So, I’m wondering (oh noes!) about darkness in tattoos. I guess all darkness will be black or shading so what happens to such a tattoo with time? Black becomes gray, and all else is gray, so is it all just a big blob of gray?
For instance, here is a pic I took back home in my home town, and I really like the whole aura/wibe/atmosphere of the picture. I’m piecing together a (B/G) tattoo that would be a ‘portrait’ of my hometown, and was thinking I might do it in ‘night’ instead of bright sunshine and blue sky. The sea and the sky in this pic intrigue me and I was thinking I might use those elements above and below the actual town, which would then fade into the void.
The centerpoint would be the church and the surroundings, all eerily lit and full of shadows…. maybe not quite this dark, but dark none the less.
The tattoo itself would not be very large, probably the beginning of my sleeve, maybe 4-5″ (wouldn’t fill the space between shoulder and elbow).
Hi
Depends on the skin health, sun exposure, and ink quality.
Black can fade to a duller type of black not quite grey but not a deep black either.
At worst it can go spotty where the pigment has been flushed entirely leaving small dots or patches.
Grey wash just fades away until very pale.
All tattoos blur and have a life span of around 10-15 years if kept well but mainly they are very easy to maintain with a fresh reshade.
Take Care
Matthew
It depends on the artist.
The concept of day and night are constructed by certain parameters that the brain is conditioned to think about.
For example it is not darkness that registers in a picture as ‘night’ it is usually the presence of say stars or a moon.
If it was just black with nothing it would be a black blob.
That said if you had a sun put in a b/g and shaded it darkly the brain would translate that as being a set of storm clouds making a cloudy or overcast day as opposed to night.
The tattoo can be translated into a night scene but again it is detail not the depth of black used (although helps) because we are conditioned to recognise simulations by key factors;
Structural positioning – eg what is in the foreground – so the Church would be there = a city or town scene
Sky – is it a sun or moon = night or day
Clouds or clear = a clear sky a stormy sky or a clear night sky with stars.
The depth of black will enhance the idea of darkness or storm clouds.
Background – Is there something that forms the idea of time such as empty streets or town lamps switched on.
Hope that helps.
Matthew
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