When it comes to tattoos, some of the most popular styles out there are the portrait and realism tattoo styles. These styles are both similar but are also unique styles in and of themselves. If you’ve been thinking about getting a portrait tattoo, or a realism tattoo, read on to find out more about these beloved styles of tattooing!

What are portrait tattoos?

Portrait tattoos are, at their core, exactly what they sound like—a tattoo of a person displayed somewhere on the wearer’s skin. This type of tattoo is often immensely personal to the person with the tattoo, especially if the tattoo is of a real-life person who is important to the person sporting the tattoo. On the flipside, portrait tattoos don’t have to be of a real-life person, they can be of just about anyone, including fictional characters in TV, movies, or books. This style of tattoo is a popular way to capture the essence of your favorite person or people with ink. If there’s a specific person, real or fictional, you’d like to represent via a tattoo on your skin, a portrait tattoo is perfect for you. 

Portrait tattoos are a great option for almost anywhere on the body. They are particularly popular on the upper arm and shoulder, chest, and leg, but can be scaled to complement almost any area of the skin. Depending on the style of the tattoo artist, portraits can be hyper-realistic or done in a more artsy, doodled style that pays homage to different artistic styles that have been popular throughout the years like pop art or comic book art. This style of tattoo takes an immense amount of skill and study on the artist’s part since they are comparable to museum-quality artwork or photographs, but on your skin!

What are realism tattoos?

Realism tattoos focus on portraying an image or concept in an incredibly realistic way. Even more so than portraits, realism tattoos focus on shading, subtleties, and extraordinarily detailed imagery to produce scenes that look almost like you could walk into them. Like portrait tattoos, realism tattoos require an intense amount of skill and knowledge of advanced techniques on behalf of the tattoo artist. Realism tattoos utilize portraiture techniques when there are people or animals in the tattooed scene, and subtle shading to create vivid imagery and scenes. Both portrait and realism tattoos can be done in black and grey only or in color.

At Certified Tattoo Studios, we typically receive requests for portrait and realism tattoos for designs that feature people or animals, close-ups, detailed features, and overall jaw-dropping imagery. Because people often come into the shop requesting imagery from a real-life photo of a person, place, or animal be tattooed into their skin, portrait and realism tattoos are immensely popular. Realism and portrait styles of tattooing are some of the most in-demand tattoo styles in the world, and we have top-notch artists skilled in these tattoo art styes at Certified Tattoo Studios. These styles of tattoo are an artistic and beautiful way to capture an image of a place or person you love and keep it with you forever!

If you’re interested in getting a portrait or realism tattoo by an artist at Certified Tattoo Studios where we have some of the best tattoo artists in the Denver Metro Area, schedule a consultation today. We’ll get you connected with the perfect artist to tattoo the perfect art for you so you’ll end up with amazing art on your skin that you can proudly show off for years and years to come!