Local Tattoo Artist Creates Dreamy, Delicate & Colourful Hand-Poked Tattoos

By Karmen on 01 Jun 2021

Digital Editor

Getting a tattoo is one of those things that seem to take forever and rightly so. There's a long checklist of to-dos like deciding on a design, placement, tattoo artist and so on. One tattoo style that's getting a boost in popularity these days, thanks to TikTok, are hand-poked tattoos.

If that sounds like something you'd consider, keep reading to check out a tattoo artist in Singapore who specialises in this tattoo style.

On a side note, check out these tips before you get inked:

- 10 Things You Should Know Before Getting Your First Tattoo
- Least & Most Painful Body Parts To Tattoo
- 10 Best And Worst Parts Of Your Body To Get A Tattoo

Hand poke, or stick-and-poke, tattoos are pretty much what they sound like. Unlike traditional tattoos, no machines are involved. The tattoo is applied by hand where a needle is attached to a pencil-like device, dipped into ink and poked into the skin.

Photo from scarlettpokes

The design is created dot by dot, giving it a hand-drawn and relaxed look. When colours are incorporated, the tattoos take on a dreamy, soft aesthetic.

Photo from scarlettpokes

Expect stick & poke tattoos to take a longer time to complete as the artist has to apply each dot individually compared to running a needle gun. On the plus side, these tattoos generally hurt less and heal faster - in about a month.

Photo from scarlettpokes

A local tattoo artist who's gaining popularity on Instagram for this tattoo style is lilypad (@scarlettpokes). Her hand-poked tattoos have a delicate, ethereal look, often with flowers, cats, butterflies as subjects. The combination of fine lines and vivid colours make the tattoos look like they were applied with a crayon or colour pencil.