Hogrider

Wavy lines of different weights and circles not round and not uniform? That's going to look like a scratcher did it. Probably about one in one hundred thousand will actually know what you're trying to accomplish. BUT, it's your skin.

How long since you got the original piece? Without that information, it's hard to tell if it's too dark.
As far as comparing a drawing to what goes on your skin, you can't. It's dark, but too dark?  Depends on how long you've had it.
As far as going over budget - didn't he give you an estimate? If he said he'd be 4 hours and took 10, then you've got a legitimate complaint. If you didn't ask how many hours the piece would take, that's on you. Some tattooers are just slow.
You said, "I found a shop that does alot of what I like." Well, a SHOP doesn't tattoo you. Did you look at the specific person doing the tattoos before you committed? I mean did you look at ALL of his work that he has posted? If not, you should have. If you did, does yours look darker that what you saw?
It sounds like you and the artist didn't do a very good job of communicating. 
4-6 weeks to heal. I'd let it heal before you do anything else.

The hood is the same tone as the  cloak, and the wings, and the sword and the skin. Very monotonal. And the top of the sword gets lost in the face and whatever is going on there. I’d be interested to see how it looks when it’s healed.

4-6 weeks to heal. That’s when you know what it’s going to look like. There are no shortcuts. 

I hope so, it was 3 1/2 years ago!

@Dangave good advice. It takes 4- 6 weeks to heal, longer if it went in rough. If it itches, you might try a cold pack, but DON’T scratch it.
Good luck.

Agree. It looks very one-tone. I am not a fan, but if you like it, that's all that matters. 👍

The hood is the same tone as the  cloak, and the wings, and the sword and the skin. Very monotonal. And the top of the sword gets lost in the face and whatever is going on there. I’d be interested to see how it looks when it’s healed.

At 5 weeks, that's long enough to know if it's a blowout or not. I don't see it myself, but once you see it you can't unsee it. It's a nice looking tattoo, I'd just enjoy it. Trying to fix blowouts makes them worse often as not. The ink is under the skin, you can't move it or take it out, you can only try to cover it up.

At 5 weeks, that's long enough to know if it's a blowout or not. I don't see it myself, but once you see it you can't unsee it. It's a nice looking tattoo, I'd just enjoy it. Trying to fix blowouts makes them worse often as not. The ink is under the skin, you can't move it or take it out, you can only try to cover it up.

Yep. 4-5 weeks and you'll get an accurate idea of how it's going to look. 

I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of script, but unless you have pink script with flowers and unicorns, I don't think there is a masculine vs. feminine script. 
I'll also throw out there that having your hands tattooed is a big step. Yes, tattoos have become way more accepted today, but hand tattoos are still pretty out there. Also, the skin on the side of your hands is thin and so will be prone to blowouts. Make sure you get someone really good that knows what they are doing. It's really hard to do perfect script; there is no room for error. Too many people think script is simple and get the local hack to do it.
Good luck

Stop staring at it. It is healing, and it will be healing for a while. You cannot tell anything yet.
Keep it clean and quit putting junk on it.

I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of script, but unless you have pink script with flowers and unicorns, I don't think there is a masculine vs. feminine script. 
I'll also throw out there that having your hands tattooed is a big step. Yes, tattoos have become way more accepted today, but hand tattoos are still pretty out there. Also, the skin on the side of your hands is thin and so will be prone to blowouts. Make sure you get someone really good that knows what they are doing. It's really hard to do perfect script; there is no room for error. Too many people think script is simple and get the local hack to do it.
Good luck

I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of script, but unless you have pink script with flowers and unicorns, I don't think there is a masculine vs. feminine script. 
I'll also throw out there that having your hands tattooed is a big step. Yes, tattoos have become way more accepted today, but hand tattoos are still pretty out there. Also, the skin on the side of your hands is thin and so will be prone to blowouts. Make sure you get someone really good that knows what they are doing. It's really hard to do perfect script; there is no room for error. Too many people think script is simple and get the local hack to do it.
Good luck

At 5 weeks, that's long enough to know if it's a blowout or not. I don't see it myself, but once you see it you can't unsee it. It's a nice looking tattoo, I'd just enjoy it. Trying to fix blowouts makes them worse often as not. The ink is under the skin, you can't move it or take it out, you can only try to cover it up.

Don't look at it under a microscope. Seriously. No tattoo is perfect. Your skin isn't a piece of paper. There's nothing wrong with that tattoo, but I would seriously evaluate your expectations. I don't mean this in an unkind way, but if you are expecting perfection, don't get any more tattoos because you'll never achieve it. Step back and look at the big picture, you have a nice tattoo, I'd just enjoy it.

At 5 weeks, that's long enough to know if it's a blowout or not. I don't see it myself, but once you see it you can't unsee it. It's a nice looking tattoo, I'd just enjoy it. Trying to fix blowouts makes them worse often as not. The ink is under the skin, you can't move it or take it out, you can only try to cover it up.

Just because the stupid phuckwad's first unintelligible post is shilling his $hitty web site doesn't mean he's a spammer ... does it??? 

At 5 weeks, that's long enough to know if it's a blowout or not. I don't see it myself, but once you see it you can't unsee it. It's a nice looking tattoo, I'd just enjoy it. Trying to fix blowouts makes them worse often as not. The ink is under the skin, you can't move it or take it out, you can only try to cover it up.

Based on the threads posted here by newbies, a lot of artist do a terrible job educating their clients.
My artist told me early on to look at the big picture. I love my tattoos and I never look at them under a microscope.

Don't look at it under a microscope. Seriously. No tattoo is perfect. Your skin isn't a piece of paper. There's nothing wrong with that tattoo, but I would seriously evaluate your expectations. I don't mean this in an unkind way, but if you are expecting perfection, don't get any more tattoos because you'll never achieve it. Step back and look at the big picture, you have a nice tattoo, I'd just enjoy it.

I would suggest finding a good tattoo shop. They should have lots of Halloween appropriate flash to choose from. Or, you could google Halloween Tattoo. I'm sure lots of references would come up.
Good luck!

Any tattoo can have blowouts. Thinner skin and  older skin are more prone to them, even the best artists have them.
Do you have any pics?

Based on the threads posted here by newbies, a lot of artist do a terrible job educating their clients.
My artist told me early on to look at the big picture. I love my tattoos and I never look at them under a microscope.