Portfolio
Back pieces
Full back pieces in black and grey and colour realism: fishermen, reapers, homesteads, mountains and carnivals, each designed as one composition across the whole back and tattooed over several full days.
In motion
Full backs, start to finish.
A back piece is built over many full days. Watch the Eminem back go from stencil to finished, then see a finished horse and chief.
One design
drawn for your whole back
Full days
booked a few weeks apart
$2,000
per full day
[x] to [y]
sessions for most back pieces
Design
Designed as one piece.
A back piece is the biggest single canvas on the body, so it’s designed as one composition from the start. The main subject usually sits across the shoulder blades and upper back, where it reads from a distance, and the rest of the scene flows down the spine to the lower back.
The stencil is mapped to your back while you stand naturally, so the piece follows the shape of your shoulders and spine instead of sitting flat on top of them.
Sessions
Built over several full days.
The first session sets the composition and the main areas of tone. Later sessions build depth, detail and contrast, layer by layer. Sessions are booked a few weeks apart so the skin can heal in between.
The homestead below shows the whole journey: the stencil, the first session and the finished colour back piece.
Before you book
What to send.
- Your idea and a few reference images for the main subject and the mood.
- Whether you want a full back or an upper back piece.
- Clear photos of your back if there’s existing work there, so Dylan can design around it or cover it.
- How far you’re travelling, so sessions can be planned around your trip.
Healing
Healing a big piece.
Plan to sleep on your front or side for the first few nights, wear a loose, soft top and have someone help with aftercare for the areas you can’t reach. Keep it out of the ocean, pools and direct sun until it’s fully healed. Read the full aftercare guide.
From stencil to skin
One back piece, start to finish.
Every piece starts as a hand-drawn stencil, mapped to the body. This bush homestead under the Milky Way was tattooed over full days at the studio.
01 · Stencil
02 · First session
03 · Finished
Watch · 256K views on Instagram
The carnival back piece
One pass on a clown back piece, filmed half healed and half fresh.
Questions
Common questions
Most back pieces take several full days, depending on the size and detail. Dylan will give you an estimate of days once he’s seen your idea. [Dylan: typical range of days for a full back piece.]
Every session is charged at the day rate of $2,000 per full day, so the total depends on how many days the design needs. See how much a tattoo costs for the full breakdown.
The spine, shoulder blades and lower back are usually more sensitive than the upper back, and long sessions are tiring. Full days include breaks, and the work is planned so the most sensitive areas aren’t all done at once.
Yes. The homestead under the Milky Way is a full colour back piece. Black and grey and colour both work at this scale.
Often, yes. Send clear photos of the whole back and read the cover-ups and reworks guide.
More large-scale work
Have a piece in mind?
Books open a few times a year. The waitlist hears first.