Illustrative Tattoos in Cape Town

Illustrative tattooing is the part of the job I enjoy most. It starts with a reference that means something to you — a film still, a childhood comic, a record sleeve, a photograph of a dog, an object sitting on a shelf — and ends up as a drawing that belongs on skin rather than paper. The source gets redrawn, simplified and re-composed until it works as a tattoo.

My own references lean towards vintage illustration, storybook plates, old print advertising, cinema, music, skateboarding and sport. Cowboys, horses, animals, saints and oddly specific everyday objects turn up often. I like a piece to have a bit of humour or strangeness in it, even when the subject is serious — a slightly off detail usually makes the whole thing more memorable.

Technically these pieces sit on top of the same black and grey foundations: clean outlines, soft shading, stippled texture, and a composition planned around the shape of the body part. Larger work gets mapped out as a whole before we start, so sleeves and legs grow in a way that still makes sense once everything is joined up.

Bring whatever you have — a written idea, a folder of screenshots, or one sentence. We talk through what the tattoo needs to say, what to leave out, and how big it should be. If you would rather pick something already drawn, the flash book is full of pieces ready to go.

Based at TOMB Tattoo in Cape Town. Send an enquiry whenever you are ready.