The blackout tattoo concept has been around for as long as the art form of tattooing oneself has begun. Tribes from around the world were the first to really experiment with tattoos, thus the ‘tribal tattoo’ was created.
Tribes would, and still do, get tattoos to express what tribe they may be in, where they stand in the tribe, and even their loyalty to said tribe. Often, the tribal tattoo would be all black; using charred wood or bones, this carbon would be punctured through the skin creating a permanent mark. Since tribal tattoos are completely black, the tribal tattoo designs can be done in an infinite number of ways.
The blackout tattoo as it started with tribal tattoos, has expanded to many tattoo enthusiasts from around the world. Although this concept has been around for thousands of years, the mainstream media is now getting around to this form of tattoo. Unlike any other, the blackout style of tattooing is basically taking a part of your body, such as your arm, chest, literally anywhere you would like, and shading that area with completely black ink.
These tattoos can be done in countless of different ways and they can be done for many different reasons. Down below will be reasons why people decide to get this rare art on their bodies and different designs to suggest before getting your very own ‘blackout’ tattoo!
Tribal Tattoos
Tribal tattoos may possibly be the most popular style of tattooing there is. Going back thousands of years, these completely black thick lines seem to wrap themselves around the human body as if they were vines growing around a tree. Different tribes would get certain tribal tattoos as a way of identifying who they were and where they came from.
Warriors sported tribal tattoos often and although the wild patterns look as if they are just for show, they can sometimes even tell an incredible story about the individual. With the recent rediscovery of the blackout tattoo style, blackout tattoo enthusiasts from all over have been taking the tribal tattoo to a whole new level. These blackout tattoo tribal designs give off a mysterious yet subtle vibe. Blackout tribal designs can range from any size. More than often these blackout tattoos cover a large part of your body, so it is good to plan ahead of time before getting inked up.
Popular places for these black tribal designs are the pectoral muscles on the chest, the back, the arms, and even the legs! Tim Commerford; the bassist from the rock bands ‘Rage Against the Machine’ and ‘Audioslave’ is well known for having an entire blackout back piece in a tribal tattoo kind of style. He also displays a perfect image of this tattoo style, for further references check out pictures of his ‘blackout back piece’ which covers him in ink from the top of his back to the bottom with the classic tribal style pattern.
Cover-Ups Tattoos
If you have a tattoo that you are not particularly fond of or are just plain tired of it and would like to start out brand new but do not exactly want to go through laser removal, the blackout tattoo is perfect for that. Many people have decided to get rid of their past tattoos and look toward a new solid future. Not only does the blackout tattoo look great and has a sense of elegance to it but this style of tattooing can also easily cover up any tattoos that you may have gotten and regret.
Say you have a tattoo on your arm that has had its fair course, whether this tattoo has color in it or not, black is the most dominant color that can mask most any other color it comes in contact with. Shading over your cover-up is not all that easy said and done, however blackout tattoos take time, patience, and toughness. A typical cover up for a tattoo done in the style of blacking it out can take anywhere from 6 hours to even 20, depending on the size of course. Covering the tattoo up both hides the tattoo and creates something completely different for the individual.
Some people out there have rare skin pigmentation problems. This causes the skin to appear a much lighter color than the rest of the body. Although this is nothing to be ashamed of, some people with this skin type decide to hide their beauty marks by doing a blackout tattoo. Others even take pride in their skin tone and highlight those certain areas by getting the blackout tattoo surrounding the specific patch of skin.
Blackout tattoos are great in a sense that they can do things such as this, but what is even more neat about the blackout tattoo is its ability to make shapes within and around the blackout design. Hearts the color of your skin may be designed inside the blackout, amongst other patterns you are willing to try out.
Blackout Cuffs Tattoo
Not everyone that gets the blackout tattoo design wants to cover an entire portion of their body, but rather get thick and bold blackout wrap around tattoos. A wrap around tattoo is one that circles around an entire particular area, such as the wrists or forearm. Doing this gives the illusion that you are permanently wearing some sort of cuffs or wristbands/bracelets of some sort.
Having one cuff near the wrist and a slightly large one right above it, with either a line of your natural skin or even designs in between are great concepts. These tattoos are perfect if you are interested in the blackout design but do not want to cover your whole body. Even if you are trying to hide and cover up a small tattoo in that area, this design is simple and has a sense of class to it.
Blackout tattoos in general take a lot of time and patience to accomplish if you want it to look right. Before getting the blackout tattoo, a helpful tip would be to find a tattoo artist that is either well known for doing these designs or has done them already before and are knowledgeable about the procedure. Have a design in mind before going to your artist, they may be able to even help or add in some creative ideas for your new piece!