Bold will hold
American traditional tattoos use thick black outlines, solid black shading and a small palette of flat colors: red, green, yellow and blue. The subjects are classic flash: roses, hearts and banners, anchors, swallows, daggers, ships.
The heavy outlines keep the design readable as the color softens over the years, which is why so many traditional pieces still look clear decades on. They work at almost any size and on almost any spot.
Previewing it honestly
Traditional designs keep their colors in the editor with Ink set to Original. On darker skin, the reds and yellows show less than the black outline; compare the shoulder and the back samples to see the difference.