21stNow

I liked episode 13 because it showed some of the challenges in tattooing dark skin. It was still kind of disappointing because in just over 40 minutes, there wasn't a lot of discussion as to what should be done differently before a design, size, color and placement is chosen because the skin is dark as opposed to the choices that would be made with lighter skin. As a person with dark skin that likes tattoos, it is hard to find information on design choices that would work better for dark skin. There is one blog that I have found that is dedicated to getting information out about what to look for. However, the blog's advice tends to be "find an artist that is used to tattooing dark skin". That doesn't go far enough. I live in an area that has a high concentration of black people. For the most part, any tattoo shop that is in the city or inner suburbs has a high number of customers that have dark skin. However, practice doesn't always make perfect. Just because a shop has tattooed customers with dark skin for 10 years doesn't mean that they are "good" at it. The nature of the art of tattooing has a lot of secrecy in it. I can respect that, but it can reduce the amount of information that is available to the client to make an informed decision. We have to trust the artists that we do find that have experience with tattooing darker skin. That smaller number of artists limits our choices in the first place; we, as customers, don't know if the information and suggestions that we are receiving are good or not. The other facet of the tattoo industry that hinders us is that portfolio pictures are usually taken as soon as the tattoo is done. This really doesn't help dark-skinned clients in the search for a good tattoo artist for two reasons. One is that even with artists that have a high number of dark-skinned clients, the portfolio pictures tend to skew more toward the clients with lighter skin tones. The second is that tattoos look different once they are healed. This difference is even more pronounced on clients with dark skin. I meet many dark-skinned people with tattoos and get a chance to ask questions. However, it leaves me with more questions than I started with! I see designs that I wouldn't have been interested in in the first place. There are other factors that I find that would be different between what I would choose and what the person that I talk to chose. If I went by what I saw in the general public, I probably would have never gotten a tattoo. I would like to see more discussion on tattooing dark skin in the industry in general. It seems like people are scared to talk about it because they may be perceived as being racist. However, the difference is real and should be discussed. - - - Updated - - - To bring my long-winded discussion back around to this episode of Ink Master, I thought that Kruseman was unfairly criticized for keeping it simple with his tattoo. It is often recommended to keep tattoos simple on dark skin and I thought that Kruseman's tattoo showed up the best now and probably will in the future. I get that people don't think that guys want rose tattoos, but that is a myth that is proven wrong on a daily basis. Chris' portrait tattoo also looked like it would hold up pretty well. While I agreed with the judges that the mouth was different from the photo and that the hands weren't great, I thought that those were minor details that didn't affect the overall tattoo and how it shows up now and will show up in the future. Matt's tattoo was one that I thought that should not have been done on a client with dark skin. The eagle was too dark, detailed and cramped in the body in order to be able to discern what you are looking at if you see this tattoo from a distance. This showed the challenge that even if the tattoo is large, it still doesn't need to be as detailed as it would be on a client with lighter skin because the contrast isn't great enough for the eye to see that detail from a distance. Craig's tattoo actually didn't seem as bad as what the judges made it out to be. The scribbles did distract me, but I thought that the use of gray to get a 3-D effect came out better than I thought that it would. I've seen designs like that that were done with all black that end up looking more like scars or cover-ups rather than tattoos. Visually, I think that Craig's may hold up better over time and if not, was one of the easier designs to touch-up in the future. I don't know what to say about Duffy's tattoo. I couldn't tell what that was from a distance and would probably struggle if I were up close to it. This tattoo shows why I think the overall concept of a tattoo competition show is a bad idea because there needed to be more consultation with the client. The client initially wanted 5-6 different things. Duffy did talk him down to three things. However, the area where that tattoo was placed still doesn't allow for all of that to fit and show up well. Even just the Detroit skyline would have been difficult to show and contrast in such a relatively small space. I think that Duffy's tattoo would have been better with less black and more gray, but that's just my guess. She had a hard client to work with that just needed more time than what the show allows for. Tyler's tattoo went the other direction, with too much gray and not enough black. There was too much detail for it to show up well on the client's skin, as well. The white ink probably won't be visible in less than two months, so the accents that we saw today will be gone soon. While I understood the judges' criticism of being unable to discern whether that was a bear or a canine, I could still tell that it was an animal of some sort. This gave his a leg up over Duffy's because I couldn't tell what her design was at all if I hadn't seen the consultation that led up to it. Overall, I liked the episode because it forced the artists to deal with the challenge of tattooing dark skin. I have seen episodes of this show and other shows that show one or two clients with dark skin that all of the artists try to avoid. This brought the challenge to the forefront as these artists could not avoid dark skin at all.

21stNow is a username that I use on the forums about cell phones that I participate in. I've had a smartphone since 2007, but didn't feel like I had arrived in the 21st century until I got my iPhone 4. I started on the forums then and picked a shortened version of "I'm in the 21st Century now" as my username.

I have a spot on the top of my left foot that has skin that is thicker or of a different texture from the rest of the skin on my foot. I plan to let my artist know about it whenever I get a foot tattoo. I don't know that it will make a difference, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did. That area doesn't absorb lotion in the same way as the skin around it, so it isn't far-fetched to think that ink could go in differently.

Blowouts are the hazy ink that show around line work, from my understanding. There are images of blowouts here: https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+blowout+in+a+tattoo&sa=G&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0CCsQsARqFQoTCNOHvZ24-scCFUYoHgodrA4GBQ

I've gotten one tattoo at a convention. I would say that the cleanliness was in line with what I see in a shop, but I'm not a health inspector so don't quote me! :D I also agree that you have to consider the atmosphere of the convention. If you don't want a lot of people staring at you while you are getting the tattoo, getting a tattoo at a convention may not be for you. Consider this especially if you are getting an area covered that may be normally covered by clothes, as most artists don't bring privacy screens. When I got my tattoo, my artist was at the first booth as you entered the convention. There were tons of people who stopped to look at what my artist was creating. I mostly didn't mind being stared at while getting the tattoo. However, it did bother me that children were staring as the tattoo that I got was more "adult" in nature. I didn't expect as many children at the convention, but there was another convention in the same building that attracted a lot of young kids. It seemed like they all came to the tattoo convention after their convention was over.

I finally got my fans!

This is just a theory, but I think that "bold will hold" is becoming more prevalent as more people with dark skin actually get "into" tattoos. I agree with you in that I like detailed designs. However, I have to admit that my best looking tattoo is the one that fits the "bold will hold" mantra well. All of my tattoos are less than one year old, but I'm realizing that I will have to go with bolder, simpler designs so that you can tell what you're looking at when you see my tattoos.

I lucked out in waiting until later in life to start getting tattoos and started with larger pieces first, with a consideration in placement for future tattoos. My artist said that she wished she had thought ahead in the placement of her tattoos, both in skin real estate availability and overall theme of tattoos in one area.

Welcome! Are you going to be at the convention on Sunday in Mesa?

Mine used to itch badly but since I started using Hustle Butter, I experience very little to no itching.

I have a couple of "mini-looks" that I am going for. I want the view from the left side of my body to be the "sweet" tattoos (flowers, butterflies, stars, etc.) and the view from the right side of my body to be the "sassy" tattoos (pin-ups and other sexy stuff). My front and my back views won't necessarily have a theme, but I don't want tattoos to be totally different from each other in one glance.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that came out of the gate at full speed ahead! I got seven in my first four months, so it's good to have some company.

I use Hustle Butter during and after healing.

I did a three hour session, took a one hour break, then did a three and a half hour session for two separate tattoos after last Christmas.

Whether or not something is too fast is only determined by what the person is comfortable with. I have gotten my first seven tattoos in four months and have two more planned for the next two months. I find myself focusing on the empty space so much that I've got to at least plan for the next tattoos, if not get them. I do plan to slow down soon so that like others have said, I can stretch the tattooing experience out over more years. I also am not ready for tattoos that cannot be easily covered yet.