My son wants to get some artwork done. He's black....pretty much all the stuff I've seen on black skin has been black ink. Do colors not show well or..... Thanks in advance. Also, I have no history with body art so I'm clueless.
Color is possible on black skin. I'm a dark skinned black woman and I have several color tattoos. Of course, color on darker skin won't have the same "pop" as it does on white skin, but my colors are quite vibrant even several years down the road. The most important thing, imo, is finding an artist who has experience doing color on melanated skin. Not everyone can do color on dark skin well. I would also recommend asking the artist to do a color test beforehand. My artist did a color test 3 weeks before my tattoo appointment. It's a small patch of 6 lines (roygbv). This allowed us to see what colors worked well with my complexion and undertones. We've used this color test as a reference in planning all my tattoos since then.
Very informative! Thank you!
This sounds like absolutely the best solution. Once he has a design picked, the artist could test colors in a spot that will eventually be blacked in. I wouldn’t hope for much, but who knows.
Another aspect I heard my tattoo artist talking about is what colors they are. As certain colors will tend blend more with your skin tone than others.
I didn’t read all the comments but the idea is that your skin pigment sits over the color. This is why the color test works because you see what it’ll ultimately look like. This is also why white ink gets yellowed on white skin. Think of it like a color filter over a light.
One of my artists offers free color test tattoo for people of color; they are ombré and a little more involved than the standard lines! Might be worth looking into
Depending on where you live, I’m near Detroit, and we have a Tattoo Shop(Dark Horse Tattoo, they had a guy on Ink Master a few years ago) that specializes in tattoos on melanated skin. To my understanding(I’m not an artist)the melanated skin heals back over the ink, changing the color of the ink. So to have an artist that specializes in and works primarily on melanated skin is going to get him a much better finished product.
Thank you tons! Unfortunately I'm in the San Diego area.
No worries, I’m sure if you search around, you can find someone who specializes in the same work. With the popularity of Tattoos, and the amount of “specialty” work that we’re seeing nowadays, I’m sure they are everywhere, just takes some searching to figure out who they are, generally Tattoo Artists are pretty good about pointing you in the right direction when you’re looking for something specific, I’d ask around at some of the local reputable shops and see if they know anyone who specializes in melanated skin. Good luck!!!
Thanks tons Voodoo!
Check out 1up tattoo studios browse their IG page to get ideas on how colors look on black skin. The owner of that shop owns 1up West in LA so that may be a shop worth checking out. I’m getting tattooed at 1up in Dallas next week. Hope this helps.
It certainly does! Thank you.
Glad to help if he decides on doing just black & grey head north to Alhambra to inkslingers I use to travel to Cali on vacation to get work done there.
Thanks for the offer. He's pretty much set on the continent of Africa, with a black power fist, having Africa with the Ethiopian colors. Green Red and Yellow. If he wavers, we'll give you a scream.
Red and Yellow won’t be too bad to get to show up long as the person has worked with dark skin. Green since it’s already a dark color will probably be the trickiest.
I was thinking yellow would be the trickiest. Shows how much I know.
Also, for anyone interested in a Black-led tattoo movement, check out @inkthediaspora on instagram!
The color test thing is pretty fascinating.
I'm not tattooed, nor am I dark-skinned, so I wouldn't have even thought about that.
Color tests are helpful! But they aren’t the ultimate indicator of the outcome of a whole color tattoo. Your advice about researching the artist is key.
What are color tests? Typically a small sample of a spectrum of colors, usually in the form of something small like dots or lines. They don’t showcase what artists can do with them (like contrasting colors against each other, using size to your advantage, thinking about negative space, designing a tattoo to AGE – not just HEAL – well, and so many other things.
When tattooing on melanated skin, the artist needs to consider many aspects of the individual skin, beyond just the level of melanin, and incorporate lots of techniques that will make the tattoo shine. Their portfolio should offer examples of healed (1+ years) tattoos on darker skin, and good client testimonials about the treatment they received from the artist are valuable as well.
OP, your son deserves to get a tattoo worthy of his investment, and an experience that will add to the joy and pride of the story of the tattoo. You sound like an awesome parent, looking out for him like that. Best wishes on this journey!
Went to your profile to see the tattoos, got hungry from all the sandwiches.
🤣
What color tattoos do you have?
I have 3 color tattoos that have a pretty broad range of colors. Red and secondary colors that include red (orange, purple) seem to show up best on me, but I also have tattoos that include yellow and dark green. What's also true is that some colors that don't show up well on their own pop when set next to complementary colors-- for example, yellow doesn't show up very bright on me on its own, but I have a purple trillium flower with a yellow orange stamen and the contrast with the purple makes the yellow-orange really stand out.
What part of the body do they do the color test?
Mine is on my wrist. You can ask to have it whenever you like, I'm sure. I chose someplace that isn't noticeable, but it's also small enough to be easily covered by a tattoo if I decide to do so.
There’s a lot more artists that showcase tattoos on black skin now than there used to be, I know I’ve seen a bunch on Instagram. You could look through some of their pages and get some ideas/reference on what it might look like.
Thanks. We've got a great artist in mind. Just wanted to get a feel for things before we talk to him.
I'm Black and all of my tattoos are full color American Traditional. He's just gotta start looking for artists who have dark skin in their portfolios and talk to the ones he likes.
Thanks tons. We're on the road there!
Totally!
Do you have any pics of your color tats?
Edit: bro are you ok? Not sure why’d you block for trying to see your tats in a tattoo sub. Take care
Yes, but why do you care? I'm over this.
Only pic I saw of your tattoos is all black and grey…
I'm looking at them right now, they're full color, just 25 years old.
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15d
The one on my chest isn't finished yet, but also that wasn't the focus of the picture.
What is wrong with you? I’d like to think a person knows more about their own body than some random redditor. You sound racist
Be considerate. If you wouldn't say it to their face don't say it here, and if it isn't a quick fix then take that into account when you comment. If you must offer criticism make sure it is constructive, polite, and based on the technique or execution of the tattoo, not the content. We don't care if you've seen it on pinterest or a group of college students or 37 other people either, that's irrelevant. Use of slurs, harassment, demeaning language, trolling, brigading will result in a ban.
Yes, unfortunately colors don't show on darker skin tones as well. Think of it like this: the ink is not on the skin, it's under it, and you're basically seeing it through the skin, so on a light-skinned person the ink is much easier to see, and the more melanin in the skin - the more opaque it is. For the same reason you don't often see visible veins on black people, and bruises don't show as much.
I've been curious about this before and asked several artists what would happen if a black person got a tattoo with white ink, and the answer is 'it's be pretty much invisible'. It sucks, but it's a limitation of the technology.
I was wondering that too!!! The answer makes sense tho! Thanks.
You’re not just seeing through the skin, you’re also seeing through the ink which is translucent. Only black is opaque.
My artist said to imagine the ink/ look at the image while wearing sunglasses and that made a lot of sense to me.
It basically would be the first thing to fade out. I have a Spider-Man 1/2 sleeve and my artist colored his eye lenses white. It looked cool at the time, but as it heeled his eyes began to turn blue-ish white before fading altogether. If you're darker skinned at get anything white, you'll be going back for a lot of touch up sessions over time.
It depends on how melanated he is. Have him go for a color test - some may not show up at all on darker skin tones. Others will show better.
Thanks. He's pretty dark. I'm guessing a color test is done at the parlor?
Yes
Thanks tons.
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15d
Thank you very much. If it happens we're taking him to the number one place in San Diego. Thank you again.
Out of curiosity, which place do you consider #1 in SD?
I was told by several people the SD Tatoo was. If you know of better ones I'd sure as love the advice. Thanks in advance.
They're geared a lot at tourists (because of location), but they have some decent artists. I've had a few friends get tats there and they were highly satisfied. I lived in SD for about 13/14 years and was just curious.
I was born here....I'm 65 years old and my son is 17. I'm white, he's black. I don't have one tat, he wants one of his mother continent Africa, with the black power glove inside and the continent colored in green, yellow red. He's a young man that truly embraces his heritage. I want to do everything I can to foster that without leaving him with a shitty mess on his arm. I think you can get that. Thanks tons for your help bud!
It’s really important that you care about experience working with Black skin and black skin on their portfolio!
Think of skin as glass and the tattoo is being viewed through that glass. Someone that is albino essentially has clear glass. The darker the skin tone, either naturally or through tanning, the darker the tint is that is put on that glass. Certain colors tend to be stronger and show through better (black, blue, red, greens, and purple,) whereas weaker colors (white, yellow, orange, browns) are going to struggle to show through. Most tints/pastels (colors with white added) such as pink, baby blue, lavender, and other such colors also aren't going to work great the darker that tint is.
It can even sometimes help to get a colored piece of glass close to the skin tone and view colors through it to somewhat get an idea.
I’m have a lighter skinned tone and have colour tattoos and they show up fine. On skin darker than mine though not as much unfortunately. Make sure he goes to an artist that if comfortable tattooing on darker skin as well.
Check out @darkskinirezumi on Instagram! It is just Japanese style, but there are people with varying shades of brown skin with color work, just to see some examples. Definitely find an artist that has experience beyond white clients.
Pnut (a black tattoo artist in dallas) has this down to a science, and he has done work with color, and honestly, yes, it's completely possible. some people just get intimidated when working on black skin, but you can absolutely have color in your tattoos
I am black and not a light skinned black person, and all of my tattoos besides two are full color. Pinks, blues, reds, greens, and even yellow have worked for me. My oldest full color tattoo is approx 5 years old and is still very vibrant. A good artist will know how to work with deeper skin.
I don’t know who keeps perpetuating this racist bullshit that black people can’t get color tattoos. I’m black. I’m not lightskinned at all (I’m brownskinned if we wanna use terms like that). I’ve had color tattoos for a decade. The red looks as red should to this day. As for the yellow, green, pink, and orange. I even have the color brown in a tattoo and it shows up as it should because it’s darker than me. No tattoo artist has ever told me any stupid shit about not being able to tattoo color. The only color that didn’t particularly work on me is blue but that might be because I have a red undertone.
Simply put, COMPETENT tattoo artists have no issue with tattooing black people. If black people choose to only get black ink tattoos it’s a stylistic choice.
You might be able to find an artist that would be willing to do a few small dots of the colors he's interested in to see how they show up on his complexion. Color isn't entirely or of the question but it can definitely look muted when healed. It's important to find someone who has experience with darker skin.
I was getting a tattoo recently and my girlfriend who is brown asked what colors work with dark skin and the artist said the more they look like a kids crayon color the better.
I’m dark as hell and my tattoo artist was able to get purple and red on me and the color still shows 12 years later. Tats are the size of my palm so they big.
tattoo ink goes below the first layer of skin so once the epidermis heals over after the tattoo is healed it’s like a layer of your skin color over the tattoo. That’s why it’s important to find an artist well versed in color theory and experienced with darker skin tones so they color you want to will still show through
I have a friend with dark skin who has red and black. It works well on him! And it's a pretty old, simple, heavy line tattoo. The red lines are very visible. All of my black friends have tattoos, but he is the only one I can particularly think of who has one with color. It's on his forearm.
I wouldn't just go to "the best." Because what are they the best at? Like I can't relate on the skin, being olive skinned white, but how about hair. I can go to "the best hairstylist" in my state and get screwed over because I have fine curly hair. My hair requires special knowledge of how it's going to look and act daily AFTER I leave the salon.
Similarly, you wouldn't want a color trad tattoo from "the best in the world" at black and grey realism.
You gotta go to someone who has worked with dark skin for years. Not necessarily someone with plaques and trophies. Find someone with portfolio examples of tattoos on dark skin. INCLUDING HEALED.
There are tattoo artists out there who are proud to show off what they can do on dark skin. Go to THAT person. Not just the generic "best" shop.
And yes, SUNSCREEN. I have olive skin. I was never big on sunscreen, because I don't burn. The natural olive complexion takes sun well. But now that I've paid thousands for full color, HELL NO. I want the skin over my tattoo to be baby virgin skin that's never touched the sun! Think of your skin as a lampshade over your tattoo. If the lampshade is already a bit dark, do everything possible to make sure it doesn't get a smidge darker.
I'm sure more of my black friends have some color, I'm just thinking of my coworker's particularly prominent tattoo and going yeah, that's totally got red lines. But he's a tattoo snob, so I bet he did tons of research.
He can get color no problem. It’s just a matter of doing a little extra research to find artists that can really pack color in on darker skin without destroying the skin. Or you could always search black owned shops to narrow it down. Theres plenty
He absolutely can get color tattoos but make sure he’s doing his research and finding an artist that knows how to tattoo color on black skin
Get someone who’s done colour on dark skin. I’m black and have all black ink. My coworker has some lovely red in her black ink and it’s fucken beautiful. Definitely getting some colour next time
I also have a big flower. The artist (white guys) used different shades of black on different parts of the flower to make other parts stick out, like the lines in the leaves! I was absolutely impressed! It was expensive but more than worth it!
Tattoos on dark skin is absolutely beautiful and brings a unique edge to it. I think that so many social media posts only amplify tattoos on light skin but I think your son will shine with the design he desires as long as it’s executed well and by someone who understands the nuances.
Highly recommend color testing. I never had green before a few years ago and the two colors that are still there to this day on my other wrist are what is used in the tattoo. Had my artist just picked a random green, it may have turned very ruddy on me when healed. Personally I think more people should get color testing.
definitely do your research. do not just go to any tattoo artist in town, i’ve traveled 10+ hours away for a certain style/artist that i’ve wanted. most people don’t have good artwork because they don’t do research. you can definitely find a artist out there, i recommend starting to look on instagram and go from there.
Mike Tyson is a famous example of someone with dark complexion that has very visible ink. Even if your son is darker than him I would not be afraid at all of tattoos. Just make sure you find a good artist that’s worked with darker skin tones before
I just looked up Mike Tyson's tattoos (the only one I remembered was the face one that got replicated in the second Hangover movie), & his are all black ink, no color. So if OP's son wants color, Tyson's tattoos aren't going to be an accurate representation.
Gotcha. Thanks
Heres a video from a professional artist on this very topic. Hope it helps and good luck!👍
Im brown skinned and have tattoos with red detailing. I’m not a fan of color so I’m unsure how other colors would show but red def showed on me.
Have a look on YouTube for a tattoo artist called James Withee. He has a great video on this subject.
I have heard darker colors work better like reds, purples, and black ofc
What he wants is the continent of Africa, with a black power fist and the interior of Africa to be Ethiopian colors. Green, Yellow and Red.
I think the green and red would do okay but the yellow might be tricky
Color can be done on darker skin, there's some good examples our there on Google images.
One thing to remember though too with any tattoo (black or color), is that aftercare & how someone personally heals can both make a difference too.
For example, I have >25 tattoos & I am a stickler for aftercare, & I do mean a stickler haha. I paid enough for these things, I want them to continue looking good. Moisturizing is important. Also, & this is extremely important for all skin tones, wear sunscreen. Even if someone doesn't like to wear it, or don't think they need it cause they don't burn, what you're mainly protecting with it is the ink (ink fades over time with repeated sun exposure). So it is a necessity.
The only problem with any healing I've had is that yellow doesn't tend to stick around, I have had no other problems with any other colors, & I pretty much ran the gamut in my tattoos. I don't know why tbh but I just know now to pick designs without yellow.
My son is a fanatic about moisturizing. He hates being ashen and we've tried a million different moisturizers until we found a great one with shea butter.
Nice 🙂 finding good products can be hard sometimes haha.
Random thing about the moisturizers though, at least while the tattoo is healing, it should be one without any any dyes or fragrances, those things aren't really good for open skin. The shea butter should be okay, I haven't tried one with it in there on a healing tattoo, but I don't see why it would be a problem. Also, while it's healing, you always want to put a light layer on, the skin still has to be able to breathe for the healing process.
White person here, but with color, a huge difference for me was healing. After I started using saniderm for healing, color stayed in those tattoos much better. The more ink lost in healing, the less vibrant in general. Saniderm avoids needing to wash it several times a day
Note: I’m black and have medium dark skin. I’ve got 5 tattoos and 2 of them have color. The color definitely isn’t as vibrant on my skin as it would be on lighter skin. Why?
Color doesn’t pop as well on darker skin because the color goes UNDER…so think about if you had a white sheet vs. a black one - same thickness and same fabric. Which would you see through more easily?
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