Book Tattoo
Colour tattoo of a brown and white staffy dog with red flowers

Dog Portrait Tattoo

Tattooed a brown and white staffy looking outward, framed by a curl of red five-petal flowers and dark leaves. I built the fur with warm earth tones, and used soft black wash around the muzzle and ears to hold the structure of the face. Kept the surrounding flora firmly traditional: saturated reds, clean outlines, no fussy shading.

A colour pet portrait at this scale lets the face read with the right level of likeness. Any smaller and the detail blurs as the skin ages, any larger and the composition gets unwieldy. The frame of red traditional flora keeps the portrait grounded.

I take pet portrait bookings out of the Wellington studio, get in touch with a few reference photos if you want one.

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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 Colour in Wellington

Will colour fade faster than black?
Yes. All colour eventually softens, particularly with sun exposure. Solid blacks hold the longest, reds and warm tones hold well, and lighter pastels and whites are the most exposed. A well-placed and well-cared-for colour piece still looks great for many years, but it'll need touch-ups earlier than blackwork.
Does skin tone affect what colours work?
Absolutely. Some pigments read very differently on deeper skin tones, and white highlights can disappear entirely. I plan palettes per person rather than applying a stock formula, and I'll often swap white highlights for negative-space techniques where it makes sense.
Can I mix colour with blackwork in one piece?
Yes. Some of my strongest work is blackwork with one or two saturated colour accents. That combination tends to age well, because the black holds the composition together as the colour softens.