Our bad tattoos

[Vinn]

My very first (24 years ago!). It was flash on the wall and the only thing I could afford. I sat down in that chair and thought I was the coolest thing ever. It was the closest tattoo I could find that looked like the Expolited logo and it matched my haircut at the time.

As bad as it is, I can't bring myself to cover it up. So sentimental still....

[CultExciter]

@Vinn, I'm so into that tattoo!

[MGblues]

I have stuff on both my upper arms from the 85 to 89 period that's pretty shitty, and had faded on its own to the point it could have easily been covered, but it was so sentimental I just ended up getting all of em touched up to look like new shitty. I'm really glad I did now. Losing that would have been like cutting my finger off to get rid of a wart.

[tatB]

Luis Campos recently posted some great flash based on this gem on Instagram: CAMPOSTATTOOS

[Eilin]

@Dennis HAHA love it! If he or she ever covers it, they should frame the picture at least! Awesome!

[Vinn]

@Vinn, I'm so into that tattoo!

Thanks! Now much to my wife's dismay there are two of us that like it.

[motsimus]

A few years ago my brother bought a tattoo kit from china for $150 australian (really super good quality....)

so I tattooed this above my knee , and we tattooed a few friends. After two days the power supply broke and safe to say

I never touched a machine again hahah

I'll leave it to the professionals.

[Kahlan]

Here's my dumbass moment. Did it on myself. Some people seem to genuinely like it. Me not so much at all. :P

[CultExciter]

Here's my dumbass moment. Did it on myself. Some people seem to genuinely like it. Me not so much at all. :P

I did a stick and poke on myself. It was a girl's initials. I was 14. Smart move. Long since covered.

[Dan S]

Here's my dumbass moment. Did it on myself. Some people seem to genuinely like it. Me not so much at all. :P

Certainly have seen worse.

[Ducky15568]

A few years ago my brother bought a tattoo kit from china for $150 australian (really super good quality....)

so I tattooed this above my knee , and we tattooed a few friends. After two days the power supply broke and safe to say

I never touched a machine again hahah

I'll leave it to the professionals.

I have a very similar story, did them myself, and have the same views you do about it now =P Id never get these covered (at this point in time), they are above short line so i dont care too much and they have some meaning to me now.that and they are nowhere near as bad as some I've seen. most id do is have someone touch em up.

[Mark Bee]

I have a couple that I am unhappy with. Unsurprisingly they were my two earliest. An ugly tribal band and an atom symbol. Nothing particularly wrong with the atom, its just kind of boring and it takes up a good portion of my upper bicep. I now see it as frustratingly wasting valuable real estate that could be vastly improved. I've never covered up any of my tattoos, but this one has to go. I'm going to have to do some research into cover-ups. I'll keep the tribal. It was my first and a do have a strong sentimental attachment to to it. It was the one that inspired all of the rest, after all.

[MsRad]

Oh! This is fun :D I have ONE tattoo that can classify for this thread. It's a drunken clam. Result of dating the wrong guy. Thank god I know better now :p :cool:

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this was the first thing that came to mind:

[Wavey]

I have one bad one. The second tattoo I ever had done. I knew someone who is a scratcher, there was a lot of alcohol and I ended with a horrible goldfish.

[sbhikes]

My first one was bad because I brought in a drawing I made as an idea and asked for it to be made into a real tattoo but instead the artist just did the exact drawing. I gave it 22 years to fade to a blob and covered it with a portrait of my bird.

My second one was bad because it was a thin vine with small flowers on my large ankle. I asked for more flowers to be added and ended up with the light pink ones dangling at weird angles. I hid my ankle under socks for a year. Then I went to another shop and asked for help. I got more flowers and thought it was okay but I really do not like it anymore. It's been 20 years or so. Fixing it is my next project but I'm afraid it'll only get worse so I keep changing my mind.

[Gnorga]

I've never been happy with this octopus

the whole "nose" thing is weird

[HaydenRose]

I've never been happy with this octopus

the whole "nose" thing is weird

Really?? I think it's cute! Love the octopus head tats haha

[bulldog]

I've never been happy with this octopus

the whole "nose" thing is weird

That's not a bad tattoo at all...;). Although I don't really know what an octopus nose looks like...!

[sbhikes]

I love that octopus. It's very cute.

[tattooedgirl]

I do not have any bad tattoos, or at least I do not think that they are. Maybe in 10 years I will look at them and say what the heck, and if so then I will fix them with something else. But for right now I am content with the work that is done on my body.

[cltattooing]

First tattoo I did on myself, bahahahahahaha

It's so godawful. Light blue outline, oh man...

[tacitapproval]

My first two are pretty bad.

First, we have just about every cliche about what a bad tattoo is wrapped up in one image:

"Quod scripsi scripsi."

Yup. It's upside down (because it's "for me"...). Latin ("what I have written I have written" so as to be as pretentious as possible). In my own handwriting (see the translation in the previous parenthetical). With poorly rendered solid black bands going around my forearm.

I seriously planned on getting another band for any significant life event. Happily I didn't get too far along with that particular project.

Second, this questionable execution of classic tattoo subject matter:

I still have a soft spot for it, and intend to have someone try and save it if at all possible, but it is a mess.

I've since been getting much better tattoos.

That said, I'm kind of reticent to cover any of them up (aside from reworking the bird). There is a part of me that almost loves them for being really dumb/bad.

[el twe]

@tacitapproval - that bird doesn't look so bad, and I bet a qualified artist could re-work it into something a bit more traditional and strong. As far as not covering the bands/text, just get a bunch of awesome tattoos around it and no one will even notice!

[tacitapproval]

@el twe - Yeah, I've already talked to someone about making the swallow into something presentable. I've already gone a pretty long way to filling up that arm with better stuff, so as to distract until I get the bird worked out.

And as for the bands, once I'm done with the right arm, the left is next. There are too many great tattooers in New York to not pack good work around my questionable first steps.

[Dan S]

My first two are pretty bad.

First, we have just about every cliche about what a bad tattoo is wrapped up in one image:

"Quod scripsi scripsi."

Yup. It's upside down (because it's "for me"...). Latin ("what I have written I have written" so as to be as pretentious as possible). In my own handwriting (see the translation in the previous parenthetical). With poorly rendered solid black bands going around my forearm.

I seriously planned on getting another band for any significant life event. Happily I didn't get too far along with that particular project.

Second, this questionable execution of classic tattoo subject matter:

I still have a soft spot for it, and intend to have someone try and save it if at all possible, but it is a mess.

I've since been getting much better tattoos.

That said, I'm kind of reticent to cover any of them up (aside from reworking the bird). There is a part of me that almost loves them for being really dumb/bad.

Wouldn't cover either, especially if you like them. Our (lesser)tattoos remind us of mistakes we've made and things we've done, hopefully so we don't repeat them or forget them.