TATTOO AWARDS

Bulgaria Tattoo Expo Competition Rules 

 

Registration of participants for tattoo competitions will take place on the days of the event from 13:00. until 17:00 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. "Best" 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 /

2. "Best" Color Tattoo "/ all kinds of color tattoos, regardless of size, which do not fall into other categories /

3. "Avant-garde tattoos" / Line Work, Dot Work, geometry, minimalism, trash polka /.

4. "Neo Traditional" - / color or monochrome palette without size limit /.

5. "Lettering" / Color or black / gray, regardless of size and position /

6. "Best of Saturday" - Tattoos in this category must have been started and completed on Saturday by participants (including collaborations started and completed on Saturday) in the exhibition, the winner will participate in the category "Best from Bulgaria Tattoo Expo. ”

 

Sunday:
1. "Traditional" / Color or black traditional style without limitation in themes and size /

2. "Japanese / Oriental" / Color or black, dragons, fish, samurai, etc. no size limit /

3. "Realism" / Realistic tattoos without restrictions in themes, colors and size, including portraits /.

4. "Fantasy" - any "non-standard" representation of people, faces, animals, flowers, inanimate objects, fiction, abstract interpretations, distorted reality, no matter the size.

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 participants (including collaborations started and completed on Sunday) in the exhibition, the winner will participate in the category "Best of Sunday" Bulgaria Tattoo Expo. ”

7. "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" - In this category participate the two winners of Saturday and Sunday + two-day collaborations (made within the event) + two-day sessions (made at the event).

The winner in the category "Best of Bulgaria Tattoo Expo" secures free participation in Bulgaria Tattoo Expo 2023!

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We are happy and proud to announce this year's jury. They all are professionals with many years of experience, so we fully trust their expertise and judgment.
Liudmil Vasilev is one of the pioneers of professional tattooing in Bulgaria and one of the most well-known names in the industry. He started his career as a professional tattoo artist back in 1994 and he is the owner of a tattoo studio and art gallery "Magic Needle".
Over the years, he also worked in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, England, etc. He is the winner of over 30 national and international awards, organizer and co-organizer of several tattoo fests, organizer and speaker of seminars for professional tattoo artists. He has experience judging at tattoo contests like LaSpezia (Italy), San Remo (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and many others. His preferred working styles are black&white and color realism.
 
@vasilevart 

 

 

 

 

We are happy to announce our second member of our jury this year: Barthez Fmt

Barthez has been tattooing since 1996. He has worked all over Europe and participated and judged in many European tattoo conventions. He is a proud owner of Forevermore TattooShop Bulgaria and his preferred working styles are Japanese, American traditional and neo traditional.

On Friday we're going to announce the third member of our jury. Any guesses who it will be?

@barthez_fmt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edgar Ivanov is a tattoo artist with more than 17 years of experience within the industry. Originally from Latvia, he started his artistic path early in his childhood, drawing comics and sculpting clay figurines at home. Eventually, being inspired by the tattoo movement in the music and culture he enjoyed, he started tattooing his friends with self-made equipment in his parents' flat.

After which, he moved onto pursuing a tattooing career in London, United Kingdom. There he spent 11 years developing his skills, working together with established artists and attending tattoo conventions and guest spots around the world. Edgar has a distinctive black & grey tattoo style, that is recognisable for its captivating design concepts, particularly paying attention to contrast and small detail.

@edgarivanov

 

 

 

 

 

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Terms and conditions for participation

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Registration is as follows, the client must come to the stage of Print & Copy Center and get a number stating the category in which he wants to participate (as agreed with his tattoo artist who must be a participant in this year's event). With one tattoo you can participate in only one category, but in one category you can participate with an unlimited number of tattoos. No tattoo artist or studio names are needed. During the competition, the host will announce only the numbers (please follow the program, so you will not miss going on stage). Thus, anonymity will be close to 100%.

The jury will be composed of three tattoo judges. We respect the work of each tattoo artist, and it is important to say that we give everything possible for maximum anonymity and impartiality, it is also important to specify that the judges will appreciate the "tattoo" they see. what came on stage and not the whole creative life of the Artist, if they have no idea who tattooed the work they are evaluating, there is no way they can have beliefs or attitudes that will influence the evaluation.

 

Bulgaria Tattoo Expo will adhere to some basic but very important rules that we expect you to comply with:

 

1. It is allowed to present a tattoo only once, ie. a tattoo can only fall into one category.

2. Tattoos in the category "Best of Saturday" must have started and finished on Saturday, this also applies to tattoos in the category "Best of Sunday" must have started and finished on Sunday. Completing a tattoo during the event and demonstrating it in the "Best of Saturday" or "Best of Sunday" category will mean disqualification. This tattoo can fall into all other categories.

3. No T-shirts or other distinctive elements of the studio / Artists during the competitions. Judges should NOT have information about the tattoo artists who made the tattoos. Let them remain impartial, that is why they are judges.

4. Situations such as putting the Tattoo Artist on stage during the judging of his tattoo for "unknown" reasons, leading or guiding the client to the stage,  cleaning / smearing the tattoo by the Artist. Tattoos that do not correspond to the category in which they appear (size, style etc.), arrogant attitude towards judges / presenter or other attendees, absent client until the third call, visibly inadequate condition of the client will mean “DISQUALIFICATION”.

5. Incomplete tattoos will be poorly evaluated, to avoid this problem we advise artists to properly assess the time they have and their capabilities.

6. Scores will be given on two main criteria, with a maximum of 20 points:

Creativity / Originality - Max 10 points (Idea, originality, body positioning, combination with other tattoos are evaluated)
Workmanship - Max 10 points The evaluation will take into account the composition of the elements, workmanship of the details despite the size, brightness and purity (of the placement) of the color, or black / gray, color gamuts and color selection, volume, etc. /, contrast if required by design).

7. Works of judges will not participate in competitions. Judges do not have the right to evaluate their work.

8. The opinion of the judges is final, but they reserve the right to withdraw a prize at their discretion.

9. The organizers have nothing to do with the judges' judgment.