Artist #1 Beicinho
Master of Realism in Rio
Beicinhotattoo showed artistic talent from a young age, drawing what he saw on TV at just 6 years old. At 8, he became interested in tattoos after visiting a tattoo artist, and by 11, he did his first tattoo on a neighbor. At 13, while working as a car mechanic, he made more tattoos with friends using improvised materials. In 1991, already living in Aracaju, he built his first homemade tattoo machine and created a tattoo that was later removed by the client’s father, as the boy was underage. Back in Rio in 1992, he bought his first professional machine and started improving his work with support from other tattoo artists. In 1993, he temporarily stopped tattooing after receiving harsh criticism, but used it as motivation to study drawing. Later, he returned more skilled, proving his growth by tattooing even those who once doubted him.
In 1994, Beicinhotattoo returned to tattooing with impressive realistic work for the time, inspired by Boris Vallejo. After a year tattooing, he set off on an aimless journey and ended up meeting the tattoo artist @tyestattoo, who invited him to a convention in Curitiba organized by @domcostattoo. Even with little money, he joined the event, met renowned tattoo artists, and won his first award, which motivated him to open his first studio in Rio.
Today, with over 150 awards — including one for best national tattoo machine — Beicinho is also the manufacturer of @mastersink inks and owner of @mastersoftattoo, one of the largest studios in Latin America. He values continuous learning, teaches with patience and gratitude, and believes in self-improvement as his main drive. He acknowledges and thanks the great tattoo masters who have crossed his path.
Silvio Muniz
Young Brazilian Full-Color Rock Star!
Silvio Muniz was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1982,
and has been tattooing since 2011. His specialty is color and black and white realism—for which he has won roughly 24 awards.
He creates all reference images using AI programs such as midjourney and photoshop, delivering authentic and exclusive art in incredible detail. He also creates images for several well-know artists (such as Steve Butcher and James).
His studio is in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro. He has worked as a guest artist in several other Brazilian states as well as countries such as Norway, Portugal, and Germany.
In his own words:
“I am passionate about realism and have been developing my own techniques, aiming for authenticity in textures and effects and thus bringing a different art within my style.
My goal today, looking at the Silvio who worked with vehicle maintenance in a garage, but who always wanted more, is without a doubt to be able to take my art out into the world, expanding the possibilities.”
Thais França
Traditional Brazilian, Woodblock-Stencil Artist
Thaís Franca, 40 years old, was born in Campinas, Brazil, and now works and lives in Sumaré. Thaís practices Xilotatoo, a tattoo style utilizing woodcut blocks (wooden art).
The Xilo tattoo technique is a distinctive Brazilian method merging traditional woodblock printing—known as xilogravura—with contemporary tattoo artistry. This approach involves carving a design into a wooden block, inking it, and then pressing it onto the skin to transfer the image, which then serves as a stencil for the tattoo. Xilogravura has deep roots in Brazilian folk art, particularly in the northeastern region of the country. The technique is closely associated with cordel literature, a form of popular poetry presented in books adorned with woodcut illustrations.
The organizers of Tattoo Week in Sao Paolo, the world’s largest tattoo convention, recently awarded Thais with the honor of representing Brazil at all the events they will be part of this year, both domestically and abroad.
In love with Brazil, the artist intends to bring Brazilian popular culture to the world. Making the xylotatoo, the client takes home the drawing matrix, as Thaís first sculpts the drawing in linoleum, using the woodcut technique, and, from there, uses it as a decal to apply on the skin. (Linoleum is a floor covering made of natural materials, such as flaxseed oil, cork, jute and resin, durable, resistant and sustainable.)
She is the single mother of a 23-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. She was in the 4th year of the Faculty of Architecture when she got pregnant for the second time and had to interrupt her studies, because the baby was born prematurely (5 months) and spent six months in the ICU.
She started working very early - at the age of 14. Her training in High School was as an Agricultural Technician, at the Paula Souza Institute. She worked in this area at a time when there were practically no women involved. After suffering harassment and a lot of prejudice, she gave up and began to study and work in the area of visual communication.
After some professional experience in decoration and showcase, she began to manufacture educational toys in wood, which she sold at the craft fair of Praça do Coco, in Barão Geraldo. "For the first time, I started selling something of mine; it was an incredible 6 years," she recalls. But the pandemic came and, once again, Thais had to change occupation. Realizing that art would remain central in her life, she took tattoo courses and a workshop with J. Borges (1935-2024), Brazilian artist, cordelist and poet (one of the most famous xylographers in Pernambuco). From then on, the tattoo and xylotatoo became her means of sustenance and food for the soul: "Working with xylotatoo is like I'm returning to a place I've never been," remarks the artist.
Rules, Rules, Rules…
Eligibility
1. 21 and over only
2. must have good English skills
3. must have at least one tattoo already
4. entrants with skin conditions (psoriasis, eczema etc.) are totally welcome and encouraged to enter!
5. coverups are welcome; at least one winner will get a coverup
6. Entrants must read and sign a release of liability and agreement for use of likeness and video in our upcoming travel show
7. Winners must have a passport valid thru mid 2026
8. Entrants must keep in mind that projects of interest must be designed to be completable in no more than three full days of inking
9. Entries will be accepted from June 12 at 8am till July 11 at 11:59pm. Finalists will be selected on a rolling basis so enter as early as you can!
What You Must Submit
***If you have entered before you only have to submit a new entry with #1 and #5***
1. Please put your name and date of birth in the subject line
2. Please attach signed release
3. Please provide a cell phone number (this will not be given out to anyone and won’t be used for any other purpose)
4. In the body of the email please include: name and address, photos of current tats, what/where you want your new tat, which artist you are applying for (one artist per entrant), whether you wish a cover, allergies, history of any inking complications (not at all an exclusion from contest!), and, MOST IMPORTANT…
5. PLEASE ATTACH A BRIEF VIDEO SELFIE of up to one minute where you introduce yourself (name and city/country), which Artist you are choosing, and why you should be chosen for this trip. Clips from the videos may be used on the show, so make them both interesting and fun to increase your chances of being selected!
Finalists and Winners
Entries will be closed after we have identified 30 finalists or on July 12, whichever comes first. The finalists (ten per artist) will be announced in late July; artists will each choose one winner and one alternate in August. InkDoc staff will notify finalists and winners by recorded video chat.
The Trip
Winners will receive airfare, hotel accommodations, tattooing, local transportation and meal per diem at no charge; arrangements will be made by the Ink Doc team and any changes or upgrades will not be covered. Each trip will be approximately one week in length; dates for the Rio trip are October 5-12. Winners will be housed with private room or same-sex doubles in a shared (and very nice) Airbnb. There will be up to three full days of inking, some shared excursions and meals, and free time to explore the area on your own. Family and friends of winners are welcome but none of their expenses will be covered. Keep in mind this is a FILMED EVENT and so the group needs to be together for all planned events. Each show will have three artists each inking one winner only, and at typically more than one location/studio in the destination. No swapping of artists will be permitted without the express permission of Ink Doc Productions and the relevant artists.
Release of Liability & Rights to Use Likeness
Please download, sign and submit the enclosed release.
The Show
Video entries, filming and photography of all entrants and winners from this and future Ink Doc contest trips will be used in an up-coming documentary series, ‘Ink Doc: Worldwide Coverup.’ The show will be something of a blend of Anthony Bourdain‘s Parts Unknown’ and ’Dr. Pimple Popper.’ initially it will stream on Amazon and AppleTV. Our goal is both to share my enthusiasm about tattoo tourism and increase awareness of best-practices in getting inked. Winners will of course have privacy but there will also be a good bit of filming for the series, so keep this in mind if you are shy in front of a camera.