Jitan Forcier, Brights colors and Bold lines!

Sailor Jerry used to say that the key to a successful tattoo lies in the simplicity of its lines. It’s an idea that Canadian tattooer Jitan Forcier pushes to the extreme. Through his boldline pieces—at the crossroads of vector aesthetics and electric traditional—he thickens the line until it becomes a graphic manifesto. Tattooing for over 12 years and co-founder of Montreal Classique, he has developped an efficient visual language that hustle the codes of traditional tattooing.

Jitan Forcier, you’ve got a pretty unconventional path—web, comedy, design… then tattooing. What’s your background ?
I’m self-taught in pretty much everything I’ve done. I started building websites in HTML when I was 13. Then at 15, I co-founded a comedy site called The Stupid Show. We were doing parody dubbing, pranks, short films—some of those videos actually became kind of cult classics in Quebec’s early web scene.

I pick things up fast when I’m into something.

I’ve always been drawn to web, drawing, animation, and film. That led me to complete a lot of personal projects and freelance work in those fields, without ever going through formal education.

When did tattooing become your actual profession, and how did you learn the craft?
I’ve been tattooing professionally since 2015. Alban offered me an apprenticeship, but I wasn’t ready to commit at the time. David Côté helped me get started with equipment and guidance, but I mostly learned on my own. Looking back, I know I would’ve progressed faster surrounded by other artists.

Your work has a really strong graphic structure. How much does your design background influence your visual choices today?
My interest in American traditional and my background in graphic design naturally blended into what became my bold line work. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where one ends and the other begins, but there’s definitely a very vector-based feel to my work. Funny thing is, I’ve never really been an Adobe Illustrator guy—I’ve always preferred Photoshop.

To me, the design influence shows in the clean finish, the clarity of shapes, and readability. It taught me how to simplify, strip things down, and create impactful images. And honestly, those same principles are already present in traditional tattooing.

What kind of references feed your vision—historical tattooers, illustrators, graphic designers?
Honestly, I like a wide range of styles, but I don’t really have one specific role model. That said, Ander Rage, Wes Hoffman, and Andrew Baysinger have always stood out to me, especially for their execution. You’d think Mambo Tattooer would’ve been my main inspiration for bold lines, given his background in design and printing—but actually, it was the idea of blast-overs with thick lines that really pushed me to explore that direction.

That “electric traditional” vibe really stands out in your work. Is that an aesthetic, technical, or historical choice?
A bit of all three. First off, anyone who knows me would say it just fits my overall vibe. I’ve always been into ‘60s and ‘70s music and fashion, so I naturally lean toward something I see as classic and timeless. Then there’s the tactile side of it—coil machines are just unbeatable when it comes to feel and efficiency, especially for laying down solid, bold lines fast.

Do you have references among the old-school traditional guys—Percy Waters and so on?
Of course, when you get into trad, you’re drawing from the classics. But without downplaying the pioneers, I’m actually more drawn to the next generation—Huck Spaulding, Sailor Jerry, and that whole crew.

Your large-scale traditional pieces with those intentionally super thick lines have been all over the internet. Where did that idea come from?
Funny enough, a client I tattoo several times a year recently reminded me that I did a thick-line piece on her during my very first year tattooing. So I guess the idea’s been in the back of my mind for a while. The first bold line back piece I worked on was a blast-over on top of a faded tattoo where only the outlines had been done.

I’d been wanting to do a super bold skull on a full back for a while.

A friend who liked the idea gave me full free rein to go for it. That piece led me to design more flash in the same style—but not as cover-ups. The rose that really put me on the map got booked less than 30 minutes after I posted it. That’s when I knew I was onto something. Now I’ve got around twenty bold line back pieces booked in my schedule.

What’s the main technical challenge with those tattoos?
It’s kind of ironic color packing has never been my favorite part. But with bold line designs, I actually enjoy it. Guess I like pushing myself. Because the style is so graphic and vector-like, it really taps into perfectionism.

Packing solid color over large areas requires consistency and clean technique. And at the end of the day, tattooing is a body art—so perfection on the first pass is almost impossible. Healing isn’t guaranteed either. I always plan an extra session to go back in and really saturate the colors so the final result hits just right.

What motif would be the biggest challenge in bold line? I assume not everything in trad translates well to it.
The challenge is always there with bold line. You have to simplify enough while keeping that traditional single-line approach. Some artists working with thick lines still use finer lines for details—but to me, that kind of breaks the whole effect. We’ll see over time where my limits are.

When did you open Montreal Classique?
We started Montreal Classique in 2023. The idea was to bring a cooperative model into a street-level shop. Most tattoo collectives in the city work out of private studios, but we wanted the best of both work worlds —a strong team working together while sharing the responsibilities of running a traditional shop.

Your website showcases your different artistic projects. Are you still working as a graphic/web designer on the side?
I’m not taking on new web or design clients anymore. It served me well for a long time, but now I’d rather focus all my time and energy on building my personal brand. I put as much effort into growing my career as I do into the art itself. I’m lucky to be busy—and I’m genuinely grateful for that. I’ve never had this much demand, but I think I’ve also tapped into a niche with bold line.

Tattoo artist Jitan Forcier, @jitanforcier

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