Competitions
Saturday
Best Colour
A showcase of pure vibrancy and technical skill. This competition seeks the best use of colour in tattooing, regardless of style. Judges will score based on saturation, blending, contrast, and longevity. If your ink is bright, bold, and bulletproof, this is your category. (Any size permitted, must be started and finished at the show)
Best Blackwork / Ornamental
Good use of sharp, crisp linework, either bold or fine, dotwork, Strong use of black and stippled shading, if any. no white ink! (Any size permitted, must be started and finished at the show)
Small Dino
Any tattoo featuring dinosaur-themed imagery, regardless of size, placement or style. (Under A5 in size, must be started and finished at the show)
Best Black and Grey
A good use of tones, shading techniques and an overall readable image. Opaque greys are allowed. (Any size permitted, must be started and finished at the show)
Best Neo / Traditional
Both a modern take on traditional tattoos using three dimensions and alternative colour palettes, & raw traditional tattoos keeping older values. (Any size permitted, must be started and finished at the show)
Newcomer
Any style permitted. The artist must have less than 3 years of experience and be licensed. This is your time to shine!
Best Booth
Awarded to the most eye-catching, creative, and engaging booth setup across the show floor.
Best of Saturday
Every winner of each category will be automatically entered. The winner of Best of Saturday will then be entered in Best of Show.
SUNDAY
Healed
A fully healed tattoo, showing no signs of trauma, scarring, or ink dropout. Must be well-settled and intact.
Realism & Portrait
Colour or mono, portraits, wildlife, hyper realistic detail. (Any size permitted, must be started & completed at the show.)
Best Large Dino
A dinosaur-themed tattoo over A5 in size, judged on detail, creativity, and boldness any style permitted. Must be started & completed at the show.
Oriental
This competition seeks the best in Asian-influenced tattooing. We want to see powerful mythological beasts, intricate floral work, and bold backgrounds that fit the body like a second skin.
Avant Garde
Colour or mono, abstract, distorted reality, brushwork, expressionist, line work, geometric and experimental. (Must be started and completed at the show).
Weekend Award
Awarded to the best piece completed across all days of the show, taking into account ambition and execution. (Artists must register this at the information booth before starting the tattoo on the Saturday morning)
Best of Sunday
Every winner of each category on sunday will be automatically entered into this category.
Best of Show
Best of Saturday & Best of Sunday will be judged together to find the winner of Best of Show.
COMPETITION RULES
Each category will be judged by the chosen judges who will be looking for well-executed tattoos.
You can enter your tattoo into one category only, unless it’s a Dino tattoo, then it may be entered into two categories.
Anyone entering into WEEKEND AWARD must register their tattoo on the Saturday morning before you start tattooing. Please note all 2-day tattoos must be entered into the weekend award with the exception of LARGE DINO, which can enter both categories.
Things to consider:
- Placement and flow of the tattoo
- The concept of the tattoo, e.g. an original idea or mash-up showing a creative design
- Clean and consistent linework, if any
- Well-packed blacks or colour, if any
- Good blends and smooth gradients, if any
- Vibrancy and tone – this can be very bright or nicely muted colours
- Does it look finished?
- Personal signature – to show your own personal touch to the tattoo
- Time to settle – don’t forget tattoo competitions have a deadline. Don’t leave it to the last minute. We will know, and your customer doesn’t want to be wiped 100 times before they go on stage
- Make sure that the tattoo has been started and completed at this convention unless you are
entering into a healed category - Make sure you are entering in the correct category for your piece
Please note:
The judges’ decision is final. A token system will be in place at this years show. This will be done anonymously. Please do not wear anything with a studio name or logo. Failure to stick to the rules can lead to disqualification
Biggest isnt always the best!
Prizes
Best of Saturday
TBC
Best of Sunday
TBC
Best of Show
TBC!
Additional Prizes
TBC
Category Awards
All 1st and 2nd place winners will receive a Dino trophy
All 1st place winners will also receive an exclusive Dino x Barber DTS skateboard!
SATURDAY
Traditional
A traditional tattoo is, for example, showing simple imagery with clean, bold linework and using a limited colour palette.
Neotraditional
A modern take on traditional tattoos using three dimensions and alternative colour palettes whilst keeping a traditional look.
New School
To show a unique warped design of a chosen subject, being oversized, unnatural and almost animated, bringing the piece to life.
Illustrative Blackwork / Blackwork
Good use of sharp, crisp linework, either bold or fine. Strong use of black and stippled shading, if any.
Healed Colour
Fully healed tattoo showing no signs of scarring or patches.
Best Small Dino
A tattoo under the size of A5 that includes imagery relating to dinosaurs.
Best of Saturday
The winners of each category will be re-judged to see which tattoo is the strongest of the selection.
SUNDAY
Black and Grey
A good use of tones, shading techniques and an overall readable image. Opaque greys are allowed.
Realism / Portrait
Realism – A tattoo that resembles real-life subjects and must look natural and realistic.
Portrait – The subject the artist chooses must be a face. This can be a human or non-human subject.
Colour
A strong presence of colour. The tattoo can be vibrant or use muted colours that are well packed and blended smoothly. (Any size permitted.)
Oriental
Oriental tattoo style is a type of art that incorporates traditional motifs and symbols from Asian cultures. Good flow and placement are very important.
Healed Black and Grey
Fully healed tattoo showing no signs of scarring or patches.
Best Large Dino
A tattoo over the size of A5 that includes imagery relating to dinosaurs.
Best of Sunday
The winners of each category will be re-judged to see which tattoo is the strongest of the selection.
Best of Show
The tattoo chosen by the judges which has followed the competition criteria and is the best tattoo of the two winners of Best of Saturday and Best of Sunday.
COMPETITION RULES
Each category will be judged by the chosen judges who will be looking for well-executed
tattoos.
You can enter your tattoo into one category only.
Unless this is a Dino tattoo, then it may be entered into two categories.
Things to consider:
- Placement and flow of the tattoo
- The concept of the tattoo, e.g. an original idea or mash-up showing a creative design
- Clean and consistent linework, if any
- Well-packed blacks or colour, if any
- Good blends and smooth gradients, if any
- Vibrancy and tone – this can be very bright or nicely muted colours
- Does it look finished?
- Personal signature – to show your own personal touch to the tattoo
- Time to settle – don’t forget tattoo competitions have a deadline. Don’t leave it to the last minute. We will know, and your customer doesn’t want to be wiped 100 times before they go on stage
- Make sure that the tattoo has been started and completed at this convention unless
entering into a healed category - Make sure you are entering in the correct category for your piece
Please note:
The judges’ decision is final. This will be done anonymously. Please do not wear anything
with a studio name or logo. Failure to stick to the rules can lead to disqualification.
