The New School tattoo is a style that emerged around the 1970s and 1980s: its origin stems from the influences of the old school Old School tattoos, which dominated the culture until the early 2000s.
From that moment, tattoo artists began to reinterpret Old School subjects, enhancing colors, increasing creativity, adding modern pop culture elements, and exaggerating certain key characteristics to bring them closer to contemporary tastes.
This gave rise to New School Tattoo, which represents a free and original style where artists can unleash their creativity and express themselves with creations outside of any conventional framework.
Key Characteristics of New School Tattoo
New School tattoos are characterized by the subjects that become the protagonists of the tattoos: these derive from Old School, with a prevalence of nautical themes and maritime tradition, but represented in a more realistic and modern way, transforming the original with maximum creativity and imagination.
Hence the use of strongly marked and defined lines, very subtle shading and shadows, and decidedly bright, vibrant, and saturated colors, with a broad color palette that often includes fluorescent tones.
The subjects are characterized by large dimensions, plays of light and shadow, three-dimensionality, and the use of bizarre perspectives, all factors that make the tattoo more complex and interesting.
The designs are also distinctive, with a prevalence of stylized and exaggerated elements, recognizable by distorted proportions, emphasized details, and caricatured features.
There are also plenty of absolutely current designs, drawing inspiration from pop culture, comics, graffiti, urban art, and animation, as well as imaginative and surreal motifs created through fantastic creatures and imaginary scenes.
In this style, the fundamental rule is therefore to distort the subject as much as possible to create a different, absolutely unprecedented, and striking reality.
The Most Common Subjects in New School Tattoo
As mentioned above, the preferred subjects in New School Tattoo are nautical themes typical of the Old School style and developed by its founder Sailor Jerry, who first launched this style.
Among the most common are the anchor, a typical icon of sailors signifying solidity and security, the sailing ship, representing the experience of travel and discovery, and the mermaid, a symbol of calling home, but also of feminine energy.
There are also compass roses, swallows, dice, and pin-ups, all related to the seafaring life from which this style originated.
Animals are also much-loved subjects by New School artists, but often transformed into imaginative and invented creatures (dragons, unicorns, monsters, etc.) or with human-like features (such as cats in clothes, dogs with accessories, or animals expressing human emotions).
Also highly requested are Japanese cartoon heroes (like Ken Shiro, Naruto, Knights of the Zodiac, etc.) and superheroes, villains, Disney characters, anime, and other cartoon and comic book icons, generally tattooed in a stylized and exaggerated manner.
Then there are esoteric symbols, large flowers, manga, and some traditional themes like hearts and flowers, but much more elaborate.
Finally, foods, edible products and everyday objects are increasingly requested, represented in a fun and stylized way, almost making the design appear in motion and the design almost printed.
Differences Between New School Tattoo and Neo Traditional Tattoo
The Neo Traditional style arises from the encounter between Old School tattoo and New School Tattoo: from the former, it took traditional themes, while from the latter, the tendency towards elaboration and the use of bolder outlines and more vivid colors.
Compared to Neo Traditional tattoos, which are characterized by an elegant and often very refined style, New School is more imaginative and cartoonish.
Furthermore, tattoo artists create thick and defined outlines that give the design a decidedly bold and cartoonish look.
Finally, although both aim to give a modern touch to past styles, New School draws inspiration from pop culture and graffiti, while Neo Traditional is inspired by more classic subjects.
Differences Between New School and Old School Styles
The first important difference between these two styles is the subjects: both indeed propose nautical and maritime themes, but while Old School Tattoo stops there, New School goes further and depicts a wide range of alternatives, drawing from the past, present, and imaginative world, combining modern art, oriental art, and pop art.
Another difference lies in the lines and fills: New School tattoos are more defined and play with great attention to detail, making them extremely realistic and often appearing printed on the skin rather than tattooed.
Then there are the colors that differentiate the two styles: New School uses many more and also prefers very bright and bold ones, compared to Old School tattoos which mainly focus on primary colors.
Finally, a clear difference is given by the use of innovative techniques and much more elaborate drawing styles that make New School tattoos much more unique, detailed, three-dimensional, and with a higher artistic depth.
Learn the Art of Tattooing at Milano Tattoo School
In Milan, there is a School that allows you to become a professional Tattoo Artist.
It’s called Milano Tattoo School and offers the Tattoo Operator Course of 1500 total hours, which guarantees qualification for performing tattoos independently with the release of the Professional Certification from the Lombardy Region valid throughout Italy and at a European level.
This is a comprehensive program to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, providing all the fundamental tools to enter the job market and grow and excel in the Tattoo scene.
MTS offers a progressive learning approach, with classroom lessons and laboratory sessions, which leads students to become familiar with fundamental techniques before delving into specific tattoo styles.
From lines to fills, from shading to colors, students receive a solid foundation that prepares them to tackle all tattoo styles, guided by specialized instructors who support them with:
- Practical demonstrations
- Paper exercises
- Exercises on an iPad provided by the School
- Practice on synthetic skin
- Application on real people
High-level training developed through the use of advanced technologies, innovative teaching, and high-quality equipment.
Currently, there are two dates when you can enroll to join the new Classes that will start their journey to become professional tattoo artists:
- Monday, September 2, 2024
- Monday, October 28, 2024
Available spots are running out, so those who wish to participate should hurry and enroll in the Course.
Visit the page dedicated to the upcoming Tattoo Operator Courses