Thick black outlines

[iowagirl]

What are the pros/cons of really thick (well, they look thick to me anyway) outlines like this? Chrysanthemum tattoo. November flower. | Inked. Is this a certain style? My husband was meh on it, but I like how it looks and thought I'd ask.

[CultExciter]

What are the pros/cons of really thick (well, they look thick to me anyway) outlines like this? Chrysanthemum tattoo. November flower. | Inked. Is this a certain style? My husband was meh on it, but I like how it looks and thought I'd ask.

I believe that is called Sharpie.

[iowagirl]

Oh you fucker hahahahaha dammit I didn't even notice that. Shit. Nevermind.

[Mark Bee]

I have one tattoo on my leg with a very thick outline. It's a style I'd be wary about overdoing, but I really like the way it works on my hand of glory. It makes a nice contrast from my other tattoos.

[Just Alex]

I have a fairly large piece with thick black outlines like this... upside - I think it looks cool and is a bit different, downside - it effectively doubled the lining time as the tattooist basically double outlined the piece and then filled it in. It's a kind of new school trad piece based on Fontinha flash.

[Cork]

The thickest of the thick.

Koji Ichimaru

[SStu]

I like it when it's done in conjunction with and contrast to normal outline in the same tattoo. I think Dusty Neil uses that technique.

[cltattooing]

The thickest of the thick.

Koji Ichimaru

I love his work. You just know it's going to age perfectly and read forever.

Anyway, I think it's a stylistic preference, but I think it looks great. Of course you need to give the heavy lines room to breathe, but those are definitely tattoos that are built to last and be seen from across the street.

[iowagirl]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm still laughing that I didn't notice the picture was in fact sooo not a tattoo, so will try to spend the whole 1 second to look a little further next time...

Still think it looks neat tho..you'd definitely notice it!

[Colored Guy]

Thick outlines are a departure from what was popular 25-30 years ago. Thin single-needle outlines were the flavor of the day (I had some on me...) and they don't stand up over time.

Rob

[JeffK]

Never too much black. Thick black lines hold up, look strong, and are awesome.

[Joe Stratford]

I read this thread and then stumbled across this. It's just far too much IMO

[cookietruck]

that's like a gorilla jesus hybrid

[sighthound]

Interesting comments on thick outlines in this video (starting at the 5:20 mark). Some pretty cool history, too

[Graeme]

Interesting comments on thick outlines in this video (starting at the 5:20 mark). Some pretty cool history, too

I can't find the post right now, but somebody here posted a video of old NY/NJ tattooers sitting down and talking and they said pretty much the same thing about line thickness. The one tattoo I have from an old guy (ie he's been tattooing over 50 years) is done with thin lines. I also have some really thick lined stuff on me, it's a much larger tattoo though.

That monkey Jesus looks like it was made to get Instagram likes.

[sighthound]

Yea, most of mine have a pretty thick outline too. It'll be interesting to see how they age - talking in 30-40 years. I wonder what some of the old timers would consider a "small" tattoo when referring to thick outlines.

[dfcody89]

Bold WILL Hold!

I've got alot of stuff lined in Loose 8's and 9's but I've got a few that were lined with an 11 round shader that are tuff as Snuff buddy! If there is anything We can learn From Eric Maaske

Bold, Bright, simple and always awesome.

[Hands On]

I have a strong feeling the client walked in, said "can I get something like this?" and handed the artist this reference from Chad Koeplinger...

[Joe Stratford]

Yeah that was my first thought, I actually met the guy this is on at Frith street a few months ago, He had it outlined by Chad a few days before. Done in some crazy time as you'd expect. He then got a badass looking panther on his neck by Bert Krak. Nice guy! Great tattoos!

[irezumi]

I have work that was done with a standard 5 over 20 years ago; it's been holding up just fine. To assume that tattoos done with middle line weight won't hold up would be incorrect.

More relevant is type of skin, location of the tattoo, exposure over the years, what black the tattooer used, etc. plenty of other factors besides line weight.

[Graeme]

Are you talking about that video with Mike Schweigert, Tony Polito, Pete Giaquinto, Mike Perfetto and Ronnie Dell'aquila?

I think Rich Fie may have been involved as well and maybe Richie Montgomery.

Anyway, I hope I'm not giving away too much info, but I believe the ones that came before us, used way smaller needle groupings to line the tattoos they were doing. 40 years down the road, the outlines look 1/4 inch think!

I love the look of a fat outline, not a doubled-up outline, just a fat fucking outline.

Think about how that may look 40 years from now. If you're still alive.

Yeah, that's the video. Good stuff.

With these kinds of threads I feel that we too often miss the point. When talking about Chad's tattoos, for instance, what makes his tattoos so great is that they have real power. Line weight plays into it, sure, but not as much as that his drawings are loose, they're big and bold, they're aren't picky or finicky, they're just straight up fucking powerful. Fat lines alone isn't going to make a tattoo good.

[sighthound]

Oh, for sure. Chad's back pieces are always so freaking big that line weight thickness is not that big an issue. Everything has enough room to breathe.

[Stax138]

Dusty Neal does amazing work, he uses alot of line sizes you're right.

[irezumi]

Interesting comments on thick outlines in this video (starting at the 5:20 mark).

Only just now watched this and I'm glad I did. Cool stories aside, what he said about line weight vs size of tattoo is something I would echo any day of the week. Not everything needs to be done with a sharpie. Or even a 8 or 9. Right size for the job is the key.

One thing that I see a trend of is that some tattooers have become so isolated on one style that they have come to rely on thicker lines; names respectfully not mentioning. I can watch someone nail a tradish tattoo with a baggy 8 or 9 but completely blow it with a 5. Thick lines hide shaky or less-than-awesome linework and I see what some people are doing as turning into a crutch. There is a difference between 'this is my style' and 'this is all I can do' and that is what makes a more skilled craftsman than the next guy.

In my opinion.

Of course there are always exceptions; sometimes an artist unintentionally gets pigeon holed. It can't be helped if you just wanna do a smooth b&g tattoo with a 3 once in a while but everyone walking through the door wants to get a Japanese sleeve because that's the only stuff people see you do.