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Because I mostly work with color, I am often in discussion with clients about which colors work best for their particular skin tone, and what we can expect.
Tattoos are for everyone, and I deeply believe that there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" skin! So the conversation really should not be focused on what is "good", but rather understanding the science behind how color is affected by melanin and making sure we can adjust expectations to achieve the best possible result.
To start our understanding of this, let's take a look at the diagram below.
Let's talk science!
Our skin, for the most part, has 3 layers. The top layer is called the epidermis, the middle layer is called the dermis, and the deepest layer is called the hypodermis.
When we tattoo, we are aiming to deposit ink into the second layer of the skin, the dermis. Our melanin sits on the first layer of skin, the epidermis. This means that, when we are looking at the pigment of tattoo ink (including black ink), we are seeing it through the "filter" of our melanin. If you've ever worked in theater backstage, you can think of how there were color filters for the different spotlights that we see the light through.
When we are looking at different skin tones, it is not the case that people with lighter skin have lighter melanin pigments. People with lighter skin tones will have less melanin in their skin, whereas people with darker skin have more melanin. You might even have discussed in a biology class the case of albinism - part of why the hair can be more brittle in these cases and why burning comes more easily is because there is no melanin present to act as that filter.
What does this mean in practice?
In practice, the saturation of a color (how "strong" a color is) can be affected. We get less saturated colors overall.
This can be an adjustment to styles like neotraditional, where we're aiming for really bright colors. But for styles like color realism and painterly styles, where we are aiming for the muted tones of oil paintings and more realistic tones, we can still achieve an elegant look!
This also means that certain hues (the actual color, like whether it's red or blue or green) will show up differently. If someone has a more red undertone to their skin, reds might show up a lot less saturated than greens. If someone has a yellow undertone, yellows and oranges might show up a lot less saturated than blues.
However, overall, our values (how light and dark the color is) are what will hold up our piece. As long as our values are correct, our subject matter will remain legible and age as best as it can!
Let's look at some examples.
Artsy and science-y terms and theory aside, let's look at some actual examples of what this means. Starting with this color test.
This was done on someone with a more yellow skin tone, we can see that the yellows somewhat disappear. Whereas the blues are very highly saturated, and really pop.
The reds look good, but they are not at 100% saturation. We don't get a Pinterest logo kind of red that is super bright and saturated. But, especially if we're aiming for more muted and realistic tones, we can still use the red hue in a piece and expect great results.
I tattooed the giraffe piece on the left using the most saturated yellows and browns I could find.
It is visible and we get the sense that these are the right colors for a giraffe. However, it's not McDonald's yellow - that wouldn't be achievable here, but also that level of crazy neon brightness was never our goal anyway.
For the fishing boy photo on the right, we knew that blues tend to show up well and with a lot of saturation because skin tones are on the warmer side. So we really used that to our advantage to achieve an amazing result!
In order to have a good preview, you'll often see me do what is shown in the design below (a real example of what a client received), which involves having a preview of what a piece might look like in different skin tones. Sometimes I can ever preview how it could look like settled. If I have a photo of the placement or if we've already worked together before, I will often send previews with a background that I feel is closest to the skin tone so we can have a sense of how a certian piece will look like on you!
When it comes to tattooing color on darker skin, we are inevitably dealing with physical limitations to what can be achieved. However, with a skilled artist and proper parameters, amazing results can still be achieved!
With visualization tools and understanding what we can expect, we can find a solution that works for your collection and your skin. :)
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