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I think you should just get more tattoos and not worry about it. Do you know how much laser treatment costs? Do you know that it hurts far more than getting a tattoo? You are assigning way too much meaning to it. Just live with it and find a new tattoo artist for your next one.

Okay, thank you for your response.

Yup. No one told Leonardo da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa. "Hey Leo, can you paint a picture of my girlfriend, maybe some scenery in the background. maybe have her hands crossed, no smile, but not frowning. I need to see a sketch of it before you start."

Same here, @Hogrider. I trust my artist, and both of my sleeves were designed by him with pretty much no input from me.

Honestly you have a really nice tattoo!! Objectively its pretty great. Especially for your first one, my first tattoo was nowhere near that good. I know it’s not exactly what you envisioned but that’s kind of part of being tattooed. There is no such thing as a “perfect” tattoo. It’s a living work of art and you have to manage your expectations. I don’t mean to sound condescending, but I do think that first-timers tend to be overly picky about details. In explaining so many details, it can be confusing to an artist, as they don’t know what is the most important from the 10+ notes and references you gave. Part of that comes down to communication which sounds like was lacking a bit. For future tattoos I would keep it as simple as possible. Set yourself up for success and pick an artist that you love literally every tattoo they do. Then pick 1-2 reference photos and say what exactly you like about each one. The face expression, the background etc. Pick 1-2 details that are the most important to you. And then let your artist do their job. the more you try to control the outcome, the more disappointed you will be. But if you hate it you hate it, and that’s okay too. Just please give it a year. If you still hate it, then laser is an option and you can have it lightened and covered up. Best of luck to you!!

Seems you like the Japanese style. I’d go with a dragon or koi dragon, some flowers, water and call it a day. Actually, that’s just what I did per my artist’s suggestion. I told him I was open to anything in the Japanese style and just sat back and let him work. My first sleeve I didn’t give any input at all.

I'm not stupid. I know it's an expensive mistake. I never imagined I would want to laser my tattoos once I decided I wanted some. It's an extreme resort to feel like this. I'm too upset about it not being what I wanted. I got a mole laser removed on my face and it was horrible, so I feel like I know what I'm in for....

I hope you have the patience to wait. I’ve seen people swept up in the moment by enthusiastic tattoo artists. Also, be sure you are realistic about laser expectations. It can lighten a tattoo, but I’ve never seen one actually removed. Your tattoo creates scar tissue, laser creates more scar tissue. I’m not saying don’t do it, but if you think it’s going to disappear, you’ll be really disappointed. You have a nice tattoo. Better to have a nice tattoo that you don’t like than a sh!tty tattoo you hate and be looking for coverup #2. Remember, each time you go in for laser or coverup you’re creating more scar tissue, making the next time harder.

First, sorry it didn’t work out as planned. Second, don’t do anything until you’ve lived with it for a while. I’ve seen plenty of cover ups that wound up worse because people were in such a hurry to “fix” them. At the very least you need it to let it completely heal before you start to monkey with it. Patience is your friend. Plenty of people have come to love a tattoo that they initially didn’t like.