Glossary15 January 2026 · 1 min read

Flash

Flash is a ready-made design meant to be tattooed as it is, traditionally offered on sheets or boards displayed in the studio. The term comes from the flash-sheet tradition of traditional tattooing.

Why it matters: Flash is a way of offering work rather than a precise style: it can belong to any style.

Related: Traditional, Linework, Lettering, Illustrative.

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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Flash

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