What Nontraditional Tattoo Is Right for You?

By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
What Nontraditional Tattoo Is Right for You?
Image: PeopleImages / E+ / Getty Images

About This Quiz

There's actually more than one tattoo style that includes "traditional" in the way it's described. Both American Traditional and Japanese Traditional are fairly popular styles that use time-tested design elements to produce clean and easy to identify tattoos. There's a lot of tradition in tattooing, in fact. Tribal tattoos themselves are a tradition that was co-opted by more modern fans of tattooing. While the practice is widespread and culturally accepted now, there was a long period in history during which tattooing was not considered "normal."  It was a niche thing that people on the fringes of polite society might do – circus folk, sailors and those same people acknowledging their tribal roots. Tattooing has come a long way to gain acceptance for the incredible form of art and expression that it is.

As commonplace as tattoos are today, there are still many unusual types to consider. Certain styles, designs and methods are not traditional by any means. Some of these are subtle and some are anything but. Still, if you're a fan of tattooing and want to leave tradition behind to try something unusual and unique, there are options. The question is, which nontraditional tattoo option is right for you? Let's take the quiz and find out!

It's hard to jump right into a nontraditional tattoo, but not impossible. How many tattoos do you already have?
Dozens
None
Only one
Just a couple of small ones

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What style of tattoo is the most interesting to you?
Photorealism
Watercolor
New School
Trash Polka

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Aside from tattoos, a few other body mods are out there. What sounds coolest to you?
Subdermal implants
Just normal piercings
Surface piercings
Corseting

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Some parties are more intense than others. Ever been to a rave?
Not my scene
Not yet
Heck yeah!
Ages ago

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If a friend of yours was learning to be a tattoo artist, would you let them perform their first real tattoo on you?
Heck yeah!
That really depends on the friend.
Maybe a small one that wasn't obvious
Gonna have to say no.

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Would you ever get a tattoo of a celebrity on you somewhere?
Sure!
Which celebrity?
Anything's possible.
I'm not sure I want a stranger on me.

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Do you have a limit to how many tattoos you'd consider getting?
The sky's the limit!
Not a ton, but more than one I think.
I could get a good amount.
Just a few

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How's your pain threshold?
I can handle anything.
It's low, but I can handle a bit.
The less pain the better
Not the best

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Are you looking to show off your ink or keep it under wraps?
I want to show off!
I'll keep mine secret.
Hidden until I want people to see it
Not hidden, but not drawing all eyes to it, either.

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If you were going to get a portrait tattoo, who would you get a portrait of?
A fictional character
My favorite actor
My pet
Someone I love

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How would you cover a tattoo if your boss was giving you a hard time about it?
Long sleeves or whatever
Mine wouldn't be exposed in the first place.
Some kind of scarf or bracelet
Nothing but Band-Aids!

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What's the riskiest extreme sport you'd ever consider doing?
Bring it all on!
Mountain biking
Skydiving
Whitewater rafting

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Would you ever get the name of someone you were in love with tattooed on you?
Sure, why not?
That never works out.
Yes. I could always cover it later if I had to.
Maybe in a place no one could see it

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Pick your favorite saying for some knuckle tattoos!
RIFF + RAFF
SELF + MADE
STAY + TRUE
LIVE + LOVE

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The most important part about getting a tattoo is finding the right artist. How are you finding yours?
Already have a great one
I can Google it.
I know a good shop.
A friend recommended someone to me.

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Your tattoo is done and the artist did a mind-blowing job! How much will you tip?
At least 30%
You have to tip for a tattoo?
I'll add 15% or 20%.
I'll kick in another $20 or so.

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An in-demand tattoo artist can really charge a premium. If you had the money to spare, what would you be willing to pay per hour for the best of the best?
$300 an hour
You pay for this stuff per hour? How about $50 or $60?
Maybe $200
$100

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What will you do if you ask for a portrait tattoo and then when it's done it looks nothing like the person in the real portrait?
Find a better artist to fix it
Laser removal
Time for a cover-up
Maybe add things to change it into something new

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Are you a fan of full color, or is black and grey your thing?
I dig it all.
Just some simple black is nice.
I want vibrant color.
I guess it depends on the design.

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A few years back there was some stir in the media about eyeball tattoos. Would you ever get one?
If they could be done safely, maybe
That is 100% insane.
I think it's cool for other people, but I don't know if I could go that far.
No way, too dangerous

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We're told we shouldn't care what other people think, but – be honest – do you care what other people think?
Not in the least
More than I should
Sometimes, yes
Depends on the person

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Are you worried about what your tattoos are going to look like when you're old and grey?
I bet they'll still be awesome.
That's why they'll be kept hidden.
I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
I've never really thought about it.

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Some people are prone to bleeding when they get tattooed. Are you?
Not really
I have no idea.
I bleed a little.
Yeah, they keep telling me to hydrate better beforehand.

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Do you have a favorite tattoo show that you watch?
I don't really like any of them.
"Ink Master"
"Ink Master: Angels"
"Black Ink Crew"

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Is there a reason behind your urge to get tattooed?
I have some spare real estate on my body, so why not?
To see what it's like
To better express myself
To commemorate something important to me

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If you were in the market for a photorealistic animal tattoo, what would you get?
Tiger
Otter
Peacock
My dog

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So who's designing your tattoo, anyway?
My artist, obviously
I saw something I want online.
I guess I'll work with the artist to come up with something.
I have what I want already.

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Which of these tattoo trends do you like the least?
All ink is pretty cool.
Tribal
Minimalist script
Finger tattoos

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Which celebrity has the best tattoos, in your opinion?
Mike Tyson
Emma Watson
Rihanna
Halsey

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How old do you think someone should be before they're allowed to get inked?
Old enough to live with whatever they get
16 at least
18 or so
21

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You Got: