Heavy Lies The Crown

Today’s skull of the day is this incredible chest piece by Hokowhitu Sciascia! Sciascia is based at Auckland, New Zealand’s esteemed tattoo studio, Ship Shape Tattoo and specializes in black and grey realism.

Black and grey is usually done in a realistic style, however, it is up to the individual artist to really make their own signature black and grey realism stand out from the rest of the pack, something that Sciascia is very well skilled at doing. Just take a look at today’s pick! We love the asymmetrical nature of this tattoo, as the bottom of the skull dips into the center of the sternum, thus drawing the focus to the center of the piece, despite the faded away design used on the left side.

Tattooing smoke is no easy task, however, the smoke-like riffs throughout this tattoo really make the piece flow. The eye is drawn from the heavy detailing and dark greys of the right side featuring the crown and then drawn forth to the center and away to the clock off to the right. It’s a very organic flow for a tattoo and it reads wonderfully with the client’s body. Not only did Sciascia tattoo smoke, but he flipped the lighting half way through it. Some of the smoke is tattooed in negative light, thus highlighting the darker shading found in the skull and crown even further. Needless to say, we’re highly impressed with this piece.

For more incredible skull tattoos, check out some of our favorites right here. And if you love smoke tattoos, check out some amazing standout pieces right here, too!