Tattoos “read” better with one main idea while too many elements can tend to muddle up a piece.

A tattoo can be ruined by a too busy background or too many elements all having emphasis.

Emphasis is when we use art elements to accentuate a focal point or center of interest. This important principle helps us avoid things looking dull and muddled by giving the viewer a place to anchor their eyes temporarily.

Contrast between textured areas and smooth areas in a tattoo can help direct the viewer’s eye to the most important elements. Highly textured areas will draw the eye and feel ‘closer’ to the viewer than areas with smooth or solid elements. Same goes for highly detailed areas vs. more blurred and soft areas.

Don’t forget that the borders of a tattoo can create an implied line, too. You can dispel this look by making tattoo edges fade into the skin.

Minimize, or tone down, other compositional elements in order to bring attention to the focal point. Backgrounds can be made lighter or darker in value, crisper or softer in focus, or textured or not textured, to lend support to where you want the eye to go.

You can always go back after a tattoo has healed and add additional dark, but you can’t take it away once in the skin (short of tattoo removal). Thus, it is helpful to err on the side of too light when you are new to tattooing and let your client know to come back for a follow-up visit to adjust levels and possibly build up color.

Emphasis is of particular importance in tattoo art because tattoos can tend to be jumbled along body parts, such as an arm sleeve, and thus difficult to “read”.

When composition is good, you don’t really notice it, but you definitely notice when compositional elements are ignored. An artwork will seem unsuccessful or ‘wrong’ to you, even if you don’t know why.