TATTOO AWARDS
Bulgaria Tattoo Expo Competition Rules
Registration of participants for tattoo competitions will take place on the days of the event from 12:00. until 15:30 Participants can be registered by their tattoo artists, in case they do not have the opportunity to do it themselves. The recording location is next to the stage at the Print & Copy Center. The categories are divided in the following order:
The categories are separated between the two days + Best of the day category.
Saturday:
1. "Monochrome" / Black and Gray, Back and white, Gray wash technique, regardless of size and without the presence of any color other than Black, white and/or gray/
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
2. "Color tattoo" /any color tattoo, regardless of size that does not fall into other categories/
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
3. "Avant-garde tattoos" / Line Work, Dot Work, geometry, minimalism, trash polka/.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
4. "Neo Traditional" – /color or monochrome palette with no size limit/.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
5. "Lettering" Color or black/gray, regardless of size and position.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
6. "Best of Saturday" - Tattoos in this category must have been started and completed within the Saturday day by the participant/s in the exhibition, the winner will participate in the "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" category.
Sunday:
1. “Traditional” /Color or black traditional style without limitation in themes and size/
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
2. "Japanese/Oriental" /Color or black, dragons, fish, samurai, etc. without size limit/.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
3. "Realism" /Realistic tattoos without limitation in themes, colors and size including portraits/.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
4. "Fantasy" - any "non-standard" representation of people, faces, animals, flowers, inanimate objects, fiction, abstract interpretations, distorted reality, regardless of size.
(fully cured or just finished/refreshed during expo projects)
5. “Collaboration” - tattoos, made by more than 1 artist, started and finished during the event; tattoos of that kind compete only in this category.
6. "Best of Sunday" Tattoos in this category must have been started and completed on Sunday by participant in the exhibition, the winner will participate in the category "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo. ”
7. "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" - In this category participate the two winners of Saturday and Sunday
Participants who start and finish a tattoo during the event (two-day session) enter the "Best of the Sunday" contest!
The winner in the category "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" secures free participation in Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2025!
Terms and conditions for participation
Registration is done as follows: the customer must come to the stage of the Print & Copy Center and receive a numbered ticket by stating the category in which they want to participate (as agreed with their tattoo artist, who must be a participant in this year's event). The name of the Artist who created the tattoo must be written on the back of the ticket.
With one tattoo, you can participate in only one category, but in one category, you can participate with an unlimited number of tattoos. Names of tattooists or studios are not required during registration. During the contest, the host will announce only the numbers (please follow the program to ensure you don't miss your stage appearance).
All tattoos started and completed during the Bulgaria Tattoo Expo can only participate in the following categories:
“Collaboration", "Best of Saturday", "Best of Sunday" and "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo".
Tattoos made during the event cannot participate in healed tattoo categories.
The jury will consist of four tattoo artist. We respect the work of every tattoo artist, and it's important to note that we strive for maximum anonymity and impartiality. It's also important to clarify that the judges will evaluate the "tattoo" they see on stage, i.e., what is presented during the event, and not the entire creative life of the Artist (if they have no idea who tattooed the artwork they are evaluating, they won't have convictions or biases that could influence the rating).
Bulgaria Tattoo Expo will adhere to some fundamental but crucial rules that we expect you to comply with:
Presenting a tattoo is allowed only once, meaning a tattoo can participate in only one category.
Tattoos in the "Best of Saturday" category must be started and finished on Saturday. The same applies to tattoos in the "Best of Sunday" category, which must be respectively started and finished on Sunday. Finishing a tattoo during the event and presenting it in the "Best of Saturday" or "Best of Sunday" category will result in disqualification. This tattoo can participate in all other categories.
No promotional t-shirts or other studio/Artist identifiers during the competitions. Judges should not have information about the tattooists who created the tattoos. Let them remain impartial; that's why they are judges.
Actions such as bringing the tattooist on stage during judging of their tattoo for an "unknown" reason, guiding or directing the client to the stage while cleaning/smearing the tattoo by the Artist, tattoos that don't match the category they are entered in (size, style, etc.), arrogant attitude towards judges/host or other attendees, a client not showing up after the third call, visibly inappropriate condition of the client will result in "DISQUALIFICATION."
Unfinished tattoos will be judged poorly. To avoid this issue, we advise Artists to assess their available time and their capabilities properly.
Ratings will be given based on tree main criteria, with a maximum of 30 points:
- Initial impact - Max 10 points (Consideration of the initial impact on the observer, positioning on the body, proper integration of the tattoo with the body's curves and size.)
- Creativity/Originality - Max 10 points (Evaluation of the idea, originality, combination with other tattoos.)
- Execution - Max 10 points (Factors considered include element composition, detail execution regardless of size, brightness and cleanliness of color placement, or black/gray, color palettes and color selection, volume, contrast, if the design requires it).
Works by judges will not participate in the competitions. Judges are not allowed to evaluate their own works. If works by judges are entered in the competition, they(the judge) will be replaced by an independent judge for the entire category.
The judges' decision is final, but they reserve the right to revoke an award at their discretion.
The organizers have no influence over the judges' assessment.
