Blackwork tattoos...

..back to blackwork

These days, blackwork is a broad tattoo style. Blackwork is mainly characterized by the use of only black, pure ink for all lines. How do you shade and create depth? Through finer lines, different thicknesses, dotwork or other types of shading.

Not a fan of color tattoos or rather want a tattoo that makes your dark fantasy come true? In that case, blackwork tattoos are definitely for you. In this post, we take you through blackwork tattooland. Read on!

What is a blackwork tattoo?

Blackwork is a tattoo style characterized by the color black, as the name suggests. The uniqueness of this style lies in the shape and contrast of the tattoo. Pure - undiluted - black ink is used for line work or areas in the design. This is usually interspersed with finer line work, dotwork or a special type of shading with or without diluted black ink. The style has endless possibilities because different line thicknesses, shading and size can be used.

 
maori tattoo

The roots of blackwork lie in the ancient tribal tattooing. Among other Polynesian tattoos, known for their often abstract shapes and swirls in large black ink, is a predecessor of the blackwork genre we know today. These tattoos were usually based on the person's personality. For example, the tattoo artist used symbols to illustrate the life story of his canvas.

 
Blackwork tattoo op de onderarm. Schedel met slang uit de mond. Gezet bij Inksane tattoo en piercing.

blackwork tattoo designs

Any design can be tattooed in this style. Nevertheless, most blackwork artists prefer the dark side of their imagination. Consequently, detailed monsters, death and macabre renderings of animals, persons or objects are common subjects. The reason for this is the absence of color and "frivolity." After all, black is associated with dark things in everyday life. However, not everyone who chooses this style has to have a dark side: sometimes people choose these subjects simply because they find it beautiful.

 

Tattoo blackwork vs dotwork tattoos

In the "dotwork" technique, the tattoo is made up of thousands of dots. Therefore, the artist does not use lines or shadows. Dark surfaces are created by placing the dots closer together. With lighter surfaces, the dots are further apart.

This technique can be used in blackwork tattoos to achieve depth, shadow and detail.

 
geometric lower arm tattoo

GETTING A BLACKWORK TAT

Do you want blackwork tattooed? Then you came to the right place! Our Inksane artists are specialized in different styles. Our Inksane reception helps you through the process, step by step. 

Do you still have questions or doubts? Our Inksane reception is ready to help you. Contact us here or swing by one of our shops.

 

These are our blackwork artists

FAQ

All studios are open from Tuesday till Saturday, between 11:00h and 18:00h

Appointments with guest artists are also sometimes scheduled on Sundays,Mondays and holidays.

Our reception takes care of the bookings, organization and appointments.

Often the high artistic qualities of our artists are accompanied by a lack of social and organizational skills 😉
That's not always the case though, but it's a handy guideline.

Most of the time we are indeed, but don't hesitate to contact our reception to be sure!

Our reception is open from Tuesday until Saturday.
You can walk in without appointment, with all your questions.

Appointments with our guestartists could be on a Sunday, Monday or holiday because they usually work 7/7 for the short period they are here.

A guest artist is a high level artist from another country coming to our shop for a short period of time (for example 3 weeks).

Coming to see your design happens always in our studio. We do not send designs digitally.
Since your guest artist is not an advance here, coming to see your design is not an obvious one. If you definitely want to see your design in advance, then we schedule a 15-minute appointment on day 1, and your tattoo appointment follows on, say, day 5.

We schedule 1 client per guest artist per day. On the day of appointment so you have plenty of time to review your design together and make any necessary adjustments.
Some artists also prefer to still finish the design when they meet you. A few extra questions or some connection can make the design more personal.
So for the tattoo artist, it is more efficient work when everything is done on the same day.

Would you like to see the design beforehand? Be sure to let the reception know when booking your appointment.

You can pay with cash, card and Inksane gift vouchers.

You can! Visit our shop online or buy one at the reception!

Inksane Gift Certificate

You can choose the amount you want to put on it yourself.

Gift vouchers are valid for 1 year (the appointment has to be made within 1 year, the tattoo can be placed afterwards).
During the pandemic we obviously don't pay attention to the expiration date. 😉

You can use this voucher for tattoos and piercings in all of our studios.

There is no general price list.
One tattoo artist is not the other: each has its own rate, and its own waiting time.

Some artists work with an hourly rate, others prefer a set price.
Our guest artists mostly have a day session price rate.

If you give us a email Please send with what tattoo you have in mind, and we can provide a price proposal.
For that we need to know what you want, in what style, the size, in color or black and white, and on what body part.
Not sure how big the tattoo should be, or on which body part it fits best? Don't worry, our reception will be happy to guide you!

With this information, our front desk will be able to suggest an artist, and therefore give a price.
All advice you get with a smile and for free.

For sure!

Every Inksane shop has a reception ready to answer your questions. You don't need an appointment to come in.

If it seems necessary to have a chat with the artist, we'll check if that is possible. If not, we will book in a short appointment to discuss your idea with the artist.

That depends on several factors:

  • The style (and thus the fitting artist. Every artist has their own price).
  • The size of your arm.
  • The complexity (or simplicity) of the design.
  • Color or black and grey.
  • Your skin type: We only know this when we start tattooing. Some skin types take the ink easily, for other skin types it can take up to 3 times more time before the skin takes the ink well.

A couple of ground rules:

  • expect around 4 sessions with styles such as biomech subgenres, scripting and other classic allround.
  • 5 to 7 sessions with black and grey photorealism.
  • 9 sessions for full color realism.

Our reception Is trained in estimating the number of sessions.
If you give us your idea emails (or stop by), then we'll start asking the necessary questions. Then we can give you a proposal for one or more artists, and state a corresponding price and waiting time.

A day session with the same tattoo artist has the same price, whether it's color or black and grey.
An artist specialized in color is not more expensive than an artist specialized in black and grey.

Though black and grey tattoos go faster, so you will see more result after one day session.

Fun fact: our realism artists almost always prefer to do full-color 🙂

Yes, when booking an appointment we ask to pay a deposit.
With a guest artist that's usually around 150 euro.

If you go through email books, you will receive an automatic email with a payment button.
This button will take you to our advance payment page, and you can pay online.

If you book in via the reception, you will have to pay the deposit in the shop. This is possible with cash, card or an Inksane gift voucher.

You may bring maximum 1 person to your appointment.

If you are booked for a day session, we do not recommend you bring anyone along. It will be a long day for your partner.

Regular artists are our Belgian (local) tattoo artists, that are in the shop every day.
Most of the time these artists are trained by us. They also speak (most of them) Dutch.

Guest artists, on the other hand, are highly skilled artists that we select from all over the world.
They almost never speak Dutch, but most of them can speak English.

A guest artist is only here for a limited period. For example 3 weeks.
95% of our guest artists return on a regular basis, so you can book in bigger projects with them and spread that over a longer time period.

If you don't show up to your appointment, your deposit will be lost.

This is also the case when you cancel less than two business days before your appointment.

Guest artists are only here for a limited period of time, and their Inksane schedule is set quite some time before. They count on you.
That is why it's not possible to find a client last minute.

When did you cancel? 

  • No show = deposit lost.
  • Cancelling less than two business days before (business days = Tuesday until Saturday) = deposit lost.
  • Cancelling more than two business days in advance (business days = Tuesday until Saturday) = deposit stays.

What if you cancelled on time? 

  • You can leave the deposit in our system until you book in again or you can receive it back as a gift voucher. The gift voucher doesn't mention a name so you can give it away as well.
  • If you book in again immediately after moving the appointment, we will transfer your deposit.
  • If you change from Inksane shop or Inksane artist, your deposit stays valid.

A deposit is never refunded in cash or by bank transfer.

This, again, is different for every artist, but here are some ground rules:

  • The session starts at 11h.
  • then about an hour is spent on consultation, design, anatomy, placing the stencil, setting up booth ...
  • After that, your tattoo artist will continue until your design is ready. This could be at 15.00h but this could also be at 18.00h.
  • So don't plan your day in a way that you need to be home at a specific hour.

At what time your session is done, doesn't affect the price. Your price is a set rate and serves to make sure that the design is finished that day.
The skin of some clients takes the ink easily, which makes that we can finish faster, but it could also be the other way around.

Some of our artists do cover-ups, some do not.

If you want a cover-up, say this from the start.

Most artists can cover a small tattoo with a much larger design. That being said, we have 2 cover-up specialists available: if your old tattoo took up your entire upper arm, your new tattoo obviously can't be much bigger. Our specialist will show you what is possible.

What you need to know about cover-up tattoos

  • A cover-up is always darker than your original tattoo.
  • You cannot use light elements or styles to cover (for example a portrait or a rose).
  • Give your artist as much freedom as possible. This way you will get the best result.
  • Ideally you laser your old tattoo a couple of times. The tattoo doesn't need to be gone completely but if the tattoo is already a little bit lighter, a lot of new possibilities open up for your new design. 

Are you looking for a good tattoo laser company? Ask our reception.

Ja, maar daarvoor moeten we je oude tattoo eerst zien. Via duidelijke foto's als je via email or even better, if you stop by the shop.
Our reception will propose some possible Inksane artists for you.

If the tattoo is still fresh, it's important that your skin is not too moist.
Your skin will hold the ink less which results in that your tattoo will fade more.

Bathing, swimming, sauna, sweating, though work outs... they make your skin soft and moist. So we recommend you do not practice any of said activities before your tattoo is fully healed.

We recommend about 3 weeks of carefully taking care of your new tattoo.

No: we do not recommend you go out sunbathing. Not only during the first weeks after your tattoo, but also afterwards: a tattoo is only fully healed after 3 months.

Moreover, a tattoo is based on contrast. The lightest part of your tattoo is your skin color. The darkest part is the blackest ink. If you sunbathe often, your skin gets darker and so does the lightest part of your tattoo. This leaves you with less contrast, and makes your tattoo less ''readable''.

Finally, long exposure to the sun can break down the tattoo pigment. You should pay attention to that for the rest of your life.

Dat maakt niet zo veel uit, zolang je de tattoo niet aan de zon blootstelt, niet gaat zwemmen ...
Getting your lower arm tattooed right before you leave for a holiday is not very wise.

Getting a tattoo during the winter/autumn/spring makes more sense but that shouldn't hold you back from getting one in the summer.

No.

There isn't a direct side effect between tattooing and a pregnancy but it's better to not take any risks during this period.

Baring the pain all day long also takes your immune system down a bit. You will be tired after such a session (pregnant or not 😉).
You want to avoid that, because you'll need as much energy as you can get a hold of in order to take care of your baby.

For sure!
We have a webshop with high-end piercing jewelry. Make an appointment to get pierced.

This is possible in each of our five studios (Roeselare, Sint-Niklaas, Brussels,Ghent,Sint-Truiden).

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