This Rib Cage is All the Rage

The ribs are one of the trickiest and most painful places to put a tattoo, and yet people continue to get amazing rib ink every day. One of the coolest side pieces we’ve recently come across is this breathtaking skeletal seahorse done by an artist called Neon Judas. Neon Judas specializes in a cool and unique style of black and grey. This style exaggerates upon realism without branching fully into surrealism in a very high polished and technical way.

The above tattoo was brought to our attention by the well-known tattoo collector and INKED contributor, Yall Quiñones, also known as Yallzee. We instantly fell in love with this skeletal seahorse as it not only displays beautiful black and grey work, but also emulates a cool bio-organic, horror aesthetic. The curvature of the seahorse’s body flows beautifully with the natural curvature of the wearer’s body before it smoothly transitions into the sea creature’s skeletal countenance.

What really makes this piece stand out, however, is the seahorse’s devilish smile. Who knew you could pack that much personality into a tattoo? This gruesome grin really ups the horror on this piece and gives the creature a very sinister glow without over animating the piece or making it cartoony.

In the end, we can’t forget that this gorgeous piece is on someone’s ribs, thus making the smooth shading and lovely lines rendered here that much more impressive. Ribs really are tricky business. To see more of our favorite female rib pieces click right here, and if you’re a lover of all of the creatures under the sea, check out some of the coolest underwater-themed tattoos right here, too.