Originally from Nice and now based in California, John Hudic is a tattoo artist whose journey blends technical discipline with a constant drive for artistic evolution. With a background in animation, his approach to tattooing is deeply rooted in composition, contrast, and visual storytelling.
His work moves between black and grey realism and bold graphic influences, often enriched by subtle touches of color that enhance depth and emotion. At Raven and the Wolves in Long Beach, surrounded by a highly stimulating artistic environment, John continues to refine his language, pushing the balance between light and shadow while exploring new possibilities in both tattooing and painting.
Hi John, welcome to Tattoo Life. Would you like to introduce yourself to our readers and share a few details about yourself, such as where you were born, where you live, and where you currently work?
My name is John Hudic, and I’m a tattoo artist, as you might have guessed! I’ve been tattooing for the past twelve years. I’m French, born and raised in Nice, which is also where my career began. I’m currently based in California, working out of Raven and the Wolves in Long Beach.
Did your career as a tattoo artist grow out of your passion for tattooing, or did the two develop along separate paths?
Tattooing came to me almost by chance, rather than being something I had planned. I was studying animation, mainly 3D, and learning various software like Photoshop—skills that are still very useful to me today. Right after graduating, my art teacher—who had become a tattoo artist in the meantime—reached out because he was looking for an apprentice.
I had always wanted to work with him, so I said yes without hesitation and never entered the animation industry. Instead, I dove straight into tattooing, discovering a complex, surprising, and absolutely fascinating world.
At first, it felt like stepping into a completely new universe—not exactly frightening, but incredibly vast, with so much to learn.
Where do you even start? What style do you choose? You have to begin with the basics and master the techniques, which is actually one of the things I love most about tattooing: it’s not something you can rush, it’s a journey. Every small achievement becomes a milestone, building your confidence and helping you understand who you are as an artist, what you want to express, and what truly draws you in. Over time, that drive to improve and go deeper also led me to painting—starting with digital and then moving into oil. It was a natural progression, where each step led to another. Little by little, I began to develop my own style, always striving to refine and evolve it. And it’s precisely this ongoing process of growth, which never really ends, that makes tattooing so compelling and engaging for me.
And you started to gravitate toward a dark realism style, right?
It was a slow build. I wouldn’t even necessarily describe my style as dark realism, though maybe I don’t fully realize how much my work has evolved in that direction over time. Sometimes it takes someone else pointing it out for you to see it yourself.
What I’ve been really focused on, especially over the last couple of years, is contrast. I’m trying to create work that stands the test of time, tattoos that last, with rich dark areas balanced against very bright ones. Finding that right balance between light and dark is something I’m constantly chasing. If anything, I’d say there’s a touch of romanticism in my style.
It was definitely a progression. I started out with something much more graphic. Early on, trash polka was a style that really attracted me with that mix of graphic elements, abstract touches, and realism all combined. I’ve always loved that very bold, graphic approach, almost pop art in a way. There’s something about pairing realism with abstraction that I find really powerful — the abstract elements make the realism pop even more. They feed off each other. So yeah, it wasn’t an overnight thing. It was a gradual buildup that led me to where I am now.
Where do you draw inspiration for your subjects?
Even if I don’t define myself as a dark realism artist, I might have genuinely turned into one without fully realizing it. When I think about where I’ve drawn my inspiration throughout my career, it actually makes a lot of sense. Early on, it started with artists like Jack Connolly, Carlos Torres, who I’m lucky enough to work with today, and Victor Portugal. These were the three artists who proved to me, when I was still very early in my career, that you could do fine art through tattooing. And now that I think about it, they do all have a kind of dark realism style, though each with their own very graphic approach and distinct flow.
From there I discovered artists like Alex Sorsa, Thomas Carli Jarlier, and Matteo Pasqualin, who I also really admire. And then more recently, being at Raven and the Wolves, surrounded by so many talented artists and guest artists coming through the shop, I’ve learned so much about contrast, saturation, and how to make a piece truly last over time.
I think that environment pushed my black and grey work further and further into dark realism, almost naturally, without me consciously choosing it.
What’s funny though, is that if you look at my painting work or my digital drawings, it’s a completely different world, very neon, cyberpunk, bright colors. Still moody and dark in its own way, but a totally different expression of that same aesthetic.
In your black and grey works, you often incorporate touches of color that add strength to the image, with a very deliberate use of tones like red or blue and their nuances. Could you tell us more about that aspect of your style?
I’ve always incorporated touches of color, even from the very beginning of my career. It probably came from discovering trash polka and other bold graphic styles that were very popular in Europe at that time, often mixed with hints of watercolor. But lately I’ve found myself really drawn back to it in a much deeper way. It became a path for me to start exploring and pushing the art of color in tattooing, which is a completely different beast on its own.
That attraction to color really crystallized when I met Jay Freestyle, back around 2018. He’s an amazing color artist with an incredible way of mixing abstract and graphic elements in his work. I was always inspired by him, always wanted to go into color, but I was honestly quite scared of it. So I worked my way towards it gradually, starting with opaques, then adding one color at a time, which I always loved. And over the last two years I’ve been working on full color pieces, while still bringing my same approach and sensibility to them.
What I find interesting is that there’s still a very distinct difference between my color work and my black and grey. Almost like two different artists depending on which medium I’m working in. And honestly, I like that. It keeps both sides of my work feeling fresh and separate, like two different ways of expressing the same vision.
Are there specific subjects you love to tattoo?
My favorite thing to tattoo, and something I never get tired of, is incorporating a woman’s portrait into a composition. For me, a female face can work with absolutely any theme. That’s what I love about it. Even in the darkest of concepts, adding a female face somehow softens the piece and gives it a more romantic touch. Whether it’s a dark beauty or a dark romance, there’s something about it that brings a certain tenderness to the work, a balance.
But when it comes to themes and subjects more broadly, what I love most is when I get the chance to explore a story with a client. To really dig into what they want to say and then build a composition that serves that story, that captures the feeling they want to carry on their skin forever.
I believe everyone has a secret project inside them. And I’m here to help them discover it.
You work at Raven and the Wolves, Carlos Torres’ studio in Long Beach — a reference point for many artists drawn to your style. How did you end up there, and what is it like working in that environment?
Working at Raven and the Wolves was always a dream of mine. As I mentioned earlier, Carlos Torres was one of my biggest inspirations from the very beginning of my career, one of the artists who showed me that you could create true fine art through tattooing.
The way it happened is actually a funny story. I was back in France, had just finished a day of work, came home, was scrolling through my phone, and stumbled across this very goofy video they had put out. Almost like a lighthearted advertisement saying they were looking for new artists. And something just clicked. I sent them an email, asked if they would consider an European artist, and attached my portfolio. Very shortly after, they came back to me, telling me they liked my work and wanted to have a more serious conversation. We did, and a year later I packed up my life and moved to California.
It’s been an amazing experience, though not without its challenges.
Being European, knowing very little about how things work in America, that was honestly the hardest part. But working at the shop actually made that transition easier, because I had the chance to be surrounded by an incredible team. I did have to rebuild my entire client base from scratch, which was tough, but I also came in with almost nine years of experience behind me.
And artistically, Raven and the Wolves has helped me level up in ways I didn’t expect, not just in tattooing, but in painting too. The shop is also an art gallery, and Carlos constantly pushes us to develop ourselves as artists beyond tattooing. That environment has been incredibly motivating. It’s allowed me to keep stepping up my painting in a way I’m not sure would have happened otherwise. Drawing and painting were always passions of mine, they just evolved alongside my tattooing rather than before it. And now, the two are growing together at the same time, each one feeding the other. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What are your ambitions for the future?
Now that I’m a little more established in the US, the ambition remains the same at its core — keep pushing, keep solidifying my style, keep raising the quality of my work. But more specifically, I really want to continue developing my color tattoo work, which still feels like a relatively new frontier for me with a lot of room to grow. I’d also love to explore more of the United States. I want to start traveling more, doing guest spots at great shops across the country, especially visiting people I’ve had the chance to meet through Raven and the Wolves. There’s something really special about that exchange, being able to share your work and your approach with other artists and communities, and learning from them in return. At the end of the day, the goal is simple: keep evolving, keep learning, and become a better artist. That’s always been the driving force, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Is there anything you would like to add to close this interview?
I am truly grateful for the journey I’ve been able to go through. It has shaped me both as an artist and as a person. I want to give a massive thank you to Raven and the Wolves for allowing me to continue this adventure and embrace this new chapter in my career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. And to any aspiring artists out there, it is absolutely worth it. It is a demanding journey, a difficult one at times, but one that gives back everything you put into it and more. As long as you have enough passion driving you, you can make it happen. Don’t give up.
