize a beloved pet.
Japanese Tattoos
Japanese tattoos have been around for centuries and have influenced famous tattoo artists around the world including American Traditional founding father, Sailor Jerry. They are usually larger pieces, and common designs include dragons, tigers, and other animals.
One of the most popular choices is a dragon tattoo. Because the Japanese tattoo style often focuses on the flow of the muscles, the ability to curve the body of a dragon tattoo makes it a popular choice.
In recent years, access to the internet has given tattoo artists outside of Japan the ability to study traditional art and other tattoo styles like Japanese tattooing, bringing centuries-old tattoo traditions into the American mainstream.
Flash Tattoos
Flash tattoos have been popular for decades, especially with the influence of Sailor Jerry, but they are still incredibly popular now. Flash designs make popular tattoo designs easier to access because of their lower prices and the ability to have them done as a walk-in.
Over the past few years, flash has become even more popular because of holiday-based flash sales.
Many tattoo shops will have their artists offer flash at a discounted price for occasions like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Because of this, some designs like a skull with a candle coming out of the top, jack-o-lanterns, gravestones, and bottles of poison are popular choices.
Monochromatic Tattoos
A tattoo trend that has been popping up a ton over the last few years is the monochromatic tattoo. These tattoos involve intricate, often ornamental designs that are done completely in one color other than black.
Blue, red, and white ink are very common for monochromatic tattoos.
Three-Dimensional Tattoos
Neo traditional tattoos and new school tattoos are both known for their ability to make a design look three dimensional through shading and varying line weights.
Realism tattoos are currently in high demand, and part of the appeal of a hyperrealistic tattoo design is the tattoo looking like it is physically popping out at you.
Three dimensional designs give tattoos an extra feeling of life and creativity. The eye-catching nature of 3-D tattoos has made them a very popular request.Flower Tattoos
Floral designs have been a common theme in tattooing for centuries, and they still remain one of the most popular tattoo trends.
Rose tattoos are the most popular design for flowers, but other kinds of flowers like sunflowers, cherry blossoms, peonies, and lotuses are also big.Prepare for a Tattooing Career with the Artist Accelerator Program
Understanding the challenges that come with doing popular tattoos is an important step in your journey, but it can also be pretty eye-opening to how difficult tattooing can be. Without the right knowledge, it’s impossible to level up your skills and become a professional tattoo artist.
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