Who are the 10 Best Tattoo Artists in Toronto?

At Chronic Ink, we believe that our award-winning tattoo artists are among the top tattoo artists in Toronto. We can set you up with an artist whose best skills align with the kind of tattoo design you want. We have five locations in the Toronto area with talented tattoo artists that can recreate any design you can imagine. Our artists work with you every step of the way, from initial conversation and brainstorming on your idea, to matching you up with the right artist for the tattoo style you want. Chronic Ink Tattoo’s dedicated tattoo artists use their skills to create beautiful art that will astonish you. Be sure to follow our artists on Instagram and check out their extensive portfolios.

Who Are the Best Asian Tattoo Artists?

Chronic Ink’s best Asian tattoo artists are Danny and Tristen Zhang.

Danny - @danny_chronicink

Danny specializes in Neotraditional Asian-style tattoos. Danny’s highly detailed designs depict images of fantastic, heroic, and mythological characters, figures, and creatures in a broad pallet of colors. His portfolio features individual tattoos, arm sleeves, leg sleeves, large chest and back pieces, and full-body tattoos.

Tristen Zhang - Asian Style - @tristen_chronicink

Tristen Zhang is a co-founder of Chronic Ink and specializes in Asian-style tattoos. Tristen’s highly detailed designs depict images of fantastic, heroic, and mythological characters and creatures rendered in the traditional Asian style. Tristen has an extensive portfolio of arm sleeves, leg sleeves, large chest and back pieces, and full-body tattoos.

What Are Asian Style Tattoos?

Asian style tattoos have evolved significantly over the years. Most modern tattoo shops in Toronto work in the Neotraditional style. Asian tattoos usually contain the three primary elements or motifs of wind, waves, and fire. Most Asian tattoos have some or all of these motifs present in their designs. Contemporary Asian-style tattoos fall into two main categories: traditional and neotraditional. What are the differences?

Traditional vs. Neotraditional Asian Style Tattoos

Traditional Asian tattoos are best known for full-body tattoos with intricate, detailed designs. Traditional styles follow a regimented structure that defines the boundaries of the pieces. Neotraditional Asian tattoo designs use traditional designs and motifs, but are less structured and follow the natural contours of the body. They use bold lines and color palettes, and modern variations on traditional designs and themes to make certain elements stand out.

Who Are The Best Fine Line Tattoo Artists?

Chronic Ink’s best Fine Line tattoo artists are Jojo and Alexandra.

Jojo - @joannamroman

JoJo specializes in Fine Line tattoos that are intricate and detailed. Her portfolio features fine-line renderings of text, script, diagrams, equations, and highly detailed renderings of 2D and 3D objects. Her texts and scripts are finely rendered and highly readable – even in the smallest sizes.

Alexandra - @difloo

Alexandra specializes in Fine Line and Flora tattoos. Her portfolio features highly detailed, fine-line renderings of flowers, herbs, birds, and other animals. Her intricately rendered flora and fauna tattoos are stunning. She also does fine-line renderings of text, script, and symbols.

What Are Fine Line Tattoos?

Fine line tattoos use straight or curved thin lines to render 2D or 3D objects. These tattoo designs emphasize form and outline over color, shading, and texture. Fine line tattoo artists create highly detailed minimalist tattoos that aren't showy. Fine line tattoos are elegant and discreet and frequently placed in small, inconspicuous places like between fingers.

Who Are the Best Blackwork Tattoo Artists?

Chronic Ink’s best Blackwork tattoo artists are Sebastian and Zeke.

Sebastian - @sebastian.tattoo

Sebastian specializes in Blackwork tattoos. His portfolio features highly detailed, stylized, complex renderings of animals, skulls, symbols, figures, flora, and geometric patterns. His intricately rendered designs come in a variety of sizes.

Zeke - @zeke.tattoo

Zeke specializes in blackwork, dotwork, and pet portrait tattoos. Her portfolio features highly detailed, stylized, complex renderings of animals, skulls, symbols, figures, flora, geometric patterns, and pet portraits. Her pet portraits are finely rendered images of your beloved companion done in exquisite detail.

What Are Blackwork Tattoos?

Blackwork tattoos are bold works of body art rendered in black ink that resemble drawings. Often these tattoos depict geometric shapes, figurative forms, scenes, and objects. Blackwork tattoos became popular with modern interpretations of Polynesian tribal tattoos. Today, blackwork has evolved into a variety of tattoo styles. Some of the more popular blackwork tattoo styles are:

• Geometric
• Blackout
• Negative Space
• Dotwork
• Tribal

Who Are the Best Illustrative Tattoo Artists?

Chronic Ink’s best Illustrative tattoo artists are Amber and Lynsey.

Amber - @amberrobyntattoos

Amber specializes in illustrative tattoos that stand out for their color and skilled rendering. Her portfolio features highly stylized, detailed renderings of subjects ranging from abstract, fantasy, sci-fi, mythology, as well as figures, animals, and floral designs. Her highly skilled renderings are incredibly colorful and eye-catching.

Lynsey - @lynseyhayton

Lynsey specializes in illustrative and watercolor tattoos encompassing a broad range of subjects and techniques. Her portfolio features colorful images, old school designs, floral, animal, and abstract compositions. She also masterfully incorporates watercolor into her designs for a gorgeous effect. Her highly skilled, detailed renderings are colorful and attractive in any size.

What Are Illustrative Tattoos?

Illustrative tattoos combine elements of traditional tattoos and realism. This style is known for its bold outlines and intense colors. Illustrative tattoos can be rendered technically and hyper-realistic, or in a more fluid style using techniques like watercolor.

Who Are the Best Realism Tattoo Artists?

Chronic Ink’s best Realism tattoo artists are George, TK, and Martin.

George - @george_chronicink

George specializes in Black and Grey Realism tattoos. His portfolio features a broad range of subjects and sizes, all rendered in splendid detail. His intricate designs include renderings of animals and figures from the known world and worlds unknown.

TK - @tk_chronicink

TK specializes in Black and Grey Photorealism tattoos. His portfolio features a stunning variety of images that depict people, animals, scenery, and objects rendered with intricate detail. His subjects are real-world and from the realm of fantasy, and appear as though they could step out from their surroundings.

Martin - @tattooxtran

Martin specializes in Black and Grey Photorealism tattoos. His portfolio features a wide variety of subjects large and small, rendered in glorious detail. His tattoos depict people, animals, figures, symbols, flora, and objects. His figures include photo-realistic depictions of family members, pets, animals, religious figures, famous works of art, as well as historical and fantasy characters.

What Are Realism Tattoos?

Realism, also known as photorealism, refers to detailed and accurate renderings of real-life imagery. These images are often indistinguishable from a photograph. Realism is a difficult technique to master on paper. Artists spend years attempting to perfect this technique on skin. The two styles of realism tattoo art are black and grey and color. Black and grey tattoos utilize black and grey ink, creating a similar effect to a black and white photo. Full-color realism tattoos require multiple, detailed layers to produce the final result. Chronic Ink Tattoo and Piercing has four tattoo parlors in Toronto area: Downtown, Eglinton, Markham, and Mississauga. We are known for our professionalism and the incredible artistry of our staff. Our artists create eye-catching, beautifully rendered tattoos. We pay close attention to detail so your tattoo is as close to your imagined design as we can get. Come in and see why we have the best tattoo shops in Toronto.