Glossary15 January 2026 · 1 min read

Biomechanical

Biomechanical fuses organic and mechanical elements, such as muscles, gears, tubes and cables, creating the effect of a machine emerging from the body. It draws on science-fiction art and often uses realism in black and grey or colour.

Why it matters: It depends heavily on shading and tone management to render volumes and materials.

Related: Realism, Black and Grey, Shading, Surrealism.

Guide4 min readReading a style: six elements for looking at a tattooStyle labels help find one's way around, but they say little on their own: two tattoos called the same thing can be very different, and a work can sit between two styles. This guide proposes a method for looking at a tattoo by observing six concrete elements: line, colour, contrast, composition, depth and subject. With these elements the families of styles can be recognised, what is seen can be described, and one can understand from which traditions and influences they come. The styles mentioned have a glossary entry; here the interest is in how to look at them.

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Biomechanical

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