Ahmed Sikander is many things: illustrator, 2D animator, storyteller, and now, tattoo artist. The Mumbai-based founder of Monky Ink Blots has spent 16 years building a voice in the creative industry, and it shows clearly in his illustrations and comic work. His tattooing is a different story. A year in, he’s bringing the same curiosity and visual sensibility that define his illustration work into a new medium. A territory being explored, one line at a time. The technical fluency is developing, but the artistic foundation is already there and Ahmed would be the first to say that the process of learning is part of what makes it exciting. What makes him worth paying attention to isn’t a bold claim to mastery. It’s that he’s documenting the journey anyway, through an ongoing comic series about what it actually feels like to be inside a tattoo studio, learning the craft from the ground up.

Scroll through his Instagram and you won’t find the usual grid . What you’ll find is Monky, a cartoon mascot narrating the small absurdities of studio life. The comics are the main event. Tattooing, still evolving as a craft, sits alongside his illustration work as another way of exploring his visual language. The result reads like a creative diary from someone willing to let the process unfold in public, finding new ideas, challenges, and plenty of material along the way.

Sixteen years of drawing

Ahmed has spent 16 years in the creative industry, developing a practice rooted in illustration and visual storytelling. His move into tattooing feels less like a departure and more a natural progression, bringing an established visual language into a medium where it can take on a new life.

“I have always been fascinated with the tattooing world ever since I was a kid and have wanted to get into tattooing for a very long time. Last year I had some time to kill and made the most of learning the discipline.”

The name Monky Ink Blots came from an unexpected place. Ahmed was searching for a title for his first self-published comic, a collection of short gags about life. “Monky” is his mascot.

“Ink Blots” is a metaphor for experiences, the marks life leaves on you. The name stuck so well that it became the whole brand, splitting into two alter egos: Monky Ink Blots Design & Animation, and Monky Ink Blots Tattoos.”

So the comics didn’t grow out of the tattooing. It was the other way around. The storytelling came first, and tattooing became one more world to draw from.

A cartoon-first visual language, still sharpening its edge

Ask Ahmed to describe himself in a single word and he doesn’t reach for “tattooer” or “illustrator.” He picks “cartoonist.”

“I try to bring humor and storytelling in the work I do. I have been drawing cartoons even before I can remember, and I love them.”

His visual instincts are rooted in hand-drawn, DIY sensibility, shaped by the raw energy of punk rock, hardcore music, the blues, and artists like Skottie Young and Mario Miranda.

That influence comes through most confidently in his illustration work, where 16 years of practice have given his cartoon style its own rhythm and voice. Tattooing offers another space for those instincts to evolve, translating an established visual language into the discipline of ink and skin. The line work continues to become more refined with every piece, as Ahmed brings the same patience and attention to detail that have shaped his wider creative practice.

The little imperfections has an honesty behind them.

“As cliche as it may sound, we all are imperfect beings and that’s why I feel I resonate with it, especially in such a perfection driven world where AI is becoming more prevalent.”

It feels less like a manifesto and more like a personal way of seeing and making things. Years of illustration have shaped that sensibility into a visual language that feels distinctly his own. In tattooing, he’s exploring how that language can adapt to skin, letting the discipline of the medium open up new possibilities within his work.

There’s something deeply human in that process. His work carries an expressive, immediate energy that comes from the hand behind it. Rather than chasing a polished perfection, he’s allowing illustration and tattooing to inform each other, gradually shaping a visual language that feels entirely his own.

His Instagram reads like a comic, not a portfolio

Most tattoo artists treat their feed as a shop window. Ahmed treats his like a serialized story. The difference is the whole point.

“I feel it comes from a place of FUN, and people’s unique take on things to me is fun. I feel that is what would make me want to follow and re-visit a page again and again.”

He’s clear-eyed about the tattoos themselves, too. For him, meaning isn’t fixed in the artwork; it lives in the moment. “I believe that narration can evolve over time. What remains constant is the memory of the day and time you got the tattoo. They really are time stamps on your body.”

It’s a refreshing take. The story of your tattoo isn’t the design. It’s the day you sat in the chair.

Where the comics actually come from

Ahmed doesn’t manufacture ideas. He lives them, then exaggerates.

“Most of the stories come out pretty organically the more I immerse myself in the field.”

Coming from a storytelling background, he loves pushing real experiences into cartoon territory. The comedy hides in the tiny stuff nobody photographs: how annoying it is to put on gloves, the eternity it takes to set up a station, the grind of finishing a piece.

Those overlooked nuances are exactly what make the field feel alive to him. And collaboration adds another layer of joy. He’s teamed up with Moko Aftercare and the metal band Gutslit, folding brands and bands into his comic universe. “I had a blast working on those collaborations.”

Every answer circles back to the same word. FUN, in all caps, like he means it.

What’s next for Monky Ink Blots

Ahmed isn’t content to keep this world online. He wants to make it physical. He plans to reprint the comic series and bring it directly to readers, taking Monky Ink Blots to both comic and tattoo conventions. He has merchandise in the works too, pieces he hasn’t talked about much but is eager to put in front of people. The bigger ambition is the crossover itself: introducing the tattoo crowd to comics, and the comics crowd to tattooing. Two communities that rarely share the same space, brought together by a cartoon monkey and a pile of ink blots.

He plans to reprint the comic series and bring it directly to readers, taking Monky Ink Blots to both comic and tattoo conventions.

Fresh printed copies of the comic series are on the way, set to land in readers’ hands at both comic and tattoo conventions. Merchandise is in the works too, pieces he hasn’t talked about much but is clearly excited to put in front of people. The bigger goal is the crossover: bringing the tattoo crowd into the world of comics, and the comics crowd into the world of tattooing.

Two communities that rarely share the same space, and Ahmed wants to be the one who brings them together.

Building something real while still figuring it out

Ahmed Sikander has built something genuinely compelling out of 16 years of storytelling instinct, a sharp cartoon voice, and the kind of humor that makes people come back. His illustration work is confident and distinctly his own.

What makes his comics worth following isn’t the roughness. It’s the personality behind them. The humor is real, the observations are sharp, and the storytelling instinct has been building for 16 years. That foundation gives his work genuine character, the kind that’s harder to fake than it looks.

Go find Ahmed’s works. Follow the story as it unfolds. His illustration voice is already distinctive, sharp, and entirely his own. And watching someone build toward something real, with humor and honesty driving the work, is worth your attention.

Follow Ahmed on Instagram