Tattoo in engraving style
The engraving style tattoo is one of the most popular types of tattoos today. In this article, we will look at its features, interesting sketch ideas, as well as the best places to apply.
Style features
The engraving style of the tattoo adheres to a certain technique of execution. The shadows of the picture are made with dashes. Instead of soft lines, eye-catching shading is used. Blurring of lines and contours is not allowed.
This is a special style of black and white images, reminiscent of a print or print pre-engraved on a metal or wood plate. The work is carried out by qualified specialists, tracing the smallest details of the drawing.
The style does not accept the use of halftones and colored pigments. Color engraving tattoos are rare. The image is applied in the form of short, clear lines and strokes. The details of the drawing are small, no feathering is allowed.
Initially, the images were simple and primitive. Modern tattoos are sometimes distinguished by the complexity of the composition and the effect of volume. The technique preserves the dynamics of lines and shapes of objects (a classic example is vegetable acanthus).
The engraving is often done with a hint of a kind of humor. The key nuance of building a tattoo is the silhouette. The work may contain elements of other techniques (dotwork, linework or blackwork).
The style is unique, matches any outfit, looks simple but attractive. Suitable for women and men with different lifestyles and characters.
From a technical point of view, this style is considered one of the most difficult. It is important that the hatching elements are located parallel to each other, while lying in a random order, have different lengths.
Types and variants of sketches
The engraving style in the art of tattoos is recognizable for its characteristic medieval motives, fairy tales and myths. The meaning of the tattoo is directly related to the plot of the picture.
Anything can be used as a plot.
Landscapes
An original natural background and everything related to it is one of the style features. The classic floral and plant surroundings of the central subject are vivid proof of this. In addition, you can see landscapes of marine themes in the engraving tattoo style. These are all kinds of ships against the background of the sea and storms, lighthouses, deer in the forest, angels in the sky.
Drawings with mountain landscape sketches are no less popular. Fir-trees, trees, seas, sailboats can be drawn against the background of the mountains. Often these are pictures of sunset, rain, fields. Depending on the vision of the master, individual sketches are framed in geometric shapes.
Mythological creatures
Unusual creatures from myths, their faithful friends and assistants, villainous heroes are participants in countless epic stories. They differ in the manner of execution, in which they sometimes appear as something in between man and animal.
A specific drawing of creatures can have the symbolism of amulets. The classic creatures are pegasus (inspiration) and mermaid (mysterious). Among other characters, the phoenix stands out, symbolizing the infinity of being.
Some sketches have a sacred meaning for the owner. Some of them give off a pessimistic outlook on human life and future. Others indicate an individual perception of the world, love for an idol or some deity.
Animals
Engraving animals can be real and non-existent. In addition to the usual drawing, craftsmen can fill them in the form of, for example, skeletons. Sketches with animals dressed in human clothes also look extraordinary.
Classic examples are painted lions, bears, dogs, rabbits, and cats that are assigned human traits. The drawings resemble pictures from ancient books. For example, lions can walk on two legs, hares can wear umbrellas.
Plants
Floral elements of tattoos in an engraving style - roses, rose hips, foliage, wildflowers, tree branches. It is these compositions that are more often than others complemented by lines, dotted details.
Flowers themselves can complement other themes. For example, they often frame tattoos with skeletons, birds, animals. Sometimes flower arrangements contain elements of ornaments and various patterns.
Heraldry
Heraldic tattoos are one of the recognizable themes of the style. They can be very diverse. Most often, masters fill in monochrome images with coats of arms decorated with a pair of lions. Often, the heads of animals are decorated with crowns.
It happens that the sketch depicts a lion and a unicorn, water angels, eagles, griffins and other creatures. Key elements are often framed with intricate patterns. Unusual additions to the drawings are crowns in the form of ships, knightly helmets. Sometimes drawings are supplemented with inscriptions.
Other
Biblical tattoos look interesting in engraving style. In addition, the sun, moon, skeletons, hourglasses, and octopuses are frequent elements of designs for the engraving manner of printing. Each key figure has a different meaning.
For example, the octopus has long been associated with a dangerous predatory creature. He was often depicted as a sea monster destroying ships. Today its meaning is different: it is a sign of the insight and changeability of the character of the person who got the tattoo.
Often in engraving tattoos there are female silhouettes, warlike knights. Less often in the catalogs of salons there are sketches of insects and abstract details.
Sometimes a picture combines two themes (for example, landscape, animals, nature and abstraction). Another favorite character of the style is death with a scythe. In addition, birds, lightning, hands, stars can become the idea of the drawing.
Sometimes architectural elements become the object of a tattoo.Moreover, at the request of the client, they are not only single, but also paired. The technique allows you to draw every detail of the drawing with maximum precision and the effect of volume.
Places of application
Most often, an engraving style tattoo is stuffed on the shoulder, forearm, shoulder blade, and leg. High-volume images are applied to the back. In this area, the drawings are best seen. This part of the body is less prone to aging.
Engraving tattoos on a muscular male chest look beautiful. In addition, the pattern can be printed on the side, under the chest, in the lower abdomen. It will look spectacular on the inside of the arm or lower leg, ankle.
The plot sketch can cover most of the arm, reaching the wrist. In this case, the manner of execution is both classical and sleeve. The sleeve assumes padding around the arm. The density of the pattern is sparse in comparison with the Japanese technique.
Occasionally, a tattoo is placed on the elbow, thigh, and lower leg. Paired symmetrical images are applied to the chest or arms, both shoulder blades. The tattoo engraving is devoid of frills, so it looks great on any part of the body.