Tattoos have always been a symbol of self-expression; each tattoo has a story and significance in a person’s personality. Over the past few decades, tattoos have changed from being just artistic emancipation to freedom of expressing oneself. Over course, the tattoo has become a symbol of a rebel. It is made to fixate on being unique and liberate oneself from the opinions of society. In this article we would be exploring Neo-Traditional tattoo designs.
Also, there are various styles of tattoo famous worldwide; one of them is Neo-traditional tattoo style. A neo-traditional tattoo is a unique variant of the old school American tattoo. The quality that makes it stand out from other tattoo styles is the usage of bold lines and veristic imagery of traditional or modern symbols.
Neo-traditional tattoos are continually evolving, introducing new styles and symbols every day. A new trend is being added every now and then like white ink, three dimensional pink and neon. The themes and symbolism have modernized a lot in the past couple of years, where people now prefer more unique symbols than traditional American designs.
Below are some of the best neo-traditional tattoo designs and ideas that are unique, meaningful, and beautiful.
Table of Contents (clickable)
Neo Traditional Tattoos
Nautical Symbols
Nautical symbols like lighthouse, compass, or anchor often depict devotion, might, and loyalty. These traditional symbols are often combined with elements of nature to give these neo-traditional tattoos a unique edge.
An intricate branch with bright colors makes it qualify into neo-traditional style!
Spirit Animals To Define Your Soul!
Animal tattoos can have cultural symbolism, but most popularly, people get animal tattoos because of the resemblance of the character of the animal and the individual.
Tattoos of a lion, tiger, and panther symbolize strength, ferocity, wisdom, and royalty, whereas totem of a turtle symbolizes patience.Animals like stallion and wolf have the symbolism of power, grace, and persistence. Neo-traditional style can bring out the liveliness and realistic imagery out of the totem.
A wolf tattoo with dark bold lines and a bright pop of color along proper shadowing effects gives the tattoo a realistic yet surreal appearance.
Skull
A skull depicts acceptance, Acceptance of mortality, and circle of life and death. A skull tattoo is cutomizable in numerous ways.
Sugar skull tattoos filled with various bright hues and amalgamated with elements like roses, clock, knives, etc. symbolize the sinking ships, the clock symbolizes the eternal nature of mortality when a single tattoo is inculcated with these elements makes it very interesting and also bring out the neo style. It adds a little zest to the grimness of a skull!
Flower Power
Flower totems are mostly associated with women as they look soft, gentle, and elegant. But there are lots of new-age neo designs which are pretty masculine. Although flowers like jasmine, peony, and roses are preferable, tropical flowers and lotuses along with other elements can make it very unique.
A detailed lotus, with bold lines, bright colors like pink, blue, and green could look good on men as well as women. Lotus depicts piousness, grace, and detachment. Lotus or “Padma” relates to religions like Hindu and Buddhist. A neo-traditional tattoo of a lotus would incorporate the traditional religious significance with the boldness of the style.
Versatile Portraits
One of the most popular designs that people get on their body is a portrait. One of the pros of these tattoos is that you can get them in any style you want. The beauty of a portrait tattoo lies in the details and life likeness of the portrait.
A lifelike portrait of a woman detailed with shadows is a famous neo-traditional tattoo that give an illusion of space and bold dark border, which makes the color pop out is a perfect design to get. Portraits need a little more space as compared to other styles of a tattoo so that the artist gets more liberty to pay attention to the details; hence a portrait tattoo looks gorgeous on areas like the back, arms, or calves.
Native American Totems
Traditional American tattoos are an emblem of pride in heritage, although each tattoo globally represents various things, a Native American totem is a unique blend of modern-day neo-traditional style and old school. Since Native American symbols depicts bright colors and bold detailing the usage of colors and spaces would give it an edge.
A Native American girl is a popular neo-traditional tattoo with a detailed feather hat and intricate detailing on the robe when combined with the bold lines and spacing would give a modern appeal to a slightly vintage totem.
The Mandala Effect
Mandalas are the newest trend in the tattoo dimension. These designs are a lot more than beautiful circular designs. Mandala also has a deep connection to spirituality and tranquility.
A traditional circular Mandala design is a famous neo-traditional tattoo with bold outline having detailed design in white ink or 3D ink on the wrist, ankle, or shoulder would look breathtakingly beautiful.
To Sum It Up
Neo-traditional tattoo designs are a great way to modernize the conventional styles of tattoo. Also, this makes their complexity and dynamic nature make them stand out of any other manner. The color palette of neo-traditional designs is always open to experimentation. So go and get this unique piece of art on yourself!