Tattoo glossary
From blowout to whip shading: our tattoo glossary explains the most important studio terms in plain language.
B
- Black and grey
- A technique that uses only black and diluted grey tones. Typical of realism, portraits and soft shading.
- Blast-over
- A new tattoo placed deliberately over an old one that stays partly visible. Unlike a cover-up, the old design isn't meant to disappear.
- Blowout
- Ink that spreads sideways under the skin, making a line look blurry. It usually happens when the needle goes in too deep or at an angle; the risk is higher on thin skin.
C
- Cartridge
- A sterile, single-use module that holds the needles. The artist clicks it onto the machine and disposes of it after the session.
- Cover-up
- A new tattoo that completely hides an old one. It's usually larger and darker than the original design.
D
- Dotwork
- A technique that builds shading from many individual dots. Common in mandalas, geometric and ornamental work.
F
- Fineline
- A style with very thin lines, tattooed with small needle groupings. It looks delicate and suits small to medium-sized designs.
- Flash
- Ready-drawn designs that a studio offers to choose from – traditionally displayed as sheets on the wall. Especially common in old school.
- Freehand
- The artist draws the design directly onto the skin instead of using a stencil. That way it follows the body's shape especially closely.
L
- Linework
- The line and outline work of a tattoo. Clean, even lines are the foundation of almost every style.
M
- Magnum
- A wide, flat needle grouping for shading and filling larger areas. The counterpart to the round liner, which artists use for lines.
N
- Neo traditional
- An evolution of old school with bold lines, but more colours, finer details and softer shading.
O
- Ornamental
- A style built on patterns, mandalas, lace and jewellery-like shapes, often combined with dotwork. It relies on symmetry and precise placement.
P
- Packing
- Filling an area completely with ink, especially black. Typical of blackwork and bold old school designs.
R
- REACH
- The EU chemicals regulation that has also covered tattoo inks since 2022. It restricts certain substances in inks to reduce allergy and health risks.
- Realism
- A style that recreates photos or portraits on skin in as much detail as possible – usually in black and grey, sometimes in colour.
- Rework
- Reworking an existing tattoo: the artist refreshes, corrects or extends it instead of covering it up.
- Rotary machine
- A tattoo machine driven by an electric motor that runs quietly and smoothly. It's standard in many studios today; the counterpart is the classic coil machine.
- Round liner
- A circular needle grouping for lines. The number in the name, such as 3RL, tells you how many needles sit together.
S
- Second skin
- A transparent, breathable film that the artist applies directly over the tattoo after the session. It usually stays on for several days.
- Shading
- The shading of a tattoo. It creates depth, volume and transitions between light and dark areas.
- Sleeve
- A tattoo covering a whole arm (full sleeve) or just the upper or lower arm (half sleeve). It's usually built up over several sessions.
- Stencil
- A transfer of the design onto the skin. It lets you see how the tattoo sits before the first line and adjust the position.
T
- Touch-up
- Going over individual areas again after healing, for example where the skin has taken the ink unevenly.
W
- Whip shading
- A shading technique with a whip-like hand movement that creates a stippled gradient. Popular in ornamental and blackwork pieces.