Geometric and dotwork expert Sudanim creates stunning large-scale tattoos out of his very own studio Rebel With A Cause in Staffordshire, UK.

Inspired heavily by Asian tattoo styles, Sudanim’s work often contains a mixture of geometric, ornamental and dotwork styles, as well as cultural symbols from Thailand and beyond.

We spoke to Sudanim about how he’s improved over the years, why he prefers to freehand symmetrical work rather than use stencils, and what his admirers can get for him this Christmas…

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

The first time I remember saying what I wanted to be when I grew up was probably when I was in Year One…

My step dad has told me this story: all of the 6 year old kids were in a line, all of the parents stood at the back of the hall, and we were all asked one by one what we wanted to be when we grew up. As the first few kids were asked, there was a common answer with the males - “policeman”, “fireman”, or anything in the forces. The girls all wanted to be princesses. When it got to me, I said “when I grow up, I’m gonna be a lion”. I took one look up at my stepdad, proud as punch. He just put his head in his hands. I think my parents knew from that point on that I was a loose cannon.

As I got a bit older, I wanted to be a footballer. I probably could have made it as a professional at a lower league, but I was never going to be good enough for the club I supported. Only one lad made it in my year group at the academy - he was the first £100 m British player. Spending years training with that kid gave me no hope of making it - I think I made the right decision to quit.

Who helped you or inspired you the most at the beginning of your career?

There wasn’t one specific person who inspired me or helped me, but I took aspects from many different people and studied them relentlessly to understand what they were doing better than me. At some point, if I carried on working & studying that hard, I knew I could close the gap.

When I was 16, I went to work in Italy for a tattoo artist called Alle. I was given the opportunity to go there because he could see how driven and motivated I was. He was a huge impact on me early on - I was really new to tattooing at the time of working at his shop, and my tattoos were shit. So were my drawings. He went through everything with me. I have never met anyone like him.

In terms of being inspired, there’s three major influences for me. Xed Le Head - the Dot Father - was the most passionate man I have ever met in tattooing. What he didn’t know wasn’t worth knowing. I loved the hours of conversation that I had with him. He was a genius. Marco Galdo - his was the first black, grey and red geometric work that I had ever seen. That’s what sparked me into my style today. Guy Le Tattooer - he just looks the bollocks. Seems to be able to draw anything and make it flow no matter the canvas. I love the old generation tattooists. They were doing this when it wasn’t cool. They’ll be doing it forever. Outside of the industry, my stepdad has helped me the most. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am now.

How do you describe your tattoo art style?

This seems to be a difficult one - it’s dotwork, geometric, ornamental, Asian and tribal… all mashed into one, with some extra boldness. I don’t feel like it really fits into any specific category; I guess the closest it could be called is “Modern Tribal”.

How do you design your tattoos?

95% of the time I have no idea what I’m doing until the client is standing in front of me. I’d rather not prepare anything as every body shape is different, and I’m confident that I can freehand everything that I tattoo. That doesn’t mean I do it all of the time, but the vast majority. I tattoo large scale designs over many different contours, and I like my work to look good from every angle. I look at the client's anatomy, discuss what things they do and don’t like, decipher what areas of skin they want working on and try to understand their overall goal for the future in terms of coverage. Using a Sharpie, I then grid the area of skin, grid the muscle shapes and see what happens. I utilise the aspects of my work that my client likes, but also make it unique and flattering to them.

In terms of the fundamentals of my designs, I am a firm believer in less is more. To use very little and still make it look good is very difficult, but I feel it is more striking if done well.

When did you open Rebel With A Cause, and who works there with you?

I opened my studio in 2016 when I was 20. I always wanted my own studio so that I could operate the hours that were necessary to be able to complete the projects I wanted to do. I also wanted to provide a space for motivated and driven artists, as well as give others an opportunity that I never had. I wanted people to have a private space which they could decorate themselves; both for the privacy of the client and so they could create a more personal experience. It was important to me to house specialist artists rather than all-round artists, as I didn’t want to have any conflict between clients. At Rebel With A Cause we currently have: Lily Heather doing full colour,  Mac Simms doing abstract realism, Nelli Nouveau doing neo-romantic, Demon Dotwork for dotwork, Lewis Lost for blackwork, and Miniature Realism for micro realism pieces!

Is it nerve-wracking to do freehand symmetrical work?

It was nerve-wracking when I first started doing it but I gradually got into it… now I find it easier than using a stencil. It feels more natural. If you have a symmetrical stencil drawn on an iPad for example, then place it on the skin at the scale I tattoo, the design may well be symmetrical but won’t look like it because of the body. This is why it was so important for me to develop that skill and also separate myself from every other dotworker.

What is your favourite motif to work into your tattoos?

Thai ornaments. I think they’re satisfying to look at and even more satisfying to draw and tattoo. I found these the most difficult at first and now they feel the most natural. I made myself reference folders divided into three categories: Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. I spent an hour every night for a year drawing and studying the shapes and flow of them, starting with the beginner folder and ending at expert. I am now confident that I could draw Thai ornaments over any contour on the body, in any direction and make it look aesthetically pleasing (assuming the person who saw it liked my style). Nowadays, this is what my clients request most frequently.

Do you ever work on collaboration pieces? And is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

I have done a few collaborations but only with artists in my studio. If I were to collaborate with anybody now it would be on something large scale and with someone who understands anatomy and can freehand. Given that, I would have to say Hanumantra or Guy Le Tattooer. I’ve been lucky enough to have a fair few tattoos from Hanumantra - he’s only about an hour away from me, so I might have to message him and see if he’s up for something in the future. I think we’d have a right laugh! He is a top bloke and a phenomenal artist. I love his work. I have never met Guy Le in my life but he is a wizard. I love the old school mentality and I’d love to watch how he works.

Do you have any words of wisdom for the apprentice tattoo artists out there?

Work harder than everyone. Study harder than everyone. Be more professional than everyone. Be the first one in and last one to leave every day. Make sure your time is spent productively. Ask all the questions you can - all knowledge is good knowledge.

What is your favourite tattoo that you’ve done in the last year?

It’s hard to pick a favourite tattoo but one that stands out to me in particular is the full freehand back and buttocks I did for Anastasia. It’s been many years since I’ve done black and grey dotwork - this is the first I’ve done it within my own style and I really enjoyed it. It was challenging drawing three of the exact same mandala at different scales - she also sat each session unbelievably well. Anastasia was a real rarity with healing too; when working on such large-scale projects it’s not uncommon for the need of some touch ups, but she didn’t require a single one.

Which tattoo artists are doing amazing work right now?

Zhang Han, Hanumantra and Guy Le Tattooer.

Can you talk us through your workstation please?

I use the META Workstation (with no wheels so it’s lower down and despite having the attachments, I don’t use those either - a bit rogue, but suits me better this way). I use Kuro Sumi ink for everything. My standard set up of inks is: Outlining Black, Angel, Saint, Sinner and Crusader Red. If I’m working on a project that includes a coverup, I like to incorporate opaque grey depending on how dark the existing tattoo is. The tones I use for this are Limestone, Serpentine and Calcite Grey. I’ve had great experiences with using these for that purpose. When I’m working on more floral or Tibetan style projects, I’ll incorporate Empire Red and Golden Lemon too.

I use KWADRON or Killer Ink needles. I only use larger groupings and these two brands are the most consistent. I use a lot of different machines, depending on what I’m doing, but my go-to machines are the Lithuanian Irons Moonlight Liner, Stigma-Rotary® Beast and my custom-built Fabio Mendez set of coils. My preference has always been more traditional style machines. I had a custom-built power supply by Hard Craft Co; it’s got my logo on the top, and it’s basically just a big brick. I have TATSoul “Tobacco” furniture in my room, although I never use the arm rest. I prefer to have as little as possible around me as I hate it when things get in the way. I just move the client to the side of the bed and use the bed as the armrest.

What made you want to work with Kuro Sumi?

When working on large scale projects, and with my clients sitting over numerous sessions, it’s really important for me to ensure that each time they return, my setup is exactly the same. I have never used a brand that’s as consistent as Kuro Sumi. Each bottle is exactly the same in consistency, colour, and how it heals, so I always know exactly what I’m getting. This is one of the most important things for me. I’ve used alternate inks in the past and they’re not quite the same. I rely quite heavily on grey washes for my dotwork and also as part of my entire process; sometimes they were too diluted or not diluted enough, or they’d separate as soon as you’d pour them into the ink cap. I’ve never had this issue with any Kuro Sumi ink.

How many tattoos do you have, and which is your favourite?

I don’t know how many tattoos I’ve got. I’m covered with about 6-8 layers of tattoos on each limb so it’s all just merged into one. The reason why I’ve got that many is from getting tattooed at such an early age. I had a lot of random bits all over me. Had some cover ups on those, then started blacking parts out when I was about 17 and then I had white done over the top. I’ve since re-blacked the white designs… had other white designs… and layered them several times. But now I feel I’m getting somewhere. My overall goal is to have a full bodysuit that is cohesive. I’d say my favourite large piece is what Hanumantra has completed on my armpits, lower back and bum cheeks. My favourite singular piece would be my Grandad's signature on my face; this was done by an artist called Josh who I worked with in a studio in Glasgow. He’s not really a known artist but he’s a top lad and his lines are really clean.

Do you have any conventions or guest spots lined up for 2024?

As of yet I haven’t sorted anything out - I’m really lucky that my clients come to me no matter where they’re from. Owning a studio and having two cats (which are like two children), it’s more difficult for me to be out and about as much. I am looking at the option of working in Asia at some point though!

What would your perfect Christmas be like?

I don’t really celebrate Christmas… or any holidays really. Every day is the same for me, I’m a bit of a Scrooge. My ideal day would be a load of decent football fixtures back to back that I can have on the TV, have a client in that I really have a laugh with, and do a head tattoo. That’s probably one of my favourite areas to tattoo.

In case any of your admirers are reading, what’s on your Christmas list this year?

I’d like a rural tree house with tatami mats on the floor so it looked a little bit like a dojo… or alternatively, I’d love a Japanese machiya somewhere in the Midlands, so it was easy for me to get to and from my studio. I’d also really like a pet monkey.

What is the best Christmas gift a customer could give you?

The ability to do a bodysuit… sounds a bit cringey but it’s true. It doesn’t get much better than that.

What would you get a tattoo apprentice for Christmas?

A sketchbook - I think it’s imperative that people still draw by hand to set themselves apart from the rest. This seems to be really uncommon now. People still really appreciate hand drawn designs presented in a traditional way. It also shows that the apprentice can draw, as it’s difficult to tell these days who can and who can’t.

What does the future hold for Sudanim?

If I knew the answer to this question I’d be in a different job… I just want to tattoo massive stuff on people!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our chat with Sudanim - go and check out more of his work on Instagram or Facebook, or check out the variety of talented artists at Rebel With A Cause!