Ink Masters

[posterboy7596]

It's an admitted guilty pleasure for me. I don't watch it on tv though, I bootleg it, and yes I justify watching it with knowing I don't improve their ratings. It helps me sleep at night. I certainly agree with the car crash analogy. I was rather surprised to see Al get cut. I figured the producers would keep him around as long as they could just for the drama. The time limit thing is just plain stupid and irresponsible. I'm sure it's just there to try to make for good tv, but it's still stupid. I can already imagine a whole new crew of uninitiated assholes walking in to tattoo shops and telling some guy, "I want these 900 things incorporated in to this tattoo that's going to cover my entire chest and I want it done in 4 hours or I'm not going to pay you".

[David Flores]

It's an admitted guilty pleasure for me. I don't watch it on tv though, I bootleg it, and yes I justify watching it with knowing I don't improve their ratings. It helps me sleep at night. I certainly agree with the car crash analogy. I was rather surprised to see Al get cut. I figured the producers would keep him around as long as they could just for the drama. The time limit thing is just plain stupid and irresponsible. I'm sure it's just there to try to make for good tv, but it's still stupid. I can already imagine a whole new crew of uninitiated assholes walking in to tattoo shops and telling some guy, "I want these 900 things incorporated in to this tattoo that's going to cover my entire chest and I want it done in 4 hours or I'm not going to pay you".

I think the 4 hour limit is a good thing, for many of the same reasons you cited. If someone tries to pull off something bigger than they can handle or tries to put a rush job on the tattoo, they are called out for it and people see it. On other shows you see two or three people a show getting back or rib pieces and their is really no time frame put on these tattoos, which leads some people to assume they are done same day.

Second, most people aren't going to be able to sit for much more than four hours. Occasionaly you find a person that can handle longer sessions, but I know personally I don't like to sit for more than four hours.

It does kind of favor tattooers that have experience in a walk in style street shop. Obviously in this day and age, a lot of popular and talented tattooers are booked out months in advance, but I think that is a really small portion of what's going on. Even if people do bill themselves as a street shop, the majority of tattooers do have their appointments, but also rely heavily on what walks in the door and being able to construct a tattoo on the fly and put it on same day and have the customer walk away happy.

Again different styles lend them selves better to walk in tattooing, but ultimately you just have to know what you can tackle in the alotted time and work with in that. It does seem like quality is definetly preferred over quanity when it comes down to judging.

[posterboy7596]

I think the 4 hour limit is a good thing, for many of the same reasons you cited. If someone tries to pull off something bigger than they can handle or tries to put a rush job on the tattoo, they are called out for it and people see it. On other shows you see two or three people a show getting back or rib pieces and their is really no time frame put on these tattoos, which leads some people to assume they are done same day.

Second, most people aren't going to be able to sit for much more than four hours. Occasionaly you find a person that can handle longer sessions, but I know personally I don't like to sit for more than four hours.

It does kind of favor tattooers that have experience in a walk in style street shop. Obviously in this day and age, a lot of popular and talented tattooers are booked out months in advance, but I think that is a really small portion of what's going on. Even if people do bill themselves as a street shop, the majority of tattooers do have their appointments, but also rely heavily on what walks in the door and being able to construct a tattoo on the fly and put it on same day and have the customer walk away happy.

Again different styles lend them selves better to walk in tattooing, but ultimately you just have to know what you can tackle in the alotted time and work with in that. It does seem like quality is definetly preferred over quanity when it comes down to judging.

This is part of why I've enjoyed this site so much so far. I absolutely just learned something by being somewhat corrected, and it was done in a wonderfully polite manner. Thanks for the insight Mr. Flores.

[Hands On]

i think the judges have made the correct cuts each time.

there should be a reward of some sort for doing the best tattoo each elimination round... not just the "quick fires."

as bad as this show may be, it's better than the overly dramatic shows where you only get to see 3-5 tattoos and have to listen to 40min of drama.

and oliver peck cracks me up!

[David Flores]

i think the judges have made the correct cuts each time.

there should be a reward of some sort for doing the best tattoo each elimination round... not just the "quick fires."

as bad as this show may be, it's better than the overly dramatic shows where you only get to see 3-5 tattoos and have to listen to 40min of drama.

and oliver peck cracks me up!

Yeah I mean why not make the sponsors pony up some money. On other reality shows they give away trips, cars, even cash. I haven't seen the 3rd episode yet, but am still waiting to see some exciting tattoos. There have been a few interesting ones, but nothing that impresses me that much. At least with NYINK you have a good chance of seeing a nice Tim Hendricks tattoo.

[SAROE]

I don't know what I think of this show. It is like a car accident. I know I shouldn't look, but not only do I look, I can't look at anything else until it's past, and then I think about it afterword.

Oliver is the only reason I actually sat through it. The tattooers are terrible except for the few that have been mentioned. Navarro is a douche with terrible tattoos, and Nunez is mediocre tattooer.

The ammount of money paid to cast members of reality television can be extremely extravagant. The jersey shore kids are getting 60-100k per episode. They are cheap to make, and the advertising still generates a ton of revenue. most of which is spent on keeping the "talent" in various states of retarded.

I would have no trouble believing that Peck is probably getting 25-30k an episode and Nunez getting 50-75k and Navarro about the same, because they are "known entities" and in the eyes of a production company a known entity has a fan base built in so they bring in guaranteed viewers.

I know how these shows work because I worked on an MTV reality show a few years ago that I can't name but it was full of retarded, fake girls who were given 100,000 every week to blow on booze, blow and cologen.

My problem with the show is that they are letting people get fucked up by these obvious no talent ass clowns, like Al Flicktion and B-tard. People are stupid, so if they are down with a free tattoo by an artist that they don't know, so be it, get screwed. A sucker is born every minute.

That said, I will probably keep watching. In fact I bet I can't not watch every time it is on.

[G.Uristti]

i think the judges have made the correct cuts each time.

there should be a reward of some sort for doing the best tattoo each elimination round... not just the "quick fires."

as bad as this show may be, it's better than the overly dramatic shows where you only get to see 3-5 tattoos and have to listen to 40min of drama.

and oliver peck cracks me up!

lets be honest a monkey could of made those cuts. they definitely choose have the cast for the sole purpose of axing them. if you really put the worlds best ten artist on that show the judging would take weeks to figure out whos work was better. right now its a no brainer

[slayer9019]

lets be honest a monkey could of made those cuts. they definitely choose have the cast for the sole purpose of axing them. if you really put the worlds best ten artist on that show the judging would take weeks to figure out whos work was better. right now its a no brainer

I agree! I could tell right from the beginning what the range of skill was. Imagine this same show with all amazing artists, it would take forever to debate and there would be a lot of disagreeing.

[Scott R]

guess its the company i keep but i had never heard of nunez before the show but knew and had sifted through works of peck

[ShawnPorter]

Oh Al Fliction... no.

[ShawnPorter]

it crushes me that Al Flictions interpretation of the Pearly Gates was stolen. He had so much RAW TALENT.

[Duffa]

I know how these shows work because I worked on an MTV reality show a few years ago that I can't name

Sure you can. We're all friends here ;)

(just a joke, fully appreciate any confidentiality agreements that I'm sure would have been signed... but does giving us hints violate anything? haha)

[Hogrider]

Oh Al Fliction... no.

How would you like to be the poor slob sporting someone else's tattoo? He's probably on the phone to his lawyer the minute he sees this.

[TrixieFaux]

Does that mean he has tattooed this rip-off before, or traced a pic of the original? How would he remember it so clearly to do it under a time restriction on the show?

[slayer9019]

Does that mean he has tattooed this rip-off before, or traced a pic of the original? How would he remember it so clearly to do it under a time restriction on the show?

well they have at least overnigh to put their "raw talent" down on paper. He probably did a good search.

[David Flores]

How would you like to be the poor slob sporting someone else's tattoo? He's probably on the phone to his lawyer the minute he sees this.

I wouldn't want either of those tattoos. Calling either of them custom or original is doing a great dis-service to the word and good tattoos. The two tattoos are different enough, but clearly it shows he used google to find a shitty tattoo to reference.

[Jack]

I guess the chicks are the next to go then?

[Julio Avila]

I'm totally going out for next season. If for any reason, to help keep people like al and b tat from being on it. Ugh

[ChrisvK]

I'm totally going out for next season. If for any reason, to help keep people like al and b tat from being on it. Ugh

did a quick youtube search for b-tat and found out his shop is in the back of a truck....

o and he does it part time to ' get his hustle on'

Inkmasters is such a joke

[jade1955]

I just love the shows intro "10 of the best tattooers on the planet."

To be fair they didn't specify which planet. My money is on Uranus.

[Jack]

b tat is within a half hour drive from my house, should i go get some "street king shit?"

on a real note, i think i know a chick with two b tat tattoos.

[CaptCanada]

did a quick youtube search for b-tat and found out his shop is in the back of a truck....

I really can't knock him for that, some old timers did that same thing sometimes not in a trailer how he has but in a van. It may seem strange but kept clean its no different then any building. I'll allow it, but I wouldn't get tattooed by him in his trailer.

[Duffa]

I just love the shows intro "10 of the best tattooers on the planet."

To be fair they didn't specify which planet. My money is on Uranus.

It's early, but I have a feeling this will be "Duffs' Quote Of The Week". Gold.

[posterboy7596]

Does unloading trucks and doing bad tattoos count as "grinding"? That did look like a pretty decent trailer though. I wonder how much better he'd be if he used the money the trailer cost him to be able to take some time off from his "day job" to go to someone and really learn how to tattoo? We've got a lot of this kind of stuff near where I live. The guys that work a regular 9-5 and think since they saved up enough money to buy some 3rd rate ebay tattoo kit and a "shop" that they're artists.

[hgiles]

That girl Lea kicked ass this past week! I was shocked actually.