Tattooing dates all the way back to 3370 BC and 3100 BC. Although there have been many negative stigmas attached to it in the past, tattooing has continued to grow as an art form. There are now hundreds of tattoo artists all over the world who create masterpieces. So who is the best of them all? Well, that’s what we are here to find out.

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Before we dive into the best tattoo artists, we have to unpack the different styles of tattooing. Tattoo styles include traditional and old school, tribal, watercolors, realism, and black and gray. But that’s only a few of them. When you think of tattoo styles you should think of them like different writing fonts. You see each one is unique and requires its only special technique to be executed correctly. Tattoo artists spend years trying to perfect their style or styles of tattooing. A tattoo artist is only considered to be an Ink Master if he or she holds a versatile portfolio of tattoos that are true works of art. This may come as a surprise but there are a few great women tattoo artists that are considered masters. This includes Ryan Ashley Malarkey an American tattoo artist. Ryan specializes in black and gray work.

When looking at her work you can see that she uses influence from her days as a fashion designer. Another great tattoo artist is Nikko Hurtado. The 41-year-old tattoo artist specializes in color portraits and has tattooed some of Hollywood’s most elite. This includes celebrities like The Rock and Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant. Whang-od is considered to be one of the oldest living tattoo artists. She is a Filipina tattoo artist who specializes in Batok. A traditional way of hand tapping tattoos. You see much like any form of artistic expression, tattooing holds no boundaries and only possibilities.