The Illustrative Blackwork of Bruno Santos

day of the dead, blackwork tattoo on arm

Brazilian tattoo artist Bruno Santos is not your regular late bloomer. He was already signed as a professional football player in Brazil when he surrendered to the call of tattooing. Not many people can put teenage football star and kickass tattoo artist in the same resumé. As impressive as that sounds, it wasn’t as easy as crossing the midfield to get to the other side for Santos. A year after getting signed by Cruzeiro, a team he grew up supporting, his agent passed away. This event led to him turning to his old love of fine arts at 20 and luckily finding a mentor who taught him the tricks of the trade. And the rest is history.

Santos developed a distinct style that amalgamates blackwork, stippling, and conceptual imagery, with a touch of his own meticulous style and attention to detail. He has experimented with colour realism, black and grey, and neotraditional-esque designs in the past before settling on the more distinct and striking style that he has now.

portrait of crying woman, blackwork, illustrative tattoo

tiger head girl, neotraditional

stag and skulls, neotraditional tattoo

wolf, black and red tattoo

crows and face, neotraditional tattoo

wolf illustrative tattoo

medusa tattoo, blackwork

owl tattoo

day of the dead girl tattoo, blackwork, sketch style

Images © Bruno Santos