New School Tattoo Style

Heavily influenced by mainstream pop culture and media, New School tattoos are bright, bold and have a cartoonish quality to them. Originating in the 1970s, this style of tattooing didn’t get its true recognition until the 1990s, where iconic video games, cartoons, movies, and graffiti became increasingly popular. With the change in the mass media, came the transition of customer’s demands and tastes in art style. 

New School tattooing follows the same rules as American and Neo traditional styles: heavy, bold, black lines, bright pigments and large pieces for easy legibility. However, with the advancements in ink, the tattoos themselves are often comprised of brighter colors, including neon and fluorescents, and vivid backgrounds, which changes the overall aesthetic of the image. Many artists get their inspiration from movies, specifically Disney, since the imagery can be changed and altered, yet still be an easily recognizable subject matter. Manga and anime gained a massive following in the 90s and clients started asking for characters and certain scenes to be tattooed. Japanese art has always heavily influenced American tattooing and anime is no exception.