Tattoos are often considered a stamp of personality, a marker of character and a deeply personal symbolism that remain forever etched on our bodies. Making these creations more intricate and personal are handpoked tattoos, a unique form of body art that is now seeing an uptick among tattoo enthusiasts in India.
Largely similar in look and feel, but created in an entirely different technique, handpoked tattoos involve the usage of a stick, needle and ink to create art on the body. They are done by hand, rather than a tattooing machine, making the process feel artisanal and personal.
Patience, precision and a steady hand are imperative for this body art form, says Shomil Shah, a 43-year-old handpoked tattoo artist based in Mumbai. “To make a tattoo, you need the skin (canvas for the art) and something sharp to put that ink under it.
Handpoked tattoos are different in the sense that you get to build the art prick by prick and you can control when the next prick happens, giving you more time and liberty to build the piece more conscientiously,” explains the graphic designer-turned-tattoo artist, who goes by the handle, @shlo_poke, on Instagram.
Growth and Origins
Shah has been tattooing full time for the past eight years. He says his business has grown by approximately 25-30% every year.
While the art form is said to have its roots in ancient Egyptian, Indonesian and Indian cultures that practised body art, handpoked tattoos are not restricted by those influences.
“The possibilities are endless. It just takes a little more time because you’re going dot by dot, but you can really achieve almost anything with it,” says Simranh Kakkar, a 25-year-old independent tattoo artist based in Bengaluru. Tattooing full time since 2021, she goes by the handle @ratattooille on Instagram.
Kakkar discovered handpoked tattoos when she was about 19 years old, and had no idea of how popular or pertinent it was prior to that.
She was studying animation when she started an Instagram account to document all of her work—on this account, she would also post her handpoked tattoo designs and pieces she would ink on her friends and acquaintances free of cost.
To her surprise, the account began gaining traction for her handpoked tattoo art, and now years later, functions as a full-fledged marketing platform for her work.
Shah says her income largely depends on the number of bookings per month. “Earlier, I used to make about Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,000 per month. Now, I get 15-18 clients per month. That gives me enough earnings to support myself,” she adds.
A new-found craze
The process for machine drawn and handpoked tattoos is largely the same, except that the latter is slightly slower, say artists.
“Modern-day handpoked tattoos use the same needles that are used in machines. Everything else is pretty much identical in terms of the setup. The ink involved, and the level of hygiene and sanitation are also the same,” says Shah. They are similarly priced as well on the basis of the size of the tattoo, and the amount of ink required for the design.
Similar to machine tattoos, the needle in handpoked ones is only meant to break as deep as the first two layers of skin.
“Even the needle is the same. The only difference is that a machine is not used,” explains Kakkar, who hopes to explore animation and folk tales with her tattoo art, and integrate the various art styles she works with, in the future—a project that is already underway, and can be seen on her social media accounts.
Like all other trends, a large part of the emergence of handpoked tattoos as a recognised art form has been driven by social media. They have also gained a lot of eyeballs with pop icons like Rihanna, Post Malone, Harry Styles and Emma Stone, among others, flaunting their handpoked ink for all their fans to see.
In India, a huge driving force has been the rise of pop-up markets across shopping spaces and events, says Kakkar. “With every pop-up there would be hundreds to thousands of people depending on the size of the event who would come and see us tattooing,” she shares. “In person, they are able to ask questions even if they don’t get tattooed then.”
For Shah, almost 80% of his clients come from social media. “While social media has definitely been the driving force, general awareness on tattoos has also grown across the board,” he adds.
