Neo traditional angry tiger tattoo on the left calf

Neo Traditional Tattoo: Discover 50 Most Amazing Ideas Of This Cool Style

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Neo Traditional tattoo style first time appeared around the early 2000’s. Since then, little by little it spread around the world, and today it is a trendy style, especially among the younger people. Often, many people think that the old-school and neo-traditional tattoos are the same. But this style combines the traditional and modern style and their colors and details into one unique and beautiful creation. Let’s take a more in-depth look at them.

Neo traditional lightning bolt and eye tattoo
Neo-traditional lightning bolt and eye tattoo
Rose tattoos on both thumbs
Rose tattoos on both thumbs
Neo traditional dagger stabbed rose
Neo-traditional dagger stabbed rose
Arrow stabbed wolf neo traditional tattoo
Arrow stabbed wolf
Neo traditional aladin tattoo
Neo-traditional Aladin tattoo
Angry wolf
Angry wolf
Neo traditional rooster
Neo-traditional rooster
Blood moon and lady with a tiger
Blood moon and a lady with a tiger
Monster tattoo
Monster tattoo
Neo traditional robot tattoo
Another idea – cute robot

What is a neo traditional tattoo?

As we’ve mentioned, neo-traditional tattoos combine the elements of the modern and traditional styles. Unlike the old-school, this style include modern techniques which makes them look more complex and detailed. Usually, neo-traditional tattoos use thick lines and more colors. Another significant detail is the shadows which create the space.

Neo traditional tattoo of a lady
Tattoo of a lady
Neo traditional green rose tattoo on the hand
Neo-traditional green rose tattoo on the hand
Mosquito neo traditional tattoo
Mosquito neo traditional tattoo
Neo traditional snake in the bottle tattoo
Neo-traditional snake in the bottle tattoo
Horse tattoo in the neo traditional style
Horse tattoo in the neo-traditional style
Neo traditional native american shaman tattoo
Neo-traditional native American shaman tattoo
Chrysanthemum tattoo
Another idea of neo – Chrysanthemum tattoo
Neo traditional style raccoon tattoo
Neo-traditional style raccoon tattoo
Tiger and wolf head neo traditional tattoos on both hands
Tiger and wolf head on both hands
Neo traditional lemons
Neo-traditional lemons

One of the main reasons for the birth of this new style was the appearance of the new tools, which allowed the artists to reach a new level. The most notable artists that began to experiment with new techniques were Uncle Allan, Luis Lips, and Adrian Edek. First neo-traditional tattoos were a result of experimentation and testing of new technologies.

Neo traditional tattoo  old-school tattoo

Old school vs neo traditional
Old-school vs. neo-traditional

Of course, we can see that old-school style had a significant impact on the neo-traditional tattoos. But when we look closer, we can see that these two are very different styles. For the person who is not very familiar with tattoos, the difference may not be so noticeable. But an experienced eye can quickly tell which one is which.

The difference between neo-traditional and old-school styles

To begin with, let’s take a look at the technical characteristics. Although the two methods use similar lines and colors, unlike the old-school style, the neo offers a broader range of line thickness and more colors. All these features result in a tattoo which is more detailed and looks much more realistic.

Another neo traditional tiger
Another neo traditional tiger
Lady and the spider neo traditional tattoo
Lady and the spider tattoo
Neo traditional birds and lady face tattoo
Neo-traditional birds and lady face tattoo
Black pearl
Another idea – black pearl
Mexican tom
Mexican tom

Also, old-school tattoos have a limited color palette, while the neo-traditional style has much more color options. Therefore, due to the broader range of colors, shadowing and thickness of the lines we now have what we call the neo-traditional style.

A burning candle in the hand neo traditional tattoo
A burning candle in the hand
Neo traditional bee and flower tattoo
Neo-traditional bee and flower tattoo
Neo traditional angry tiger tattoo on the left calf
Another neo-traditional angry tiger tattoo on the left calf
Surrealistic neo traditional tattoo
Another surrealistic tattoo
Neo traditional lantern tattoo
Neo-traditional lantern tattoo

However, the old-school tattoos are more durable and resistant to the blurring, while the neo-traditional tattoos will become blurred after some time, and will need retouching.

Neo traditional tattoo styles

As for the themes and motifs, we can see that the most popular designs are the same as for the old-school tattoos. People mostly prefer skulls, animals, and other traditional elements such as daggers, candles, roses, and others. Although, with the new techniques, you have much more options which you could not achieve with the traditional style.

Pomegranate and knife neo traditional tattoo on the arm
Pomegranate and knife on the arm
Skull with flower
Skull with flower
Neo traditional knife
Another neo-traditional knife
Baboon tattoo on the right hand
Baboon tattoo on the right hand
Neo traditional snake tattoo
Neo-traditional snake tattoo

And yet the neo-traditional tattoos evolve. New styles born every year with more and more skillful artists showing off their works to the world. If you love neo tattoos, check out our excellent selection. Now when you know much more about them, we hope you’ll find the one you like, and it will be an inspiration for your tattoo!

Neo traditional cactus tattoo on the calf
Neo-traditional cactus tattoo on the calf
Hand holding a dagger
Hand holding a dagger
Woman astronaut neo traditional tattoo
Woman astronaut
Neo traditional octopus tattoo
Neo-traditional octopus tattoo
Neo traditional tomahawk tattoo
Another tattoo of a tomahawk
Full sleeve neo traditional tattoo
Full-sleeve neo-traditional tattoo
Neo traditional fish tattoo on the arm
Neo-traditional fish tattoo on the arm
Dagger stabbed skull
Another dagger stabbed skull
Neo traditional pineapple and tulips tattoo
Neo-traditional pineapple and tulips tattoo
Dagger stabbed hand and flowers
Another dagger stabbed hand and flowers
Crazy monkey tattoo in a neo traditional style
Crazy monkey tattoo in a neo-traditional style
Hand holding a key
Another idea – hand holding a key
Neo traditional realistic eye tattoo on the back of the right arm
Neo-traditional realistic eye tattoo on the back of the right arm
Eagle head in neo traditional style
Eagle head in neo-traditional style
Neo traditional wildflowers tattoo on the left upper arm
Neo-traditional wildflowers tattoo on the left upper arm
Storm in a teacup by carlin dacheff
A storm in a teacup by Carlin Dacheff
Neo traditional arrow stabbed bear tattoo on the neck
Another neo-traditional tattoo of an arrow stabbed bear on the neck
Abstract conceptual neo traditional tattoo
Abstract conceptual tattoo
Bird skull and paintbrush
Bird skull and paintbrush
Betrayal neo traditional tattoo
Betrayal neo traditional tattoo
Bird with a dagger
Bird with a dagger