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Portraits and realism
Parents, children, pets and lifelike objects, shaded from your own photographs.
Portraits are the least forgiving work in tattooing. Move an eyelid by a millimetre and the likeness is gone. That is why we spend real time on the drawing before the session, and why the photograph you bring matters more than anything else.
We work mostly in black and grey for portraits and realism. Shading in soft greys lets us build depth slowly, the way a pencil drawing does, and it ages more gracefully than heavy colour on faces. The same approach carries over to statues, sculpture, hands, eyes and realistic objects.
What makes a good reference photo
- Sharp focus on the eyes. If the eyes are soft in the photo, they will be soft on skin
- Light coming from one side, so the face has shadows to shade
- The face large in the frame, not a small figure in a group shot
- The original file from the phone rather than a screenshot from WhatsApp
Size and sittings
A face needs room for the features to read. As a rough guide, most portraits work best at around the size of your palm or larger. Bigger realism pieces, and anything with a detailed background, are often done over more than one sitting so the skin can rest.
Questions about this
Can you do a portrait from an old or blurry photo?
Sometimes. Send it on WhatsApp first and we’ll tell you whether there’s enough detail in it. If there isn’t, we can often combine it with a second photo of the same person.
Do you tattoo pet portraits?
Yes. Dogs and cats are some of our favourite portraits. The same photo rules apply: sharp eyes, good light and the animal large in the frame.
How long does a portrait take?
It depends on size and detail. A single face is often one long sitting; a portrait with a background or a full sleeve is planned over several. We’ll give you an estimate once we’ve seen the reference.
Have an idea? Let's draw it.
Send a reference and the placement on WhatsApp, or book a consultation at the studio. Either way, nothing is inked until you’ve approved the drawing.