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Traditional black lady head tattoo in profile with a draped veil and pointed collar

Traditional Lady Head With Veil Tattoo

Drew a lady's head in three-quarter profile under a sharp draped veil, sitting against a star and crescent. This motif is a workhorse of American traditional and I kept it loyal to that lineage: heavy single-weight outline, smoked grey shading on the cheek, and bold black fills on the veil and collar.

The canvas gave me enough length for the veil to drape naturally rather than crop awkwardly at the base of the composition. I lean on traditional lady heads because they age well, the outline carrying most of the work and the values pulled apart enough that decades of fade won't muddy the portrait. Bookings for custom traditional pieces through my Whitetail Tattoo studio in Wellington.

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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.