Prejudice against people with poorly done tattoos?

[Shaun1105]

I try not to judge, but sometimes it's hard. Over the winter I was at indoor waterparks with my kids a couple times. Probably 25% of people in there had tattoos, and the number of people with good tattoos I could count on one hand.

Most people get sub-par tattoos because they don't know better though. I don't feel bad about judging the tattoos of people who have no excuse. Here I mean my friends/ coworkers who ask me about tattoos and/or artist recommendations then completely ignore my advice and go to the girl who works for $80 an hour out of her house (who does fair to average tattoos at best).

Or even better this exchange via facebook message:

Her- "what do you about tattoos on the inside of the finger"

Me- "Bad idea because (reasons)" I include a link of a picture of what those tattoos tend to end up looking like.

Her - "Ok, thanks"

I think you know what happened next. :mad:

[DJDeepFried]

I try not to judge people on the way they look including tattoos, but we're all guilty of this to some extent because we're only human. But "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all" is a pretty good rule to follow, and saying shit behind people's backs isn't very nice either but I'm sure I've done that too.

[OutOfIdeas]

It's interesting what you said in your original post about choosing tattooers over quality tattoos. As a newcomer to this whole thing I feel like a bit of a poseur saying this, but I would be pretty happy to get a tattoo from someone I admired just because I liked that person, or from a friend starting out in tattooing. I'm pretty into the meeting-people side of things (not that they're necessarily into meeting me, but hey).

I have some tattoos, that were done by a friend who is NOW apprenticing. We were both young and stupid (maybe still are??)

But I like them, for the simple fact that I like the guy that did them. I might cover the worst one, just cause I don't like subject matter, but I intend to either let him touch the rest up after his apprenticeship or leave them as is.

One is the first "custom" tattoo he ever drew and tattooed. That could be some serious bragging points one day!

So I agree, if you're saying what I think you are; in some cases I would happily get a tattoo that isn't world class, from the right person, in the right spot. I am going for really high quality for almost all of the rest of my tattoos though.

[MadeIndelible]

I was once told, by one of my favorite people in tattooing and a gentleman and scholar, that you are paying for the experience just as much as the tattoo with the top notch tattooers today. I think collectors respect that. I think most people who are dedicating themselves to getting tattooed to full coverage are bringing something that we saw with Bert and Amund and George in the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. You see so many photos of people tattooed solely by those people, where today people would say, oh this is my tattooer, or I only trust this guy. I like that sentiment, unless of course you are the classic tattooee who only trusts some scratcher because he or she gives you a shit tattoo for less money than it would be to go to a professional. Collectors are all okay in my book, although I am not a tattooer.

[MadeIndelible]

I never get too concerned about other people's tattoos. I don't know their story or how they came to have their tattoos. I also never crap on anyone about their tattoos (or clothes, or taste in music, etc). Life is too short to waste time and energy harshing on other people. Historically, I look at older tattoos and appreciate the tattooer and the client for paving the way for the things that came next. I have enormous respect for people who blazed the trail and made things easier for me. (Full disclosure - I got my first tattoo in '91 or '92. And yes, there are times that I shake my head and wonder what people were thinking - I just keep it to myself)

Interesting question - thanks for posting it.

Mark, I'd be interested in hearing the story behind your first tattoo. Shit. kids these days go to the first person their friends say is cool. Stories from the older heads are always appreciated on my side.

[El Dolmago]

I have one really bad tattoo... It's on my ankle, it's small, old, faded, fuzzy and almost impossible to recognize. I got it as a skate punk kid way back when I was underage, in a biker shop, in 1990. It was destined to be questionable.

Needless to say I was surprised when I hesitantly showed it/ talked about it to the artists at the Pearl (while @Mark Bee and I were getting work done) not only were they enthusiastic about my weird little blotch but told me to never cover it - because old crappy tattoos (depending on subject matter of course) are their own kind of awesome. Funny that they appreciated my youthful folly - which I'm sure is helped by my acquisition of several new and particularly awesome tattoos.

Or I suppose I could always blast over it with a panther :)

[irezumi]

I'm gonna reel it back to Bunny's OP about homemade tats, not old faded ones from a shop.

Yes, when someone shows me the horrible mess that they let someone tattoo on them for 3 or 4 hours I question their level of common sense.

[TrixieFaux]

I have one really bad tattoo... It's on my ankle, it's small, old, faded, fuzzy and almost impossible to recognize. I got it as a skate punk kid way back when I was underage, in a biker shop, in 1990. It was destined to be questionable.

Needless to say I was surprised when I hesitantly showed it/ talked about it to the artists at the Pearl (while @Mark Bee and I were getting work done) not only were they enthusiastic about my weird little blotch but told me to never cover it - because old crappy tattoos (depending on subject matter of course) are their own kind of awesome. Funny that they appreciated my youthful folly - which I'm sure is helped by my acquisition of several new and particularly awesome tattoos.

Or I suppose I could always blast over it with a panther :)

I had a not the same, but similar type of experience with a tattoo I was kind of embarrassed of after joining LST--because it was a stereotypical printed-out-from-google-images solid black stock image of a lotus...certainly nothing that would get anyone excited here... But when I went to Spider Murphy's last summer, 3 of the tattooers were looking at my tattoos and I had to show them that one because it was directly under what I was going to get from Paul. Paul --and the other guys specifically said they liked that one. I was like, "really??" They liked that it was solid black and the simplicity of it and thought the placement was good. They liked my arms, too, with my more recent work from Memoir, but it just surprised me that they said such nice things about that one. That's one of the things that makes the shop experiences so good. If you are only on this forum, you might think all your work has to be this or that...but the more time spent in different shops you realize, it's all good. My black lotus was done at an L.A. street shop and the guy did a solid job.

[SeeSea]

First - I love this thread - thank you for starting it!

This doesn't really answer the question, but is related; I always liked my tattoos that I had got in my early twenties before I came here last month, but now that I know that they are not great quality (or perhaps not good choices?) I have become a bit ashamed of them.

In some ways that's a shame, but in other ways it is good because now I have a better idea of how to look for quality work.

When I read this, I felt exactly the same way! I have 1 little tattoo (my first and only other one) that has *lots* of personal meaning, but at LST there have been many comments about hipsters, etc., needing to explain all the personal meaning behind the tattoo and that tattooers just don't want to hear out it, blah blah blah. So I never posted that tattoo, even though it means more to me than the full back I am doing. And seeing the work here, I've found myself not saying who my artist is, in case he's not considered up-to-par around here. So, I certainly understand the shame part - but a lot of that is on ME, who is sensitive to being judged as lacking in any way. Thank you for voicing that, @Zillah

But ... then @Bunny Switchblade comes along and says this ...

Just to clarify......when I say "poor choices"....I am speaking more toward home-made done tattoos! (the super bad ones)

@Zillah......don't ever feel ashamed or let someone make you feel ashamed of your tattoos! ... Some people still aren't worried about that though......and honestly.....as long as they are going to a clean shop where the people have been trained properly....then it really shouldn't matter as long as they are happy with their tattoos!

Thank you for saying that. I get nervous about being judged by my tattoos because no one in my family has any and I don't share at work or with many friends (yet). I don't want to be the person anyone is standing behind in the grocery line thinking my work is unfortunate.

As a whole we have a tendency to mostly recommend a select group of well known tattooers/shops even though there are plenty of other experienced professional artists that do solid quality work. I think this is a good definition of a "quality tattoo". We should all be getting quality tattoos. Maybe they lack the "wow factor" or don't have a name brand artist attached to them but it is still a quality tattoo.

Thank you for saying this as well. Is this why I feel like I need to get a tattoo from one of these "names" in order to feel fully accepted here? My guy has some great stuff out there (in my inexperienced opinion) but jeez I find myself worried that my work wouldn't be considered a quality tattoo.

So, I just have to buck up and say fuck it, even if people here don't think I'm getting something "good".

Eh, I'm rambling, but like @Zillah, I'm kinda going through the little wondering-if-I-should-be-ashamed thing.

But everyone here has been really nice and helpful, and for that I appreciate LST very much. And my post is not directed at anyone. Thank you for listening. It's actually pretty cathartic for me to share this.

[irezumi]

Is this why I feel like I need to get a tattoo from one of these "names" in order to feel fully accepted here? My guy has some great stuff out there (in my inexperienced opinion) but jeez I find myself worried that my work wouldn't be considered a quality tattoo.

There are a lot of little known people out there doing spectacular tattoos. The tattooer doesn't have to have a 'name' for me to say "wow that's a great tattoo".

[Zillah]

@SeeSea The quality I admire most in people is being brave enough to let themselves be vulnerable and honest.

It's a trait I try my best to honour myself, and it doesn't seem to get any easier (which I guess is a good thing or it might not as meaningful.)

And the best part is finding out you're not alone :)

[slayer9019]

There are a lot of little known people out there doing spectacular tattoos. The tattooer doesn't have to have a 'name' for me to say "wow that's a great tattoo".

Yea I love when I run across one of those. My friend got a really cool dragon by some guy that hell I couldn't even google a name for. Sometimes that feels a bit more awesome to me for whatever reason.

[Bunny Switchblade]

It's interesting what you said in your original post about choosing tattooers over quality tattoos.

The thing about this is.......the people I have mostly chosen have put their time in, in the craft/business of tattooing! It would be very hard to get a bad tattoo from some of them honestly......but then some of these guys are getting up in their years and the tattoo i get now may not be the one I would have gotten 10-15 years ago! Some never were the most technically great tattooers maybe BUT like I said....I am honored to have their work on me because they tattooed in a time when it wasn't mainstream and they made a good honorable living from it....it was their profession and they did it not only for the money but because they truly loved what they did!

And on the flip side of this....the tattoo I got from them now will never be replicated again because if these guys didn;t share some of their "tricks"....it dies with them! ;)

[Sean Sinha]

I've got some goofy fucking tattoos. Simba from the Lion King is on my ankle. But I don't have a single tattoo that was done badly and I am thankful for that. I still don't know what it would be like to be ashamed of my tattoos. Which is why I never give people shit for bad tattoos, or ask about them. Shit happens. I don't judge anybody on their tattoos, just on their personality and hygiene.

[Bunny Switchblade]

There are a lot of little known people out there doing spectacular tattoos. The tattooer doesn't have to have a 'name' for me to say "wow that's a great tattoo".

******** IREZUMI MADE AN IMPORTANT POST EVERYONE!!! *********

There is ALWAYS someone better you have never heard of........You DON"t have to go to people who have a "name" just because they have a name!

I think most people here don't do anything like that because everyone here usually posts about liking the style of the tattoo artists they seem to be choosing!

It's like in music when you see an incredible musician BUT you know there is some kids sitting in his/her basement jamming away who could probably already blow that other guy off the stage! It's like that with anything....including tattooing!

My heroes.....especially now that i am tattooing....are those people who just go to their shop everyday and tattoo for the love of tattooing! They put in their time....make beautiful tattoos that last.....if someone walks in and wants a name they do it....if some one wants kanji they do it....and if someone what's a full on dragon back piece then they do it! Usually no egos.....just a humble person who loves what he does and has been blessed with the talent and skill to pull it off! ;)

[Mark Bee]

Mark, I'd be interested in hearing the story behind your first tattoo. Shit. kids these days go to the first person their friends say is cool. Stories from the older heads are always appreciated on my side.

Happy to oblige! My first tattoo was a long time coming. I'd been watching my friends get tattooed in the 1980s and was fascinated by them. Unfortunately, this was an era when everything (around my crowd, anyway) was wizards and vikings. Black and gray. Never really appealed to me, though the artistry and talent was clear. I kept thinking about getting one, but kept failing to find a design that really appealed to me. I kept visiting shops (there were not nearly so many back then) and I finally just said "fuck it" I'm getting one. I walked into a shop that recently opened near my home and pointed at a tribal armband and said "I'll have that one." I didn't look at his portfolio, I didn't know what questions to ask either. I knew even then I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted in terms of design, but more important to me was the act of getting tattooed. I never covered the tribal up. I simply got lots of tattoos surrounding it. Its dated, but the artist did a good job and its held up very nicely.

[irezumi]

My heroes.....especially now that i am tattooing....are those people who just go to their shop everyday and tattoo for the love of tattooing! They put in their time....make beautiful tattoos that last.....if someone walks in and wants a name they do it....if some one wants kanji they do it....and if someone what's a full on dragon back piece then they do it! Usually no egos.....just a humble person who loves what he does and has been blessed with the talent and skill to pull it off! ;)

THIS

[DJDeepFried]

Lots of big names out there but the future superstars have to come from somewhere right?

[Zillah]

Because of LST, I find myself looking at tattoos and thinking, "Needs MORE BLACK!"

[Joe Shit]

I think my first post came off as me being kind of pompous.I may be that way a little bit,because I care about tattoos a lot,and I think I just don't respect people who don't make the effort to get a decent tattoo.My first tattoos were done in the earl 90's at a biker shop,and the quality wasn't that good.but they were really the only shops around in those days in my area.After I got a couple tattoos at the biker shop,I started to buy magazines,and then go search out other shops all over NJ,NY,PA,& MD.I was meeting all these good tattooers,and it was expanding my horizons on what really good tattoos look like.I just don't understand with all the good tattooers working today,that anybody should get a bad tattoo.I think some people just don't respect the trade enough to want to spend any money to get a good tattoo.I ask a lot of people where they get their work,and a lot of them say my cousin,or their friend did it in his house.You don't have to go to an elite shop in NYC to get really good work.I live in Jersey,and there may not be as many good tattooers as there are in the city,but the prices are more reasonable,and the quality of the work is good.

[polliwog]

He has a "name" but one of the things that convinced me to go to Ron Wells was seeing a picture he did of a bunch of walk-ins last summer. They weren't in his "style" but he did a beautiful job with them and put evident care into them. I certainly appreciate that.

Another reason why people might choose to go to folks who get mentioned a lot here is just being too new to getting tattooed to fully trust their own judgment. I don't think this is an *entirely* bad thing. It can be following the crowd, of course, but it can also happen because you respect the opinion of the person who recommended that tattooer to you.

- - - Updated - - -

@SeeSea, in my nonexpert opinion your back looks great.

There used to be a lot of drunken bullshit here but I edited it out.

[SeeSea]

Another reason why people might choose to go to folks who get mentioned a lot here is just being too new to getting tattooed to fully trust their own judgment. I don't think this is an *entirely* bad thing. It can be following the crowd, of course, but it can also happen because you respect the opinion of the person who recommended that tattooer to you.

Yup, and that's probably why you see many newbies to LST saying, "If I'd only found this place before I'd gotten the tattoo." People who want a good tattoo but don't know who to ask. Like me. I wandered around a convention, not really knowing what to look for when I checked out portfolios. Stuff I realize now to look for. You guys should have "billboards" all over the internet that say, "Oh young grasshoppers, come to LST to learn before leaping." Or, of course there's always Yelp. <g,d,r>

@SeeSea, in my nonexpert opinion your back looks great.

Damn near all the folks I will ever hang out with will be nonexperts, so all is well. And thank you my dear!

There used to be a lot of drunken bullshit here but I edited it out.

BUT THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THE GREAT STUFF COMES FROM! ;););)

[Zillah]

There used to be a lot of drunken bullshit here but I edited it out.

I saw it, I liked it! (and how you thought it should go in the drinking thread ;) )

[polliwog]

Thanks. I thought it might have come across as disrespectful.

Returning to the original subject, what I notice when I'm out now isn't so much bad homemade tattoos, or badly applied tattoos - most tattooed people in the Boston area don't seem to have these - but simply how many tattoos are unreadable. Lots of designs that seem to be applied with technical skill, but that look pretty muddy in a dim restaurant. People seem to be a little afraid of bright color, open space or simplicity. Or making the design large enough.

[Colored Guy]

I wonder what people think of my ink sometimes, I see a lot of people with just incredible things on them. I may be too critical on myself though. I'm in the process of changing shops right now that will take me to the next level.

I really don't think bad of anyone with terrible tattoos on them, maybe they're happy with them or don't know any better.

Rob