New, chest piece cover up advice

[Kaykay]

Hello, was just wanting to get some advice on covering my chest piece, not all of it just the "skyline" in the back and the banners on the flowers. Basically the heart would be in a bed of flowers for the new piece.

[Synesthesia]

Was this done professionally? It looks to be of pretty poor quality. You MIGHT be able to put a lot of black over top of the buildings and have a black background but I don't see anything else that can be done with them. And MAYBE re-line and pack tons of color into the rest of it to cover up the banners, but really the whole thing needs to be relined anyway. You might as well laser it all off and start over. You would have a lot better chance of covering up those buildings with something other than solid black that way.

[Graeme]

Welcome @Kaykay

Can I assume from your tattoo that you're in Milwaukee?  My recommendation would be to go into a good shop and ask about your options in person.  I would recommend either Cornerstone Tattoo because Julio Avila does very good, very solid tattoos, or Solid State tattoo because both Jon Reiter and Josh Howard do excellent work.  They'll be far better able to let you know what is or isn't possible for a coverup than strangers on the internet who pretend to know a lot more than they actually do.

[marley mission]

@Graeme touches on such an important point - be it a coverup or any tattoo really

its best to start with finding the right artist - doing your research - and then approaching the artist to discuss a tattoo direction for what you desire

the whole "internet forum consultation" about design ideas is just backwards imo

 

[LizBee]

Has it been lasered? I agree with the above, by the way. Someone with experience and talent at coverups could do something really great with this, especially being light like it is, relatively speaking, but you need to do your homework and get some opinions from some next-level artists. 

[Kaykay]

I was just wanting some perspective I haven't really thought about it until recently.i was just going to have it gonna back over with color n "fixed" but realistically it was a dumb idea at 14 done by someone who was just starting out.  And I no longer live in milwaukee. My choices in shops are limited to Nashville TN or othet surrounding areas. The lines have really faded and I was thinking of getting it covered similar to this. Also no, no lasering. Literally only 2 sessions 1 of linings and then shading 

[SStu]

Limiting it to 2 sessions already? Are you short of adequate funding for a project like this?

[Synesthesia]

17 hours ago, Kaykay said:

Also no, no lasering. Literally only 2 sessions 1 of linings and then shading 

Okay well that's a horrible tattoo also, and if you're not even going to entertain the notion of laser or something requiring more than two sittings, then you're going to end up with something not much better than what you already have. Good luck.

[Dan]

17 hours ago, Kaykay said:

I was just wanting some perspective I haven't really thought about it until recently.i was just going to have it gonna back over with color n "fixed" but realistically it was a dumb idea at 14 done by someone who was just starting out.  And I no longer live in milwaukee. My choices in shops are limited to Nashville TN or othet surrounding areas. The lines have really faded and I was thinking of getting it covered similar to this. Also no, no lasering. Literally only 2 sessions 1 of linings and then shading 

LOL  somebody tattooed you at 14 ?  that's fucked-up,illegal,and unethical,that tattooer needs to be slapped.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Dan

[Bmore]

I was just wanting some perspective I haven't really thought about it until recently.i was just going to have it gonna back over with color n "fixed" but realistically it was a dumb idea at 14 done by someone who was just starting out.  And I no longer live in milwaukee. My choices in shops are limited to Nashville TN or othet surrounding areas. The lines have really faded and I was thinking of getting it covered similar to this. Also no, no lasering. Literally only 2 sessions 1 of linings and then shading 

Nashville. I'm sure there are others here more familiar with the area, but one shop I can speak to is Gold Club Electric. Never been there myself, but was at a convention where several of their tattooers were, and they seem to do good work. I got tattooed by Mike Fite and would definitely recommend him.

Best option is still to physically go into a shop and talk about your options with an artist.

[LizBee]

I think she means that the original tattoo has not been lasered (it has that faded out look of having had laser tx) and the original was done in 2 sessions. Given all that, it is a pretty good candidate for a coverup by a skilled artist.

Go around and get some advice in person, and definitely look at a lot of Insta accounts and portfolios that show a talent for coverups. It goes without saying that you'll again be living with the result and you MUST be completely delighted with how it comes out (ideally) so it will be worth any price you have to pay (even if you have to save up for a year or more to afford it). It would also be worth it to travel or wait for just the right artist to come to you via a convention, guest spot at a nearby shop, etc. It will take some homework and investigation, which will take time and effort, and it will be worth it. 

[Synesthesia]

On 6/29/2016 at 8:08 PM, LizBee said:

I think she means that the original tattoo has not been lasered (it has that faded out look of having had laser tx) and the original was done in 2 sessions. Given all that, it is a pretty good candidate for a coverup by a skilled artist.

I hoped that's what she meant, but it didn't sound that way. Regardless, my point about her inspiration tattoo being horrible still stands. I hope OP sets the bar way higher than that.