Much of the common imagery of American Traditional that we continue to see today comes from early 20th century references, such as pin-ups, swallows, anchors, mermaids, and clipper ships, these were developed by sailors, who learned about tattoo techniques upon traveling to Japan and Hawaii during WWII, to represent their experiences at sea. American Traditional was the first tattoo style to be developed using a modern tattoo machine and helped to build a culture around tattooing in the Western world that was centered around the masculinity identity.
Typically, tattoo flash is done in the classic American Traditional style, which can be characterized by its bold black outlines and a limited color palette.
