More Than Words - Best Tattoo Lettering

Script tattoo work is so much more than just writing on skin. Through clever use of font, negative space and texture, artists can transform simple words into a striking visual statement, alone or underlining the rest of the tattoo!

In this blog you’ll find a huge range of tattoo script styles, from delicate handwriting to big, bold statements, in both simple and complex ways.

Read on for our favourite script, lettering and calligraphy tattoos made by our talented team of sponsored artists!

El Carnicero & Adam Theosone - Script Tattoo

Script and lettering tattoos can be straightforward - you ink a word onto your customer and bam, you’re done. But the real lettering pros know that the body is a dynamic, 3D canvas, making positioning and flow an important part of the design process.

El Carnicero manages to keep this script perfectly legible despite the combination of fonts and difficult spot on the top of the head! Meanwhile Adam Theosone went for the tricky hand spot, incorporating the phrase “Love Life”, with “love” created from negative space and “life” in a gothic font on the knuckles.

Nadine Dohr & Anrijs Straume - Initial Tattoos

Some customers won’t want an entire word or phrase tattooed on them - in which case they may well go for a single meaningful initial!

In Nadine Dohr’s handpoked piece she’s taken an “S” and put it in a dramatic script which allowed her to go from crisp black lines at the bottom to gentle dotwork at the top. Anrijs Straume often works phrases or names into his dark trash realism work - for this Buffy the Vampire Slayer piece, he’s adorned her cheek with the styled “B” for Buffy - he’s also given her a knuckle tattoo reading “Slay”.

J Becerra & Alex Lloyd - Latin Tattoos

Sometimes lettering tattoos are a good reminder for whoever’s wearing them, and we get the feeling that these Latin text tattoos are just that!

In J Becerra’s piece he has a fairly traditional font reading “Memento Mori” (which translates to “remember you must die”) across the forehead of a skull - it’s pretty clear what this is meant to represent! Meanwhile Alex Lloyd’s fine line neck piece means “Love and Faith”, and is done in very small, tidy gothic lettering.

Nina Shchetikova & Mauro de la Fuente - Asian letter tattoos

Not all letter tattoos are in the Roman alphabet! While it’s common to get a word tattoo in your own language - or perhaps Latin - the pictorial nature of Asian script languages make them for perfect tattoos. Just make sure you’re confident that it says the right thing!

Nina Shchetikova’s portrait of Saiki K enjoying a dessert is captioned with his catchphrase “yare yare” (meaning “good grief” or “oh dear”) in hiragana Japanese, inked in the same vibrant pink as his hair. Mauro de la Fuente has used standard Hyōjungo Japanese for the phrase “Set your heart ablaze”, framed by fluid flames as a dedication to Kyojuro Rengoku the Fire Hashira from Demon Slayer.

Conor McNulty & Clod the Ripper - Black metal tattoo

If you’re a fan of black - or otherwise extreme - metal, you’ll love these huge blackwork lettering pieces!

Conor McNulty’s huge “RESTLESS” blackwork stomach piece must have been agony for his customer - and we can only hope that they weren’t too restless throughout the tattoo process! He’s used a custom font to make this incredible effect. Clod the Ripper’s “Impaler” back piece is pure black metal goodness - except that it’s easier to read than most band logos!

Swatidot & Simon Mora - Calligraffiti

We first heard the term “calligraffiti” when we visited Simon Mora for a tutorial, and ever since we’ve been obsessed! This style uses calligraphy and lettering type techniques but arranges them into an abstract art form.

Swatidot’s huge back piece has the air of ornamental lettering about it, done in pure blackwork with some dotwork for texture. In Simon Mora’s piece, he’s used white ink and a large magnum to create this drag effect on top of blackwork, and we absolutely love it.

Priit Salusoo & Carlos Fabra - Chicano Lettering Tattoo

Chicano tattoos are a whole category of tattoos by themselves - this Mexican-American style of soft black and grey tattoos often have a hint of graffiti about them, which means they work wonderfully with lettering.

Priit Salusoo has worked a knuckle duster saying “Bad” onto the fist of this clown-faced Chicano woman, while Carlos Fabra has beautifully rendered Jesus and Mary onto his client’s hands with gothic lettering reading “Never Forgiven” across their faces.

Keely Glitters & Nick Reed - Gothic Font Tattoo

Gothic fonts are some of the most popular lettering styles for tattoos, as they’re bold, distinctive, and easy to read!

Keely Glitters tattooed this couples’ piece in big, bold gothic lettering, using her trademark glitter style in monochrome to really make them pop. Nick Reed’s “Comfort in chaos” is smaller but still easy to read, in a super distinctive red ink.

Sarah Krone & Poppy Smallhands - Fine line Lettering Tattoo

We love big bold lettering, but we’re also amazed by the level of detail found in our sponsored artist’s fine line lettering!

Sarah Krone uses different fonts and sizes to give this piece the impression of a collage. At the top, a serif font spells out the dictionary definition that brings this whole tattoo together, and further down she uses a handwriting script for these lyrics from The Sound of Silence. Poppy Smallhands went for a fine line handwriting script with this little inner arm reminder that you (or at least this customer) are loved!

Goldsmith Tattooer & Rodrigo Kalaka - Tattoo Traditional Lettering

Traditional tattoos often incorporate text, which is almost always defined by its simplicity - after all, traditional pieces were often done on ships by non-experienced sailors, so they had to be basic!

Rodrigo Kalaka usually works in colour, but there's something so pleasing about this blackwork piece with just a little shading that reads “Mother” in a classic Sailor Jerry-style font. Goldsmith made this Fallout-inspired Tunnel Snakes piece with some interesting effects on the lettering - coloured lines bisect the gang name, while the word “rule” is positioned around the tip of the blade with its own red shadow.

Guido Schmitz & Stefano Galati - Trash Polka Lettering

Words and lettering are a common theme in this collage-effect style of tattooing! Trash polka is often a visually interesting combination of photorealistic imagery, graphics, splatters and words.

Guido Schmitz’s huge torso piece is heavy on the ink and print effect, working the words “Memento Mori” (yes, again) into an abstract clock and large handwriting-style scriptwork down the belly reading “be gentle!” Stefano Galati’s leg sleeve focuses more on the photographic collage effect, with negative space lettering reading “save your pity for the weak”.