Kuroko Ink is a private tattoo studio in Liverpool built around bold design, original work, and a calm, considered process. Drawing on Japanese influence, strong composition, and intentional placement, the studio exists to create tattoos with clarity, presence, and staying power.
Created by Ben, Kuroko Ink brings together years of visual practice across illustration, branding, environments, and image-making — now focused into tattooing with the same discipline, atmosphere, and attention to detail.
Bloodlines & Brushstrokes
I grew up on the border near Hay-on-Wye, surrounded by hills, forests, and the kind of quiet that gives imagination room to run. From early on, my world was shaped visually—through manga, animation, hip-hop, and metal. I became obsessed with Akira, drawn to its raw energy, heavy lines, and cinematic storytelling. Those visuals stuck with me and never let go.
Alongside that came a deep love of alternative American comics—bold, uncompromising work rooted in mood, grit, and character. Art that didn’t ask permission. Those influences pulled me toward illustration early on, and I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, always focused on detail, composition, and telling stories through line work rather than words.
That path led me to study Illustration at degree level, graduating with First-Class Honours. After that, I moved to Liverpool to pursue a life built entirely around art. No sidelines. No safety net. Just creating.
My work has been exhibited across the UK, including Earl’s Court in London and The Custard Factory in Birmingham, and has been sold through Urban Outfitters. I’ve collaborated with musicians on album artwork and visual projects, building imagery that carried sound, attitude, and identity.
Over time, my influences deepened.
I fell in love with:
Chicano art — bold, powerful, storytelling through shade and script
Japanese art — disciplined brushwork, symbolism, and the poetry of minimal lines
Traditional woodblock printmaking — textures, carved imperfection, dramatic contrast
Folklore — myths, creatures, spirits, and the narratives that shape cultures
I’ve always been obsessed with the old masters—their processes, their ink, their tools, their rituals. Studying them isn’t just reference work; it’s a kind of devotion. Their techniques influence everything I do, from composition to symbolism to how I prepare before a tattoo session.
Tattooing became the natural evolution of all of it.
It allowed illustration, tradition, myth, and craft to merge into a single medium—something permanent, intimate, and alive. Skin holds stories differently. There’s intention behind every mark, and that intention is what fuels Kuroko Ink.
Today, the studio is everything I’ve loved, studied, and lived:
the precision of illustration, the grit of street culture, the elegance of Japanese and woodblock art, the boldness of Chicano work, and the storytelling heart of folklore.
Kuroko Ink isn’t just where I tattoo.
It’s where every piece becomes a continuation of something ancient, personal, and meaningful.
Art that isn’t just seen—
but carried.