Aging realism and what lasts

[posterboy7596]

This is a blog Dan Henk wrote for Tattoo Artist Magazine blog recently. In it he discusses some of the issues with super realistic stuff and aging. I was just wondering what other people may think of it.

Dan Henk: Sometimes The Old-Timers Are Right « TAM Blog

[G.Uristti]

i didnt read the article but heres m2c. by nature pastel colors fade quickly do to exposure to light. so it stands to reason that that would happen when you put them into the skin. i also do believe as i said in a different thread that the technical ability of the person putting them in comes into play a great deal.

but in the end all tattoos will change, some will spread some will fade. to what level, i believe really depends on how a persons body deals with the ink and the technician applying the ink.

ultimately if the client is happy and business is good then its a success. even the people who have bad tattoos that love them, see a great tattoo in their head. figuring out what tattoos are better than others is a moot point. as tattooers we all pretty much are on the same grind so what difference does it really make. as a collector that loves their tattoos what difference does it make if another collector doesnt.

[TrixieFaux]

I thought that was good but I also read and liked another article he wrote called Haters in which makes a different point....about there being room for traditional and realism and how people need to chill out with their criticisms:

http://tattooartistmagazineblog.com/2012/01/06/dan-henk-tattoos-tattoo-artist-magazine-blog-haters/

[Amok]

Interesting blog articles there.

[irezumi]

TAM issue with Gogue interview has an intersting little blurb about this... 5 year tats bro. he says himself that he knows some of his work wont last too long. he says he has a guilty conscience because he knows that some of it just falls apart in a few years. he knows that people are just wowed by the little tricks that make it look neat. for a few years.

i could get a new sleeve every 5 or 10 yers!!

[peterpoose]

I will probably have trouble keeping mine intact as it has very fine detail but who cares what happens in the future, live for today and what will be will be :)

[Scott R]

If i were to get some fine line stuff i would just go into it thinking I will be able to get "blast overs" once it fades away

[peterpoose]

If i were to get some fine line stuff i would just go into it thinking I will be able to get "blast overs" once it fades away

What does blast overs mean?

[Scott R]

a tattoo over a faded tattoo is a blast over in my mind, not always a cover but just tattoo on top of an older faded tattoo.

[fatdee7]

If i were to get some fine line stuff i would just go into it thinking I will be able to get "blast overs" once it fades away

would black and gray fineline last alot longer than photo realism colour tattoos?

[irezumi]

lot of variables there. but on the whole it will age better, yes.

[Scott R]

thanks @irezumi i had no clue on an answer for that question

[Petri Aspvik]

This thread needs more black.

[Jake]

This thread needs more black.

THIS. Always. The end.

[Tatanium2012]

Myself, realism tattoos are a fav I see a lot. Black and grey realism will have a longer lifespan so long as its actually healed out in the intended shades of black and grey. However color realism or color in general will always have more presents to it, and more artistic value at a distance. Lifespan is the main issues, or "criticisms", more traditional favored tattooers have towards realism, for good reason. However even in traditional color tattoos, color will fade, more so the lighter the color, just like a Pepsi can on the sidewalk that gets beat by the UV rays provided by the sun. Difference being that traditional, and similar nontraditional styles, always has the black backing and solid lines, and even the packed bold colors instead of the softened "pastel" colors, that actually makes the fade less noticeable to the eye, and still makes the tattoo obvious as to what it is in age, carrying the design more further in life as the result. Which is the general goal in a tattoo, of course! So it really boils down to just what your after as the style of art, sacrificing longevity for the wow factor found in the realistic style of your art and getting it reworked to keep it what it is, at a risk of retaining it's original glory, or wear something bad ass that will last a lifetime while sacrificing the realistic soft details that makes the tattoo art "lifelike", or even finding that happy medium between the two. At least that's the understanding I've developed so far in my career. And that's the great thing about art that I love, It's able to be done in soooo many unique ways. And i feel realism has been an example of a push forward in the industry, and will inevitably in the future lead to more of a push forward making pastel colors last a lifetime as a realistic lifelike tattoo.

[chasewheeler]

this is a hard subject. they look great and it takes a good talent to make them look legit, but i have seen top notch color portrait artis and artist that do "hyper realism" whos work looks bad in 5 years. if the client and the artist are both fully aware of what they are doing and getting into then its ok. there will be a lot of people with bad color blobs sooner than they should, but at the same time if not for the realism guys we might not push the quality level our tools. its all a double edge sword but there is a difference in good tattooing and responsable tattooing. also im not being a dick just be informed and inform then have a great time.

[Just Alex]

I have a variety of different stuff, including black and grey fineline (9yrs), crazy brightly coloured "new school" traditional (7yrs), black and grey traditional (4yrs) and colour hyper-realism (5 months).

So far I have been really happy with how everything has aged, I know none of it is particularly old but I haven't experienced all that much fading or bleeding of lines. I know there are questions about the longevity of realism stuff but it's a risk I was willing to take. I got an awesome tattoo by a fantastic artist and I couldn't be happier with it. It is the tattoo that draws the most positive comments and has the biggest "wow factor" - not that that matters particularly to me personally, it just illustrates the talent of the guy who did it.

I live in the grey and drizzly land of Northern England so sun damage isn't a major concern, if ever I have cause to expose my tattoos they are covered in enough high spf sunblock to make them appear hazy. If I feel my realistic piece sucks after a few years then I know it was a bad move in a time when realism was trendy...if not, well bonus for me! All this being said, the artist who did my tattoo recently put a recent photo of one of his early portraits on Instagram and it still looks as good as new at over 4 years old.

I like traditional work (obviously, or I wouldn't be on this site), and I want to get a fair bit of it in future... but it seems to me like tattooers of all styles are constantly improving and making tattoos which look better for longer, there should be no reason why realism can't be a part of this too...

[EricB]

It's our job as tattooist to be knowledgable about what will hold up over a longer period of time. When someone comes into the shop to get tattooed it's not for today or tomorrow or next year. IT'S FOR THIER LIFE... If I saw a tattoo 5 yrs down the road that looked like shit because I put way to much detail in and it didn't hold up. I would be disapointed with myself and change the way I look at what I've been doing. Both articals make very good points, and Dan feels like that for a reason. It's cuz hes seen his tats 8 yrs down the road and hes not happy with the outcome. We need to learn from others experiences to elevate the industry as a whole

[ksp2001]

This is a blog Dan Henk wrote for Tattoo Artist Magazine blog recently. In it he discusses some of the issues with super realistic stuff and aging. I was just wondering what other people may think of it.

Dan Henk: Sometimes The Old-Timers Are Right « TAM Blog

Thanks for the link. I've been thinking about ultra realism tattoos a lot lately. Very insightful.

[G.Uristti]

just to throw this out there. i was talking to my daughter yesterday while she was drawing. and she told me that what she was drawing was a tattoo. so i said cool i didnt realize it was a tattoo and her was response was "of course daddy, it has black in it" i never told her that it was her own observation, needless to say i was extremely proud of her. so after all that could be said about what lasts or not i can say this. if a 5 year old can come to that conclusion on her own that its only makes sense to have black in tattoos then i conclude whether things stay or not it belongs there.

[hogg]

That's so awesome, @G.Uristti!

Question for you tattooers with kids: when you color in their coloring books with crayons, do you fill in using lots of tiny circles? Semi-serious question. :)

[G.Uristti]

@hogg thanks

i def color in the way i tattoo

[Graeme]

Robert Ryan posted this on his instagram today and it made me think of this thread as it shows both an aged realistic tattoo that didn't have enough black in it and a blastover that does.

[peterpoose]

I am documenting my very fine detailed arm(flower piece) to see how its changing.

I will be taking photos every6 months.

Nothing has changed yet :)

I know they dont line up properly but I will correct that the next 6 month photos but you get the idea :)

They were taken with different cameras though so next ones will be the same camera.

[CultExciter]

With your tattoo, there is enough black in it, so you should probably be pretty well off with time.

- - - Updated - - -

Robert Ryan posted this on his instagram today and it made me think of this thread as it shows both an aged realistic tattoo that didn't have enough black in it and a blastover that does.

That Bukowski tattoo, WOOF!