Today’s skull of the day is this amazing piece by Carl Grace. Grace is a highly recognized and respected black and grey tattoo artist best known for his freehanded custom realism.

As an artist who works so heavily in freehand, Grace is great at rendering organic pieces that flow beautifully with each client’s body type. While many tattoos sometimes tend to feel flat or “stuck on” to the skin, Grace’s work always compliments the body overall and therefore reads more like a real and natural part of the skin.

We love how today’s skull pick uses wispy, smoke-like designs to create the idea that the clock and skull are actually emerging from within the skin. This overall flow beautifully follows the musculature of the client’s arm as it transitions into the clockwork, a transition that is then repeated when the same clock transitions into the skull.

We love the highlighting that was used to brighten up the inner workings of the clock’s hands, as well as the more subtle highlights put in place around the skull’s face. The deep, hollow cavities of the skull suddenly feel more real with these additions and therefore recreate the mimicked effect of the image actually emerging from the client’s skin.

For more amazing skull pieces, check out some of our all time favorites right here.