Traditional Skull Tattoo

In American traditional tattooing the skull is a classic memento mori — a reminder that life is short. It is also worn as a symbol of defiance and fearlessness: the wearer looks death in the face and keeps going.

Pairings change the story: with roses it sets life and beauty beside death, with a dagger it reads as danger and defiance, with a snake as death and rebirth, and with a top hat it becomes a playful, dapper take on the same idea. As with most traditional tattoos, the meaning varies from wearer to wearer.

This page covers the American traditional skull. Sugar skulls, with their flowers and bright patterns, come from the Day of the Dead tradition and are a different style.

• Classic skull — a front or three-quarter view with a cracked forehead, white bone and bold black eye sockets.
• Skull and roses — roses beside or behind the skull, one of the most popular pairings in traditional flash.
• Skull and dagger — a blade driven through the skull.
• Skull and snake — a snake coiling through the eye socket.
• Skull with top hat — a skull in a black top hat, a favorite for forearms and calves.
• Skull and crossbones — the skull above two crossed bones, a pirate-style classic.
• Black and grey skull — the same bold outlines with grey shading instead of color.

A skull is a compact, rounded shape, so it fits almost anywhere: forearm, upper arm, calf, thigh, chest, hand, elbow or knee. Skulls with roses or crossbones spread wider and suit the shoulder, chest and thigh. Keep the eye sockets and teeth bold and simple — very small skulls can blur together as the tattoo ages, especially below about 6 cm (2.5 in).

When you bring a flash design to your artist, they will adjust the size and composition to fit your body and redraw the stencil. That is normal and part of the craft.