Black & grey realism tattoo artist

Ybor City · Tampa, FL

Harold Garcia

Black and white portrait of Harold Garcia seated in front of the InkWorks sign

Cinematic black and grey realism that feels carved out of shadow.

Black and grey tattoos at large scale: sleeves, leg pieces, chest panels and back work, from over ten years of tattooing in eight countries. Portrait tattoos, mythology, horror and Japanese themes, plus cover-ups of work people thought was permanent. Based at InkWorks Tattoo & Art Studio in Ybor City, Tampa.

02Process

From stencil to skin.

Every large piece follows the same path, from the first conversation to the finished tattoo.

  1. 01

    Consultation

    Free for large-scale work. Composition, placement and a session plan.

  2. 02

    Stencil

    The design is drawn for your placement and checked on the skin before any ink goes in.

  3. 03

    Sessions

    Big pieces are split into planned sessions, so you know what's ahead.

  4. 04

    Finished

    Soft gradients, dense blacks and real skin texture.

Harold's original red line stencil for the cherub and portrait piece The finished cherub and portrait tattoo
Stencil & inkCherub & portrait · Forearm

Built by Harold · Launching soon

The Stencil Factory

An app for tattoo artists that turns a reference photo into a thermal-ready stencil. Start with three free stencils a month, in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

thestencilfactory.com
  1. 01Upload a reference photo
  2. 02Pick a style: general, portrait or animal
  3. 03Download a thermal-ready stencil as PNG or SVG

Video: Harold shading a black and grey piece at his station at InkWorks in Tampa, headphones on, machine in hand.

03Studio

In the studio.

Harold tattoos at InkWorks Tattoo & Art Studio in Ybor City, Tampa, alongside five resident artists. Large pieces take shape here over planned sessions.

04Story

Ten years behind the machine.

Harold Garcia has been tattooing for over ten years, across eight countries and three continents. Today he runs InkWorks Tattoo & Art Studio in Ybor City, Tampa.

His work reads like frames pulled from a film: soft gradients, dense blacks and skin texture that makes portraits feel alive rather than printed.

He draws from mythology, portraiture, horror and Japanese themes, and builds narrative pieces that tell a complete story across an entire limb.

Cover-up tattoos are a specialty. He treats damaged or faded work as a composition problem to solve, not a limit.

He is also building The Stencil Factory, an app that turns reference photos into thermal-ready stencils for other tattoo artists.

Twin forearm pieces with wolf and bulldog portraits
Twin forearms
Forearm tattoo of a snarling wolf wrapped in chains
Forearm
Two forearms with shattered-glass portraits and gothic lettering
Forearms
Two forearms with shattered-glass portraits and lettering
Forearms
Harold at work, headphones on, shading with the machine
At the station
Black and white portrait of Harold Garcia seated in front of the InkWorks sign
Harold Garcia

Tattooed in

Three continents

Years tattooing
10+
Countries
8
Continents
3
  • ArgentinaSouth America
  • CanadaNorth America
  • United StatesNorth America
  • SpainEurope
  • GermanyEurope
  • SwitzerlandEurope
  • NorwayEurope
  • EnglandEurope

Sleeves, leg pieces, chest panels and back work. Portraits, mythology, horror, Japanese themes and cover-ups.

Portfolio reel

The reel.

A quick cut of recent black and grey sleeves, portrait tattoos and leg work, filmed at the studio in Tampa.

More on Instagram

Recent work

Black & grey realism tattoos · 10 pieces · Tap any piece to enlarge

Philadelphia statueThigh
Shattered glass & letteringForearms
Snarling wolf in chainsForearm
Shattered glass portraitForearms
Mermaid & oceanFull sleeve
Geisha & hannya maskSleeve
Cherub & portraitForearm
Roman centurionBicep
Wolf & bulldogTwin forearms
Oni demon & geishaFull leg sleeve

Journal

Notes on planning, cover-ups and healing

Consultations

Start your piece.

Large-scale work starts with a free consultation to plan composition, placement and sessions. Big pieces are quoted as multi-session projects, so you can plan ahead.

Or email appointments.inkworks@gmail.com

Experience
10+ years
Typical wait
5–7 weeks
Rate
From $300/hr
Works on
Sleeves, thighs, calves, chest

StudioInkWorks Tattoo & Art Studio, 2002 E 5th Ave, Suite 101, Ybor City, Tampa, FL 33605

HoursMon–Sat 10am–7pm

Phone(813) 895-8818

Index of work

10 pieces

  1. 01Philadelphia statueThigh
  2. 02Mermaid & oceanFull sleeve
  3. 03Roman centurionBicep
  4. 04Shattered glass & letteringForearms
  5. 05Wolf & bulldogTwin forearms
  6. 06Geisha & hannya maskSleeve
  7. 07Oni demon & geishaFull leg sleeve
  8. 08Snarling wolf in chainsForearm
  9. 09Cherub & portraitForearm
  10. 10Shattered glass portraitForearms