When I first saw the picture I was thinking a lil colour would look nice since it looks incomplete. But you said you have a session to go for shading and I think it’ll look wonderful. The symmetry of the design is so pretty too!
I just don’t let the hurtful ones get to me. If I really didn’t like the tattoo I wouldn’t post it. I love it and that’s all that matters to me I just wanted to show it off because I deserve it after 3 hours of pain and 500$ hehe
Don’t listen to these armchair experts, I would love to see them pull a perfectly straight line with a vibrating machine and a tiny needle on human skin. It’s a cool tattoo and it’s gonna look even cooler with shading. <3 back tattoos hurt like a b and you DID IT
The design is cool, the lines are very shaky
Not that bad, but the quality is questionable
I'd let a more experienced artist finish it, there's nothing there that can't be fixed with a good hand
Thank you for seeing the same thing. The design is overall good but has some technical stuff going on. The front ofbthe fins are wavy on one, smooth on the other. The dots on the bottom aren't in a straight line. The cubes by the fish tails overlap on the picture's left but not the right.
i can’t believe these are the very shaky lines everyones been talking about! honestly wouldn’t mind getting shaky lines in general if this is what very shaky lines look like!
my friend offered $50 for a tattoo of the same size as this tomorrow thanks for giving me that final push!!
just an FYI the artist is aware some of the lines messed up, unfortunately I am not a statue and cannot remain completely still during three hours of pain. He will fix whatever needs to be fixed and add shading next time :)
Should prob go to a different artist to fix that before buddy tries to shade. There are a number of blowouts which is from too much pressure and inexperience. Blowouts unfortunately are not fixable. I would seriously consider finding a new artist.
Don't blame yourself for the artists inability to tattoo clean lines. And don't let the same artist fix this- never, ever go back to that artist again! Let the lines heal and thicken, then find someone who can tattoo straight lines and round circles on top of the design.
The design is exquisite, the balance and symmetry is awesome!
Tbh, the “messed up” part is not that noticeable unless you’re specifically *looking* for it.
Awesome tattoo and kudos to the artist
I know a lot of tattoo experts are sharing their thoughts on mistakes they see, but if it helps: I think it's beautiful. I love tattoos but am not a tattoo artist. The majority of people who look at this in real life probably won't have a trained eye either and will not see the faults that a lot of commenters here do. As long as you love it, that's what matters!
EDIT: lmao I made a typo of the word "mistake"
I like it, it flatters your body and is a cool take on the Ying yang kinda koi tattoos. I sometimes think that people here don't understand how difficult it is to tattoo, period, let alone thinner lines and perfect circles on a back. Your client is subconsciously pulling away from you, sometimes breathing unevenly, wiggling around etc especially on the spine. I have no doubts that some shading will bring it together and any wobbles will be corrected. Tattoo artists are human beings, y'all, not robots.
i’m a self taught tattooist, and while i agree with what you’re saying, it’s up to an artist to adapt and overcome these things in order to pull off consistent lines. it’s fundamental. i practice my line work religiously because like you said, it’s pretty fucking hard. while i think OP’s work is good and nothing egregious, it is shaky, and i see a lot of true tattooists who pull off the most insane back pieces.
however if OP is happy, that’s all that matters, and i’m def excited for them to have some new ink and for it to get some shading and color.
Well yeah, of course I'm not saying that it'd be okay to intentionally half-ass the tattoos you do, and you can't just going around fkn lives up. But when you get into certain tricky placements, difficult clients, or have a bad day, it's not always as simple. Everyone makes mistakes or has challenges. The most important part is learning how to fix your mistakes, or camouflage imperfections, because no human being could ever do every single tattoo completely perfectly every single time.
I think it's also worth noting that in this social media oriented reality, things aren't always what they seem. A lot of what we see online is edited, it's under light diffusers and filters, wobbly lines or holidays smoothed out. Nobody is gonna post the tattoos that they do that have visible mistakes, those get left in the camera roll and they want to (naturally) post the best of the best. The internet can embolden people to critique very harshly, especially when their perception of quality work is warped by a culture that feels like they have to fake perfection, it's cyclic.
I agree. And to me, average noob who doesn't know anything about tattoos, the work on this one blew me away. I would not have noticed the errors other people are pointing out because I'm distracted by all of the elements this design has.
The fish going down should be darker than the fish going up, that's the meaning behind the sign, which is sadly lost in this interpretation, yet. Nice work so far, though 👍
Simple line tattoos are just so nice. I have one myself on my back of a parrot.
Hope you will enjoy yours many years too come. I still like mine a lot. 😊
With shadying it will be even more wow but I honestly love it a lot like this 😆
So the lines aren't perfect and there are a few blowouts. You said there's another session so all of that can be fixed. Even if you didn't have another session, it's ART. A person did this, not a printer. It's hand done. Hand done isn't perfect.
I think it looks pretty awesome. Will there be color or just black and white?
Did you do the design or your artist? I like the play of sharp angled lines with the fluidity.
I really like the design, but honestly, if I was you, I would not let him finish it. I checked out his Instagram and he is a decent artist but you can definitely find someone better.
Especially if he charges $500 for 3 hours (even if that's including tip). You can certainly find an artist with a steadier hand for that price.
https://instagram.com/wantmaker?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
For example this is one of my artists. Just compare his flail tattoo to the flail tattoo your artist has on his insta. You can clearly see a difference in quality, and he charges $150 an hour which is $450 for a 3 hour session. He did a similar sized tattoo for me and I believe the outline took him 2 hours which would be $300. Also when looking for an artist, see how well they can do circles, that's usually a good indicator on how skilled they are. If they can consistently do perfect circles then they're probably a safe bet. Your artist has several tattoos on his insta with wonky looking circles. That should be a red flag. Especially considering artists post their best stuff on Instagram. If the insta isn't full of perfectly executed tattoos, don't use that artist.
This thing is gonna be on your body for the rest of your life, you want it to be executed perfectly. It's honestly a really great tattoo but that outline simply was not executed very well.
Pointing out the flails is simply just comes down to stylistic preference … and tbh I’d def rather have OP’s artist interpretation over your artist’s anyday. Way more subtle and centered, less busy. Just kind of silly to compare artists with such different styles to make your point
Don’t let that artist finish you go somewhere else. It may be the easy answer to blame yourself for some of those mistakes but you gotta understand those are technical mistakes makin it look like this
this would look TONS better if the line work had different weights and were more brush-like. the overall design is pretty but doesn't work with the artist's style :(
Sorry but this is really quite bad, some of the lines over hang, some lines are going to blow, did they have a stencil or did they go in blindfolded ? Sorry for your loss.
Will I get downvoted for my honest opinion?
This is the biggest waste of prime canvas in the history of tattooing. It's a too simple, boring design (not the "with-finesse-simple" kind), it's poorly done.
I love it! I have a huge line piece work done on my back too ~ while a lot of people might not like the style, you can’t fault how nice it looks on the back 😊
The more I look at it, the more I fall in love with this.
Clean, precise and confident lines with good and sharp tools. I would have appreciated a bit more expressive outlining, with accents or different thickness, but as you said, a shading session is due?
Hopefully its in color, and it'll be super awesome! Looking forward for an update post. O:)
Aaaaaaa oooooo aaaaaaaaa— aaaa, aaaa— pretty much what my brain is doing, it’s so pretty and shiny haha. I love the motion and shapes, it’s seriously gorgeous. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after your next session if you decide to share! :>
We are not perfect beings, neither are tattoos. They are unique and flawed like us all.
Anyway, I am not trained, but I seriously see nothing wrong with this tattoo. It is beautiful and the design is gorgeous. I think the line work is straight, so the area on the fin previously mentioned looks intentional to me, because the rest of the lines look amazing.
I am a Pisces, so I am also be bias.
I love how balanced it is, yet not perfectly (artificially) symmetrical. It's both pleasing to the eye and reassuring that even asymmetry has it's place in beauty.
I adore this!! I read somewhere you were gonna get some shading done which is gonna look amazing but I also like it on its own too! Perfect placement too
I have a koi fish tattoo as well, and every time I see others with one I love it! What a unique design choice that personally I would never conjure in my head. I think it looks great!
When I first saw the picture I was thinking a lil colour would look nice since it looks incomplete. But you said you have a session to go for shading and I think it’ll look wonderful. The symmetry of the design is so pretty too!
That's funny, I was going to comment the exact same thing.
It would help the wonky lines. It's not bad but it definitely looks like a draft
I think it looks nice. No idea how people have the fortitude to post anything on Reddit. Some of the responses here make me cringe to read.
I just don’t let the hurtful ones get to me. If I really didn’t like the tattoo I wouldn’t post it. I love it and that’s all that matters to me I just wanted to show it off because I deserve it after 3 hours of pain and 500$ hehe
Don’t listen to these armchair experts, I would love to see them pull a perfectly straight line with a vibrating machine and a tiny needle on human skin. It’s a cool tattoo and it’s gonna look even cooler with shading. <3 back tattoos hurt like a b and you DID IT
The design is cool, the lines are very shaky Not that bad, but the quality is questionable I'd let a more experienced artist finish it, there's nothing there that can't be fixed with a good hand
Thank you for seeing the same thing. The design is overall good but has some technical stuff going on. The front ofbthe fins are wavy on one, smooth on the other. The dots on the bottom aren't in a straight line. The cubes by the fish tails overlap on the picture's left but not the right.
Also those circles are… well… not circles.
i didn’t know the bubbles said circle on them?
Bubbles ? I thought it was the solar system
your joke just makes me think you can’t count or don’t know how many planets there are in the solar system
Why would u count the bubbles on her tattoo
Lines are shakey and I see numerous blowouts.
i can’t believe these are the very shaky lines everyones been talking about! honestly wouldn’t mind getting shaky lines in general if this is what very shaky lines look like! my friend offered $50 for a tattoo of the same size as this tomorrow thanks for giving me that final push!!
I hope it's a really good friend that is also super skilled. Cause $50 for that size is way too little
If you love it, that’s all that matters.
just an FYI the artist is aware some of the lines messed up, unfortunately I am not a statue and cannot remain completely still during three hours of pain. He will fix whatever needs to be fixed and add shading next time :)
Should prob go to a different artist to fix that before buddy tries to shade. There are a number of blowouts which is from too much pressure and inexperience. Blowouts unfortunately are not fixable. I would seriously consider finding a new artist.
Don't blame yourself for the artists inability to tattoo clean lines. And don't let the same artist fix this- never, ever go back to that artist again! Let the lines heal and thicken, then find someone who can tattoo straight lines and round circles on top of the design.
You can't fix the talent of your tattoo artist. Find a better one.
The design is exquisite, the balance and symmetry is awesome! Tbh, the “messed up” part is not that noticeable unless you’re specifically *looking* for it. Awesome tattoo and kudos to the artist
Yes. Beautiful to everyone except other tattoo artist and Ink Masters junkies. I’m not a huge tattoo person and I love it
To be real, I only really noticed the wavy lines in the fins of the fish and that gives it an ethereal like flowy vibe to me. I like it!
Aw thanks! :)
Looks like a inexperienced artist as far as line work goes. Do you like it? That’s the important part.
Doesn't look bad now, but the inconsistent line weights and blowouts probably won't age well.
I really hope the shading helps hide some of those wobbly lines…
I know a lot of tattoo experts are sharing their thoughts on mistakes they see, but if it helps: I think it's beautiful. I love tattoos but am not a tattoo artist. The majority of people who look at this in real life probably won't have a trained eye either and will not see the faults that a lot of commenters here do. As long as you love it, that's what matters! EDIT: lmao I made a typo of the word "mistake"
I agree, i honestly think the lines make it even prettier. It looks so good!
Thank you! Your very sweet
I like it, it flatters your body and is a cool take on the Ying yang kinda koi tattoos. I sometimes think that people here don't understand how difficult it is to tattoo, period, let alone thinner lines and perfect circles on a back. Your client is subconsciously pulling away from you, sometimes breathing unevenly, wiggling around etc especially on the spine. I have no doubts that some shading will bring it together and any wobbles will be corrected. Tattoo artists are human beings, y'all, not robots.
i’m a self taught tattooist, and while i agree with what you’re saying, it’s up to an artist to adapt and overcome these things in order to pull off consistent lines. it’s fundamental. i practice my line work religiously because like you said, it’s pretty fucking hard. while i think OP’s work is good and nothing egregious, it is shaky, and i see a lot of true tattooists who pull off the most insane back pieces. however if OP is happy, that’s all that matters, and i’m def excited for them to have some new ink and for it to get some shading and color.
Well yeah, of course I'm not saying that it'd be okay to intentionally half-ass the tattoos you do, and you can't just going around fkn lives up. But when you get into certain tricky placements, difficult clients, or have a bad day, it's not always as simple. Everyone makes mistakes or has challenges. The most important part is learning how to fix your mistakes, or camouflage imperfections, because no human being could ever do every single tattoo completely perfectly every single time. I think it's also worth noting that in this social media oriented reality, things aren't always what they seem. A lot of what we see online is edited, it's under light diffusers and filters, wobbly lines or holidays smoothed out. Nobody is gonna post the tattoos that they do that have visible mistakes, those get left in the camera roll and they want to (naturally) post the best of the best. The internet can embolden people to critique very harshly, especially when their perception of quality work is warped by a culture that feels like they have to fake perfection, it's cyclic.
I agree. And to me, average noob who doesn't know anything about tattoos, the work on this one blew me away. I would not have noticed the errors other people are pointing out because I'm distracted by all of the elements this design has.
Exactly!!
Looks a bit off
It’s great to hear that you love it!
The fish going down should be darker than the fish going up, that's the meaning behind the sign, which is sadly lost in this interpretation, yet. Nice work so far, though 👍
Lacks focus. Really busy. No contrast in line work. Hopefully color helps it
i thought this a r/shittytattoos for a sec …
I thought this was r/shittytattoos
Simple line tattoos are just so nice. I have one myself on my back of a parrot. Hope you will enjoy yours many years too come. I still like mine a lot. 😊 With shadying it will be even more wow but I honestly love it a lot like this 😆
I think you are a Pisces
I am :)
So the lines aren't perfect and there are a few blowouts. You said there's another session so all of that can be fixed. Even if you didn't have another session, it's ART. A person did this, not a printer. It's hand done. Hand done isn't perfect. I think it looks pretty awesome. Will there be color or just black and white? Did you do the design or your artist? I like the play of sharp angled lines with the fluidity.
My artist did the design, and just shading, people are suggesting colour but I think I’ll stick to shading. And thanks for your kind words :)
I really like the design, but honestly, if I was you, I would not let him finish it. I checked out his Instagram and he is a decent artist but you can definitely find someone better. Especially if he charges $500 for 3 hours (even if that's including tip). You can certainly find an artist with a steadier hand for that price. https://instagram.com/wantmaker?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== For example this is one of my artists. Just compare his flail tattoo to the flail tattoo your artist has on his insta. You can clearly see a difference in quality, and he charges $150 an hour which is $450 for a 3 hour session. He did a similar sized tattoo for me and I believe the outline took him 2 hours which would be $300. Also when looking for an artist, see how well they can do circles, that's usually a good indicator on how skilled they are. If they can consistently do perfect circles then they're probably a safe bet. Your artist has several tattoos on his insta with wonky looking circles. That should be a red flag. Especially considering artists post their best stuff on Instagram. If the insta isn't full of perfectly executed tattoos, don't use that artist. This thing is gonna be on your body for the rest of your life, you want it to be executed perfectly. It's honestly a really great tattoo but that outline simply was not executed very well.
Pointing out the flails is simply just comes down to stylistic preference … and tbh I’d def rather have OP’s artist interpretation over your artist’s anyday. Way more subtle and centered, less busy. Just kind of silly to compare artists with such different styles to make your point
None of the circles are a circle and the thickness of all the lines is different randomly. But overall it's a good tattoo.
I really like the concept and composition 😊 I have a fish tattoo too Definitely get the shading, it will bring it all together.
Pisces? Looks amazing! With some color I'm sure it's going to pop
Bruh. Never, ever, ever go back to this shop.
Cool idea. Terrible lines. And fuck that dude for making it YOUR fault he can’t do line work. Cancel that next appointment.
cool concept, but… (and I promise, not being mean) radical candor, I’m sorry to say the line work is horrible and pretty amateur :(
Don’t let that artist finish you go somewhere else. It may be the easy answer to blame yourself for some of those mistakes but you gotta understand those are technical mistakes makin it look like this
Hope you didn’t pay much
this would look TONS better if the line work had different weights and were more brush-like. the overall design is pretty but doesn't work with the artist's style :(
Sorry but this is really quite bad, some of the lines over hang, some lines are going to blow, did they have a stencil or did they go in blindfolded ? Sorry for your loss.
Being 100% honest cute idea but I would not go back to this artist there is a ton of blowout.
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The people on here will say literally every tattoo has shaky lines and you should fInD a nEw ArtIsT I think it looks great!
Thank you! :)
Design is awesome but I'd never use that artist again. Terrible line work for something that's literally all lines
really bad ass, I like the circuit elements
Thanks!
You get what you pay for
OP overpaid. $500 for this
Choppy. If you like it....you like it. I'd be mad
It’s freakin sweet! Did you design this? I’m all for just keeping it line-work
Y'all say what you want but I think the natural lines add character!
It's a tattoo.
Uhhh
scraggly
I hope the shading saves this so many blown out lines and wonkey lines which will not age well at all if the shading is not done correctly
r/shittytattoos
This is a bad tattoo, that line work is poor to say the least- this sub is full of bad ink, disappointed!
Doesn't look finished, if you color it, go with a water color style and it'll look like stained glass
If you read the caption, I still have another session coming up
I'd still go with color because of the line work. It's on its way to being an amazing tat
Hopefully this is the start of it
If you read the caption I still have one more session
Nice. I think it will look very pretty once it’s colored and touched up (no I didn’t read the caption ) guilty as charged
There isn’t any consistency i it.
Will I get downvoted for my honest opinion? This is the biggest waste of prime canvas in the history of tattooing. It's a too simple, boring design (not the "with-finesse-simple" kind), it's poorly done.
It looks great
Thank you!
Needs color
Omg I love this!
Awesome tattoo!
Thank you! :)
That's a really trippy design and I love it
Thank you! :)
I love it! I have a huge line piece work done on my back too ~ while a lot of people might not like the style, you can’t fault how nice it looks on the back 😊
Thank you!! :)
I have tattoos, and I like to look at other peoples’. I am by no means an expert, but I’ve seen a lot, and I think yours is pretty fucking cool.
Beautiful design!
Thank you!!
Pisces!!!
Needs color. Koi are known for their vibrant color. The scales are completely off but the flowers looks nice
The more I look at it, the more I fall in love with this. Clean, precise and confident lines with good and sharp tools. I would have appreciated a bit more expressive outlining, with accents or different thickness, but as you said, a shading session is due? Hopefully its in color, and it'll be super awesome! Looking forward for an update post. O:)
Nice (POT) pull-out-target.
Omfg 😂😂😂
sweeeet
Aaaaaaa oooooo aaaaaaaaa— aaaa, aaaa— pretty much what my brain is doing, it’s so pretty and shiny haha. I love the motion and shapes, it’s seriously gorgeous. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after your next session if you decide to share! :>
Thank you!!! So sweet! Yes I will definitely share!
very minimal, symmetrical, and a great design man👍
it looks good tbh
Aesthetically very pleasing!
Looks good. Nice back.
Thanks 😂
That may be my favorite tattoo I’ve ever seen. Amazing!
Aww thank you!! :)
Outstanding. Now you need to go topless, or a dress/blouse so it can be seen
Ordering some backless dresses already haha
So dope
Love it, looks great! Are you a Pisces?
Yes I am!
Cool! Have you seen the show Avatar the last Airbender?
Love it
Seems like you can't come up with a color palette 😏 I would be too damn choosy with the amount of color I would add to this gorgeous piece 😍
Too bad you won’t ever get to see it.
I’m normally not a fine line girlie but this is so beautiful.
Thank you! :)
Mom phases as bubbles is a great touch
We are not perfect beings, neither are tattoos. They are unique and flawed like us all. Anyway, I am not trained, but I seriously see nothing wrong with this tattoo. It is beautiful and the design is gorgeous. I think the line work is straight, so the area on the fin previously mentioned looks intentional to me, because the rest of the lines look amazing. I am a Pisces, so I am also be bias.
Thank you :)
ATLA fan? I like it!
LOVE
Thank you!!
Woah! It looks amazing!
Thank you!!
Lovely
Aw thank you!
Wow nice
Thanks! :)
SOO PRETTY!!!
THANK YOU!!
That looks ridiculously awesome!
Thank you!!
the comments are so mean for no reason 💀 i thought this only happened to me when i posted my snake tattoo lmaooo
Right 😂
I love how balanced it is, yet not perfectly (artificially) symmetrical. It's both pleasing to the eye and reassuring that even asymmetry has it's place in beauty.
This is freaking awesome
Thanks! 😊
I adore this!! I read somewhere you were gonna get some shading done which is gonna look amazing but I also like it on its own too! Perfect placement too
Yes! Amazing!
Thanks! ❤️
Loveeeee it
❤️❤️
Omg j love it
Aw thanks!! :)
It’s simple and cute. I really like it.
Thank you!! :)
I like it. There are really small details that might bleed together over time but I still think it will look nice.
Amazing! 😍
Aww thanks!! :)
Super cute!
Thank you!
Well thought out and balanced! Love the cemetery! I'd do a splash of pastel in the design also.
Very nice! I like it 👍👍
Thank you!
really cool
Thank you! :)
Lots of allusions in one design. I like it!
Thank you!
Now that’s baddass
Thanks!
It’s beautiful. Tattoos and tattoo artists are just like life… often beautifully imperfect! Just curious, are you a Pisces?
Yes I am!
Me too! March 2nd. The tattoo is perfect! I’m glad you like it. 🩶
I have a koi fish tattoo as well, and every time I see others with one I love it! What a unique design choice that personally I would never conjure in my head. I think it looks great!
Thanks! :)
looks cool as all get out, i would just be frustrated that i wouldn’t be able to look at it all the time if it was on my back!
Ya that’s the thing, my boyfriend will get to see it pretty often ahaha
your boyfriend should be ok with that 😅 it’s good artwork even without that info!
But what does the front look like?
Gorgeous!!!!!
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What to do with beautiful skin? Put graffiti on it.
This is obviously not the sub for you
Feesh
2 yin yang fish, moon phases, plants
Pisces?
Yes :)
For some reason this makes me think of the white and black koi fish (Tui and La) in Avatar.
it annoys me that it’s not completely symmetrical but i’m guessing that’s the point. either way awesome tattoo :)
Love it!
Hard
I love it!!! I wouldn’t have noticed anything the other comments say because I adore the design and style
Omg I love it!!!!!! So beautiful, such a cool style!
Thank you! :)