American traditional tattoo portfolio

What is American Traditional?

‘American Traditional’, Western traditional, Old school or ‘Trad’ is a style that is easily portrayed by it’s simple bold black lines and it’s limited but solid colour palette. This usually consists of red, blue, green and yellow.

The style appeared in the early 20th century and many of the designs carry symbolic meaning reflecting the origins of North American (USA) culture. Some of these symbols include eagles, swallows, pinup girls, anchors, snakes, panthers, roses and daggers.

Like all styles, many artists put their own spin on Trad and can differ but generally keeps the same simplistic look.