Light, airy and bright tattoos in the watercolor style can easily be confused with body art at first glance, as they look so much like picturesque pictures drawn by the artist using a brush and paints. Masters working in this style are able to masterfully convey shade transitions, color nuances and even watery stains characteristic of watercolor painting. That is why today lovers of body art are increasingly liking watercolor tattoos, a photo of which you will see in the article.
Unusual tattoo in watercolor style
History of watercolor masterpieces
The founder of this graceful and airy style is rightfully considered to be the New York master Amanda Wachob. Initially, the girl was engaged in writing oil paintings, which are exhibited in American galleries, and in 1998 began painting bodies. Amanda's work seems truly fantastic and insanely realistic, because it is almost impossible to distinguish her tattoo style from brush strokes.
Amanda Wachob tells the story of her turn to the art of tattooing on her website. As the artist writes, one day, when she woke up, she noticed strange marks and incomprehensible signs on her hand. This caused confusion and curiosity in her soul. After a while, the unusual symbols disappeared on their own, and Amanda realized that she wanted to seriously start painting the human body with her own signs.
Now the creator of watercolor masterpieces works as a tattoo artist in New York, and an hour of her time costs about $350. Despite the fabulous price, the line of people wanting to hang out with Amanda never runs out.
It is also interesting that even those people who have a very negative attitude towards tattoos, having encountered Amanda’s work, cannot help but admit that such work is real art.
Tree with leaves in watercolor style
Stylistics of drawings
Important . Surprising and so different from the usual ones, tattoos in the watercolor style, oddly enough, are brought to life with the same ordinary tools of a tattoo artist. Not every tattoo artist is able to convey many halftones and achieve the effect of a blurred design using ordinary ink. Therefore, when choosing a watercolor style for your body jewelry, try to find a master whose portfolio already includes similar works.
Dog in watercolor style
A watercolor tattoo, the meaning of which largely comes down to imitation of painting with paints, has the following features style:
- Softness, smoothness, ease of implementation
- Incredibly subtle color transitions, many shades, play of halftones.
- Simulation of streaks, blurred areas, drops and splashes.
- Often there is a lack of the usual black outline and edging that runs along the borders of the design. This effect also helps to achieve the airiness of a watercolor composition.
- Occasionally you can see compositions in which the watercolor style is combined with some other style. There are ordinary inscriptions splashed with paint, as well as drawings that move from monotonous realism to fabulous watercolors.
It is curious that the size of watercolor images can be absolutely any, and both a small colorful butterfly and a huge ornate plot that occupies the entire back and goes down the thigh look equally impressive. In addition, due to droplets of paint flying from the drawing and the lack of contours, the true size of the sketch is difficult to perceive; it seems to float on the skin.
Image of your favorite cat in watercolor style
Image options
The original style of watercolor paintings can be embodied in almost any image. Some people decorate their bodies with naive, deliberately childish pictures, while others transfer huge images onto their skin. paintings. It is believed that in watercolor the plot is not as important as its execution, so you should not look for special meaning in paint strokes.
I have an octopus depicted on my entire back, made in watercolor style. I am very grateful to the master for developing the plot and quality work. There were no indifferent friends left. And strangers often comment how colorful and stylish my colored octopus looks.
Arseny, Pyatigorsk
Hummingbird bird on its back in watercolor style
Most valued by watercolor lovers are abstractions and illustrative drawings, which should emphasize the style and show all its charms. Among other sketches, the most often chosen are the following options:
- Mythical creatures (dragons, unicorns, phoenixes, Japanese demon animals).
- Flowers (roses, lotuses, poppies).
- Animals (birds, fish, whales, butterflies, foxes, pandas, wolves and any others that the customer likes).
- A wide variety of objects made in a hand-drawn manner.
Tattoo in watercolor style on hand
Who chooses watercolor?
Initially, light and elegant drawings with soft colors and smooth transitions were recognized by girls who, with the help of watercolors, emphasized their tenderness and femininity. Floral motifs, birds and small animals are popular among women.
Soon, watercolor tattoos, the designs of which are not limited to just flowers, attracted the attention of men as well. Men's watercolor drawings gravitate towards abstractions and deliberately harsh subjects, compensating for the softness of the embodiment (blood, frightening images).
I never even thought about getting a tattoo until I came across sketches of watercolor compositions. Fairy tales and the bright colorful shades completely captivated me. It’s impossible not to fall in love with this tattoo style! I advise everyone to get to know watercolor sketches and choose your own!
Anastasia, Veliky Ustyug
Scorpio in watercolor style
First, let's figure out what traditional watercolor is as a painting technique. To create such works they use watercolor paints, which, when dissolved in water, form a transparent suspension, allowing you to create subtle color transitions, the effect of airiness and lightness. Watercolor combines pictorial and graphic characteristics. A tattoo in watercolor style almost completely replicates this painting technique.
The artists who create and constantly improve this style have achieved such a state of drawing on the body in this art that it is practically indistinguishable from watercolor painting. When looking at such works, you get the feeling that the image on the body was created using ordinary brushes and paints. The master’s tattoos have streaks characteristic of watery watercolors and are distinguished by an amazing play of shades, subtle color transitions, lightness and airiness.
The creators of the unique style believe that with the help of the same paint you can simply paint over a wall and create a beautiful work of art. So creating a tattoo is not just making money, but also an opportunity to give joy to people by creating beautiful art.
True romantics prefer tattoos in watercolor style. creative personalities who love everything unusual and original. Such an image on the body is comparable only to a painting, which carries a completely understandable meaning and has a certain concept.
Tattoos of this type often lack the traditional black border. This gives the drawing lightness, airiness and color thanks to free strokes and halftones that freely flow into each other.
Now watercolor tattoos are a whole trend with abstract and illustrative images. Interestingly, this drawing technique does not have a specific tool. However, tattoo artists create truly unique “pictures” with the materials they have.
Watercolor tattoo is valuable visual appeal, beauty of embodiment and complexity. But here, as a rule, they don’t think about symbols. Tattoos this direction are perceived as art designed to bring aesthetic pleasure to both its owners and the people around them.
The subjects of watercolor tattoos are very different: mythical creatures, portraits, drawings of animals, butterflies, abstractions and so on. It all depends on the imagination of the client and the artist doing the tattoo. The sizes of the images also depend on the person's choice. It could be small drawing or occupying large areas of the body. Tattoos in watercolor style are created for poetic and original people who want to emphasize their individuality.
The art of tattooing has long gone beyond the scope of simple one-color tattoos. One of the relatively recently appeared types of drawings on the body is a watercolor tattoo.
What an amazing drawing?
The founder of this trend was a tattoo artist from New York, Amanda Wachob. She made absolutely innovative way submission of body painting. Possessing professional artistic skills, she completely imitated the work of a natural brush and water-soluble paints. Thanks to this, it transformed the standard into a visually as if the drawing was made using the watercolor technique. The part of the body on which the image is applied resembles a fragment of an artistic canvas. Although this artist does not use any special tool for this style, other than the usual tattoo machine, the result makes an amazing impression.
If you plunge into childhood memories, a picture emerges before your eyes of how a clumsy hand painted blurry patterns on its body with a brush made of squirrel hair. What delight triumphed in my soul then, and how exciting the process seemed. Nowadays it is possible to realize children's fantasies with the help of professional craftsmen. Watercolor tattoos can give adults a vivid sense of delight and their own uniqueness. You can see sketches made using this technique in our article. It’s possible that some of them will appeal to you too.
Peculiarity
A watercolor tattoo is valuable primarily for its beauty and difficult conveyance of the image. All attention is focused on the visual appeal of the image, and its meaning fades into the background. It is in these aspects that watercolor tattoos are fundamentally different from ordinary ones. This style of body painting is available in a varied palette of shades. It is possible to use different tones of the same color or contrasting notes.
Whatever option you choose, it will only emphasize the individuality of the owner of the tattoo. Depending on your wishes, you can choose a laconic image of a small size or paint a completely defined one. The subject of the drawing has no boundaries, like the imagination of the master, you just need to choose the option that suits you.
Technicians
Watercolor tattoos can accentuate the advantages of a figure or, conversely, hide the features of the human body from prying eyes. Sometimes when drawing an image, lines of different saturation are combined, which gives it visual volume and brings the idea to the fore. This technique is often used famous masters. Some consider it necessary to use the brightest possible colors so that the design retains the richness of the colors over a long period. Others use a blurry effect by adding a small amount of water to the pigment. There are works in which two techniques are combined, which involuntarily evokes associations of the parallel existence of reality and the world of fantasy.
Watercolor tattoo: z meaning
The meanings of tattoos made using the watercolor technique are similar to traditional ones. For example, a bird often symbolizes freedom and beauty. However, the interpretation depends on many factors: where exactly the image is applied, what specific species of birds. Here they are, excellent and controversial watercolor tattoos. Photos of works completed in this style are usually shown in salons, so if you like such drawings, be sure to look through the portfolio of the masters.
Important point
Tattoos using the watercolor technique have recently appeared in the post-Soviet space. As you know, mastery requires practice and, of course, time. Therefore, when deciding to apply this kind of tattoo, you should understand that the work really requires high level professionalism. Decent quality costs an order of magnitude more. The cost factor is certainly important, but is not decisive.
Conclusion
A watercolor tattoo is a great chance to give yourself extra beauty. The body is like a canvas, the boundaries of creativity are determined only by the master’s own imagination and professional capabilities.
The world of tattoos has long gone beyond the boundaries of single-color and simple tattoos. More and more are appearing various types and unusual styles. One style that has emerged recently is the watercolor tattoo.
The origins of the Watercolor technique
The founder of this style is considered to be a tattoo artist from New York, Amanda Wachob. She, having professional artistic skills, was able to transfer a watercolor drawing from a sheet of paper to the body, without using any additional tools- only a tattoo machine. What has become completely new and extraordinary in the world of tattooing. She turned ordinary body drawings into masterpieces of art. The word “Watercolor” itself is familiar to everyone since childhood. It was with watercolors that we learned the basics fine arts V kindergarten and school. Translated from French and Italian, “aquarelle” means “watery.” Thanks to the dissolution of watercolor pigments in water, smooth transitions and soft color notes are created in the drawing.
Style Features
The effect of lightness, delicate colors, smooth smudges create a truly extraordinary look. That is why the use of the “Watercolor” style when creating a tattoo is in great demand today. Images in this style look like paintings taken from the canvases of great artists. The airiness and transparency of the lines creates the impression that the tattoo was drawn on the body with ordinary paint, and not filled with a tattoo machine. Which is especially tempting for those who are critical of ordinary tattoos. A tattoo in the “Watercolor” style is like a painting, only it doesn’t gather dust on the wall, but is always with the owner.
The meaning of watercolor tattoos
This style is preferred by romantic and creative people. But this does not mean that only girls and men also love colors and art. Watercolor tattoos are known for their beauty and unusualness, so most clients do not think about the symbolic meaning of the painting; they want to receive aesthetic pleasure. from her presence. The choice of subject for printing depends entirely on the taste and preference of the client. It could be mythical creature, nature, abstract images, portraits and many other masterpieces. Symbolic meaning tattoos made in watercolor style are almost the same as ordinary tattoos. Therefore, in addition to amazing beauty, you can add a certain philosophy and hidden meaning to a watercolor tattoo.
Features of creation
Please pay special attention that a professional craftsman working in this style initially creates a sketch on paper. It is here that he embodies all the transitions and combinations of colors, otherwise real watercolor will not work. Therefore, he should ideally be able to paint with watercolors on paper and create an entire world or story with paint. Watercolor is considered poetry among paintings, so before choosing, think about the plot, the semantic load, and what your painting will convey to others.
Features of the performance technique
With the help of a watercolor tattoo, you can hide figure flaws or, on the contrary, emphasize your strengths and draw attention to yourself. Each tattoo artist working in this style uses his own application features. Some people combine lines with strokes, others use only the blur effect and volume. But still, a watercolor tattoo has certain features by which you can immediately identify this style:
- Divorces;
- Spray;
- Strokes;
- Smooth transition of shades;
- No black border;
- Wide palette of colors;
In conclusion, I would like to give advice: if you have a soul for this style and decided to create a masterpiece on their body from art gallery, take your choice of a specialist seriously and do not skimp on it. Otherwise, your dream may turn into a “spoiled childhood picture.”
Watercolor tattoos do not correlate well with time, and the reason is physiology. There are certain canons that are necessary for a tattoo to create not only a beautiful, but also a high-quality design on the skin. The tattooing process itself is designed to stand the test of time. Black contours in work have a fundamental value number one.
Black paint is made from carbon, while all color pigments are based on organic substances. The contour not only serves as a visual border for the tattoo, but also acts as a barrier in the skin, preventing other colors from penetrating further than intended or even getting into the layers of subcutaneous tissue. Abstract watercolor tattoos made today will eventually not have the intended outlines, blood circulation will gradually disrupt the effect of the brush. The final result is a large tattoo of indistinguishable color in just a few months.
Healed watercolor tattoos
Fresh work from the master’s Instagram:
The same work a few months later:
Watercolor tattoos a few months after the application procedure:
In short, a tattoo in style watercolor fades quite quickly and fades over time.
Either way, the tattoos you choose are a matter of personal preference. However, being armed with knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of modern tattoo trends, you can make a smart and thoughtful choice that will delight you for many years. Good luck!