TATTOO COMPETITION

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. “Small Healed Tattoo” – Size up to A4, fully healed (any style, color, or placement). The winner will compete ONLY in the “Best of the Year 2025” category.

2. “Healed Collaboration” – A piece completed entirely outside Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2025. The winner will compete ONLY in the “Best of the Year 2025” category.

Categories for tattoos/projects started and completed within Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2025:

• 3. “Black & Grey” (Black and Gray, Black and White, Gray Wash technique—no colors except black, white, and/or gray, any size).

• 4. “Color Tattoo” (Any color tattoos, any size, not fitting other categories).

• 5. “Avant-Garde Tattoos” (Line Work, Dot Work, Geometry, Minimalism, Trash Polka).

• 6. “Neo Traditional” (Color or black & gray palette, no size limit).

• 7. “Lettering” (Color or black/gray, any size and placement).

8. “Best of Saturday” – Participants include all winners from the “Black & Grey”, “Color Tattoo”, “Avant-Garde Tattoos”, “Neo Traditional” and “Lettering” categories. The winner will compete in the “Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo” category.

Sunday:

1. “Large Healed Tattoo” – Size larger than A4, fully healed (any style, color, or placement). The winner will compete ONLY in the “Best of the Year 2025” category.

Categories for tattoos/projects started and completed within Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2025:

• 2. “Traditional” (Color or black traditional style, no theme or size restrictions).

• 3. “Japanese/Oriental” (Color or black—dragons, koi fish, samurai, etc., no size limit).

• 4. “Realism” (Realistic tattoos, no theme, color, or size restrictions, including portraits).

• 5. “Fantasy” (Any “non-standard” depiction of people, faces, animals, flowers, objects, fantasy, abstract interpretations, surrealism—any size).

• 6. “Collaboration” – A piece created by more than one artist, started and completed on Saturday, Sunday, or both days of the expo. Participants can compete ONLY in this category. Awards are given immediately after judging.

• 7. “Two-Day Session” – A piece, started and completed on both days of the expo. Participants can compete ONLY in this category. Awards are given immediately after judging.

8. “Best of the Year 2025” – Contestants include winners from the “Small Healed Tattoo”, “Large Healed Tattoo” and “Healed Collaboration” categories.

9. “Best of Sunday” – Participants include all winners from the “Traditional”, “Japanese/Oriental”, “Realism” and “Fantasy” categories. The winner will compete in the “Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo” category.

“Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo” – This category features the two winners from “Best of Saturday” and “Best of Sunday”.

The winner in the category "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" secures free participation in Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2026!

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).
 

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.

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:

1. 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.)
2. Creativity/Originality - Max 10 points (Evaluation of the idea, originality, combination with other tattoos.)
3. 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.