Porcelain Dragon Sleeves and Colored Outline Tattoos

Getting that porcelain look tattooed

What's up with these no outline tattoos?

If you've been looking at tattoos over the last half decade you've probably seen the Blue Dragon Tattoos, or other similar designs where the tattoo looks like painted porcelain. There isn't any black and the effect is quite stunning. These pieces were also gaining in popularity with the rise of Micro Realism tattooing, where a design is done with incredible detail and a very small size.

There's no arguing the technical and design sensibility of some of the more famous artists putting out this style of work. But with all tattoos, the question should be asked - will it hold up? An artist or client choosing to not use black in a tattoo design is always sacrificing some amount of longevity in the tattoo in order to get a certain look. Same thing with the size of a tattoo, a smaller tattoo can look quite amazing, but the smaller it is, the more the details will inevitably blur together.

Does it really need Black Ink?

It goes in and out of fashion, the no black tattoo. It usually comes in fashion because it looks pretty cool, especially when it's first done. If done well all the color should be fully saturated and provide a strong contrast against the skin. The lack of back gives it a more natural look, like it's part of your body and not so much like a sticker slapped there. The problem is, this is just a moment in time. As the colored pigment settles in and your skin forms on top of it, that contrast will diminish. Depending on your skin tone, it may diminish quite a bit. On top of that the pigment itself may start to break down. Each color in tattooing is made from different pigments, and they don't all have the same Lightfastness - which is a term to describe how a pigment will resist breaking down in UV light otherwise known as the SUN. A pigment with a low lightfastness may break down in heavy sun exposure in just a few years. The last piece of the equation here is how the pigment actually heals in your skin. Again, different pigments behave differently in your skin. Black is almost always made from Carbon, which is a very stable organic pigment. Your skin also "bonds" really well with carbon black which means the pigment doesn't migrate as much so the edges stay crisper and clearer longer that a lot of other pigments.

If you don't use black ink, will the tattoo look blurry?

The short answer is, if you don't use black ink the tattoo will likely look blurrier that if it had a black outline. If the pigments don't withstand light well, and don't have a good contrast with the skin tone they will often look washed out/ extra faded and patchy fairly quickly. This is why it is important that if you are wanting a tattoo with no black that your artist understands how to work with pigment not just so that your tattoo looks good when it's finished, but that it will continue to look good for years to come.

In summary

These Dragon Sleeves look great with no black, but will they last?

Will a tattoo hold up over time

is a question any ethical tattoo artist should be asking themselves before taking on any project. That question should be balanced with another question - what does the client want? Ultimately I don't have to wear the tattoos I do, and sometimes the client has different priorities than I do. For some clients, thinking ahead 20 years and if their tattoo will still be legible isn't as important as having their dream tattoo now, even if it might need some love in the next decade. My approach to working with my clients in my Chicago, Il and Milwaukee, Wi locations is to first hear what they want, then provide some education, and finally work with them to help them make an informed decision about what the right tattoo for them is.

Striking a balance to make a great tattoo

For these two Dragon Tattoo projects, it was very important for both clients to not use a black outline. The blue dragon sleeve really wanted to replicate that porcelain tattoo look for their sleeve. The red dragon client was a collector of all red tattoos. We actually did the piece on their hand the previous week and you can see it's still healing in the photo. What we settled on to make both of these pieces read strong was to go big enough with the design and details that when the lines start to get a bit blurry the design will still be readable. If down the line either piece becomes too blurry for the client's liking, there's the potential to put a thin black line around it and sharpen it back up. Those micro realism tattoos look awesome but maybe sacrifice too much longevity for my liking, these clients agreed.

Choosing your tattoo ink wisely

As mentioned earlier, the color and pigment used in the tattoo ink is key to success here. Blues and whites are notoriously stable colors. While the blue will dull a bit over time, and the white will become less visible because of the skin tone, the pigments themselves should be there for the long haul preventing that patchy look that can happen in some color tattoos.

Reds are more particular and dependent on the actual pigment used in them. I've been using the red from Industry Ink and find it to be an extremely stable color and easy to saturate well. They don't sponsor me (but I'd be open to it!) I just think they make a superior product and the owner cares a lot about making the best ink possible.

Blue Porcelain Tattoos

Ok now that we've discussed the technical stuff, I just want to say, this was a really fun project! We finished this dragon and floral sleeve at Logan Square Tattoo over the course of 4 sessions. I really really like the look of how it and would be very interested in doing more of this larger scale porcelain tattooing in the future. In general I just enjoy drawing and tattooing japanese style dragons and floral work, and am always open to taking on those projects.

More Dragon Sleeves

Red colored tattoo sleeves

This client wanted red. Red and only red. He was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base and trying his damndest to get as many red tattoos as possible before he shipped out. I love a motivated client! This was actually the 2nd Great Lakes Cadet that came to me for a japanese dragon sleeve on a compressed timeline, so I'm happy to make that a thing. We did this one over a single session with the intent to leave him enough space on his upper arm to collect another large piece at his next stop.

Why get a Dragon Tattoo?

1. Because they're awesome

2. They look great as a super masculine tattoo, or can be flowy and feminine, or anything in between

3. It's a timeless tattoo and won't go out of style

4. Can be done large or small and in an endless number of styles

5. Also they are great for coverups, which I love to do

6. They can have meaning, or can just be a cool image

7. No tattoo artist will be bummed if you ask them for a dragon.

8. Again, they're just really awesome

Where to get a dragon or porcelain style tattoo?

I work in both Chicago, Il at  Logan Square Tattoo and Milwaukee, Wi at Sanctuary Tattoo Gallery

booking can be done through my Booking Form