Do you ever wonder why?

[ILikePie]

Do you ever wonder why if getting tattoos is about being yourself/expressing yourself being an individual ect. why the tattoo industry is so damn trendy?

This isn't a knock or anything Ive been into tattoo for a long time from tribal now to traditional. Just think it's kind of ironic

What will the next trend be after traditional fizzles out?

[slayer9019]

Do you ever wonder why if getting tattoos is about being yourself/expressing yourself being an individual ect. why the tattoo industry is so damn trendy?

This isn't a knock or anything Ive been into tattoo for a long time from tribal now to traditional. Just think it's kind of ironic

What will the next trend be after traditional fizzles out?

I think everything becomes "trendy" at one time or another.

[peterpoose]

Mid life crisis for me lol

[Pugilist]

I think people have made this remark/complaint about every subculture ever. It's a variation on: "If goths/punks/insert subculture here all want to be different, why do they all look the same?" It is a really tired and angry teenager debate to me.

Industries try and capitalize on trends. That's life. And I think the impulse and passion for getting tattoos cannot be reduced to being about "being yourself/expressing yourself being an individual". People participate in tattoo subculture for a million different reasons, and even the notion of "being yourself" or "expressing your individualism" doesn't mean one specific thing to anyone who feels it. I also think that many people who get heavily into tattoos are like me in that they don't do it entirely for some intellectually thought out identity reason; they just feel it in their gut that this is something that is right to them. And feelings in your gut are very hard to articulate in words, and sometimes come out as "to express myself as an individual" or whatever, but that is really not a true reflection of that instinct.

Moral of the story: I really wish people would stop always assuming that some kind of rebellious individualism is the driving force in getting tattooed. I think that is reductive and misses the point.

[JAllen]

The new "trend" is/will be dots.

[slayer9019]

The new "trend" is/will be dots.

Yea noticed this as well. Starting to see a pickup in dot tattoos.

[TrixieFaux]

Within tattooing, there seem to be lots of simultaneous trends... the trend toward "traditional" seems to be a pretty good one--solid tattoos, then there's the upside down script on the inner wrist trend... I guess whatever floats your boat. Maybe the next trend will be those splashed on water-color looking ones? Haha, that is not something I hope for, I will not be getting one of those, just a possible trend. I am really into black & gray for now.

[Mr. Smith]

I haven't been getting tattooed for long enough to really comment on the ebb and flow of trends, but I will anyways. I have to wonder if a lot of the "trending" back towards traditional tattoos is a result of seeing how some of the other "trendy" tattoos have aged over the years.

As far as the smaller trends within "our community" or whatever--like say forcefields or ladies with animal heads on them or pocketwatches--go, I don't really think there's usually any intentional trend-hopping or whatever, I think that it's just a matter of seeing something cool and saying, "Oh shit, that looks rad. I want one of those," or "That looks cool, I want to try doing that." Particularly in 2012, where it's incredibly easy for the whole tattoo community to see something that someone does within a few hours of it being posted to Instagram. Like @Pugilist, I also kind of think that getting tattoos to "be an individual" is a bit of a farce. At least for people who are really into tattoos. I get tattooed because I like tattoos. If all of a sudden everyone had full back tattoos and full sleeves, I would still get tattooed. If no one did, I would still get tattooed.

[Pugilist]

My standard points are: I don’t know why people get tattooed. I don’t think there’s a good answer. It’s like, Why do you like art? It’s just something that’s a total mystery. That’s part of the attraction. I think that for whatever reason, it’s an impulse for our species—not for everyone, but certain people are just, Bam!

--Ed Hardy

[mblx]

The new "trend" is/will be dots.

Yea noticed this as well. Starting to see a pickup in dot tattoos.

Excuse my ignorance but what do you guys mean by dot tattoos, are you referring to something like this? I remember seeing a lot of that kind of stuff on Thomas Hooper's designs.

Also I am wondering, how well do you think these tattoos age with time compared to other tattoos? Sorry if these are dumb questions!

[eisen777]

Dont know, dont care. No one is that much of an individual, we arent all bright and shiney stars. I get tattooed because I want to and I like it and if everyone wants to do it then fine, Im still getting tattooed.

I have tons of dots in some of my tattoos, the annoying part about it being trendy is the people who dont like them vocalize about them as if I care. So the backlash ultimately is as annoying as the trend.

[Kev]

POW-right in the individuality:

[SnowyPlover]

Dont know, dont care. No one is that much of an individual, we arent all bright and shiney stars. I get tattooed because I want to and I like it and if everyone wants to do it then fine, Im still getting tattooed.

I have tons of dots in some of my tattoos, the annoying part about it being trendy is the people who dont like them vocalize about them as if I care. So the backlash ultimately is as annoying as the trend.

I like this.

My newer tattoos are dot work; if anyone thinks it's trendy, so be it. I'll just keeping getting tattoos of what I like.

I do think the internet makes trends/ideas spread faster. When I got my first tattoo, there was no internet, no Tumblr, no Facebook.

[CultExciter]

Peacocking!

- - - Updated - - -

Also, traditional will never fizzle out. Because that is what a tattoo is. It is in "vogue" these days, but whatever. At least people are getting solid tattoos instead of the hot shiny no-outline stuff.

[JAllen]

just to be clear, my observation isn't a judgement of pointilism and the like. also, i remember the first time i saw it really being used a lot was the around 99/00 maybe, by cory ferguson.

[Our Endless Days]

i remember when i was younger, going to hardcore and punk shows in like 1999 and 2000 and seeing a bunch of dudes in bands with traditional tattoos. i'm sure it's more popular now, but has it really sky rocketed that much?

just to clarify, that's when i started going to shows.

[Gato Negro]

I think it seems trendy because there is so much of it going on and it starts to become repetitious and you begin seeing more and more of the same things. Take for instance the "Day of the Dead" Chick. To me it was really kool when I first saw it done, now its just burnt out(in my eyes). As far as the "dots" being the next trend, maybe, I've always liked it. Heck I'll try it(on paper first!!).

[eisen777]

yup...traditional tattoos were all over the place in the 90ds with at least the east coast hardcore kids. Just got bigger and bigger....but when I was going to shows it was either shitty hand poke or traditional....or paul boothy metal head style.

[CultExciter]

Rick ta life!

[Dan S]

Hey, shit, when I started to get tattoos, "Traditional" was what we called the flash on the wall that everyone got. Didn't see, at least outside the hardcore tattoo world, a lot of truly custom work in the 60's and 70's. For a time after that, no one wanted flash, it was all custom stuff, and if the tattooist drew it on with a ballpoint as he went, so much the better!

Glad things have turned around.

[SStu]

I think tattoo art is still catching up with the rest of the art work - AT LEAST IN DIVERSITY (trying to head off the shitstorm of backlash, here). There is more and more variation in tattoo types. Dots. Abstract. Watercolor stylings. Whatever.

American traditional will always be the foundation here. Japanese and Indonesian will always be the foundation there - and crossovers will always exit.

Just like the rest of the art world, trends will come and go - and they SHOULD. It's part of the diversity of art in general, and helps keep things interesting.

[David Flores]

I would be more likely to ask when this trend of excessive lettering is going to end. For every traditional tattoo there are ten people who come in and get script lettering people just don't post it because it's not as exciting.

[ILikePie]

I would be more likely to ask when this trend of excessive lettering is going to end. For every traditional tattoo there are ten people who come in and get script lettering people just don't post it because it's not as exciting.

Crap I would have hoped that that was already dead

[Colored Guy]

I would be more likely to ask when this trend of excessive lettering is going to end. For every traditional tattoo there are ten people who come in and get script lettering people just don't post it because it's not as exciting.

I see way too much lettering and once you get past a few words.... you have to stop and read it and in the majority of cases, I'm sorry I did.

CG

[David Flores]

I see way too much lettering and once you get past a few words.... you have to stop and read it and in the majority of cases, I'm sorry I did.

CG

Yeah not only content, but grammar as well. Redundant run on sentences and false logic.