Traditional tattoo stencils
33 designs in the old flash-sheet manner: heavy black line, flat color, little shading. Print the color flash for your artist, the mirrored stencil for transfer paper or the plain outline.
3.50 in3.50 inSingle rose with stem
3.5″Single rose with stem
5″Rose and dagger
3.75″Traditional rose with leaves
3.5″Traditional sunflower
3.5″Lotus on water
1.75″Five-petal flower, easy outline
3.5″Traditional cross with rays
1.75″Simple cross outline
4.5″Sacred heart with cross
3.5″Traditional butterfly
1.75″Simple butterfly outline
3.75″Butterfly on a flower
3.5″Traditional skull
5″Skull and dagger
2″Skull and crossbones
5″Longhorn skull with feathers
3.5″Nautical compass rose
4.5″Pocket watch with chain
1.5″Simple compass star
4″Compass with rope and banner
4″Traditional angel wings
4.5″Cherub with bow
1.75″Simple halo and wings
4.5″Angel holding a cross
3.5″Heart with banner (blank)
4.5″Sacred heart with thorns
2.5″Heart lock and key
1.5″Simple heart outline
3″Traditional spider
5″Spider web
2.5″Spider outline
4.5″Tarantula
4″Dove with olive branch and banner
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§1What traditional flash is
Flash is a tattoo design drawn ahead of time, so a customer can pick it and get tattooed without ordering a custom piece. The name goes back to carnivals of the late 1800s, where tattooers hung their designs at the front of the booth to catch passers-by. Street shops later framed whole sheets on the wall, and a walk-in client pointed at the one they wanted.
Because flash had to be tattooed fast, most of it was simple: black outlines, few colors, little shading. Artists bought and sold sheets from each other, so the same drawings traveled from shop to shop, and that trade did a lot to turn American traditional into one recognizable style. By around 2000 most studios worked custom, and flash became a source of ideas as much as a menu.
§2How to use a design from this page
The color flash shows the finished piece, which is what you hand your artist. The stencil is mirrored for transfer paper. The outline is the same line work unmirrored, for tracing or for coloring in your own palette.
Looking for black traditional flash? Print the stencil or the outline. The lines are identical, and your artist fills them with black instead of color. Black and grey traditional works the same way, because the shading is put in by hand rather than printed.
Thick, widely spaced lines are forgiving on transfer paper. A slightly smudged traditional stencil still reads, which makes this a good style for a first stencil.
§3Traditional designs by placement
The tiny outlines FL-12 Five-petal flower, CR-09 Simple cross outline, BF-10, HT-11 and CC-10 are the simplest designs in the set, 1.5 to 1.75 in by default. For a classic forearm piece, look at R-04 Traditional rose with leaves, SK-01 Traditional skull or CC-01 Nautical compass rose. CR-10 and HT-02 are the two sacred hearts. R-02 Rose and dagger and SK-02 Skull and dagger are the busiest drawings, so keep them at 5 in or more. There is no panther or bat here: the set is built from roses, skulls, crosses, hearts, compasses, angels, butterflies and spiders.
| Placement | Usual size | Good designs |
|---|---|---|
| Wrist | 1–3 in | FL-12, CR-09, HT-11, SK-09 Skull and crossbones, HT-10 Heart lock and key |
| Ankle | 1–3 in | BF-10, CC-10, HT-11 |
| Neck | 2–4 in | AN-10 Simple halo and wings |
| Forearm | 3–6 in | R-04, SK-01, CC-01, HT-01, SP-01 |
| Calf | 2–6 in | BF-11, SK-02, CC-11, SP-11 Tarantula |
| Chest | 3–10 in | HT-02, CR-10, AN-01, SK-11 Longhorn skull |
| Thigh, back | 4–10 in | R-02, AN-02 Cherub with bow, SP-02 Spider web |
Ranges are a starting point, taken from published size charts by Saved Tattoo and Inkjin.
§4Questions
Q1What is traditional tattoo flash?
A ready-made design in the American traditional style, with a heavy black outline and a few flat colors. Shops hung sheets of it on the wall so walk-in customers could choose on the spot.
Q2How big is a traditional flash sheet?
There is no fixed standard. In North America sheets are commonly 11 × 14 in, in Europe A3. Here each design prints on its own at the size you set, and anything wider than 7.5 in is split across several pages.
Q3Can I get traditional flash in black only?
Yes. Print the stencil or the outline: they carry the same lines as the color flash, without the fills.
Q4Are these vintage flash sheets?
No. They are new designs drawn in the old style, not copies of historic sheets.