Project awards
Best Sleeve, Best Back Piece, Best Torso Piece, Best Bodysuit and Best Cover-Up.
Recognition earned through your work
Great tattooing.
Lasting recognition.
City and national awards that recognize individual tattoos and outstanding artist portfolios. Earned through eligible evaluations, never purchased.
The expanded awards system is in development. This page explains the award structure; no winners are being announced here.
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Gold
Best Fine Line Tattoo in Kansas City · October 2026
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Silver
Best Fine Line Tattoo in Kansas City (Runner-Up) · October 2026
Two places in each active competition: winner and runner-up. Example titles above illustrate the format.
Real competition comes first.
A city style category needs at least five artists who list that style among their two primary styles. Four watercolor specialists means no watercolor award that month. Five or more can activate Gold and Silver, subject to sufficient evaluation evidence.
Older work can compete again through fresh evaluations in the current period. Uploading a large historical catalog does not automatically earn a quality award. Impressions show exposure; valid independent evaluations establish performance.
One exceptional piece. One lasting achievement.
Style and project awards belong to a specific tattoo and link back to its artist. City and national competitions span monthly and annual periods where eligible competition exists.
Best Fine Line TattooBest Realism TattooBest Black and Gray Realism TattooBest Color Realism TattooBest Traditional TattooBest Neo-Traditional TattooBest Japanese TattooBest Blackwork TattooBest Watercolor TattooBest Geometric TattooBest Ornamental TattooBest Dotwork TattooBest Illustrative TattooBest Lettering TattooBest Chicano TattooBest Tribal TattooBest Polynesian TattooBest New School TattooBest Surrealism TattooBest Abstract TattooBest Minimalist TattooBest Biomechanical Tattoo
Style catalog under development. Categories activate according to the controlled taxonomy and qualified competition, not automatically for every label.
Color awards
Best Black and Gray Tattoo and Best Color Tattoo recognize work across relevant styles.
Best Tattoo Artist
An overall artist award considers all pieces meeting inclusion requirements for that period. Quality leads; raw upload count does not buy a better result.
Bigger stages. Bigger recognition.
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City style
Monthly
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City overall
Monthly
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National style
Monthly
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National overall
Monthly
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National style
Annual
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National overall
Annual
Badges grow with the competition level. Gold recognizes first place; Silver recognizes the runner-up. No international awards are planned for now.
More ways to recognize excellence.
Best Female Tattoo Artist
Overall portfolio performance during the period, with city monthly and annual recognition. Appears in the eligible profile showcase but does not increase the main award count.
Best Up-and-Coming Tattoo Artist
Proposed competition for artists with fewer than three years of professional tattooing experience. Experience verification and final eligibility rules are still being defined.
People’s Choice
A separate award based on genuine public approval once public voting is available. Artist-only judging will not be presented as a public vote.
Judging Distinction
Proposed recognition for judges in the top 10% of reliable peer agreement, with a minimum valid judging sample and integrity checks. The scoring method and recipient count are not finalized.
Earned by every tier. Showcased with Premium.
Free, Premium and Premium Plus artists can earn awards under the same participation and evidence rules. Official records stay independently verifiable. Premium members can showcase earned badges on their profiles; payment never influences winners.
Repeat winners are allowed. Permanent records identify the artist, tattoo where applicable, category, place and period. Eligible winners may also be selected for our official Instagram and Facebook pages, with permission.
Explore your awards with Studio Intelligence →Fair results need strong evidence.
Competition windows use evaluations from that period. Minimum independent evaluations, portfolio aggregation, ties, category-specific entry rules and some special-award conditions are being finalized before issuance. There is no award for upload volume, no subject-specific catalog planned, and no separate Artist’s Choice award for an already artist-judged feed.