As the name suggests, tribal tattoos originated from various indigenous tribes around the world, who use tattoos to depict social status, beliefs, and ceremonies. There are different kinds of tribal tattoos depending on the place of origin including Polynesian, Maori, Samoan, Celtic, Native American and the list goes on.

Like most cultural artworks, it is important to know the history and background of the tribe that you’d like to emulate in tattoo form. Often it is easy to disrespect tribes through appropriation of their sacred rituals and symbols for aesthetics alone.

Regardless of style, two things are consistent in a tribal tattoo: it comes in solid black and it involves a lot of lines and abstract shapes. Some artists include grey shading in a tribal tattoo to make it look deeper. Others prefer to include a dash of colour, usually red as it works well with black. Since a tribal tattoo design comes in solid black, it ages well compared to more colourful tattoos.

Tribal tattoo designs require a high level of precision to maintain clean, solid black lines and shapes. Achieving symmetry and flow within the design, especially for large-scale pieces, takes great skill. When choosing a terrible tattoo artist, it is important to look for someone who understands and has experience with the style and how it can interact with the body’s natural contours.

Tribal tattoos tend to work better as large-scale pieces because the designs are able to wrap around legs, arms, shoulders and other large areas of the body. Having said that, they can still work as smaller pieces depending on personal preference and the design.

If you would like to discuss your tribal tattoo ideas, get in touch today to speak to one of our friendly tattoo consultants.