Detailed tattoos - Do they hold up?

[Noobink]

I'm not very experienced with this and I was hoping some of you could enlighten me.

Nowadays a lot of VERY good artists seem to be doing mostly realistic, detailed and intricate tattoos that look amazing fresh and healed. But will they look good 10, 20, 30 years down the road? (I know all tattoos fade and move even traditional ones, but they still seem to look very good after many years).

I assume these kind of tattoos will last and won't look like shit after 20 years otherwise all these top name artists wouldn't be doing them, right?

Are they fine as long as you have black shading nearby?

What kind of contrast is needed?

Sorry for asking a lot of questions, I was just hoping to get some knowledge of this, because I'm not going to lie I have an interest in color realism, but if it will just start looking bad way before traditional I'll stick with traditional.

Examples:

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xft1/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e35/12256834_407023586160509_2120070254_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfp1/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e35/11881584_1658872354360822_635008893_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e35/12729563_1516644975308002_922744417_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTE4NTM5NTAyMzQ1Nzk2ODY3Mg%3D%3D.2

Not bashing anyone here just merely curious

Thank you

[SStu]

linkey no workey

[marley mission]

I say get what you like

your tattoos will age

some more gracefully than others

but hey look

your tastes may change

maybe you end up with tattoos of different styles along the way

picking a good artist though is more important than the style

why worry what its gonna look like in 10 years

aint no day promised to ya but the one your living

besides - they look good "lived in"

[Noobink]

linkey no workey

Sorry buddy, fixed them now

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linkey no workey

Sorry buddy, fixed them now

[marley mission]

those are all cool looking tattoos @Noobink

i'll give you a couple of mine as examples to think on in regards to your questions

here is a 'painterly' color portrait piece by Matt Dunn

a bold Steve Boltz flying fish

different styles - I love both tattoos - so all is awesome in that regard - but probably the fish is gonna hold the readability in its image a bit better then the portrait just based on things like the simplicity of design and the presence of a strong bold outline

other things that are factors are location of the tattoo - both of these are in spots that dont see the elements so much so that will probably help longevity too - but there is so much more to the tattoo than this - and i didnt get this at first - you gotta enjoy these things man - so if you are into the color realism go for it - like i said - you might end up with a bunch of sailor jerry next year - who knows - good luck in finding an artist and be sure to update us with info and pics

[Noobink]

those are all cool looking tattoos @Noobink

i'll give you a couple of mine as examples to think on in regards to your questions

here is a 'painterly' color portrait piece by Matt Dunn

a bold Steve Boltz flying fish

different styles - I love both tattoos - so all is awesome in that regard - but probably the fish is gonna hold the readability in its image a bit better then the portrait just based on things like the simplicity of design and the presence of a strong bold outline

other things that are factors are location of the tattoo - both of these are in spots that dont see the elements so much so that will probably help longevity too - but there is so much more to the tattoo than this - and i didnt get this at first - you gotta enjoy these things man - so if you are into the color realism go for it - like i said - you might end up with a bunch of sailor jerry next year - who knows - good luck in finding an artist and be sure to update us with info and pics

Those tattoos are awesome man I love it!

Thanks for the information very helpful. Right now I keep swaying from color illustrative/realism, neo traditional, and modern Japanese. (I love the idea of symmetry and a style flowing through your whole body and since I know once I start getting some tattoos I will be working towards a full body suit someday most likely since their addictive and I've always loved them so Japanese appeals to me in many ways).I pretty much just love vibrant colors so that's why I'm considering all those 3.

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those are all cool looking tattoos @Noobink

i'll give you a couple of mine as examples to think on in regards to your questions

here is a 'painterly' color portrait piece by Matt Dunn

a bold Steve Boltz flying fish

different styles - I love both tattoos - so all is awesome in that regard - but probably the fish is gonna hold the readability in its image a bit better then the portrait just based on things like the simplicity of design and the presence of a strong bold outline

other things that are factors are location of the tattoo - both of these are in spots that dont see the elements so much so that will probably help longevity too - but there is so much more to the tattoo than this - and i didnt get this at first - you gotta enjoy these things man - so if you are into the color realism go for it - like i said - you might end up with a bunch of sailor jerry next year - who knows - good luck in finding an artist and be sure to update us with info and pics

Those tattoos are awesome man I love it!

Thanks for the information very helpful. Right now I keep swaying from color illustrative/realism, neo traditional, and modern Japanese. (I love the idea of symmetry and a style flowing through your whole body and since I know once I start getting some tattoos I will be working towards a full body suit someday most likely since their addictive and I've always loved them so Japanese appeals to me in many ways).I pretty much just love vibrant colors so that's why I'm considering all those 3.

[SStu]

Tattoo ink naturally "migrates" a little bit over the decades, and some people think that tattoos with borders (ie: black outline) will be more discernable over the long run - but there are many other factors that will affect how well it holds up, including but not limited to:

a/ ability of the artist

b/ overall design

c/ how well you take care of it (healing, sun exposure and such)

this is a subject that has been gone over quite a bit. You should be able to find at least a couple of historical threads for perusal.

[soraya]

I have wondered about this too. Some people say that tattoos without outlines, that are based on subtle shading without skin showing through will be indiscernible smears of color in 30 years. I know that tattoos fade, and I understand the point of view that says "Don't worry about the future. Enjoy it now." But I do want my tattoos to look as good as possible 30 years from now, even if I am old an wrinkled. If I can make choices now that will maximize the chances of looking good in the future, it is a win-win.

[bongsau]

these photos are detail close-ups of a 10 year old tattoo.

if the tattooing is of a strong design and applied well than you shouldn't have to worry about details holding up over time.

for the record, the little bugs inside the old tattoo are each about the size of a $0.25 piece.

[Colored Guy]

I had a tattoo done in 1979, snake and a rose cover up. By 2009 it was hard to tell what it was since it was dark to start with. Lines do get wider, the sun is a real killer for tattoos. I now use a better sunscreen, my latest and greatest work is on the under side of my upper arms. I know one artist, very fair skinned who avoids the sun, her older work looks as fresh as it was new.

[mmmsarah]

I just got my first tattoo which is really detailed/realistic on my back. Makes me a bit sad to think I'll never be able to get a decent tan again!

[oboogie]

I just got my first tattoo which is really detailed/realistic on my back. Makes me a bit sad to think I'll never be able to get a decent tan again!

Better for your skin not to tan anyway. :-)

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I just got my first tattoo which is really detailed/realistic on my back. Makes me a bit sad to think I'll never be able to get a decent tan again!

Better for your skin not to tan anyway. :-)