Tattoo Phrase Book

Have you ever been scrolling a tattoo artist’s social media and seen a phrase that makes you think “What on earth does that mean?”. Or maybe you’ve been in a shop and heard artists chatting to each other and had absolutely no idea what they’re on about? Have no fear, we’ve got this handy little phrase book for you! This is a list of all the phrases (that we could think of) used in the industry that you might hear your artist say. Check back periodically as well, as we’re sure more will come up.

Aftercare

Aftercare refers to the process of healing your tattoo post-appointment. Your artist will give you aftercare instructions at the end of your session, but it usually consists of keeping it clean with a basic non-scented soap, applying a light layer of moisturiser, and avoiding things like shaving, makeup, and dirty environments for 2 to 4 weeks. For more information about aftercare check out our guide here!

Apprentice

An apprentice is a beginner artist, a tattooer who’s still learning the fundamentals. Because they’re still learning, apprentices charge steeply reduced rates. Every apprentices’ skill will vary, and some will be incredible right from the jump, but it’s important to be mindful if you book with one that there may be obvious imperfections in the work. But also remember how wonderful to help someone improve early in their career!

Back Piece

A back piece is a tattoo that covers the entirety of the client’s back. Unlike a sleeve where it is very common to be made up of many different tattoos, a back piece is almost always one piece that is made specifically to fit and flow with the entire back. Sometimes these follow down the spine, or extend down onto the buttocks. Back piece tattoos usually take many sessions to complete, so expect them to be a longer project.

Banger

A banger is a tattoo that an artist was able to “bang out”, or finish quickly. It’s usually applied to a design that’s small, or is quite simplistic, and often from the artist’s pre-drawn designs. Typically done in under an hour.

Blast Over

A blast over is a method of covering unwanted tattoos. It’s similar to, but not the same as, a cover up. With a blast over, an artist will do a new tattoo over the top of the old one, without making a design that intentionally uses clever placing and technique to cover it. Usually a blast over will have bolder lines and more saturated colour.

Blow Out

You may hear an artist use the phrase “blow out”. This means that ink has been deposited too deeply into your skin. Normally, the ink should be on the second layer, the dermis. But sometimes, an artist will go too deep with the needle and pierce the hypodermis, which is the fatty layer. Fat cells suck up the ink far more than non-fat cells, spreading the ink beyond the place it was intended to be. The most common reason for this is because an artist is inexperienced, or tattooing on a particularly difficult part of the body. However, there are many, many factors that can contribute to a blow out happening, and if it happens along a small portion of your tattoo, don’t fret!

Body Suit

Tattooing that covers the majority of the person’s body. Most often seen with styles such as Japanese, Traditonal, and Geometric or Ornamental, these can be either singular cohesive designs that flow together over the entire body, or made up of lots of smaller tattoos.

Book In

Book/booking in is the phrase used to make an appointment. You pick a date, pay your deposit, and that’s it! You’re booked in!Chest Piece

A chest piece is a tattoo that covers the whole of a chest. It normally doesn’t extend below the pectoral muscles, but sometimes can be integrated into a piece that covers the whole front of a torso.

Colour Packing

Colour packing refers to the density of the application of ink on a colour tattoo. A well packed tattoo has even saturation across each section, without any patchy bits of skin showing through.

Convention

A convention is essentially a trade show for the tattoo industry. Tattoo artists rent booths, and tattoo right there on the show floor. The vast majority take walk ups for the whole of the convention, so attending one can be a great way to get tattooed by an artist who might not work near you, or to find new favourites! Most conventions will have other kinds of traders you can buy from as well. They can be anything from tattoo supply companies, to taxidermy, comics, jewellery, vintage clothing; you never know what you might find. Bigger conventions will also usually have live music, performances, and other events that you can enjoy.

Cover Up

A cover up is a method used to get rid of unwanted tattoos. It is intentionally designed to draw the eye away from the old tattoo, by using colour theory, dense colour packing, and intentional placement of new elements. What can be achieved as a cover up is highly dependent on how well executed the original tattoo was, how much scarring there is, how dark it is, and the size and shape of it. Sometimes, an artist will tell you you need laser before a cover up can be attempted.

Crispy

Though it might sound like a bad thing, if an artist says a line is crispy, it means that it’s clean, smooth, and well applied!

Custom

Custom means it’s a design that you create with your artist! This could be a 1:1 recreation of a drawing you’ve done, but more often than not it’s your ideas as done by the artist of your choosing. You provide them with a description and references that will give them an idea of what you want the finished product to look like, and they will draw up a design for you.

Day Sit

A day sit is a full day’s worth of tattooing. The actual amount of time will vary artist to artist, but in general you can expect a day sit to be about 6 - 8 hours. Artists will usually have a set price for a day, capped at a discount to the usual hourly rate.

Deposit

A deposit is a small amount you pay to your artist in advance to confirm your appointment. The deposit money will be applied to the cost of your tattoo. Should you need to cancel your appointment, or if you fail to show up for it, your deposit is forfeit. If you need to reschedule, but let an artist know beforehand (48 hours is standard courtesy) your deposit will usually transfer. Check your artist or studio’s policies beforehand for their rules.

Gap Filler

A gap filler is a tattoo that sits in the space between existing tattoos. They’re usually small, or unusual shapes, and are done later on in a sleeve process once all bigger spaces are taken up.

Get What You Get

Get what you get (sometimes abbreviated as GWYG) is a fun, grab-bag-esque way to pick designs that artists might do. Most artists will use a gumball or gashapon machine that they fill with capsules that have flash designs inside. However, some people get more creative and use unconventional methods, like hook-a-duck, darts, or prize wheels. Whichever design you pull or land on is the one you get tattooed! Some artists will allow you to have a second try if you don’t want the design you get on your first go, sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee, but it’s important to ask that before committing to a GWYG!

Fall Out

If an artist says that ink on your tattoo has “fallen out” it means that there’s a space where your skin is visible and it wasn’t meant to be. This can happen for a variety of reasons, for example ink not being applied deeply enough, or skin being overworked. Sometimes a scab coming off too early during the healing process will cause the ink to fall off in a literal sense!
Flash

Flash is a term used to describe original designs drawn by the artist. These pieces won’t have been designed especially for anyone. Depending on the artist and piece, it may be repeatable, and it may also be adjustable as to the size, and whether or not it’s done in colour or black and grey.

Flash Book

A flash book is essentially an artists catalogue of available pieces – everything they want to tattoo collected into a binder. Flash books are there for you to have a flip through, and are a great way to get a sense of what an artist likes working on.

Flash Sheet

A flash sheet is a whole page of original designs drawn by an artist. A flash sheet typically has a theme that links all of the designs together.

Flash Day

A flash day is a day that either an individual artist or whole shop dedicates to tattooing a set of pre-drawn designs. Typically, the artist will leave the day open entirely for walk-ins, so clients can get tattooed on a first come first served basis. They usually happen on special occasions like Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Valentine’s Day. They may also be charity events, where the flash and proceeds are dedicated to a specific cause, local group, or person.

Free-Hand

Free-hand drawing is when an artist will draw a design directly onto your skin with a marker, without using a printed stencil. Sometimes, the artist won’t even need a reference image! Some artists do all of their tattoos this way, and can free hand entire back pieces, but more often than not it’s done in tiny or especially awkward gaps, or to fill in spaces where stencil didn’t take correctly.

Half Sleeve

A half-sleeve is a tattoo for an arm that has the tattoo starting on the top of the shoulder, and coming down to the elbow. This can be one cohesive piece of art that was designed specifically to be a half sleeve, or a combination of many different pieces that have filled up the arm.

Junior Artist

A junior artist is an artist who is still relatively new to tattooing, but has completed their apprenticeship to the satisfaction of their mentor. At this point they will have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, but will still be learning tips and tricks to refine their work and develop their individual style. They will still charge a slightly reduced rate, but more than an apprentice.

Laser

When someone mentions “getting laser” they are referring to a method of tattoo removal. The unwanted tattoo is zapped with a precise laser that breaks the ink molecules down into teeny tiny bits that are able to be carried to and processed by the liver. Different colours of ink require different light wave lengths to break them down, and it very often takes multiple sessions of laser to remove a tattoo. Results will vary from person to person, as every body processes the change differently, and the tattoos themselves will all have different densities and darknesses on their lines and colours.

Line Art

The line art of a tattoo is the skeleton of it, the black outline that you see on the stencil. Some styles of tattooing (for example, Ignorant and Fine Line) will tattoo just line art, but on the whole, the line art alone would be an unfinished tattoo.

Line-Work

The phrase line-work is sometimes used interchangeably with line art, but it will most often refer to the quality of the line art on a finished tattoo. “Clean line-work” means that the lines are smooth, evenly applied, and over all neat.

Placement

The placement of a tattoo refers to where on the body it will go. When picking placement, there’s a lot of factors to consider. The natural curves of the body, the kind of skin, fat content, if it’s on a joint or not, if there’s any existing scarring; all of these things will affect the finished look of the tattoo. For example, if you want a straight line down your forearm, you have to consider the way the radius and ulna curve. It would be nigh on impossible to have the finished tattoo always look straight.

No Show

A no show is when a client who had an appointment doesn’t show up and hasn’t communicated with the artist as to why. This is no good! If an artist doesn’t have warning that their client isn’t going to be in, it puts them out of work for the day, and makes it hard for them to fill the space so last minute. If you make a habit of no-showing an artist, chances are they’ll just stop booking you all together.

One Off

You may hear an artist refer to a design as a “one off”. This means that a design will only be tattooed on the first person who books it, and the artist will not tattoo the same one again. Some artists will be open to doing a similar design, in which case they will change some elements in order to keep it unique.

Over-Worked

If you hear an artist say that a part of a tattoo is over-worked, it means that the skin has been traumatised from having the tattoo needles pass over it too many times, or having had too much pressure applied to it. This can result in lines and colour healing poorly or falling out, blow outs, and scarring.

Palm-Sized

Palm-sized is the standard size for a tattoo – however, it’s not a precise term. Obviously everyone’s palm is a different size and shape, but if an artist throws out the phrase palm-sized you can expect it to be roughly 6 inches tall and 4 inches across.

Patchwork Sleeve

A patchwork sleeve is an sleeve that’s many individual pieces. These pieces will often have a shared theme or subject matter; however, if you’re a tattoo enthusiast who just wants to have as many as possible, an arm may fill up with completely unrelated tattoos. Patchwork sleeves don’t have “backgrounds” like clouds, stars, or shading between pieces. They intentionally remain separated.

Plasma

Plasma is the liquid part of your blood, it’s almost entirely water. It carries everything from red blood cells to hormones through the body. When a tattoo is wrapped for healing the “goop” that builds up under the wrap is partially plasma!

Reference

A reference is a piece of art that is inspiring or informing the tattoo you want. It can be another tattoo, a general piece of art, a photograph, anything that you are basing your idea on. Your reference may be just to show a technique that you like, a vibe, an element, or you might have a photograph of a pet or a loved one that you want a direct translation of.

Repeatable

If you’re looking through an artists work online or in person at a convention, you might see a flash sheet or piece labelled as repeatable. This means that the artist is willing to tattoo the same design on multiple people. So you very may well see someone in your area who has the same tattoo if this is the case!

Rework

Refreshing or renewing an older, faded, or unsatisfactory tattoo. This is an alternative to a cover-up where the client wants to keep the original idea and subject matter, but just wants it neatened up a little to match their more recent work. This usually involves going over linework, re-shading and re-colouring, and potentially covering or adjusting small parts of the tattoo, or adding small elements to make it look brand new again.

Scratcher

A person with no formal tattoo or health training, who does not tattoo in a professional studio environment (you may also see them referred to as ‘kitchen wizards’). Typically they produce very sub-par work, and have a higher risk of infection, scarring and unsatisfactory results.

Shop Minimum

The shop minimum refers to the price that the shop asks each artist to set as their lowest price for a tattoo. This ensures that artists are paid equitably for their time, that equipment costs are covered, and that no one is being undervalued.

Sleeve

A sleeve is an arm that is tattooed from the top of the shoulder down to at least the wrist, all the way around. This can be one cohesive piece of art that was designed specifically to be a sleeve, or a combination of many different pieces that have filled up the arm. The same can be done on a leg, starting at the top of the thigh down to the ankle. These are usually referred to as leg sleeves and not trousers, which is a real shame and lacking in whimsy.

Stencil

The stencil is how a tattoo artist transfers the design from its original form onto your skin. The design is run through a special thermal printer that puts the design onto paper, that will be applied to the skin. This allows the artist to then trace their design on skin.

Skin Break

A skin break is a section of exposed skin on a tattoo. It is an intentional gap used in certain shading and colouring techniques.

Stipple Shading

Stipple shading, or stippling, is a type of shading most commonly seen in fine line, geometric or ornamental tattoos. This technique uses a lining needle to whip quickly across the skin, leaving a trail of dots to create softer shading, rather than a solid line.

Tap Out

Tapping out is when you say “I’ve had enough” and end a session before the tattoo is finished. This usually happens for very painful areas like the spine, or during day sits. There is absolutely no shame in tapping! You know your body better than anyone, and it’s important not to push yourself beyond your limit.

Tattoo Machine

The proper term for the equipment used by an artist to apply your tattoo. There are two main types of tattoo machine; coil, and rotary. Coil machines used electromagnets to move the needle, and are the ‘classic’ older style machine you may be familiar with, often associated with Traditional tattooing. Rotary machines use an electric motor to move the needle and are usually slightly quieter. All modern pen-style battery-powered machines are rotaries. Which one an artist uses is down to personal preference!

Tramp Stamp

A somewhat archaic 90s term for a tattoo placed on the lower back, just above the waistline of the underwear. These fell out of popularity in the mid 2000s due to (incorrect) negative associations with promiscuity, but the term and the tattoos have been reclaimed and had a resurgence in recent years.

Touch Up

A touch up is when an artist will revisit a tattoo that has healed. They’ll clean up lines, put colour back in where it has fallen out, and just generally neaten it up. In general tattoos won’t need touch ups, but some pieces are more prone to needing them. Some kinds of work you might expect to need touch ups are dense, highly packed colour pieces, chest and back pieces, extra thick lines, or very thin lines. Hand tattoos, especially palms and fingers, will always need touch ups just because of the way the skin is and how in contact they are with the world.

Walk-In

A walk-in is exactly what it sounds like – you walk into a studio, and ask if anyone has time to do a tattoo then and there. There is no booking required, and depending on the artist can be inclusive of a custom design.

Whip-Shading

Whip-shading is a technique used to create visible shading rather than a smooth, seamless gradient. Most commonly seen in traditional tattooing, this technique leaves a ‘peppered’ effect on the skin rather than a completely smooth blend.