Meet the Artist: Dani Canons
Artist: Dani Canons - Chicago, Illinois
Before Dani Canons became a tattoo artist, she was already building a career around storytelling and art.
With a bachelor's degree in animation, time spent studying in Japan, and experience working in video games as both a motion graphics animator and producer, creativity had always been part of her life.
Eventually, though, Dani realized she didn't just want to manage creative projects. She wanted to create again.
Tattooing gave her a way to bring together anime, gaming, animation, and storytelling while creating something much more personal for the person wearing it.
We caught up with Dani so you can get to know a little more about the artist behind the work.
What brought you to tattooing?
I worked in video games as both a motion graphics animator and producer.
I loved the industry, but what I really missed was having creative freedom and being able to bring unique ideas to life without so many restrictions.
Eventually, I realized I didn't want to spend all of my time managing artists anymore.
I wanted to create again.
Tattooing felt like a way to bring everything together—the storytelling I loved from games and animation with the ability to create something deeply personal for another person.
How did animation shape your work?
I have a bachelor's degree in animation, grew up watching anime, and even had the opportunity to study abroad and visit some major Japanese animation studios.
I've also worked on some huge video game IPs.
Because of that background, storytelling and accuracy are really important to me.
If someone wants a specific scene from an anime, I want to understand what makes that moment special and recreate it as faithfully and cleanly as I can.
I really value crisp lines and details, and I love working with color as well as black and grey pieces with carefully placed pops of color.
What are your favorite anime?
One Piece, Fruits Basket, and Mob Psycho 100 are some of my favorites.
I've always loved stories where the characters and emotions really stick with you, which is also part of what draws me to anime tattooing.
Sometimes a client isn't just choosing a character because they like how they look. There's a specific moment, relationship, or feeling attached to them.
That's the part I love trying to capture.
What does a tattoo mean to you?
To me, a tattoo can almost immortalize a feeling.
I've seen how much a game, anime, character, or story can mean to someone.
Maybe it's a scene that stayed with them for years or a character they connected with during an important part of their life.
When I'm designing that tattoo, I want it to bring those feelings back.
That's why I especially love nostalgic and niche ideas where we can include little details another fan might recognize immediately.
What was a big career moment?
Going to Pop Cult Con was a huge moment for me.
A friend and fellow artist named Bear encouraged me to travel to North Carolina for the convention. I'd never been to the city before and had never done a convention booth on my own.
While we were there, he convinced me to enter some tattoo competitions.
I submitted four pieces and didn't place in any of them.
Then my fifth piece won the beginner category during only my second year of tattooing.
That feeling was incredible.
It gave me a lot of confidence that I was moving in the right direction.
When did your work first go viral?
I did a Fruits Basket tattoo for a client, and afterward they posted it in a Facebook group.
I didn't even know they had posted it.
Then suddenly people started reaching out to me because they'd seen the tattoo.
Watching that piece spread and bring new people to my work made everything feel a little more real.
What ideas excite you most?
I love projects where the client and I can really collaborate.
One of my favorite examples is a Death Note thigh piece.
My client gave me a lot of creative freedom, but we still worked closely together deciding which moments, symbols, and details from the anime would help tell the story.
Eventually, we landed on a full thigh piece inspired by Da Vinci's style.
The whole process was incredibly fun because we were building the idea together rather than simply choosing one image.
Even now, my client tells me other artists compliment that tattoo when he travels.
What piece are you most proud of?
One of my personal favorites is a bloody Astarion scene from Baldur's Gate 3.
It didn't necessarily get the most attention online, but that doesn't really matter to me.
I poured everything I had into that tattoo.
I combined imagery from one of my favorite games with a neo-traditional approach, and I walked away feeling extremely proud of what I created.
Sometimes the pieces you're most attached to aren't the ones that get the most likes.
They're just the ones that remind you why you love making art.
What experience matters to you?
I want people to feel safe, heard, and included in the process.
I once had a client come to me after being told elsewhere that color wouldn't look good on their skin and that they shouldn't get a color tattoo.
We talked through what was possible, I sketched out some options, and we created a colorful piece together.
When the tattoo was finished, they became emotional because of how much they loved it.
That experience stayed with me.
People are trusting me with something permanent, and I don't take that lightly.
I want clients to feel comfortable asking questions, sharing ideas, and knowing that we're working together to create something they're genuinely excited about.
How do you keep growing?
I try to surround myself with artists who inspire me.
Bear pushed me to try conventions, and I've been fortunate to share booth spaces with incredible artists who have taught me things along the way.
I also attend seminars and conventions whenever I can because I don't ever want to stop learning.
My goal is to keep growing, compete more, travel, and continue developing my artistry.
One day, I'd love to have an apprentice of my own and give someone else the kind of opportunity and guidance that helped shape my career.
Meet Dani in the Chair
Dani's background may span animation, gaming, and tattooing, but the common thread has always been storytelling.
Today, she gets to turn the characters and moments people love into something permanent while making sure every client feels part of the creative process.
Want to Get Tattooed by Dani?
If you haven't booked with Dani yet and her work feels like the right fit for your next tattoo, we'd love to hear your idea.
