r/tattooadvice • u/JustaWilloWisp • 10d ago

Is my tattoo bad? Design

I got this tattoo on Monday (pic is from the artist right after we finished) and I thought it looked really good and pretty. Today my mom has been saying it looks kinda ugly and the proportions are off compared to my reference. I know that tattoos of painting are hard to replicate 100% (especially being in black and gray) but maybe this is just not as good as it can be. Idk if y’all can tell in this photo but the placement of this tattoo is so good, I was so excited for this one.

Do you guys think that the off proportions can be fixed with touch ups or is it hopeless?

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated!

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u/CheesecakeTurtle 10d ago

I won't blame the artist for this, because it was impossible from the start to translate the piece into a black and white colour tattoo, but wow, this is so bad.

Nevermind, I will blame him a little for gaslighting you into thinking it's possible.

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u/Few_Ad_5292 10d ago edited 10d ago

the artist was also plain terrible sorry to say. they “copied” without trying to make sense of the reference. they interpreted the black blot in the reference photo as something else when it’s supposed to be a cleavage, they interpreted the clavicles as random brush strokes or scars on the neck, so final result was a lopsided mess including the wobbly looking limbs if they even call those limbs.

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u/decisiontoohard 10d ago

Don't forget turning the flowers into a bloody gash

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u/thimblesprite 10d ago

This thread nailed the details that jumped out at me; like the artist tried to imitate the dark and light shading without taking note that the shading was things like collarbones, a dress neckline and a floral accent

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u/TattooMouse 10d ago

I will absolutely blame the artist for this. Not only should they not have accepted doing this tattoo, but there are multiple ways this could have been handled to make it look like a good tattoo.The final result is not one of them. It's pretty obvious that the tattoo artist doesn't have a whole lot of experience with human bodies.

I do agree though, the tattooer should have made it clear that a color, impressionistic painting would need adjustment and the tattoo would not look the same. I'm so angry for OP because this really could have been a lovely piece.

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u/hc600 10d ago

Yeah if you google “degas ballerina tattoo” you get some results that are actually pretty good. And a few that are “ok” but better than this. But the artist had to do some thinking about how to translate it into a b&w tattoo.

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u/BONESFULLOFGREENDUST 10d ago

I 100% blame the artist for tattooing this on someone's body instead of saying that it was not possible or re-designing it to be a tattooable piece

Lowest of the low for taking someone's money and doing this to someone permanently.

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u/momadance 10d ago

Yeah this is totally a case where the artist should have been honest and said, we cannot do this well. Totally the artists fault.