Retro Anime Robots Inspire These Adorable Pet Tattoos

Robot fashion is all over the runway. We saw Schiaparelli’s runway show at Paris Fashion Week go viral after a model held a robot baby as an accessory, not to mention Philipp Plein, Coperni and Dior’s cyberpunk runways that have brought lasers, transformers and robot dogs on the runway.

With this retro love of fashion, comes the rise of 1980s tattoos. From images of palm trees over pixelated sunsets to images of boomboxes, TV sets and roller skates, it make sense why tattoo artists are jumping on the trend. One artist is tapping into retro anime films for adorable pet portrait tattoos.

Pisatche is using an old school science fiction aesthetic for his adorable pet tattoos. When clients ask for a portrait of their pet, he creates a battle suit for each animal, who are hand-drawn in a lighthearted, simple style that calls to mind chic, cute robots—like fashion house Loewe’s collaboration with Japanese anime house Studio Ghibli for a collection of handbags.

He’s an old school anime fan. “There are so many different places where I get inspired by science fiction, but the biggest part is inspired by Katsuhiro Otomo’s famed 1988 animated film, Akira,” said Jeon Se-hyeon, who works under the moniker of Pisatche.

He uses pastel hues of blue, purple and gray, mixed in with a Robocop aesthetic, with hints of HR Giger. More than anything, it’s an ode to the vintage graphic design of the era. The humanoids, or mechs as they’re known (short for mechanics) are giant machines used in anime films, and represent a type of futurism that captures our digital everyday.

One of his tattoos depicts a black and white doodle seated in a bulky humanoid, while another shows a puppy in an Aliens-type robot with a spiked back and long, winding tail.

According to the artist, “it’s connected to our childhood innocence,” he says. “Everyone likes to have a robot toy when they’re young, and that same type of innocence symbolizes the love we have for our pets.”

Tattooed pet portraits really came into focus over the past decade. They’ve mostly been hyper-realistic, with the modernization of new tattoo needles. Just as portraits of loved ones are important to memorialize, so are pets.

“Everyone wants their dogs and cats to live forever,” said Se-hyeon. “We’re lucky enough to have pets in our lives, so having them as our protector or guide tattooed on us forever just feels like a natural next step. I personally have my pet tattooed on my arm, it represents that I will have my pet, or my ‘forever friend’ with me always.”

It’s somewhat comical, and the dogs in battle suits are the most popular. However, he has inked everything from spotted cats to pet frogs in battle suits.

Se-hyeon comes from a background of inking realistic robots, full of shine and metallic hues. Initially, they were ultra mechanical and architectural. He turned to tattooing these adorable pet portraits a few years ago as an experiment. He wanted to tattoo his own dog. “It started with making my dog cute,” said the artist. “If I can show a dog or a cat protecting their families by becoming pilots in battle suits, it makes everyone smile. It’s more of a unique concept than just tattooing your pet’s face on your arm.”

Check out @pisatche on Instagram.