Tattoo Lettering

Gallery of lettering style tattoos that can be filtered by subject, body part and size.

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Tattoo artists

Marina Molistdone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
570
Tattoos
344
likes
73
followers
Line Art
Fine Line
+2

Contact

Giulia Marottadone
room Nova Milanese
183
Tattoos
74
likes
25
followers
Line Art
Blackwork
+4

Contact

Jingdone
room Queens
260
Tattoos
176
likes
51
followers
Minimalist
Line Art
+3

Contact

Jure Werberdone
room Maribor
537
Tattoos
864
likes
25
followers
Single Needle
Micro-Realism
+6

Contact

Serena Ferrarinidone
room Campogalliano
5
Tattoos
2
likes
7
followers
Minimalist
Lettering
+1

Contact

KLAURINKdone
room Escazú 🇨🇷 · San Rafael de Escazú 🇨🇷
88
Tattoos
68
likes
24
followers
Line Art
Fine Line
+2

Contact

Lillian "Honeybadger" Chendone
room Hillsborough
21
Tattoos
0
likes
2
followers
Line Art
Line Art
+60

Contact

ceva.tattoodone
room Moscow 🇷🇺
51
Tattoos
44
likes
8
followers
Hand Poked
Minimalist
+1

Contact

Pablo Díaz Gordoadone
room Mexico City
36
Tattoos
160
likes
108
followers
Illustrative
Geometric
+4

Contact

Alex Creamdone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
4
Tattoos
5
likes
3
followers
Blackwork
Illustrative
+7

Contact

Tyler ATDdone
room Whistler
15
Tattoos
15
likes
7
followers
Black and grey
Illustrative
+4

Contact

Jodic Chandone
room Hong Kong
8
Tattoos
16
likes
16
followers
Lettering
Watercolor

Contact

Claudio Valenzueladone
room Santiago
1
Tattoos
0
likes
9
followers
Black and grey
New School
+1

Contact

Julesdone
room Berlin
400
Tattoos
97
likes
7
followers
Line Art
Fine Line
+2

Contact

Tattooer Jinadone
room Seoul 🇰🇷
884
Tattoos
177
likes
9
followers
Line Art
Fine Line
+1

Contact

Luise Steilendone
room Cologne 🇩🇪
201
Tattoos
69
likes
10
followers
Cosmetic Tattooing
Microblading
+3

Contact

OKdone
room Manhattan 🇺🇸
181
Tattoos
392
likes
111
followers
Minimalist
Lettering
+2

Contact

Nhi.Inkdone
room Ho Chi Minh City
266
Tattoos
47
likes
3
followers
Lettering
Line Art
+1

Contact

description

Lettering ranges from simple tattoos of letters and words in standard fonts to highly stylized custom pieces that look both aesthetically pleasing and legible letters or numbers.

“Lettering” refers to any stylized letters, words, characters or quotes, with or without accompanying imagery.

Lettering, as a category, includes a range of cultural and historical script tattoo styles, as well as modern calligraphy, handwriting, custom font design and digital typography. Common lettering styles include, but are not limited to:

Traditional - Blocky letters made with thick black lines that originated during the Sailor Jerry era of tattooing. Words, in traditional tattoos, are sometimes placed on banners and ribbons, or they may sit outside the design as a header or footnote.

Blackletter - This bold font, also called “Old English” and “Gothic,” dates back to Medieval Europe and remains popular in both hand-written calligraphy and digital typography. Blackletter uses thick and straight black lines with consistent curvature around the serifs.

“West Coast” or “Chicano” - Ornate black and grey lettering, often with an outline and drop-shadow; a more expressive and dramatic version of Blackletter. This was popularized in 20th century Mexican-American cultures in the Western United States, especially California.

Calligraphy - Before printing machines could mass-produce text, special ink pens and brushes were used to control the legibility and consistency of handwriting. Each font’s stylized aesthetic depends on the type of tool used to achieve it, whether of Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern or European origin. Tattoo machines can now mimic almost any type of calligraphy tool.

Handwriting - As the name implies, custom handwriting is created by the human hand, and is uniquely identifiable to person creating it. Asking a tattooer to mimic another person’s handwriting requires attention to detail about the angle, proportionality, inconsistencies, kerning (space between the letters) and the overall speed with which the original sample was written.

Graffiti - The street art approach to tattoo lettering aims to resemble freehand tags, as if written with spray paint. The letters vary by artist, and are arguably a form of handwriting. Common traits include bold and bubbly curves with sharp lines and theatrical serifs.

Digital Typography - This includes any and all fonts that are standardized by a machine, whether analog or digital. Since the human hand is currently the only way to tattoo these fonts, it requires incredible precision from the tattooer.

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