Dotwork tattoos are growing in popularity by the year as they offer a truly fresh way of approaching tattoo art. Because they’re such a departure from the mainstream of tattooing the style has been garnering huge attention in recent years. They flip the whole tradition of tattoos on its head – You want lines right? Thick lines, thin ones? Nah mate, dots is where it’s at.

Dotwork tattoos have a very modern feel, yet has a primal quality to it too, as it references some of the most storied and ancient forms of tattooing (tattoos found on prehistoric mummies tend to be in the form of dots and linework). Cutting edge meets days of yore – how bou dah!

Apart from this major formal innovation, Dotwork tattoos simply just look brilliant; they’re memorable in a totally unique way as they can often draw the eye in with subtle visual tricks and by carefully manipulating shading.

Like Pointillism in art, popularised in late 19^th century France, Dotwork tattoo works can sometimes provide a different viewing experience depending on how close or far away you are from the image; shapes and meanings can morph as the eye moves around the body canvas. This produces a fascinating effect in some abstract takes on Dotwork we see. There’s loads of potential for running with this idea to create large scale optical illusion tattoo art, say by arranging polka dots for an arm or leg piece. Dotwork also works really well with geometric tattoos, such as combining a solid black band piece that fades out into delicate thin dots, showing an interplay between solidity and fragility in a single unforgettable image.

Dots can take the form of the entire tattoo itself, or can work as intricate shading with representational pieces. For example, thin dots can be arranged to create a clever haze effect, say for a dusk background for a landscape scene featuring forests and mountains (Mmmm dreamy). This style has so much potential yet to emerge and can work really well for anything to do with the night sky, sci-fi or cosmic-themed tattoos.

In all forms, Dotwork tattoos are super effective at producing a contemplative and mystical feel in tattoo art. And this is all without having mentioned Dotwork mandala tattoos yet! By fully, or partially, basing your mandala piece in a Dotwork style you can add a whole extra level of sophistication and complexity. While Dotwork is usually done in black or grey ink, red can be thrown into the mix for some seriously interesting contrast that’ll make the tattoo pop.

Dotwork tattoos are cherished by artists and tattoo lovers alike. Anyone who knows about tattooing knows that Dotwork is usually the result of serious patience and dedication, both for the sitter and the artist, and is one of tattooing’s best examples of collaboration between the two.

Since Dotwork tattoos can often involve so much careful detail and skill on the artist’s part, it goes without saying you’d really want to do your homework and get a quality artist on board. You’ll also want a studio with the highest quality needles and where attention to detail runs across the board for all staff… golly gosh, any place come to mind?