fix or cover-up?

[Matthew Thomas]

I haven't lost confidence in the artists ability. She has done two other tatts on me that have come out fine. She can follow a stencil just fine. Trying to freehand this star was the problem. And I'm sure not going to ignore it. I haven't made a definite decision yet, but if I get enough money coming in, I might see someone else and have it covered. I will take my ideas and share them with the artist I choose, and see what they think. I may even go visit a few artists today if I have time, there are several other shops pretty close to me. We'll see what happens, but I'm not leaving it alone, it bothers me too much.

[Stewart Robson]

"Asking for artistic input for free"? So now people should be paid for their advice or opinions?

It's not unusual for a professional to charge for advice and opinions. Especially if that advice can save you money or make your life more pleasant in the long run. Quotes for various jobs are often free when they lead to more, higher paying work. Many professions are purely advice based too.

So can you guys let me know what you think? One picture is of the tattoo as-is. I'm not a perfect drawer, but the second pic is when I drew on it to get an idea of how it would look if fixed. Better? Worse?

Leave it alone. An extra-thick black arm to the star does not make it look better. If you're planning on getting more tattoos near it, if they are of a high quality, eventually you won't notice the wonky star.

[Matthew Thomas]

Really only found a few answers helpful so far, so I'm unsubscribing from this thread. Have fun.

[CultExciter]

It sounds like the young fellow just didn't like the answers he was hearing, which is a bit of a difference. I think we did good.

[polliwog]

I was going to suggest calming down and thinking on it (do you REALLY want a rose or a panther or whatever, or are you panicking and going to get a cover up you don't love later on) but he's not going to read this anyway. Rushing seems like a very bad idea.

[Fala]

You just had David Flores and Stewart Robson (tattooers) and several folks who have varying amounts of coverage and tattoo-getting (that's a word, right?) experience give you great advice. I get your frustration, I'm a perfectionist too, but such is life - nothing is perfect, we can take the experience we've had, learn from it and move on with the lessons learned such that the same mistakes do not happen again.

Go get another tattoo, take your mind/focus off of this one for a bit.

[KegRN]

I was going to suggest calming down and thinking on it (do you REALLY want a rose or a panther or whatever, or are you panicking and going to get a cover up you don't love later on) but he's not going to read this anyway. Rushing seems like a very bad idea.

Also worrying about money, as opposed to what is going to be on your skin for life, seems like a very bad idea. I realize $650 is a lot to lose but he could end up losing a lot more, fixing an even bigger problem... but I guess that isn't helpful advice.

[Matthew Thomas]

I'm sorry if I come off like a jerk. It's just that I'm posting in the advice section, and the only advice people are giving me is to talk to my artist, the person who screwed it up in the first place. I do realize that some people do get paid for their advice and opinions, but this is a forum with an advice section, so....? if any of you got a tattoo like this, how would it personally make you feel? As far as what I really want for a coverup, I would love a tattoo that doesn't get me all warm in the pants but looks good, a lot more than a tattoo I wanted really bad that looks crappy.

[Fala]

I can't tell you what kind of coverup to get, coverups are hard to do and I know nothing about you, and I'm not a tattoo artist. Go talk to a different tattoo artist, find out what they think is reasonable, and go from there. That's my advice, oh, and don't go back to the tattoo artist that mucked up the star.

[tatB]

...I would love a tattoo that doesn't get me all warm in the pants...

This might not be the place for you...

Last Sparrow Tattoo: Get tattoos that make you feel warm in the pants

[Matthew Thomas]

Sir, you have misquoted me by only quoting half of my sentence. I respectfully request that you rectify it by editing the post to either reflect the rest of my sentence or remove the quote entirely, before further action is required on my part.

[tatB]

Sir, you have misquoted me by only quoting half of my sentence. I respectfully request that you rectify it by editing the post to either reflect the rest of my sentence or remove the quote entirely, before further action is required on my part.

I just wanted to call attention to the funny part.

[irezumi]

@Matthew Thomas, I think everyone here is giving fairly solid advice. I understand that some if it isn't what you want to hear, but sometimes there is only so many options. I tell people the news they don't want to hear all the time and it's not to crush their dreams but to be realistic about what can be done. My objective is to make it look like it's not a coverup at all.

I didn't read the entire thread so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already or how in depth your own knowledge of blasting over is; the new tattoo to cover the old one will almost definitely be substantially larger than the original one in order for it not look like a murky blob in the middle of an otherwise well done tattoo(most of the time that is, obviously everything is case by case). Only black ink can cover black ink. In order for there to still have contrast of light vs dark (we don't want just a solid black splat with a little color or light shading around it) the new one needs to have more room to hide the old one. Good example: we can't adequately hide a stamp with a matchbook. There simply isn't enough room. Hiding a stamp in a flash card, well that is certainly opening up the options of what can be done to make it look like it was never there.

With how much black is in your star (and red in this case) it's gonna be a pretty big tattoo. Which is awesome. My only point here in my post is to bring this up and if it's been mentioned already then it's my fault for not reading every post and spending so much time typing in a damn screen. Lately Siri has been making me sound drunk or uneducated.

[ChrisvK]

Wish i had the banhammer power that some of us have on this forum. O well have fun with your tattoo adventures!

[Matthew Thomas]

I just wanted to call attention to the funny part.

In that case, carry on sir.

- - - Updated - - -

@Matthew Thomas, I think everyone here is giving fairly solid advice. I understand that some if it isn't what you want to hear, but sometimes there is only so many options. I tell people the news they don't want to hear all the time and it's not to crush their dreams but to be realistic about what can be done. My objective is to make it look like it's not a coverup at all.

I didn't read the entire thread so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already or how in depth your own knowledge of blasting over is; the new tattoo to cover the old one will almost definitely be substantially larger than the original one in order for it not look like a murky blob in the middle of an otherwise well done tattoo(most of the time that is, obviously everything is case by case). Only black ink can cover black ink. In order for there to still have contrast of light vs dark (we don't want just a solid black splat with a little color or light shading around it) the new one needs to have more room to hide the old one. Good example: we can't adequately hide a stamp with a matchbook. There simply isn't enough room. Hiding a stamp in a flash card, well that is certainly opening up the options of what can be done to make it look like it was never there.

With how much black is in your star (and red in this case) it's gonna be a pretty big tattoo. Which is awesome. My only point here in my post is to bring this up and if it's been mentioned already then it's my fault for not reading every post and spending so much time typing in a damn screen. Lately Siri has been making me sound drunk or uneducated.

Your advice has been the most detailed and understandable so far, which makes me think you're a tattooist? In that case, I have a question. In your professional opinion as a tattoo artist, can this tattoo be fixed? I'm not asking whether fixing or covering is better, but it does sound like covering is going to be difficult and expensive. Is this tattoo salvageable?

[tatB]

Your advice has been the most detailed and understandable so far, which makes me think you're a tattooist? In that case, I have a question. In your professional opinion as a tattoo artist, can this tattoo be fixed? I'm not asking whether fixing or covering is better, but it does sound like covering is going to be difficult and expensive. Is this tattoo salvageable?

Maybe it got lost in some of the other less helpful posts but Stewart Robson (a real life tattoo artist) already answered this question on the previous page: "Leave it alone. An extra-thick black arm to the star does not make it look better. If you're planning on getting more tattoos near it, if they are of a high quality, eventually you won't notice the wonky star."

[irezumi]

Yes I am a tattooer, as is David and Stewart. In all honesty I think they gave the best advice here in regards to putting better tattoos around it and it will eventually just be part of a big collection. Salvageable meaning to try to rework it? I would avoid doing that. For just one reason of several I'd have to point out that the red/black ratio in the part you are talking about will no longer be 50/50 in that spot ( consistent with the other shapes) to more like 70/30 black/red and that's gonna look worse in my opinion.

[Matthew Thomas]

Can black cover red, and if so, can the tattoo be reworked and filled in all black? I would be amenable to that.

[bongsau]

It's not the end of the world.

There has been lots of solid advice offered to you here. The most practical solution is just leave it the fuck alone and let the experience breathe. You're trying to make something work that's been through two iterations already. Get some other tattoos in the meantime and have fun. Maybe one day this star will be left in the dust of an epic sleeve coverup?

Just remember...at the end of the day, *it's just a tattoo* and a small one at that, not the end of the world man. Don't sweat it.

[Matthew Thomas]

It's not the end of the world.

There has been lots of solid advice offered to you here. The most practical solution is just leave it the fuck alone and let the experience breathe. You're trying to make something work that's been through two iterations already. Get some other tattoos in the meantime and have fun. Maybe one day this star will be left in the dust of an epic sleeve coverup?

Just remember...at the end of the day, *it's just a tattoo* and a small one at that, not the end of the world man. Don't sweat it.

Nah, bro, can't roll with that, sorry. I'm a stubborn son of a gun, so anything else you have to say along those lines will be in vain, but if you want to waste your energy, feel free.

[Graeme]

Black in your arm. Nobody here really gives much of a shit about the tattoos you get.

[Matthew Thomas]

If your comments aren't at least somewhat relevant and on topic, you're only wasting your own energy typing them. I came here for good advice. If I don't find someone's advice helpful, I will say so. If you don't like it, feel free to refrain from commenting. I'm not bothering anyone or coming into your threads making rude comments. If anyone thinks I'm rude for not agreeing with their advice, then I apologize. But there is no need to come into my thread and get pissy with me because I don't agree with someone's advice.

[bugxjuice]

That or just cut it off.

[bongsau]

No problem eh bud.

It is the end of the world.

So draw another star around it and black the whole thing in!

[irezumi]

If everyone here, including several well-rounded tattooers, are giving you the same advice worded slightly differently each time I would have say that the answers are not going to get much different.

Telling people that they are wasting their time and effort trying to give you sound advice in a thread asking for advice just because it's not what you want to hear is kind of a dick move.

All in all, the BEST advice here is to go into a shop whether it's this artist or a different one, and go with them. We have given you some ideas and advice and that was the point of your thread. Take it from here and seek out a consultation in person with an artist.