Modern tattoos are less about sailors, pin-ups and ‘MOM’ and more about bold black lines, complex geometry, architecture, esoteric imagery, glitches and even blacking out entire body parts to cover up old work. These standout themes represent some of the most visually striking, imaginative and artistically challenging styles gaining popularity in recent years.

Black & White Snake Tattoos by Mirko Sara

Alone, white ink isn’t the greatest choice for a tattoo, according to many artists: it looks splotchy and uneven on all but the clearest, most evenly pale skin, fades quickly, and has a tendency to disappear into a blurry mess within a short period of time. But if you’re willing to get it touched up often to maintain it, it can be really beautiful, and it sets off black ink beautifully. Take the work of artist Mirko Sata for example – whose most common subjects are intertwined snakes.

Blackout Tattoos

What do you do when you’ve got a large number of old tattoos you want to get rid of? Laser surgery is an option for the removal of smaller tattoos, but some people get beyond that whole ‘permanent’ aspect of inking the skin in a different way. Blackout tattoos are growing increasingly popular, blocking out large areas of the body with solid swaths of black ink.

Though the lines from the old tattoo still tend to show through, and several painful sessions are often required, the look can be pretty incredible. Some people get blackout tattoos on virgin skin just for the dramatic effect. Tattooers working in this style include Chester Lee of Oddtattooer, Alex Arnautov, Simon Mora, Josh Stephens and Kenji Alucky.

White Ink Over Black Work

Fresh white ink applied over healed blackwork can also be a fun way to cover up old mistakes, and the contrast is pretty incredible right after it’s applied. Subjects have to sit for as many as five sessions to go over the white ink to make it opaque enough to stand out, and it can take years to finish a single piece. Artists who have experimented with this process include Esther Garcia, Nathan Mould, Ruslan Batyrbaev and Wayne Fredrickson.

Architectural Designs

Architecture can be a particularly striking tattoo theme, especially when it takes up large areas of the body. Artist Maxime Buchi of M-X-M has tattooed traditional Russian architecture across people’s backs, arms, legs and chests, and someone loved Haight Ashbury enough to get imagery of the famous San Francisco intersection inked onto their body by the tattoo studio of the same name. Dmitriy Tkach depicted a Victorian house with roots wrenched from the ground like a plant, while Wang Lei designed an intricately shaded classical church. Thieves of Tower, appropriately enough, often tattoos spindly towers onto their subjects.

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Modern Markings 42 Bold Black White Tattoo Designs

Working primarily in bold, black ink, these 13 top tattoo artists working in Kyoto, London, Berlin, Kiev and throughout the United States stand out for geometric and illustrative styles that put the emphasis on line work. Whether they prefer minimalist compositions or cover entire torsos with amazingly intricate shapes, they create living works of art that are literally walking advertisements for their talent.

Thieves of Tower

North Carolina-based tattoo duo Houston and Dagny aka Thieves of Tower have developed a distinctive style, often covering large areas of the body in sweeping landscapes full of stark architectural details. Legs might become a diptych of bold black lines contrasted with clouds, and spires rise from a cityscape stretching across a chest.

Lisa Orth

Frequently working in Los Angeles and traveling around the country, Seattle-based artist Lisa Orth works in a dark, graphic style reminiscent of old woodcut prints and etchings.

Maxime Buchi

Working primarily out of Sang Bleu studio in London, Maxime Buchi (better known as M-X-M) is a modern master of both medieval etching styles and geometric work, often combining them for an intricate and instantly recognizable result.

Thomas Hooper

If you’re looking for amazingly detailed patterns, Thomas Hooper is your guy, tattooing tiny geometric shapes that come together into astonishing tapestries of imagery. Hooper is based in Austin, Texas at Rock of Ages tattoo. s

Grace Neutral

Want to get tattooed the old-fashioned way? Hand-poking has gotten a bad rep because it’s so accessible to amateurs, but there are masters of this ancient craft who choose to work without machines professionally. Check out Grace Neutral, who has gotten incredibly proficient at the process over the years.

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Permanent Markings 13 Tattoo Artists With Bold Black Style

Many think steampunk is a fad that will flare up and burn itself out quickly, as most fads do. If steampunk fans’ willingness to permanently ink themselves with steampunk themed tattoos is any indication, the appeal of steampunk will be lasting a lot longer than expected. From the simplest clockwork and gears, to complex depictions of Victorian era mecha, steampunk tattoos run the gamut from pretty decorations to mobile masterpieces. Here are 9 of the most intricate and gorgeous examples of steampunk style body art:

(Images via nickbaxter, jockeyjournal, kungdesign)

The melding of technology with nature is a common theme in steampunk, as the dream of Victorian technology is to create a cleanly powered utopia much different from the sooty, chugging urban areas of the time. There is no better way to display the melding of nature and machine than by displaying a gorgeous steampunk octopus, or the more symbolic lightbulb and skull pictured above. Another popular design is the mechanical arm, where one can become part machine, at least, visually.

(Images via acemicaylak, fatmeatisgreasy)

Some people like to make themselves resemble machines in a more visually arresting manner, via the appearance of torn skin mistakenly revealing the clockwork components within. The realism of these depictions can be stunningly three dimensional in appearance. These tattoos aren’t for the faint of heart, as they tend to upset the squeamish viewer, and require countless hours under the needle.

(Images via bodyartmaster, esper.art.br)

Clocks are a major symbol of the steampunk genre because of their intricate, scientific nature, and the fact that they manage to overcome their fragility by managing to work hour after hour, day after day. The endless variety of clock designs and their classy appearance allow one to express their aesthetic without shocking the casual observer.

(Images via brassgoggles, audramelissa, industrytattoo, livewodeadtime, steampunkfashion)

As the foundation piece for the steampunk aesthetic, cogs and gears are present in nearly every steampunk tattoo. Some individuals would rather stick with the core of steampunk by creating complicated scenes filled entirely with intricate machine parts. These are the purists.

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Cogs And Ink Steampunk Tattoo Designs That Wow