Old school and neotraditional styles: artists worth following, themes and prices

Journalist: Let's try to figure out how traditional style differs from non-traditional style in tattoo design.

Rinat: Traditional tattooing appeared a long time ago, at a time when there was no equipment or technical capabilities to do tattoos differently. People couldn't imagine what a tattoo could look like any other way, so classic tattoo designs were quite simplified. Many sketches were drawn primitively, in a single line, and then filled in densely with several basic colors. Most often, a limited palette was used, five or six basic shades, almost without gradients, with a maximum transition from black to red.
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Over time, everything began to change. Tattoo artists began to complicate their style, adding volume, more color, and interesting techniques with fillings, shades, and planning. Against this backdrop, New School emerged, essentially an improved traditional style with more colors and details, but the images still remained fairly flat.

Then some artists went further and began to actively add volume, completely filling in the internal spaces of the sketch without leaving any empty spaces, highlighting objects with thicker or thinner lines. For example, the hand in the foreground was outlined with a thick liner, and the background with a thinner one. This created a sense of depth and a sense of planning. Gradually, this evolved into Neo Traditional, visually more complex, voluminous, almost realistic tattoo images, but still retaining their contours and graphic nature. As a result, Neo Trad is closer to realism, but through illustrative language and outlines.

Journalist: When customers choose Traditional, and when Neo Traditional, what guides them when they come to a tattoo shop?

Rinat: First and foremost, taste. People are different, and this is also reflected in their choice of tattoo style. Some people prefer minimalism, for example: a table, a chair, a TV, and nothing else. When it comes to tattoos, such people will more often choose simple, concise traditional tattoo designs.
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Others, on the contrary, like rich, detailed things, such as interiors with stucco, chandeliers, and decor. For tattoos, they will go for Neo Trad, where they can show more detail, volume, light and shadow, and come up with more complex cool tattoos and awesome tattoo designs. Therefore, the choice between Traditional and Neo Trad is a matter of personal preference, not strict rules.

Journalist: What subjects are most common in these tattoo styles?

Rinat: Traditional style offers maximum freedom. Anything can be included, from a fish on the leg to a tent in the background, from an anchor to a personal story, such as a tattoo design of a bruised knee in memory of a childhood injury. There are almost no restrictions in traditional style; anything that is important to a person can become part of their cool tattoos.

Neo Traditional often features characters and images, but the list is still huge. In this style, you can get anyone you want, your favorite character from a movie or anime, such as the hero of “Naruto,” a portrait of a dog, cat, hamster, or even a portrait tattoo. You are not limited in your choice of characters, so it all comes down to your imagination and what kind of tattoo design or plot you want to see in your tattoo.

Journalist: Which places on the body and which sizes are best suited for traditional and neo-traditional tattoos?

Rinat: The most convenient and versatile areas are the thigh, forearm, entire arm, or leg. These are essentially ideal areas for arm tattoos and sleeve tattoos. They are convenient to work on, the tattoos are clearly visible, they can be seen from a distance, and they are somewhere in the middle on the pain scale.
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If you compare them, for example, to the ribs or the side of the torso, it's more painful there, and it's not always easy to show off a back tattoo or a design on your side in real life. That's why it's easier to start with exposed areas that look good and allow you to show off nice tattoos not only in photos but also in real life.

Journalist: How is the design of a tattoo suit in this style developed? Is it based on one general idea or a set of different ones?

Rinat: It can be one general idea or several different ones combined into one suit.
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For example, a person has a favorite movie, such as Harry Potter. You can put together an entire tattoo suit or sleeve tattoo style based on the movie in Neo Trad, with characters, scenes, symbols, and Hogwarts. Another option is anime on one arm, computer game characters on the other, favorite animals on one leg, flowers on the other, and in the center, a childhood memory of a person sitting in front of an old TV with popcorn.
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You can combine anything you want. The main thing is to imagine in advance what result you want to achieve, so that a set of separate cool tattoos ultimately forms a complete tattoo composition, rather than a disjointed collage.

Journalist: What are the most frequent requests in these styles from your clients? What do people ask for most often?

Rinat: I haven't had many requests for Traditional for a long time, and I'm not particularly keen on promoting it myself. It's not my main tattoo style.
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But Neo Trad is in demand. The last one was a character from Naruto, Itachi. At the same time, Neo Trad has long gone beyond just small tattoos. This style is used for arm tattoos, full sleeve tattoos, back tattoos, and large projects such as costumes. The traditional style more often remains the format of small, concise tattoos.

Journalist: How can the cost of a traditional tattoo and a Neo Traditional tattoo differ in terms of tattoo prices?

Rinat: In the traditional style, it is easy to see how the time spent and the prices are related.

For example, in Wilmington, North Carolina, there is a studio where I go for guest spots, Port City Tattoo. There are guys there who specialize in Traditional. A client comes in on a walk-in day, they quickly discuss the design, he sits down in the chair, fifteen minutes later everything is ready, the person leaves with a cool new tattoo and pays about a hundred dollars. This is a classic story for a small traditional tattoo. This is not possible with Neo Trad. The image is more detailed, denser in color, with several layers and many small details. This is a full-fledged session. Even a small Neo Traditional tattoo design easily takes at least two hours. If we are talking about a rich arm tattoo or a tattoo covering the entire leg, the work is even more extensive.

In traditional tattooing, there is no fear that the outline will “bleed” slightly; this is part of the style's character. Everything is done quickly and confidently. In Neo Trad, it is important that the lines are clean, the fills are even, and the depth is worked out, so the work goes slower. This also explains the difference in tattoo cost; non-traditional tattoo designs are almost always more expensive than traditional works of the same size, simply because they require more time and effort. The final price for the entire project in Neo Trad will be higher than in traditional tattooing.

Journalist: Is there anything funny or particularly captivating about this style, perhaps top tattoo artists that you follow closely?

Rinat: At one time, Egor Leschev made a big impression on me. When he first appeared, he attracted a lot of attention with his cool tattoos. He was a really interesting, creative artist. I don't know what he's doing now, but back then he looked like one of the best tattoo artists in his field.

In the States, I don't personally know many Neo Trad artists. The popular tattoo artist Tatiana Green Wesper works in Los Angeles, and we occasionally do some cool collaborations with her.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Vadik Nevadik creates expressive, beautiful Neo Trad works. There are several other tattoo artists I follow who I find interesting, but I can't remember their names right now.

I like Dmitry Samokhin's work. Some of his pieces can be classified as Neo Trad; he has an excellent sense of color and creates truly superb tattoos with strong color schemes.

Andrey Biserov is also a very talented artist; his work is a pleasure to look at, and many of his pieces are considered the best tattoos in this genre.

Journalist: Do you have any tattoos in these styles yourself?

Rinat: No, most of the tattoos on my body are in styles close to realism. I caught that wave at the time and am still riding it; I like everything about it.