Book Tattoo
Black traditional crawling panther tattoo

Crawling Panther Tattoo

Stretched the panther downward, claws extended, teeth bared. Bold black outlines and a few tight white highlights on the claws and muzzle keep it firmly in the traditional canon, and I shaped the body to follow the natural curve of the design space.

The surrounding work I'd done earlier frames rather than competes (a banded armour design above, older traditional fillers below). Crawling panthers are one of the oldest motifs in American traditional tattooing for a reason: the silhouette is graphic enough to outlast the shading inside it, so the piece keeps reading after decades.

I'm taking traditional work at the Wellington studio on Dixon Street, drop me a line.

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By Rhys Thomas at Whitetail Tattoo, Level 3, 41–47 Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand

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Common Questions About Traditional in Wellington

What's the difference between traditional and neo-traditional?
Traditional keeps to a small, classical colour palette (reds, yellows, greens, blues) with chunky outlines and limited shading. Neo-traditional opens that up with more colours, finer detail, and more painterly shading. Same bones, more flexibility.
Do traditional tattoos cost less because they look simpler?
No. Traditional tattoos look deceptively simple. Clean bold lines and solid colour packs are hard to execute well, and they're priced on time and skill required, not visual complexity.
Can a traditional design be personal rather than generic?
Yes. Most of my traditional pieces are custom subjects rendered in the traditional language. Bring your own meaning and I'll handle the visual grammar.