Ever been called a tattoo snob?

[motsimus]

Im surrounded by bad tattoos. It seems to be the norm around here. The worse is when someone asks you for an opinion of their terrible tattoo. I never tell them its bad I smile and talk through my teeth. Oh yeah, that looks great, as I try to keep my eyes from rolling bad in my head. Ive been tempted to ask if they have been to the eye doctor lately, because I have no idea how they can be in love with some of the stuff I see. Just awful.

This happens to me way to often, I usually just nod away and then tell them I have to go take a big old shit or something equally as important

[tatB]

I don't often see bad tattoos. Maybe cuz I'm from LA? Maybe my standards aren't the highest but I don't think a tattoo is bad unless it's actually shitty. I'm not knowledgeable enough nor do I care enough to say someone has a "bad" tattoo just cuz couple lines are shaky or I don't like the shading. Most of the people I see walking around with ink have decent work done. For a tattoo to be "bad" something would have to stand out to me as noticeably poorly done.

You don't think a couple shaky lines qualify as something that stands out as being noticeably poorly done?

I think it's a bit snobby to look down on the laypeople who don't have the desire, knowledge, or money to get tattoos from big name artists only.

For most things in life laziness results in a poor end product.

Also your post comes across as being a snob about not being snob.

[Genie of the West]

You don't think a couple shaky lines qualify as something that stands out as being noticeably poorly done?

Touche'

For most things in life laziness results in a poor end product.

Also your post comes across as being a snob about not being snob.

Lol guess I can't win here.

[reverend1]

Touche'

Lol guess I can't win here.

Don't take it the wrong way. This site is about promoting great tattooing. So letting bad work slide because someone likes its it or it was cheap is not going to go over well.

helping people find good tattooers, starts with helping them identify a good tattoo. It doesn't have to be super expensive, but it does have to be a clean, well executed tattoo.

[flying aces]

i know i'm a snob. i will only go to artists after thoroughly looking through their work on facebook/magazines etc. i want the best quality work on my skin, and would not be happy with less than that. its hard sometimes when people show you stuff or recommend someone and you look at it and its terrible, to not tell them so, but its best to keep that snobbiness in your head. if nothing else it'll stop you getting shit work.

[Genie of the West]

Don't take it the wrong way. This site is about promoting great tattooing. So letting bad work slide because someone likes its it or it was cheap is not going to go over well.

helping people find good tattooers, starts with helping them identify a good tattoo. It doesn't have to be super expensive, but it does have to be a clean, well executed tattoo.

In a way I guess I'm a huge snob because in my head I will totally rip apart bad work to pieces, but I almost never vocalize it because I know how dear peoples tattoos are to them. I don't have the heart to take people down a peg. It's funny after I posted in this thread I went on facebook and saw a girl I know post pictures of her sidepiece on facebook. Everyone fawning over it and telling her how awesome it looked and all I could pay attention to were the uneven lines and the lack of depth caused by lack of black ink... In real life though I'd probably just say "Oh that looks really nice". Even if I tried to point out the flaws with tact most people would probably get very upset at my critiques.

[HaydenRose]

I've never been called a snob, but I reeeeally feel like one when people ask me vague questions like "how much did that hurt?" Or the always annoying "how much did that cost?" (Which FYI is like asking some one how much money they make).

My fiancé thinks I'm the biggest snob and rolls his eyes when I get all judgmental and pissy when I see Facebook "friends" get the shittiest tattoos. He gives me the willpower to not ruin their day :)

[reverend1]

I've never been called a snob, but I reeeeally feel like one when people ask me vague questions like "how much did that hurt?" Or the always annoying "how much did that cost?" (Which FYI is like asking some one how much money they make).

My fiancé thinks I'm the biggest snob and rolls his eyes when I get all judgmental and pissy when I see Facebook "friends" get the shittiest tattoos. He gives me the willpower to not ruin their day :)

Yet another reason I'm glad to not have a Facebook account.

[HaydenRose]

Yet another reason I'm glad to not have a Facebook account.

I really need to delete mine. It serves absolutely no purpose, except allowing my mom to stalk me from afar...

[reverend1]

In a way I guess I'm a huge snob because in my head I will totally rip apart bad work to pieces, but I almost never vocalize it because I know how dear peoples tattoos are to them. I don't have the heart to take people down a peg. It's funny after I posted in this thread I went on facebook and saw a girl I know post pictures of her sidepiece on facebook. Everyone fawning over it and telling her how awesome it looked and all I could pay attention to were the uneven lines and the lack of depth caused by lack of black ink... In real life though I'd probably just say "Oh that looks really nice". Even if I tried to point out the flaws with tact most people would probably get very upset at my critiques.

Well, I don't go around go around bashing peoples work. If someone asks me face to face and their tattoos are poor I just say "if you're happy with them that's all that matters." If someone asks the same question on the forum, I assume they want an honest opinion and they know they are stepping up to the big time here. Just look at the gallery.

- - - Updated - - -

I really need to delete mine. It serves absolutely no purpose, except allowing my mom to stalk me from afar...

Yeah, if I want to keep in touch with someone I will do so without being stalked by ex-girlfriends and the douchebags I hated in high school. It's amazing to me when I run into someone who treated me like dirt in high school and they all of the sudden want to be buddy buddy, when they want a job or a favor. I'm not a big fan of compiling huge amounts of personal info on the internet either.

[slayer9019]

I might have stated this before but in my opinion there is a big difference between a snob and someone who knows what is good and wants the best. I'm into cigars and in that world there are tons of snobs. You can pick them out since all they do is talk about the most expensive or in style brands and think the lesser know or cheaper and worse. Same goes for anything else, tattoos included.

I also stand by there is a time to be polite but also there is a time to not reinforce bad behaviors. If people keep telling the wearers of shit tattoos that they are good, they will never look elsewhere.

[joakim urma]

Well I'm a snob about anything and everything that I care about and consider myself somewhat knowledgeable in. Tattoos are included. I however try to keep an open mind and not be too judgmental. In the end the one thing that is important is if the owner of the tattoo is happy with it, that should be everybody's main concern.

I think, as someone pointed out earlier, that we "snobs" should try to be helpful and informative (without being besserwizzers and The Style Police) when people ask us about (their) tattoos.

If one of my friends shows interest in tattoos I'd be happy to send him/her links and names and just hope that it will educational and further their taste. I have a younger brother who likes some of the things I enjoy and it has always been a struggle for me to not be too much of a teacher, at the same time I do think I am "right" in the things I like. Luckily he is turning more and more towards the kind of traditional tattoo style that I love. I don't have to push it as much haha..

I post a lot of tattoos on my tumblr-blog (uglyfreedom.tumblr.com) and that's just the very best of the things I see on a daily basis on blogs and instagram. Even from this selection I would only consider maybe 5% of the posted tattoos as something I could have on my own body. That's how much of a snob I am when it comes to tattoos.

I sometimes play the "shoe game" with myself. If I find myself waiting for someone/something in a public space I look at the shoes of people passing by and count how many shoes I would want to wear. I usually see less then one pair of shoes per minute that I would even consider wearing. I'm just particular like that with most things, tattoos, shoes, clothes, music. If it's worth wasting your time/money/concern with it has to be really good. Otherwise, why bother?

[tattooedgirl]

No I have never been called this. I will only go with really good tattoos or artists, and of course I have my favs. I only have 3 tats, but when someone shows me a tattoo, and I do not like the work or whatever, I may state that fact but I do not think that makes me snobbish.

[Rorschach]

I wanted to bring up this topic because I thought it was very interesting.

A lot of people are mixing up being a snob with being an enthusiast when in fact there is a big difference. If you like to collect quality ink and get the best art possible on your body then that's great. When you put down other people's work or give out unsolicited advice that's when become a snob imo, and that's not a good thing.

The tattoo community in particular is full of snobs for some reason. I've been to a couple of other forums before this and the people there made it a point to berate people constantly whenever they posted their shoddy work. Shit's not cool. Even when someone willingly asks for advice there's a difference between pointing out why their work is bad while offering suggestions to improve it and saying "that tattoo's garbage, you can't fix it so save up to get it lasered off you idiot". (I like this forum though because for the most part people here are nice and respectable unless you give a reason to be talked down to)

Just like anything in life there are going to be people that are more invested in a certain hobby than others. Most people can't tell a good tattoo from a bad tattoo in the same way that most people can't tell a good rap song from a bad one. They just aren't as interested in the subject as others and there's nothing wrong with that. If they ask for an opinion it's fair to educate them but giving unsolicited advice is annoying and makes you look like a douchebag.