Micro Realism

Family

realism

Substyle

Realism

Line behavior

fine needles such as single needles

Visual traits

highly intricate detail at small scale; smooth gradation; white ink highlights in final stages

Shading behavior

around five different ink dilutions adapted to the client's skin type; balance of light and shadow for smooth gradation; white ink applied last to raise contrast and depth

Palette tendencies

black and grey

Conflicts or cautions

no sourced scale threshold separates micro-realism from full-size realism; the distinction in the cited source is one of needle and dilution technique

• Micro-Realism by South Korean Tattoo Artist Young Gi Cho (opens in a new tab)

  Tier 2

  Tattoo Life Crew, Tattoo Life

  Reports that the artist uses fine needles such as single needles for highly intricate detail and around five different ink dilutions adapted to the client's skin type, balances light and shadow for smooth gradation, and applies white ink in the final stages to enhance contrast and depth. Describes blending realism as a foundation with illustrative elements. LIMIT: the article does not explicitly state a scale threshold separating micro-realism from full-size realism.

  professional tattoo source · published 2025-03-26 · retrieved 2026-08-28

• A Complete List of Tattoo Styles (And Their Rules) (opens in a new tab)

  Tier 2

  Tattooing 101

  A tattoo-education platform's style reference. Gives per-style rules for ten styles. American Traditional/Old School: thick bold lines, one line weight, yellow/red/green/black, 2-D. Neo Traditional: 2-3 line weights, thinner for detail, muted palette, ultra-smooth blends, realistic proportions, Art Nouveau/Deco elements. New School: bright colours, 3-D graffiti effect, exaggerated features such as big eyes and big teeth. Black and Grey: black and grey wash only, grey from gradients, grey wash heals about 30 percent lighter than fresh. Realism: no hard outlines, soft undefined edges, 3-D image, recreates photos, shading marked on stencils. Watercolor: keep some line work so the design stays readable, soft-looking edges, whip and pendulum shading. Geometric: break designs into basic shapes, shade by light direction. Blackwork: black ink only, brush shading for lighter areas. It also lists Japanese and Tribal as styles with rules - a treatment this corpus deliberately does not follow (see T11.10).

  professional tattoo source · retrieved 2026-08-28

No relationship in the corpus touches Micro Realism. The graph is sparse; the type listings carry browsing.