Best Traditional Tattoo Style Ideas

Classic images from America’s past are at the forefront in American traditional tattoos. From the tales of crossing the sea to reach America, to stories of gunslingers from the Wild West, American traditional tattoos feature images inspired by American history. Often accentuated with modern features, these tattoos show a reverence for the past while staying rooted in the present.

Traditional style is often called “American Traditional” and can be described with thick lines and flat colors. You won’t see in traditional style too wide palette of many colors or gradients being used. There is also a modern variant called “neo-traditional” that uses a wider color palette. Let’s compare a tattoo example by Stipe Štajduhar from TattooAwards gallery with it’s neo-traditional counterpart by Steve Hale

traditional style: flat colors, very limited gradients usage, more thick contour lines

neo-traditional: more colors, gradients, more frequent usage of thin lines

Tattoos in traditional styles are classic images from America’s past: from the tales of crossing the sea to reach America, to stories of gunslingers from the Wild West, American traditional tattoos feature images inspired by American history. Often American traditional tattoos are accentuated with modern features, these tattoos are making a reverence for the past while staying rooted in the present.

If you want to explore more traditional tattoos or participate in traditional tattoo competitions and win prizes: welcome to TattooAwards.com!