Line Art Tattoos

Line art tattoos are any tattoos composed predominately of distinct lines without shading on a blank background. The intention is to focus on the subject’s form, rather than dimension, color or texture.

Historically, line art proliferated on paper, canvas and textiles. Woodworkers, illustrators and printmakers worked primarily on flat, 2D surfaces.

In tattooing, line art cannot avoid dimension or texture, as it’s composed on the human body and walks around in 3D space. Some line artists will incorporate these factors in their designs, using their lines to emphasize or de-emphasize the body’s structure and movements. This is optional, of course, but a distinctly unique aspect of the tattoo medium.