hello LST!

[fortnightofwar]

hey everyone, just introducing myself. I'm pretty new to getting tattooed but from my first one a year ago, and now a couple more, I have really come to enjoy the experience as well as the art form. That being said, the primary reason that brought me to this website is that I had a concern about my latest tattoo. I recently got a tattoo from a pretty reputable shop in New York, which included having to wait a few months for a consulation, then come back for the tattoo, and pay top dollar (200/hr). It all went really well, until I got home and started examining the tattoo and seeing how one of the legs (tattoo is of a lion) looked a little awkward. i did some googling to compare the anatomy of my tattoo to the anatomy of lions, and upon my search found a tattoo that looked strikingly similar to mine, in a more traditional style, but same outline/drawing of the body. i then did some more searching and found the exact outlines of the 2 lion heads that my artist presented to me to choose from.

the artist has a very specific style, so the actual tattoo doesn't look like an exact copy or anything, but the outlines are spot-on. i feel kinda taken advantage of because i thought i was going to be getting a custom drawing. i guess maybe there's a chance it'a just a coincidence, and maybe the other artists and my artists just used the same reference, but i doubt it. especially, after doing some more research on my artist, it seems they have a history of doing this sort of thing...

anyway, any feedback about what i should do would be appreciated. i'm thinking of confronting the artist but not sure what i'd even say. ill try to attach photos to here too. the 1st one is my tattoo, the 2nd one is what the outline was, the 3rd one is what the head outline was (and during the tattoo, the artist said she was gonna leave out that one little part of the mane cuz it looked better), and the fourth is the 2 outlines of the heads that i chose from... ironically right next to one another on the same website ...

[bongsau]

Welcome @fortnightofwar!

Don't overthink it.

It's a nice, simple tattoo design, it's on you and that's what matters.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a bird or a tiger head. Or an eagle, octopus, shark, panther or hotstuff. And I also have a lion that is somewhat similar (but it is a flyin' lion). But it's on me and that's all that matters.

[Shaun1105]

Welcome to the forum!

It does look like your artist used the other tattoo as a reference for the outline. The good news is that she did put a nice tattoo on you.

Art theft isn't cool, and if you expected to get a fully custom tattoo then you have a right to feel a bit cheated.

As for what you should do now? I don't think confronting the artist is going to be worth your time. I'd say to do these 3 things:

1. Don't get tattooed by her again

2. Do that "some more research" before you choose your next artist.

3. Get a bunch more awesome tattoos!