# Dotwork tattoos in Seattle

> Dotwork builds images and shading from thousands of individual dots instead of lines or smooth washes, a technique borrowed from stippling and stipple engraving. Dense dots create dark areas and sparse dots create soft gradients. It's common in mandalas, geometric and ornamental work and suits people who want a textured, engraved look.

- Also called: dot work tattoo, stippling tattoo, pointillism tattoo, stipple shading, dot shading
- Typical Seattle cost (palm-sized): $350–$850 (Placing dots is slow, so 2–3.5 hours is common at palm size.)
- How well it ages (1–5): 3
- Best placements: Forearm, Upper arm, Sternum, Shoulder blade, Calf
- Page: https://seattle-tattoo.org/styles/dotwork

Stippling, building tone from small dots, is an old technique in drawing and printmaking, including stipple engraving. Tattooers adapted it for skin, and dotwork became closely tied to geometric, mandala and ornamental tattooing, as well as to blackwork illustration that imitates old prints.

The artist controls darkness by dot density: tightly packed dots read as nearly solid, scattered dots as a soft fade. That gives dotwork a grainy, tactile texture you can't get from smooth shading. Some clients find it gentler than packing solid color, though sessions are slow because each dot is placed individually. Hand-poked tattoos also often use a dotwork approach.

Dotwork gets an aging score of 3 out of 5. Dense dotwork holds up well, and the dots blend into a smooth gradient as they settle. Very light stippling at the edges of a gradient is the first thing to fade, and dots placed too close together can merge into patches. Bold design structure underneath the dots helps the piece last.

## Defining traits

- Shading built from individual dots
- Grainy, engraved texture
- Gradients controlled by dot density
- Mostly black ink
- Pairs naturally with geometric and ornamental designs

## Studios listing dotwork work

- [Cleopatra Ink Seattle](https://seattle-tattoo.org/studios/cleopatra-ink-seattle) — 1523 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 · (206) 699-2822 · https://www.cleopatraink.com/en/studios/seattle-tattoo-and-piercing-studio · Featured: Seattle Tattoo and Cleopatra Ink Seattle share ownership.
- [True Love Tattoo & Art Gallery](https://seattle-tattoo.org/studios/true-love-tattoo-art-gallery) — 421 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122 · (206) 227-3572 · https://www.trueloveart.com
- [Bakers Dozen](https://seattle-tattoo.org/studios/bakers-dozen) — 307 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501 · (360) 972-3868 · https://www.bakersdozentattoo.com
- [Ivy Ink Tattoo](https://seattle-tattoo.org/studios/ivy-ink-tattoo) — 134 Washington Ave N, Kent, WA 98032 · (206) 714-0069 · https://ivyinktattoo.com
- [The Nova Expansion](https://seattle-tattoo.org/studios/the-nova-expansion) — 511 2nd Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119 · (206) 487-6024 · https://thenovaexpansion.com

## Artists listing dotwork work

- [Alora Sherbert](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/alora-sherbert) — Tattoo artist · The Nova Expansion (Queen Anne, Seattle) · Dotwork, Illustrative · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macabre_markings
- [Brady](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/brady-andromeda-studio) — Tattoo artist · Andromeda Studio (Renton, WA) · Blackwork, Black and Grey, Realism, Geometric, Dotwork, Script and Lettering, Tribal · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berracudatattoos
- [Cammeron Donnelly](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/cammeron-donnelly) — Tattoo artist · Supergenius Tattoo (Capitol Hill, Seattle) · American Traditional, Neo-Traditional, Dotwork · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cammerondamnit
- [Codie Christel](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/codie-christel) — Apprentice tattoo artist · The Nova Expansion (Queen Anne, Seattle) · American Traditional, Neo-Traditional, Japanese (Irezumi), Black and Grey, Dotwork, Color · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codietattoo
- [Farid Pashayev](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/farid-pashayev) — Tattoo artist · Cleopatra Ink (Tacoma, WA) · Japanese (Irezumi), Blackwork, Realism, Dotwork · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faridtattooer
- [Fulin Naz Gurluk](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/fulin-naz-gurluk) — Tattoo artist · Cleopatra Ink Seattle (Downtown, Seattle) · Realism, Dotwork · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ful7n
- [London Avery](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/london-avery) — Tattoo artist · The Black Bison Studio (Tacoma, WA) · Neo-Traditional, Black and Grey, Realism, Geometric, Dotwork, Illustrative · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/londonaverytattoos
- [Mallory Bragg](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/mallory-bragg) — Tattoo artist · The Nova Expansion (Queen Anne, Seattle) · Fine Line, American Traditional, Neo-Traditional, Blackwork, Black and Grey, Dotwork, Color · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mallotron
- [Matisse Maugh](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/matisse-maugh) — Owner and tattoo artist · Bloodstone Tattoo Studio (Tacoma, WA) · Fine Line, Black and Grey, Realism, Geometric, Dotwork, Illustrative, Ornamental · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matisses.pieces
- [Weston](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/weston-andromeda-studio) — Tattoo artist · Andromeda Studio (Renton, WA) · Fine Line, American Traditional, Blackwork, Dotwork, Color · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westong.tattoo
- [Alex Seredenin](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/alex-seredenin) — Tattoo artist · Cleopatra Ink (Tacoma, WA) · Blackwork, Black and Grey, Micro-Realism, Dotwork, Color
- [Lucas Eagleton](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/lucas-eagleton) — Owner and tattoo artist · The Black Bison Studio (Tacoma, WA) · Neo-Traditional, Blackwork, Black and Grey, Dotwork, Illustrative
- [Taryn McIntyre](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/taryn-mcintyre) — Owner and tattoo artist · Kintyre Ink tattoo (Spokane, WA) · Dotwork, Ornamental
- [Wrenn Grey](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/wrenn-grey) — Tattoo artist · Living Skin Tattoo (Spokane Valley, WA) · Fine Line, Blackwork, Dotwork
- [Chris Velesara](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/chris-velesara) — Tattoo artist · Moonlight Tattoo (Roosevelt & Maple Leaf, Seattle) · Neo-Traditional, Blackwork, Black and Grey, Dotwork, Ornamental · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velesara_tattoo
- [Jackie](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/jackie-nexus-tattoo) — Tattoo artist · Nexus Tattoo (Vancouver, WA) · Fine Line, Dotwork · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little.doll.ink
- [Mikala](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/mikala-lunar-tattoo-and-piercing) — Tattoo artist · Lunar Tattoo and Piercing (Vancouver, WA) · Fine Line, Neo-Traditional, Black and Grey, Watercolor, Dotwork, Illustrative · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pariahbodyart_
- [Tayler](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/tayler-ivy-ink-tattoo) — Tattoo artist · Ivy Ink Tattoo (Kent, WA) · American Traditional, Neo-Traditional, Black and Grey, Dotwork, Anime · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projectnimkii.jpg
- [Alejandro Dzul](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/alejandro-dzul) — Tattoo artist · Dzul Ink Lounge (Belltown, Seattle) · Blackwork, Black and Grey, Realism, Micro-Realism, Dotwork, Script and Lettering, Tribal, Color, Cover-Up
- [Glenn Segard](https://seattle-tattoo.org/artists/glenn-segard) — Tattoo artist · Bakers Dozen (Olympia, WA) · Dotwork · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caledoniatattoo

## FAQ

**Does dotwork hurt less than regular shading?**
Many people find it less intense than heavy color packing, since the needle isn't dragged repeatedly over the same patch of skin. Sessions can run long, though, because thousands of dots take time, and pain still depends mostly on placement and your own tolerance.

**Is dotwork the same as stick-and-poke?**
No, though they're related. Dotwork is a shading technique that can be done with a tattoo machine or by hand. Stick-and-poke, or handpoke, is a method of tattooing by hand, one puncture at a time. Many handpoke artists work in a dotwork style. In Washington, paid tattooing of either kind requires a licensed artist working in a licensed shop.

## Sources

- [Stippling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stippling)
- [Stick and poke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_and_poke)
- [The Tattoo Trends of 2026 Will Have You Feeling Nostalgic](https://www.allure.com/story/tattoo-trends-2026)