A bodysuit is the ultimate way for a tattoo collector to show their dedication to the craft. A bodysuit is most often done as one cohesive piece, usually in one style. But some people do start getting tattooed without the intention of having a bodysuit, then end up growing into it.
Japanese bodysuit done by Adam Craft at The Tattooed Heart.The late Rick Genest’s bodysuit done by Frank Lewis in Montreal Canada.Hyper realistic suit completed by Matt Jordan at Ship Shape Tattoo.Brilliant black work/tribal bodysuit done by Samuel Christensen.
Japanese is the most well known style for creating bodysuits. Done by one artist, tied together with background work such waves, clouds, and other nature themes.
Back and legs done by Shige at Yellow Blaze in Yokohama.The recognizable line work of Guy Le Tattooer.Black work and geometric bodysuit done by Nissaco in Osaka.Black work/tribal bodysuit done by Tomas Tomas at Seven Doors Tattoo in London.
More recently black work is becoming more popular for full bodysuits. Either heavy black work or smaller pieces.
Heavy black work torso and arm piece. A collaboration between Gerhard Wiesbeck and Little Swastika.Beautiful black and grey bodysuit done by Jason Butcher at immortal ink tattoo studio.Colourful bio mechanical bodysuit done by Paco Dietz in Santa Clara, Ca.Heavy black work done by Valerio Cancellier.
Similarly people get bodysuits of American traditional pieces. Hundreds of small pieces filling up a body to make it look more or less like one huge suit.
Geometric and dotwork done by Cory Ferguson at Good Point Tattoo in Ontario Canada.Arm, Back, and leg done by Julian Siebert at Corpsepainter Tattoo Munich, Germany.Black/geometric bodysuit done by Pierluigi Deliperi.
Black and grey, neo traditional, and realism styles are also being used for bodysuits now, making for eye popping artwork.
Black work torso and shoulders done by Duncan X in the UK.Full body Japanese suit with lots of black done by Koji Ichimaru.American traditional bodysuit done by Rich Hadley in the UK.
The word bodysuit may make you think of really a full body covered in tattoos, but it also refers to torso pieces that lead onto the arms, and/or legs.
Beautiful and heavy black work nature themed bodysuit done by Gakkin.Heavy black Japanese done by Lupo Horiokami Italy at mushin studio.American traditional mostly black work torso and arms done by Rich Hardy in the UK.
Don Ritson was the owner of Rebel Waltz in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Now he and his wife work out of a private studio together.
Black and red Japanese dragon.Japanese geisha piece with flower kimono.Classic American traditional filler rose.Demon making off with a woman as a painful stomach piece.Japanese Oni demon.Healed lil castle and flower.
Don works in mainly in American traditional style, as well as Japanese and some black work. When doing American traditional style, his pieces are heavy on black and red.
Jesus with the cross.Lady head with some spooky skeletal hands.Bright red chrysanthemum flower.Classy smoking woman.Classic design featuring an eagle, skull, and snake.
Don has done two of my own tattoos, both of my forearms which are a gramophone and a design based off of the rose of no mans land. Don is a very friendly guy who makes getting tattooed a genuinely pleasant experience.
My own forearm pieces. Blackwork gramophone and rose of no mans land.Bert Grimm’s tiger. Lots of black with some red to make it pop.Creepy reaper.Traditional wolf. Heavy on the black!Rock of ages in a beautiful full back piece.
You’ll find Don taking walk ins on Saturdays, though starting earlier this month (April 2018) the shop will rotate the main artist doing walk ins. You can find Don’s contact info on the Rebel Waltz website.
Vicious looking dragon head on the inner bicep.Asian woman with a wrap around snake.Butterfly with woman’s face.Statue of Liberty and the Virgin Mary.The Forks in Winnipeg.
Don is a must see artist if you are in Winnipeg. He also does guest spots in Canada so watch his Instagram for that as well.
Oscar Hove is co-owner of Ondo Tattoo in Barcelona, Spain. His work is mainly surreal Japanese blackwork, mixing traditional Japanese themes with macabre surrealist work.
Matching feet. Stylized noh mask with horns.Noh mask on snake body.Split mask down the middle.
A great deal of his pieces are Japanese masks, split in half, or more, and making them terrifying.
Five split noh masks with horns in brilliant chest piece.Horned mask with facemask common in Asian countries, with kanji lettering.Brilliant blackwork Japanese oni backpiece.Detached jaw noh/hannya inspired mask.Beautifully dark mask and peony flower.
Other than Japanese inspired work, Oscar also does some neo traditional, and American traditional blackwork.
Blackwork bird and skull on thigh.Traditional blackwork butterflies.
While his styles vary every once in awhile, his work is all dark both in colour and theme.
Mask split down the middle by Japanese knife.Terrifying split hannya mask.Yokai inspired rotting face.Split hannya on stomach, releasing inner monster.Matching hannya and noh masks with kanji lettering.
Oscar is a must visit artist if you find yourself in Barcelona!
Monmon is a Japanese term for tattoo, and a monmon cat is a cat with tattoos. They were designed by Horitomo, a Japanese tattoo artist well known for his hand work (tebori) and his monmon designs. He published a book entitled Monmon Cats and has inspired other tattoo artists around the world.
Sassy looking cat with skeletons by Amber Bananafish at Bananafish Tattoo Parlour.
Monmon cats are usually done in traditional Japanese style, and usually have their own Japanese tattoos. They can also be done realistically, in black and grey, and have other tattoos such as American traditional, flowers, and skulls.
Realistic cat with rose by Ash Valentine.Samurai cat by Simina at Old Bastards Tattoo Shop in Romania.New school cat with geisha back piece by Heather Sinn at Tattoo Room in Simi Valley, CA.Matching foot monmon cats by Horitomo at State of Grace tattoo in Japantown SJ, CA.Another by Horitomo with American traditional tattoos.Stomach cat by Horitomo with peony tattoos and a fun ball of yarn.Full sleeve with monmon cat also by Horitomo.More matching monmon by Horitomo with mean looking Oni!Monmon cat doing its own tebori tattooing by Jason Rose.Large monmon with koi fish and cherry blossoms by Jamie Negro at Be Hardcore Tattoo.Monmon with waves by Kika Blunt.Monmon with cloud and wind designs and cherry blossoms by Luana Cavalcoli.Monmon drinking sake with a wicked dragon tattoo and flowers by Sarah Baldwin at Control Tattoo in FL.Cute cat with peony flower tattoos by Sebastian Giraldo Nieto.Blackwork monmon cat with skull inspired by Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre by Utagawa Kuniyoshi done by Steph White at Cock A Snook Tattoo Parlour in Newcastle.
Clemens is an artist working out of Electric Circus Classic Tattooing in Mannheim, Germany. Clemens specializes in neo traditional, traditional, and blackwork, with some Japanese thrown into the mix. Clemens does fantastic work using timeless designs mixed with new techniques and styles. He doesn’t shy away from tough designs or locations including full sleeves, bellies, ribs, back pieces, and even hands and faces for those whose lifestyles can afford them.
Hardcore full frontal blackwork traditional panther head and webbing with matching black and grey sleeves.Matching chest heads, dagger through a heart, and angry bear head in rad neo trad.Elephant head inspired by deities.American traditional classic of an eagle fighting a snake, sun and moon not by Clemens.Japanese backpiece with oni and namakubi in a neo Japanese style.Full blackwork backpiece inspired by the beauty of death with crow and matching coffins.Half backpiece in Japanese black and grey featuring a tiger, peony, and cloud background. with a matching sleeve.Whole bunch of job stoppers! Beautiful hand and neck pieces including traditional and blackwork.Crazy throat peony.Neo Japanese tiger head neck tattoo.American traditional eagle on the back of the neck/head.Crazy elephant inspired piece.Brilliant neo traditional fox and bear in a tender spot.Tasteful face piece. Blackwork nails in a bleeding heart.Blackwork traditional Native American lady head.Matching back of the knees traditional mandalas.Neo traditional Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf.
If you’re in Germany Clemens Hahn is a must see artist!
Horitsuki is a tattoo artist and owner of Galaxy Tattoo 3 in Hong Kong. He studied under Nicckuhori, the god son of the brilliant Horiyoshi III, in Singapore before finding his own style within Japanese traditional art, despite working in China.
He has gained recognition throughout Asia and Europe, travelling as a guest artist. He does all the classic Japanese designs such as hanya masks, snakes, koi fish, fu dogs, and flowers. However it is dragons that he is most famous for. He is nicknamed the Dragon King in Europe.
Fu dog hand piece.Brilliant Hanya with a bold placement.Colourful chrysanthemum.Ghost lantern.Koi and cherry blossom sleeve.Koi and cat piece.Matching foot namakubi.Beautiful, bloody namakubi.Bold red Oni.Traditional smoking frog.Beautifully detailed Japanese tiger.Angry dragon head.Dragon head and claw.Dragon chest piece coming off of a sleeve.Gorgeous dragon back piece with flowers.
Horitsuki is the guy to see if you’re in Hong Kong.
Ichi Hatano is an artist working out of Tokyo, Japan. He has been tattooing since 1998 and has tattooed around the world in the United States, England, and Germany.
Backpiece featuring a samurai.Japanese woman backpiece.3/4 sleeve with a fantastic dragon.
His specialty is the traditional Japanese style of irezumi. His work is bold and precise. Ichi has brilliant attention to detail, and his work is full of the Japanese culture and tradition that people go to him for, from around the world.
Brilliant koi backpiece.3/4 sleeve with beautiful clouds as the background.Half sleeve of cherry blossoms, clouds, and wind.Colourful Oni looking ready for a fight.Samurai and a dragon in a delicate embrace.Gruesome Namakubi.Beautiful, tiny peony flower.Great contrast in this sleeve between the bright and dark.
Ichi Hatano is a must see artist if you’re in Tokyo.
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