25 Apr “Tattooing isn’t just about making an image, it’s about understanding the skin, earning someone’s trust, and creating something that will last.” Interview with Cindy

Tattoo artist Cindy You (@you.tats), is known for her abstract designs that flow with the body. She currently tattoos out of Hello Ink Tattoo Studio, Brooklyn, New York while working as an illustrator under the name Zhiyu You. Here she tells us about her journey into the industry, what inspires her tattoos and illustrations…

How long have you been tattooing and how did you become a tattoo artist? 

I’ve been tattooing for about four years. I came into tattooing with a background in illustration, I studied illustration at School of Visual Arts in New York, and drawing has always been at the core of my practice.

Tattooing felt like a natural extension of that, but also a completely different discipline. I started through an apprenticeship at a fine line studio in New York, where I learned the technical side of working on skin, such as machine control, line consistency, and how designs actually live on the body.

Over time, I began developing my own visual language, focusing more on flow, structure, and how each piece interacts with the body.

Was there a particular person or experience that made you want to become an artist?

After I graduated, a lot of my friends became tattoo artists. Watching their work and their process helped me understand what it really means to be a tattoo artist. It’s not just making images, but translating them onto the body.

It was amazing to see how their drawings could live on someone’s skin in such a permanent and personal way. That experience made me really interested in tattooing and eventually led me to pursue it myself.

What was your first tattoo and what was the first tattoo you did on someone else? Tell us about your experiences…

I still remember the first time I tattooed someone. I was really nervous and extremely careful with every step. I took almost three hours to complete a very small tattoo because I was moving so slowly and cautiously.

To be honest, when I saw the client again for a touch-up, most of it had faded. It was a difficult moment, but also an important one. It made me realise how much technique, depth, and consistency matter in tattooing.

That experience really stayed with me. It taught me that tattooing isn’t just about making an image, it’s about understanding the skin, earning someone’s trust, and creating something that will last.

We love the movement and flow of your tattoos, do you freehand these? Can you tell us about your process. 

Thank you! Movement and flow are really important in my work. For larger pieces, I usually start with a digital sketch to plan the overall composition. I often begin by taking photos of the client’s body so I can better understand the placement and how the design will sit. The first thing I always consider is placement. The body really determines how the design should move and flow.

From there, I sketch on Procreate and go back and forth with the client to make sure they feel fully committed to the design. When it comes to the stencil, I often adjust it based on the curves of the body, and that’s usually when I begin to freehand.

My training in art school also gave me a strong foundation in drawing, which allows me to confidently adjust the design directly on the skin. My goal is always to make the tattoo feel like it naturally belongs there.

Have you always tattooed this way? 

Not really, it’s something that developed over time. In the beginning, I relied much more on fixed designs and stencils because I was still building my technical foundation and confidence.

As I gained more experience, I started paying more attention to how tattoos sit on the body rather than just how they look on paper. That naturally led me to incorporate more adjustment and freehand into my process.

Now, I see each body as part of the design, so the way I work has become more fluid and responsive.

Even now, I always start by drawing on the iPad, because I want my clients to clearly see what they’re getting. Some of my friends and former clients have had bad experiences with tattoos they ended up not liking, and later came to me for cover-ups. Seeing how frustrated and helpless they felt really stayed with me. Because of that, I think it’s important for every client to see and feel confident about the final design before we begin, even if it means I spend more time developing it digitally first.

What inspires your designs? 

I started my tattoo journey in a fine line shop in New York City, where I completed my apprenticeship. That experience influenced me a lot, and it’s why many of my designs still carry fine line elements. In the beginning, I experimented with a lot of different styles, like food-related designs, cute Chinese food, candy, stamps, and more illustrative ideas.

But over time, I realised those designs didn’t always sit well on the body. Sometimes they felt distorted, and I found myself wanting to extend beyond a flat, contained image.

That’s when I started exploring more abstract designs. I have a lot of plants in my apartment, and they’ve always been a big source of inspiration for me. I love how they grow and move naturally, so I began combining that organic feeling with abstraction.

That’s how my abstract floral designs started, and they ended up resonating with a lot of people.

Do you prefer flash or custom work? 

I enjoy both, but I lean more toward flash. It allows me to develop my own visual language more freely and explore ideas without too many constraints.

For me, flash feels more intimate, it comes directly from my own thoughts and instincts, and I like how those designs find the right person over time. Flash isn’t just repeatable designs, even though they’re pre-made, I still adapt them to each body through placement and flow, so each piece feels unique.

That said, I really value custom work as well. The most meaningful part is hearing the story behind each design and understanding why it’s important to the client. That connection adds a different kind of depth to the process.

Do you prefer colour or blackwork? What’s something you’d really love to tattoo

I see my work as a mix of blackwork and organic abstraction. Fine line tattoos have a very refined and delicate quality, they feel elegant, almost whisper-like on the skin, and I really appreciate that subtle beauty. But at the same time, I sometimes feel they can be too quiet visually. Unless you look closely, they can disappear from a distance.

I’m often heard saying that fine line tattoos whisper on the skin. I love that elegance, but I want my work to whisper and still be heard from across the street. Which is why, I’ve been pushing my designs toward stronger shapes and more visible forms.

For me, the “dark” aesthetic is less about heaviness and more about contrast and structure. I’m interested in using bold black shapes and flowing lines to create designs that move naturally with the body. Instead of treating a tattoo like a flat image, I think about how it wraps around muscles and bones, almost as if it grows with the anatomy.

At the same time, I’m always trying to push my work forward. I continuously update my visual language and experiment with new elements because I want each piece to feel unique and original. I try not to repeat myself or create designs that feel generic.

What sorts of themes and ideas do you explore in your illustration work?

My illustration work often explores subtle emotional states within everyday life, things like memory, identity, and quiet tension in familiar moments. I’m interested in the space between what is visible and what is felt.

A lot of my ideas come from small, personal observations, such as domestic scenes, gestures, or fleeting thoughts. I use symbolic elements and restrained compositions to hold those emotions. I’m also drawn to the relationship between the body, environment, and inner experience, and how those layers can exist at the same time.

What median do you use? How does your artwork connect with your tattooing style?

I work with a mix of traditional and digital media. I usually start with drawing, sometimes very loose sketches or written fragments, and then develop the work from there. I mainly using Procreate and Photoshop. I like going back and forth between the two, keeping a balance between intuition and control.

That process connects closely to my tattooing. In both, I think a lot about structure, rhythm, and restraint. My illustration work focuses on subtle emotions and composition, while tattooing adds another layer, considering how the design interacts with the body.

I see them as two parts of the same practice. 

You’ve been involved in art exhibitions, can you tell us about your past art shows?

I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several group exhibitions, both in New York and internationally, which have all been meaningful in different ways. My work has been shown at the Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition in New York, including The Art of the Folio, as well as Illustration West, the Communication Arts Exhibition, and MoCCA Arts Fest.

One experience that stands out to me is exhibiting at the Society of Illustrators. It was special to see my work in dialogue with such a wide range of illustrators and to be part of an institution with a long history in the field.

I also participated in the Otherworld exhibition in 2022 at Xiansheng Gallery in Beijing’s 798 Art District. The show brought together a group of emerging artists working across digital drawing, printmaking, and other media, each presenting a distinct and self-contained visual world. For me, it was not only an opportunity to show my work, but also a moment to reflect on how each artist constructs their own visual language through image-making.

How can people get tattooed by you? Have you got any guest spots coming up? 

Clients can reach out to me directly through Instagram (@you.tats) or email (cindy@other-form.com) with their ideas, preferred placement, and size. From there, I usually follow up with more details and guide them through the booking process.

I offer both custom designs and flash pieces. For custom work, I like to have a brief conversation first to understand the concept and make sure it aligns with my style. For flash, clients can choose from my available designs and I can adjust them slightly to better fit their placement.

As for guest spots, I do travel in the US. regularly and announce upcoming dates on my Instagram. I always recommend checking there for the most up-to-date information.

What moment in your career so far are you most proud of? 

I don’t think there’s one single moment, but rather a series of small moments that added up over time. Of course, I feel really proud when I see my work being loved and appreciated by many people.

But for me, the most meaningful shift was when clients started coming to me specifically for my work and trusting my vision. That was the moment I truly felt like I had become a professional artist, not just someone executing tattoos.

I’m also proud of how my work continues to evolve. Being able to develop a visual language that feels like my own and seeing people connect with it, means a lot to me.

What’s next for you?

I think for me, the next step is to keep evolving my work and pushing my visual language further. I want to expand my canvas and take on larger-scale tattoos, where I can more fully explore the relationship between the design and the body. With bigger pieces, there’s more room to think about flow, movement, and how the forms wrap around the anatomy.

I’m also interested in continuing my illustration practice and finding ways to bring those two worlds closer together. Illustration allows me to explore ideas more freely and experiment with concepts that might later translate into tattoo work. At the same time, tattooing gives those ideas a physical presence and a connection to the human body. I’m really interested in that dialogue between the two; how they can inform and push each other forward.

Thank you Cindy for chatting to us and being part of Things & Ink! Make sure to follow Cindy on Instagram to see more tattoos and get booked in.

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