26 FAMOUS TATTOO ARTISTS FROM HISTORY AND TODAY - ART - 2025

There are famous tattoo artists who have stood out for the quality of the tattoos they have managed to do and for their designs. Their perseverance has led them to become the best tattoo artists in the world.

According to the RAE, "tattooing is engraving drawings on human skin, introducing coloring matters under the epidermis, due to previously arranged punctures or stings."

The word tattoo comes from the Polynesian language (tátau) and from this term it passed into English, tatoo (pronounced tatú). And from here it has passed to all other languages.

The history of tattoos is ancient. There is evidence of tattoos (a small mustache on the lip) in the Chinchorro culture of Peru, 2000 years before Christ.

Tattoo artist, despite not being collected in the RAE, will be anyone who is dedicated, professionally or not, to make tattoos on the skin.

There are so many styles of tattoos. Some tattooists master several of them. We have the abstract tattoo, black and white, Celtic, blackwork (using only black ink), pointillism (fine style using innumerable dots that come together to form the drawing), tattoo of Chinese characters, Germanic runes, Japanese irezumi, etc.

There are not a few professionals who have made tattooing their way of life. The most famous can earn a lot of money on each tattoo. We are going to meet some of them.

Current tattooists

1- Amanda Wachob (Brooklyn, New York)

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Amanda is capable of making incredible figures with ink of different colors on the skins of her clients. Her impeccable drawings give the feeling of seeing a hyper-realistic painting.

Make all kinds of drawings, from geometric figures, through brightly colored butterflies, to spots and dots creating a high quality abstract drawing.

2- Chaim Machlev (Berlin, Germany)

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This tattoo artist is known as "Points and Lines". His tattoos are exclusively in black ink, never using any other color. His lines and dot patterns are quite creative and he is highly regarded by tattoo lovers.

3- Xoïl (Paris, France)

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Loic Lavenú has an original style, little seen, that makes his tattoos appear as if they were photoshopped. Black ink predominates, but you can use other colors.

4- Peter Aurisch (Berlin, Germany)

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Talented tattoo artist from the Fine Arts. His tattoos are like small pictures on the skin of the clients, giving him the same whether it is watercolor, sketch or charcoal style. Very original.

5- Sasha Unisex (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

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The most surprising thing about this Russian tattoo artist is the rich and varied range of colors that she uses for her work.

Precisely these colors, with the right combination of them, makes your tattoos acquire an elegant touch of softness that is very difficult to achieve in the tattoo. It is as if its needles did not pierce the skin, as if it were gently painting on it.

6- Madame Chan (Berlin, Germany)

Very original tattoo artist, with an unmistakable style in which she combines everyday motifs with drawings from her dreams and fantasies.

7- Alice Carrier (Portland, Oregon, United States)

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If you like motifs and drawings of nature, this is your ideal tattoo artist. From flowers, petals and stems, to ears of wheat, to small birds perched on branches, Alice has a very good hand at drawing.

8- Rob Kelly (Hong Kong, China)

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This artist combines the best of western art with classical Chinese tattooing. It combines the new school of color with the classic stroke in drawing and lines.

9- Angelique Houtkamp (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

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This Dutch tattoo artist started relatively late, at the age of thirty. That has not prevented her from achieving her own style, with a feminine touch, which would be valid for both canvas and skin.

10- Valerie Vargas (London, UK)

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This tattoo artist is famous for her women's faces and flowers, both for their colors and for the drawing.

11- Louis Molloy (Manchester, UK)

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If you've always wondered who was responsible for ripping and dyeing footballer David Beckham's skin, here's the answer. It is versatile and can do any type of tattoo.

12- Kenji Alucky (Hokkaido, Japan)

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Very interesting and original Japanese tattoo artist. This refined technique using a myriad of points is called "stippling." Use geometric and tribal drawings.

To fully appreciate his art, the viewer has to get very close to the skin. You have to look at their tattoos very closely. The most curious can use the magnifying glass to see every last detail of his technique.

13- Placaso (Santa Ana, California)

It comes from the tradition of white and gray. He is famous for his “Chicano” drawings, but where he really stands out is in the portrait.

14- Mariusz Trubisz (Vrotslav, Poland)

Polish tattoo artist who also focuses on the technique of hyperrealism. Its bright colors are one of its hallmarks.

15- Shane O'Neill (Middletown, Delaware, United States)

He is one of the best tattoo artists within the photo portrait. You give Shane a picture of a portrait and he gets it tattooed in no time than a rooster crows on your skin.

16- Dmitry Samoguin (Ukraine)

This tattoo artist spreads his ink along the arms, shoulders, forearms, thighs. Tattoo well-known characters from cinema, science, television or politics.

People roam the world who, thanks to their hands, carry Marilyn Monroe on one shoulder, Nicola Tesla on the arm, Albert Einstein on the forearm or Salvador Dalí, with his face and his soft watches bending, on the calf.

17- Ondrash (Czech Republic)

This Czech tattoo artist, very famous in central Europe, has specialized in tattoos reminiscent of watercolor painting. He uses color well and makes blends worthy of an expert watercolorist.

18- Soctt Campbell (New York, United States)

Scott is famous for having tattooed the skins of famous people, including Marc Jacobs. He dominates many styles, but where he is strong is in the Mexican imagery. He is a specialist in death masks from Mexico.

19- Julian Garner (Ottawa, Canada)

Fine and delicate lines where color is also the center of the tattoo characterize this Canadian who usually tattoos the bodies or heads of all kinds of animals.

20- Erin Chance (Richmond, United States)

A great representative of figurative tattooing, specialized in the faces of elegant women and cats, although she is capable of tattooing any other figure and also objects, such as hourglasses above all.

21- Bugs (Los Angeles, United States)

An artist who uses the needle and the ink as he might use the brush or the gouge. This American understands tattoos as another representation of art. His works are worth being, at least, seen, if we do not dare to go through the needle.

22- David Hale (Georgia, United States)

His tattoos follow patterns of decorative art, with classic and tribal drawings, predominantly black ink, but occasionally using bright colors for birds or butterflies.

Classic tattooists

1- George Burchett-Davis (Brighton, United Kingdom, 1872-1953)

He was called the king of tattoo artists. He was expelled from school at the age of twelve for tattooing his classmates. He entered the English Navy and continued to do amateur tattoos until he returned home and began to learn from the legendary English tattoo artists.

He is famous for having tattooed royalty, including the Spanish King Alfonso XIII and King George V of the United Kingdom. In addition to being a tattoo artist, he is known for having developed a cosmetic that was actually the forerunner of today's "tattooed eyebrows."

2- Sailor Jerry Collins (United States, 1911-1973)

His birth name was Norman Keith Collins. Most of his life he was a sailor, hence his name, "Sailor" (sailor). He learned the art of tattooing in Alaska from "Big Mike" who taught him how to tattoo by hand. Later, in Chicago, he would learn to tattoo with a machine thanks to Tatts Thomas.

He entered the US Navy at age 19 and sailed the seas of the world for the rest of his life, tattooing anyone who lent him their skin for a few hours. He became a worldwide tattoo authority. She taught her technique to Ed Hardy and Mike Malone. Sailor's fame continues today thanks to the company “Sailor Jerry Ltd.”, a clothing and souvenir brand promoting new talent.

3- Don Ed Harry (United States, 1945)

One of Sailor Jerry Collins's students. Following Sailor's advice, Don studied classical Japanese tattoos under Master Horihide and began to incorporate Japanese techniques into his work.

He has published several alternative art books, including the "Tattoo Time" series. He manufactures the "Ed Hardy" clothing line and sponsors tattoo artists at his San Francisco studio.

4- Horiyoshi III (Japan)

This famous Japanese tattoo artist has spent forty years trying not to lose the ancient Japanese tradition of tattooing. His teachers, Horiyoshi I and Horiyoshi II, instructed him and transmitted the essential knowledge in the art of "irezumi", the ancient tattoo of Japan.

Horiyoshi III knows that maintaining this tradition is difficult in Japan today, since tattoos have very negative connotations there, as in Russia, because they are more typical of criminals. The Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, uses tattoos to tell the story of their crimes, as do the Russian vóry and zakone (the thieves of law).

Horiyoshi's work follows Zen teachings and is based on humility.