Need honest opinion and advice

[sesa]

Hi guys! I'm new to this site and just recently got my firs tattoo last month. I've always wanted a cat tattoo but I admit I didn't take my time in deciding on the design so I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it. I was thrilled with it at first and my friends said they loved it, but the longer I look at it the more uncertain I become. I still love the cat's face and stare, but I'm not happy with the bottom half of the tattoo as I find the pointed lines kind of messy-looking. I also think I should have put some color to it so it's not too dull-looking. Now I'm thinking of adding color AND covering up the bottom part with small colored flowers. What do you guys think? And can I have it done by a different artist, since I had this done on a holiday back home and I work and live in another country. Thanks so much!

Edited January 10, 2017 by princessandcats
Image upload failed the first time

[cltattooing]

Hard to say without seeing a photo, do you have one?

[Dan]

like @cltattooing  said,maybe if you posted a picture of it we could get an idea of what it looks like to help you ?

 

Edited January 10, 2017 by Dan

[sesa]

Lol sorry about that. I uploaded the photo with my post but didn't realize it failed. Hope you guys can see the pics attached. Thanks!

[cltattooing]

Ok well I definitely wouldn't put any color in the actual cat, but you could definitely frame out the bottom with some nice bold flowers and the juxtaposing styles would look really nice together. Overall, not a bad tattoo, but I do think it could have been applied by someone with more skill. Unfortunately, there is not really a middle ground between lackluster photo-realism and outstanding photo-realism. It's just one of those styles that tends to fall short if you're not at the very top of your game. I think if you go to a seasoned artist who works in several styles and has 20+ years under their belt with a solid portfolio, that person could probably do a lot to make that tattoo more crisp and visually legible. Just my .02

edit: and just to be clear, I don't think it's a bad tattoo, but I can see where your dissatisfaction comes from. It's definitely an easy fix with the right artist. If you let me know where you live, I can help point you in the direction of someone who can do it.

Edited January 10, 2017 by cltattooing

[sesa]

10 minutes ago, cltattooing said:

Ok well I definitely wouldn't put any color in the actual cat, but you could definitely frame out the bottom with some nice bold flowers and the juxtaposing styles would look really nice together. Overall, not a bad tattoo, but I do think it could have been applied by someone with more skill. Unfortunately, there is not really a middle ground between lackluster photo-realism and outstanding photo-realism. It's just one of those styles that tends to fall short if you're not at the very top of your game. I think if you go to a seasoned artist who works in several styles and has 20+ years under their belt with a solid portfolio, that person could probably do a lot to make that tattoo more crisp and visually legible. Just my .02

edit: and just to be clear, I don't think it's a bad tattoo, but I can see where your dissatisfaction comes from. It's definitely an easy fix with the right artist. If you let me know where you live, I can help point you in the direction of someone who can do it.

Thank you so much for your help! I was initially planning to put color on the actual cat to enhance it, and one tattoo artist I contacted said it can be done. So i guess that's not a good idea huh? 

I live in Dubai where tattooing is technically against the law but there are a lot of tattoo artists who operate. It's just trickier to find them since they can't advertise outright. It would be amazing if you can recommend someone here! I don't want to get it fixed by just anyone and have it come out worse than before. :-(

[cltattooing]

1 minute ago, princessandcats said:

Thank you so much for your help! I was initially planning to put color on the actual cat to enhance it, and one tattoo artist I contacted said it can be done. So i guess that's not a good idea huh? 

I live in Dubai where tattooing is technically against the law but there are a lot of tattoo artists who operate. It's just trickier to find them since they can't advertise outright. It would be amazing if you can recommend someone here! I don't want to get it fixed by just anyone and have it come out worse than before. :-(

Yeah, don't put color in the cat because it's already somewhat on the dark side, and any color you add will only layer over it and make it darker. And Dubai, oh man that's kinda tricky. I don't really know of any artists working over there and the preliminary searches I've done on the web and through instagram haven't really brought up much that's any good. Maybe post the artists you find here and I can help you figure out who is worth seeing.

[sesa]

I've attached the two artists I've narrowed down my options to. The other is a personal FB profile since he doesn't advertise but was recommended to me by a friend. There are a couple more but when I got in touch with them, they gave me the cost first without even knowing what kind of work I wanted done. Not really a good sign I think!

By the way, I wouldn't mind waiting for a few months until I go back home to the Philippines to have it fixed. Know any good artists there? I'd rather have it done here sooner, but if no one is qualified then I guess it's best I wait than be sorry. Thanks again. :-)

[sesa]

Here's one more but you prolly saw them in your web search already.