Ever been called a tattoo snob?

[lving4today]

A friends girlfriend called me cocky about my tattoos recently, and it got me thinking if I was alone in this. I'm not cocky about my own but i just don't prefer shitty tattoos so try to recommend places etc. when I see good tattoos I get excited, that is all. I guess it doesn't help that none of my friends are into tattoos. Sigh.

[CultExciter]

People love to call names when they realizing they know absolutely nothing about the subject. If you were going around and calling other people's tattoos shite to their face (it's probably ok to keep it in your noggin) then you would be a snob. she must've been impressed with your peacocking and was probably bummed your friend (her boyfriend) wasn't.

[Kev]

Yes- every time a friend shows me an 'awesome' tattoo and I break down why it's bad, I get called a tattoo snob (not every tattoo they show me is bad, but when I say one is, tattoo snob). I get called tattoo crusader when I rail on about kitchen wizards.

[lving4today]

Yea I would never call someone's shit or be outright mean to any person. But if you ask me what's good and I'm honest or I talk about where I'd like to travel to get a new one that's simply because it's what I enjoy. She's also the proud wearer of an upside down tattoo which I did call her out on.

[cookietruck]

^ lol

see stuff upside down or backwards all the time

my friends probably think i'm a tattoo snob

i'm nice though, keep my mouth shut about it.

except i'll comment to my lady about 'em...she knows i think the majority of tattoos i see around or on instagram are shitty.

[Cork]

^ lol

see stuff upside down or backwards all the time

my friends probably think i'm a tattoo snob

i'm nice though, keep my mouth shut about it.

except i'll comment to my lady about 'em...she knows i think the majority of tattoos i see around or on instagram are shitty.

That's how I am too. I tell my fiance about other crappy tattoos.

I'm not the kind of person to put the idea in someone's head that they are stuck with a shitty tattoo for the rest of their life. If they come to that understanding on their own after learning about tattoos, so be it, but I don't want that on my shoulders because it's a dick thing to do.

Though I do get really excited when I see good tattoos in person. They are so rare.

[Hogrider]

Don't you hate people with standards, always trying to ruin it for the rest of us????

Leave the scratchers alone; coverup artists need work to :-)

[pintindola]

I live in the Santa Monica / Venice area and was recently tattooed for the first time. I guess I never noticed beforehand, but now that I have done research on a fraction of the knowledge that many of you already have, I find myself evaluating everyone's tattoos I see.

For the most part, I'd say 8 out of 10 hipsters I have seen around have absolutely garbage work on them, with bad line work, shading, etc. with 10-20 tiny tattoos spread all around their arms with very little flow to it.

I kind of want to ask them if they really thought having a bag of skittles, a pipe, a mustache, a PBR can, a clothes hanger, a calculator, pocket protector, and 5hour energy tattooed on their arm was a good tattoo theme, but then I realize everytime that I would have to actually talk to a hipster, and then I'd be in jail for my actions after.

[lving4today]

People who enjoy shitty tattoos, it's usually because they don't know any better, and I leave that be because it will change nothing. However, in my group of friends I try to help them make a good decision, (telling them to stay away from the garbage in this town) but it's a bum feeling when that is perceived as cocky or pretentious. I don't care if you want a giant penis across your chest, at least make sure it's not a wonky penis.

[Jack]

I have a wonky penis fetish.

[David Flores]

Tattoo Snob, Beer Snob, Food Snob, Clothes Snob, Music Snob...... I wear many hats. Funny all those people still call me when they want a tattoo or are traveling and want to find a restaurant or brewery.

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I think their our different context for being a snob as well, talking with tattooers and people who get heavily tattooed their usually is a general understanding of what good work is and why some tattoos are bad. Outsiders might not have that eye for tattooing and just see subject matter they like and since you are tearing it shreds you are a snob. I use the example of taxidermy, I don't have a clue about what makes a good mount but love looking at the stuff, I might think a mount is cool just because the animal is cool even though the work is sub par.

[Dan S]

I have a wonky penis fetish.

Gotta hook you up with @Colored Guy...he's got a thing for Koi. OR is that Koi for a thing?

Ah well-either way!

[Jack]

you wily son of a bitch. hahahaahahhaaahahaha

[G.Uristti]

ive been tattooing for a good while and i used to tell people who had bad tattoos that they had bad tattoos. i realized its not cool. everyone that loves their own tattoos think they have the best tattoos ever. so unless im amongst other tattooers i never speak about who has bad tattoos or what tattoos are bad.

and truth be told some clients that know too much about the whos who and whats what in tattooing annoy the shit outta me as much as the clients that ask for hoodie ghosts ( grim reaper)

and that leads me to another topic. all of us at the shop have been comprising a list of stupid shit clients ask for:

rosemarie beads, gangsta clap, happy face sad face, curvis, scripture, broke back girls, skeleton heads, falcon birds, 3D tattoos, angel babies and realistic dragons(not too many pics of them around anymore)

[heathenist]

ive been tattooing for a good while and i used to tell people who had bad tattoos that they had bad tattoos. i realized its not cool. everyone that loves their own tattoos think they have the best tattoos ever. so unless im amongst other tattooers i never speak about who has bad tattoos or what tattoos are bad.

and truth be told some clients that know too much about the whos who and whats what in tattooing annoy the shit outta me as much as the clients that ask for hoodie ghosts ( grim reaper)

and that leads me to another topic. all of us at the shop have been comprising a list of stupid shit clients ask for:

rosemarie beads, gangsta clap, happy face sad face, curvis, scripture, broke back girls, skeleton heads, falcon birds, 3D tattoos, angel babies and realistic dragons(not too many pics of them around anymore)

hahaha skeleton heads is perfect. From now on when people ask if my tattoo is a skull, I'm going to correct them and say it's a skeleton head.

[lving4today]

Can i get a realistic dragon holding a happy faced angel baby wearing rosemary beads?

[Tight-Lines]

My girlfriend thinks I'm a tattoo snob. She doesn't understand that I know next to nothing compared to most. I just know how to spot good quality tattoos from really, really bad ones.

[CultExciter]

Hoodie ghosts' with their reaper sword.

[Jack]

Dat gangsta clap, doe!

[Kev]

ive been tattooing for a good while and i used to tell people who had bad tattoos that they had bad tattoos. i realized its not cool. everyone that loves their own tattoos think they have the best tattoos ever. so unless im amongst other tattooers i never speak about who has bad tattoos or what tattoos are bad.

and truth be told some clients that know too much about the whos who and whats what in tattooing annoy the shit outta me as much as the clients that ask for hoodie ghosts ( grim reaper)

and that leads me to another topic. all of us at the shop have been comprising a list of stupid shit clients ask for:

rosemarie beads, gangsta clap, happy face sad face, curvis, scripture, broke back girls, skeleton heads, falcon birds, 3D tattoos, angel babies and realistic dragons(not too many pics of them around anymore)

Thanks- I think I have some great inspiration for my lunch time sketch session :)

[David Flores]

ive been tattooing for a good while and i used to tell people who had bad tattoos that they had bad tattoos. i realized its not cool. everyone that loves their own tattoos think they have the best tattoos ever. so unless im amongst other tattooers i never speak about who has bad tattoos or what tattoos are bad.

I wouldn't tell someone coming into the shop that their tattoo was bad, unless they offered up that info. Even then usually try to make it seem not as bad as they think it is, if anything to avoid getting involved in a cover up situation. But like you said people should feel good about their tattoos. If you put good tattoos on people with bad tattoos they are sure to get it at some point.

Even sometimes when it's just tattooers in the shop, I think the shit talking about who's tattoos are good can be too much.

Most of us want to talk about the good tattoos we see, but there are always a couple tattooers who want to tell you why this tattooer sucks or that tattoo sucks and then tell you about how good the guy doing their back piece is. If they act like that in front of clients I can see why they have so much time for walk ins.

[Dan S]

I can deal with the idea of kitchen-table / motel-room scratchers, at least you know what they are going in. The ones that piss me off are the ones that set-up a shop, advertise the shit out of it, undercut everyone elses prices, and proceed to mutilate as many suckers as they can until the word finally gets out.

[irezumi]

I wouldn't tell someone coming into the shop that their tattoo was bad, unless they offered up that info. Even then usually try to make it seem not as bad as they think it is, if anything to avoid getting involved in a cover up situation.

Exactly. Telling someone they have bad tattoos is in extremely poor taste even if they bash them themselves. Just put on good tattoos.

Besides, most good tattooers I know have at least a couple of shitty tattoos. It's practically a job prerequisite.

Even sometimes when it's just tattooers in the shop, I think the shit talking about who's tattoos are good can be too much.

Most of us want to talk about the good tattoos we see, but there are always a couple tattooers who want to tell you why this tattooer sucks or that tattoo sucks and then tell you about how good the tattoos he is doing are. If they act like that in front of clients I can see why they have so much time for walk ins.

Agreed again! With a slight modification, you just described one of my good friends that I used to work with. Every time I visit him at the shop he's at now all he does is trash other artists in town, skilled or not, people he's met or not, and compares the work he currently doing to them. A good friend, but one of the negative people I know. Ironically, he talks all this buddhist shit and acts like other people cant get on his level of being at one with the world blah blah.

And yeah, whenever I visit him he's never working on anything lol.

[ItsNewport]

People who enjoy shitty tattoos, it's usually because they don't know any better, and I leave that be because it will change nothing. However, in my group of friends I try to help them make a good decision, (telling them to stay away from the garbage in this town) but it's a bum feeling when that is perceived as cocky or pretentious. I don't care if you want a giant penis across your chest, at least make sure it's not a wonky penis.

I have a couple of friends who are considering their first tattoos so i've tried to steer them in the right direction as best i can (recommending shops, loaning them books etc). It was difficult at first to explain why their ideas wouldn't work without coming across as condescending, but i think eventually they'll be happy i took the time to warn them off certain things.

I certainly wouldn't approach anyone in the street to offer a negative opinion of their tattoos, but if asked directly i'd try to give an honest opinion without causing too much offence. If that makes me a snob, then so be it.

[SStu]

ive been tattooing for a good while and i used to tell people who had bad tattoos that they had bad tattoos. i realized its not cool. everyone that loves their own tattoos think they have the best tattoos ever. so unless im amongst other tattooers i never speak about who has bad tattoos or what tattoos are bad.

and truth be told some clients that know too much about the whos who and whats what in tattooing annoy the shit outta me as much as the clients that ask for hoodie ghosts ( grim reaper)

and that leads me to another topic. all of us at the shop have been comprising a list of stupid shit clients ask for:

rosemarie beads, gangsta clap, happy face sad face, curvis, scripture, broke back girls, skeleton heads, falcon birds, 3D tattoos, angel babies and realistic dragons(not too many pics of them around anymore)

What the hell is a "broke back girl"?