Tattoo Artist Portraits

The Horishi register

This pack draws on the horishi's register — hushed and precise, the Tokyo tattoo master working tebori entirely by hand. A dark work shirt or black tee, sleeves showing his own ink, hair tied; the palette runs ink black, rice-paper cream, koi red, and tatami green.

Three situations carry it: seated on tatami holding the bamboo-handled tool over an ink stone, flash on the wall behind, warm low light, focused; standing before the wall of koi and dragon drawings, arms folded, level gaze; seated before a plain dark backdrop with the tool laid across the knee, calm and unreadable. The output is photoreal — a real tattoo artist photoshoot of you at the bench, not an illustration.

How to photograph yourself for a tattoo artist photoshoot

Better source photos make better portraits. The pack works with an ordinary phone selfie — the free preview tells you in seconds — but a few things sharpen the likeness before you commit to the full pack.

1. Even, soft lightStand near a window with indirect daylight. Avoid overhead bulbs and flash.
2. Front or three-quarter angleEye level, facing forward or turned slightly. No selfie-stick uplook.
3. Face fully clearHair off the forehead or tied back, no sunglasses. The model needs a clean read of your face.
4. A calm, unreadable expressionThis register wants hushed precision, not a broad smile — the look of someone who works with a needle, not a brush.
5. Plain background is fineThe bench, the flash wall, and the dark studio backdrop replace whatever's behind you — a plain wall just helps the model focus on your face.

Frequently asked questions

Will it actually look like a real tattoo artist photoshoot?

Yes. The output is photoreal — a real-looking photograph of you at the bench, before the flash wall, or against a dark studio backdrop. Not a painting, not a cartoon.

Which scenes does the pack cover?

Three that trace the horishi's own room: seated with the bamboo tool over an ink stone, standing before the koi-and-dragon wall, and a plain dark studio portrait. Nine portraits, three per scene.

What is tebori?

The traditional Japanese method of tattooing entirely by hand, with a bamboo-handled tool rather than a machine — the lineage this pack's whole register is built on.

How is this different from the East LA Fine Line pack?

This pack is Tokyo's tebori and irezumi lineage — bamboo tool, ink stone, koi and dragon flash. East LA Fine Line is the black-and-grey Chicano tradition — single-needle script, a lowrider mural, a ring lamp. Different lineages, same craft — pick the one that matches your world.

Does this pack work for women?

This pack renders as a male sitter by default, matching the register described. Upload your photo and the free preview will show you the likeness before you commit.

What if my source photo isn't great?

One clear, front-facing selfie is enough. The free preview shows the likeness in seconds — if it's off, lighting is the usual fix.

Can I use it commercially?

It's for personal use — profile pictures, prints, gifts — not licensed stock photography for resale or ad campaigns.

What happens to the photo I upload?

Processed on European servers, used only to generate your preview and pack, never sold or shared.

Who is this pack for?

Tattoo artists who want a portrait that looks like the discipline, irezumi collectors and admirers, and anyone drawn to Japan's oldest tattoo lineage.

When the Horishi pack fits

• A profile picture with genuine tebori-lineage presence in it
• A gift for a tattoo artist or a serious irezumi collector
• A framed portrait for a studio wall
• An ink-black and koi-red wallpaper
• A tattoo-focused social feed's next post
• A press kit or artist-bio photo with real workshop authenticity
• A creative writing or game character reference for a Tokyo tattoo master
• A dating profile photo used honestly as styled AI portraiture
• Anyone who's studied irezumi from afar and wanted to sit at the bench themselves

About narcis

Most AI portrait tools ship every pose, profession, era, and aesthetic in one giant catalog. The output looks like every other AI photo on the internet — a glaze over a stock face. Narcis goes the other way. One tool, one job: turn photos of you into portraits worth keeping. Drop a selfie and your free preview streams in seconds — a quick sketch: close, not you yet. For portraits that are truly you, train your own model on 12 to 20 photos; it trains in the background, and we email you when it is ready. Train once, render everywhere — this pack, every other pack, and the Studio all come out of that one model, about ten seconds a portrait, and it stays yours to retrain or delete. Each pack is hand-curated against actual references — paintings, photographers, registers — and tested on real faces before it ships. See a free preview before you pay, not after. Packs are one-time — no subscription to buy one; Studio, the unlimited composer, is optional at €12/month and every pack includes 30 days of it. No template generator. Built and run by one team, on our own infrastructure.