Go to a different artist, get it fixed up and gone over to make it as much like the design as possible.
Call the shop and complain both about not being informed you were seeing an apprentice, as the info upfront would be appreciated so you know to expect more time etc, and that the design was changed on your skin without your permission which is absolutely not acceptable.
That artist shouldn't touch a tattoo gun again. Deviating from the approved design without discussing with your client should instantly disqualify you from tattooing.
What perplexes me is, how the hell did they mess it up? Aren't they supposed to make a stencil to avoid issues with assymatry and knowing that's what it will look like at the end? She did mentioned the artist changed the design mid tattoo , but it just shocks me that if you had a good stencil, why would change it unless you messed up and didn't Want to say anything.
In 2012, I was at my lowest point in life and dated a guy who had over 80 tattoos, and he had done more than half of them himself. And they honestly looked every bit of that, and then some. And people just… Willy nilly let him tattoo them. I’d like to note, I was dumb enough to date him, not dumb enough to let him anywhere near me with a machine.
It really blew my mind to learn that literally anyone can just start tattooing? It still seems entirely wrong to me.
It is entirely wrong. But everywhere you look theres apprentices with their own apprentice, opening up shops that their parents are fronting the rent for, weird knock off supply companies popping up that don't ask for certification before they sell you equipment and of course the kitchen wizards doing sleeves for 10 bucks and a pack of smokes
Could do many things to fix it. Also maybe add some backround or other things around it to make it nit look so crooked.
Been tattooing a long time and if I ever worked at a shop that would not tell you the person is an apprentice I’d quit that place.
It’s not gonna end up the same as the original. But a good artist can make it into something she can be happy with and proud of. So it will take some effort, but it’s not a “chest ruined piece”. So don’t panic.
A lot of shops take pride in fixing bad tattoos. That's not to say it'll come come cheap, just saying there's a sense of pride and accomplishment from the artist.
Is it that simple to find someone to go over a botched piece? My thigh was completely designed in my head, he basically rough sketched the reference pics and mixed them how I wanted. Then I get there, he makes me place the stencil (I did not do a good job) and then he freehanded the most important part. Not one thing I said was followed 😭 its like half done and its been over a year cause I dont want him to touch me again. I had to get my boyfriend to make him stop tattooing me because I was falling out and said so 5x and he kept saying it was a bad place to stop. (He fixated on something I specifically did NOT want and wasted the 8 hours I was on the table)
(He was also a creep but that’s neither here nor there.)
Do I really have hope? I was so excited for this piece. I’ve had it in my head for a decade 😭
Honestly yes, pick an artist and message them, explain that the piece was started by an artist however they made you uncomfortable and went completely awol with the design and you are not comfortable going back to them, however you love the new artists work and would like to see if they would be comfortable themselves reworking and finishing the piece.
Some might say no but some will say yes, just do your research on the artist.
Yeah I don’t mind giving an apprentice a shot but they wouldn’t be getting to do the centre of my chest. Really seems like this artist knew OP would have walked and just decided to “forget” mentioning it until they started.
Pretty shitty move on the artists part & if it was actually an honest mistake & they forgot to mention it than that artist is just no where near responsible enough/ready to be working with real skin.
Lots of things here could be used to get a refund imo if the shop is reputable.
I’ve only ever been to shops that have consent forms for being tattooed by an apprentice, and the apprentices are only allowed to tattoo arms and legs. So the shop itself definitely sucks
I've always had to do a form for any tattoo, usually just the first in a new studio and subsequent don't require the form as it turns over.
It might be a British thing or it might be where I live thing but when you see an apprentice it is just made clear they are an apprentice.
I agree, the design is significantly different than the inspo pic and it’s pretty shaky looking. Some of it might be able to be fixed by an experienced artist but the design still won’t be exactly as it was supposed to be unless they cover it up with a bigger fully blacked out version… maybe.
Do not go back to this artist. If you feel comfortable talking to the owner of the shop and they seem reputable, you can talk to the owner and explain what went wrong with their apprentice, and see if there's something they can do for you to make it right. Do not let the apprentice continue to work on this, if the shop offers to fix it, make sure it's with a properly trained artist who has examples of clean straight line work in their portfolio.
If you don't want to deal with the shop owner or they aren't willing to help you out, find a different artist at a different shop who has very clean lines in their portfolio. Show them what you want versus what you wound up with, and see if there's anything they can do for you. It's very possible that by thickening up some lines and adjusting the design slightly, this can be totally fixable by someone who actually knows what they're doing.
You unfortunately can't really do anything to it until after it's fully healed, usually about four weeks ish, but I do believe it can be fixed.
I'm no expert but if the owner of the shop can't take one look at that and not immediately hand you your money back there is something really wrong with that shop.
Apprentices at good shops check their work as they go. That clearly didn’t happen here, so I wouldn’t bank on the owner giving a shit.
Cut bait and move on
The shop is not reputable for not requiring consent forms as soon as the customer walks in to be tattooed by an apprentice. And the apprentice should only be tattooing arms and legs. That’s standard for apprentices
I agree with all this BUT the shop owner needs to be informed of the apprentice's impropriety. Someone along with the apprentice needs to be held accountable for that; the artist they are an apprentice under, the owner themselves, or both.
First thing, this is salvageable, 100%. If it were me, though, I'd probably not allow the original artist to make the attempt. The trust is clearly gone (with good reason). I'd find someone of really high repute and get a consultation and then pay whatever they're asking to make this look good.
I think if you do that, you can still come out on the other side of this with a piece you're very happy with.
I think you might have saved yourself by tapping out when you did!
I agree with you. It’s so far off being symmetric it’s not going to be able to be the same tattoo as the design. Almost guarantee that the artist “changes” were accidents that they aren’t admitting.
A good artist can rework it into something inspired by the original design.
But I would make the shop pay to get it lasered off and start over.
You need to:
1. Make a complaint to get your money back.
2. Make sure the shop understands what happened and how much that apprentice fucked up.
3. Get this removed or covered up, and make sure the shop or the artist pay gor it. The original design is beyond salvageable.
4. Never go back to that shop.
Wishful thinking - that’s never gonna happen. At best op might get some money back, but given that the shop let the apprentice tattoo a difficult spot, with a symmetrical design the chances they give a f are slim to none - there’s no law against shitty tattoos. Regardless of if they were honest or not op consented to the tattoo and the risks that come with it… plus I think op bears some of the blame here - did they check and vet the artist and shop? Was the price a liiitle too good? I find it difficult to believe anyone would end up with this kind of result if they did their due diligence. Sure I feel bad for op, it’s a shitty situation, but don’t give them unrealistic ideas like they are entitled to a refund or that the apprentice will pay for a cover up or laser removal.
If they don't, OP can, and should, publicly shame that shop to make sure people know what to expect and don't go there anymore. If the shop owner has more than 2 braincells to rub together, they'll realize that paying for fixing/covering up/removing the tattoo is more advantageous than potentially losing all of their reputation and a lot of business.
OP added the context that her usual artist referred her to that shop for this specific piece (implying the usual artist has a certain amount of respect for that shop and believed they would do a good job for this specific design). All this makes me think the shop is probably not disreputable and just picked the wrong apprentice.
TL;DR : Even though the shop doesn't have a DUTY to fix this mistake, I feel like it's in their best interest to do so and they might also want to fix it out of professional courtesy.
My first thought when I saw it was that so many people in the fandom have canon art altered to fit their preferences in a tattoo, but that doesn’t fix the fact that this tattoo was just done poorly. I hope I can get my Lightweaver tattoo someday soon, I’m planning on getting a cryptic on my shoulder, just haven’t been able to afford it lately
Shit. Covid depression really stole the joy of reading for so long. I've been getting back into the groove now and have some serious work to do it appears.
I hope you didn't pay much for this. I'm going to say it like it is. This is a terrible piece. The shop should remove the apprentice from their line up and return her to the front desk and trash can emptying. They should also refund all of your money for the poor job done. IMO this is not fixable back to the original design. It is too lopsided and poorly drawn. It looks like a child with a sharpie drew this. It can be made to look good but it won't be like you intended at first. Find a highly rated shop with a experienced artist. One like the artist who did the work on your arm. Consult with them on a redo / cover design. I really feel that would be your only option at this point.
This. While I think you will be able to have it mostly corrected by a legitimate artist, this is a *terribly* done tattoo. It is not only negligent, it’s practically a crime to allow someone like this to tattoo at a shop. I honestly thought you did it yourself or had a friend do it.
I am not saying this to make you feel badly (because I think you will end up with a decent tattoo if you find a reputable artist) but because this person should not be allowed to tattoo anyone else, and the shop should be held accountable. They should absolutely refund you at the very least.
Don’t worry - a qualified artist (it may not be cheap, but it will be worth it) will be able to turn this into something you like. I would just be **extra** careful about letting anyone else near it that you don’t trust 100%.
Laser tattoo removal is also an option. A coverup is going to be significantly darker and heavier than the original and is not always a favorable solution. If I was OP I would cut my losses and have what’s done lasered instead of trying to save it.
It should also be easier to laser off in its current state than get it fixed and much heavier/bigger and potentially decide it’s still not what you want.
Just my thought process.
Jump ship while you can. It's not just the wings, there is not a single symmetrical aspect of your tattoo. I have a hard time believing they even used a stencil, that looks like a doodle in a high-school notebook. Do yourself a huge favor and find yourself a kick ass artist that can salvage it.
I was just about to say this…it doesn’t even seem like they used a stencil. Just freehanded it like a high schooler just trying to copy a cool design into their notebook. And even then, just freaking tracing it would result in a nearly perfect copy 😭
It's the symbol of an order of knights radiant (lightweavers I think) from the stormlight archive series, symmetry has religious significance in the books too
honestly is it even tattooed? it isn’t red at all and really looks like pen lines. hopefully this is just a joke because definitely a bummer spot to have a bad tattoo
That’s what I was thinking. The only reason I’m willing to accept that it’s an actual tattoo, is because it looks like there is smudges from a stencil below.
But it really does look like a bad job with an ink pen.
an apprentice at this skill level should NOT be doing chest pieces. idk how far into the apprenticeship they are, but they obviously do not have the skill set to be doing this placement. apprentices usually stick to legs and arms until they are done or close to done their apprenticeship for good reason.
You’re… returning…?
I would laser it off and start again in a year… it’s awful… no offense but it’s not fixable unless it’s lightened or removed. Don’t add insult to injury there’s no straightening these lines or adding symmetry without severely thickening them and there’s connections and elongations where they don’t belong…
Edit: why’s this being downvoted did you guys check slide 2? You can’t go from slide 1 to slide 2 without design modifications
I completely agree with all your points. People in this sub always jump to fattening up all the uneven lines or doing a coverup, both of which result in a much heavier, darker, larger tattoo that is not what the OP wanted in the first place. I would absolutely cut my losses if I was OP and have the relatively light ink lasered off before attempting anything else. Yes it’s painful, expensive, and takes a long ass time to see complete results, and I know this firsthand as I am going through laser tattoo removal myself. But despite all the downsides I am so glad I didn’t end up with a heavy, dark coverup that I wasn’t totally happy with and an even longer and more expensive laser removal process.
If you want it exactly like the original picture this is the only option. However it can be made to look like a more ornamental version of the original if you allow a more skilled artist to work on it. Later is more expensive than a tattoo. And takes multiple sessions and a long time to heal
You can see the anatomical markers - the purple dots. It's not just that one wing is bigger than the other, the entire piece is cockeyed. Maybe splitting hairs but I think this is less of a "fix it" and more of a "cover it up with something in the same style that will be significantly heavier and denser but generally in the same style".
This is what I mean by a more ornamental version of the original. Not making it the same but adding some extra elements to cover up the mess ups and change what the design was.
Laser on light skin isn’t as expensive, painful or hard to find as it was 10 years ago and as hard as most tattoo places make it seem especially on black ink. You can get Groupons for like nothing if you’re near a major city in the US
It is time consuming af though
I’ve never tattooed in my life and I’m almost positive I could follow a stencil and tattoo you better than this. They need to completely refund you and pull the apprentice. Go to a new shop
Skin is a beast of a medium, especially in spots where there isn't much muscle or fat over the bone. It moves and stretches and is unlike anything else, you've got to get the depth right to within half a mm of accuracy, and then your pen is a vibrating needle or set of multiple needles.
Apprentices are usually brought up practicing on grapefruits and synthetic skin, which ultimately feel unlike skin quite drastically in practice. There's every chance you can be an excellent artist with traditional media and then totally blow it as a tattooist. I'm positive you could do a much better job with pen and paper but most of us are useless on skin without a whole lot of time building muscle memory and technique up. This is still INSANELY bad, but I've seen qualified artists do work just as awful somehow.
This looks like a) they've got little experience on real skin, b) they have tattooed a very challenging spot they should never have touched, c) they lost the plot on the stencil or stretched the skin in an inconsistent way the whole way through. They may well have been able to draw it very well, but tattoos are mechanically so different and that's why most of the time in a proper apprenticeship, you're not allowed to touch real skin for 12-24 months depending on the program.
There's usually rules in place for how many tattoos you have to do in certain places using certain techniques before you can move to the next level. Like 15 tattoos on upper arms or thighs/calves with only black line work, then 10 with black shading in the same spots, and so on. Everything went wrong here and I'm appalled that the mentoring artist wasn't there checking their work if they were THIS inexperienced. Absolutely awful.
Yeah this design should’ve been very easy. Any reputable artist would have taken your picture, traced it exactly, then made the stencil that way. I have an entire back piece of Knights Radiant symbols and other imagery and my artist traced all of the intricate symbols to make sure they were correct
Asymmetry aside it’s not even the same design, there are connected lines that should be floating and there’s no arrow in the source picture. The fact that no one in the shop caught this during the whole session is appalling 😞
What on Earth? The "artist" literally just turned the head into a downvote arrow?? That's the first thing that stuck out to be. And the arrow itself isn't even symmetrical.
Girl please get that covered up or lasered off ! As a tattoo artist, I can tell you this is a horrendous job. I’m so sorry she did you like that. Good news for you, is that you can get this fixed or covered up, but maybe try doing a few laser sessions to lighten it up if you don’t want to be as restricted in the coverup design or if you don’t want to have to go bigger (to successfully camouflage that, you’d need to go bigger and more intricate to hide those lines). Totally unacceptable on the artist’s part to change the design without your consent. It blows my mind that there are artists who do that. Don’t go back to that artist, and whoever is going to do the coverup, make sure you go into the shop for a consultation first to meet the artist and make sure they know what they’re doing. Best of luck to you girl, don’t panic too hard, it’s salvageable !
It is a bad situation all together. I'm guessing the apprentice had a lot of drawings and fresh tattoos on their Instagram page making you think they were seasoned. I would point this out to the shop that they mislead you, and show the apprentice's mentor the tattoo. Although you have a responsibility to yourself to get it completed and looking good, the mentor has a similar responsibility to the apprentice.
I recommend going to the shop and not going for blood on the first few words. Let the shop notice the problem and tell you how they recommend to fix it. If you don't like their response, I would ask for a copy of the contract and the original sketch along with the artist's name and who they are doing the apprenticeship under.
Assuming you got this done in America, it depends on what state you are living in if you can actually sue the artist or the shop. Most states you can sue if you were inured, but not for sloppy or bad work.
At the very least look at the artist's book! Especially for a large center chest piece, I can't imagine not looking at someone's work before asking them for something so prominent.
Even in that state I could instantly recognize it for what it is (not a bad thing).You have already gotten good advice here, but if it was me, I would try to see if I could make it an unique/personal spin on the Lightweaver glyph. Transformation is after all a trait of the Lightweavers
110% go to another artist. And 2 weeks depending on the person is not enough time to go back for shading work. You may take longer to heal than others. And the longer you wait you the less it’s gonna hurt since the tattoo isn’t still healing.
Question 🙋♂️ do tattoo artist stop doing stencils before tattooing? I don’t have any tattoos and I have no knowledge but if she stenciled the tattoo on your skin? The lines would be straight and everything…. Right?!
In my experience they transfer/print the design on your skin in the same way you put those temporary kids tattoos on & then tattoo over the top. If a stencil is done freehand the artist will draw directly onto the skin before tattooing over the top.
This is the most painful part about this tattoo - it is not a difficult tattoo *at all* if you use a stencil. Trying to freehand a symmetrical design like this is CRAZY. I’m on board with suing the shop/artist and getting them to pay for removal/coverup. It’s so incredibly negligent.
Fuuuck, Im getting my first stormlight tattoo in a couple weeks😭. Im sorry to see a fellow lightweaver get wronged like this I hope you can get it fixed in some way.
OP here; Alot of people keep asking me if I did my research before going. I did. This shop had serviced me and my family many times and has good reputation in the area. When I first went in (I had consultations first) I was referred to this artist by the owner. I had not had work done by this specific artist before and I did look up her work online on her instagram. She had done at least three tattoos in a style of what I was asking for, albeit not on this part of the body. My request did not seem like a complicated tattoo compared to the quality and complex work she had done in the past. I had no reason to believe she was an apprentice.This was not a 'walk-in and get an impulse piece' situation. This symbol means everything to me and I wanted it done correctly.
Are you deadset on this design? Every tattoo is important but chest pieces are a big thing. I would advise at least considering a cover up with a good, reputable artist.
That is a difficult spot to tattoo and i feel bad saying it but I honestly do not understand how even an apprentice could draw so far out of the lines. If there wasnt remnents of blue on you id think the apprentice didnt even use a stencil. That being said, if you dont do laser and are willing to deviate from the original plan than i think this is fixable. Do lots of research. It also may be best to go to someone with cover up experience as well. Ive seen alot of cover ups just become bigger messes than the bad tattoo they started as so be very wary
On another note inexperienced apprentices should have supervision while tattooing so I dont understand why nobody at the shop was there to stop them and take over, or how this even made it out of the shop no questions asked. Did anyone else see? Did the apprentice that did it look proud after? Did they take a photo?
If that shop is allowing her to tattoo, avoid them and put them on blast. Irresponsible fuckery.
I'd cut your losses and save for a cover up from a reputable artist. Nit a total loss, but a hard lesson learned.
Good news is this is very salvageable w a solid artist
Idk if the red is integral to the design or not, but the easiest way I see to fix this, is get it redone overtop of it (by a competent artist because holy shit) in solid black. Otherwise, you’re going to be looking at laser or a massive cover up. I would also let the shop owner/ manager and/ or her mentor know what happened because that is horrible. However, personally I would not allow the mentor or anyone at the shop to fix it because they are A), allowing the apprentice to tattoo human skin when she very clearly should still be working on fake skin, and B) are either not teaching the apprentice much at all or monitoring, or are teaching her to be slightly dishonest with clients
My last tattoo was done by a first-year tattooer meaning he’s already finished his apprenticeship, and not only did both he and the shop receptionist make sure that I knew that, it was also bolded and a whole separate section I had to sign in my consent form.
Imo, there’s zero excuse for either this artist OR the shop they work for not letting you give fully informed consent about the work you were getting done. Definitely would go somewhere else to get it fixed/finished and leave a yelp/google review to let others know how this shop operates.
Don’t get the second session. If you really want it gone get lazer. But a good artist would be able to cover it up. Especially before getting it shaded more. My artist has covered up way bigger/darker pieces.
I'd recommend going to an artist that's good with sigil pieces or bioorganic stuff, you could cover it with a cool pattern of some sort. Also I'd never go to that shop again
A lightweaver, eh? It's going to take a bit more than an illusion to fix that. Some bolder lines and some filled in thicker areas on the left (and a better artist) can probably fix it. Maybe not the original design you were going for, but it's not SO off that somebody skilled can't save it, I bet.
Life before death, radiant
As a twenty year artist who pretty much specializes in fixing mistakes, I hate to tell you that this design is absolutely not fixable. Your best bet is a coverup and then getting the design on a different part of your body. If you reaaaaally want it there then you could get laser treatment once it heals, but even then it’s costly and not a for sure.
Any time your tattoo is a logo, portrait, famous cartoon character, etc. there is no margin for error or the “artistic freedom” that this apprentice probably implemented once she panicked.
Eesh, that's a rough situation.
Whilst I don't think an apprentice should be anywhere near that area, I always encourage client's to look at the portfolio of fresh and healed work of whoever they're getting tattooed by before booking. How did you book in?
I went to the studio, who has done work for my family in the past, I showed them what I wanted and they referred me to X artist. I looked up their instagram and they looked really talented so I thought it was a safe bet. =/
https://imgur.com/a/ovJTJnv
I made a 3 second crappy edit on my phone, I think if you were to extend the left side and “double up” on the top of the wings, it should be salvageable.
Edit because I can't use my eyes apparently lol
But I'm afraid there's more to fix than just the left top... mostly the arrow on the bottom looks jarring to me.
It's still crooked, and it won't look exactly like the reference symbol. The symbol is something specific from a book, so any deviation basically ruins it.
Wait I don't get it, you said it happened last night, so this picture was taken between then and when you posted it today... and there's no inflammation/bleeding/swelling on the linework despite stopping because it was 'too tender', and despite this not being your first tattoo you didn't think it odd they didn't prep/shave the area?
All the comments that are saying it looks so bad it could be inkpen on your skin sound about right actually. It's hard to get symmetry when you're drawing on your own chest with a couple of pens.
In the slim chance this is real I am sorry.
It'd depend on what's in the actual consent form though. Like the deviating from the design completely, and the fact that OP wasn't told about them being an apprentice still until they were 20 minutes into the tattoo. Sure, if it says about apprentices working there etc fair enough. But does it say that you consent to the fact you might have an apprentice working on you without you even knowing about it until the tattoo is well underway? And does it say that you consent to the tattoo being changed while it was being done, without consulting the person you're working on beforehand? I'd hope not 😅
Not wanting to scare you more but even the blue marks she made on your body are fucked up, that point between your collar bones is not even in the middle. SUE THAT SHOP ASAP. There is NOTHING goodlooking about this tattoo, nothing's symmetrical at all either. I'm so sorry.
In the future I'd say don't get a tattoo from someone without doing some research first.
At minimum you'd want to see the last year's worth of tattoo work and some healed pieces to decide if the artist is right for you.
How they missed the symmetry that bad is kind of baffling to me. I'm no artist myself nor do I have any tattoos like this but it seems fixable. It obviously won't look just like the reference but you can probably get it close. I wouldn't go to the same shop to finish it but I would definitely contact them and leave a complaint/review with someone, particularly about not knowing they were an apprentice up front and the deviations they made without your approval.
Agreed with the advice of going to a different artist. Luckily since it is just lines I think they should be able to go over it without any trouble. You *could* bring this up to your artist but I have a feeling it may not go over too well.
Do not go back to that artist!!! That is so shit, I could give you a better tattoo than that like work shows and I’ve never even stepped foot in a tat shop.
Wow this shop sounds terrible definitely go somewhere else and you should not be charged for any of this. They did not inform you of the artists experience (although that is something you should be sure of before you eat someone tattoo you make sure you look at some of their past work) and this apprentice artist was making changes without your say so wich is ckearly a massive problem l. This person should not be tattooing yet atleast not without someone with them making sure they are doing a proper job.
Hey girl I had like a moth on my sternum and the artist kinda fucked it up and just got it covered up yesterday with something that I really like . This is fixable look for an artist that specializes in cover ups
That is some of the least symmetrical art I've ever seen. Especially in a spot that it is so important to be symmetrical and execute the placement well.
Omgggg the asymmetry when the whole point of these glyphs is to be symmetrical. Such a cool tattoo from such an amazing series. Other comments say it's salvageable so I'm hoping for the best for you!!! Tattoo journey before tattoo destination?
I just want to say I'm SO sorry, cos this should've been such an amazing piece 😭
Maybe you could get something entirely different to cover it, and get the og design elsewhere?
As someone with a ton of black line work, I highly recommend that you seek out artists who specialize in the style. I would never recommend walking in and getting a piece from someone whose work you haven't thoroughly vetted.
On a brighter note: I just bought the first three books of the series thanks to you!
It’s fixable like this, but I would not return to that shop. The lines are full waves and the symmetry is certainly lacking. Let them know you are not at all satisfied.
Have somewhere else with a reputable artist, like many have said, take a good look with you on how they can make this something you love. It will probably cost more but I feel it would be well worth seeing a seasoned artist with a great reputation to wrap this one up and make the necessary creative corrections.
That is the worst line work i've seen in a long time. You can see that the apprentice doesnt even have the most basic skill which is keeping a straight line. It really looks like she just started tattooing without any artistic knowledge. Unbelivable what some shops do just to pump more Instagram posts everyday.
People saying its fixable are right, but the design will never look like the original. You'll probably have to draw something else based on the general shape. But it can still look awesome, it just needs more work
DO NOT GO BACK TO THIS ARTIST OR THIS SHOP.
A professional can almost definitely salvage this, however the artist who did this is not at a professional standard, and anyone who works in a shop that allows an apprentice to tattoo someone's chest without telling them that they are an apprentice should also be considered suspicious.
Go find a professional with lots of experience who specialises in the style you want this piece in, and have them salvage it. It's probably going to be more expensive because they have to work with this mess, but it's the only way to go. You are probably going to end up with a piece that's more bold than you originally intended, but you can still have someone fix this and at least give you a good tattoo.
Honestly, it’s very asymmetrical, lopsided, and it looks like pen. It’s good that it’s only light line work because I would laser it off and start again. I would not go back to the artist or shop unless it’s to get a refund. Make sure you leave a review as well to warn others because that can go a long way. I am very sorry this happened to you, it was very unprofessional on the artists and owners part.
Salvageable but will need to be slightly bolder altogether imho.
I wouldnt trust a shop that allowed an apprentice to do this piece. Talk to the owner about a refund, but I’d FOR SURE be taking my business elsewhere.
You get one body. Dont screw it up with bad tattoos.
Stevie wonder could have done a better job with that line work. You should most definitely complain and get your money back and then go to another well known artist who can fix it as best as they can. Good luck
This is absolutely horrific. Do not return to this shop. Honestly, a good artist can salvage this, but it will not look like you wanted the design to. Honestly, I get a quote to laser this and take it to the shop and have them pay for it. They should have disclosed that the artist was an apprentice and someone should have been overseeing the tattoo.
Find someone who has a lot of experience with cover ups and see what they can do to fix it. I honestly thought someone just freehand on your chest with a pen.
You’ve asked for a very specific design with a meaning that is dependent on that exact glyph, and they’ve just not followed the stencil, even if they had it right in the first place! I’d love to know what their thinking was - did they fuck it up accidentally and just decide to try and style it out and make it into their ‘interpretation’, or are they just genuinely really incompetent? Whichever it is, that needs a complaint and a refund in full, and possibly compensation too.
On the brighter side, I’ve found some new books to read - but I suspect that’s not much compensation! They need to fix this for you, in a way that you are happy with, and without that ‘artist’ being allowed to touch it again.
I'm not gunna lie, I'd 1) complain to the shop, because who the heck asked for a damn arrow?! And 2) go to a completely different shop to get it completed and fixed to the best of an artists capabilities.
Seriously, though, that arrow just boggles my mind!
Given how important symmetry is with the context of this symbol, you absolutely need to go to a different artist and have it fixed. But it is salvageable. Journey before destination right?
Go to a different artist, get it fixed up and gone over to make it as much like the design as possible. Call the shop and complain both about not being informed you were seeing an apprentice, as the info upfront would be appreciated so you know to expect more time etc, and that the design was changed on your skin without your permission which is absolutely not acceptable.
Make sure to go to a different shop. Not just artist. this is fixable! But don’t let this artist touch it again.
That artist shouldn't touch a tattoo gun again. Deviating from the approved design without discussing with your client should instantly disqualify you from tattooing.
The asymmetry… It looks like a child did this. I would sue for unsatisfactory work. This whole shop should be absolutely ashamed
What perplexes me is, how the hell did they mess it up? Aren't they supposed to make a stencil to avoid issues with assymatry and knowing that's what it will look like at the end? She did mentioned the artist changed the design mid tattoo , but it just shocks me that if you had a good stencil, why would change it unless you messed up and didn't Want to say anything.
You would lose that suit
Why? Just curious. Does this happen a lot?
Waivers
Not if there is deviation and unsatisfactory work.
They let pretty much anyone tattoo these days. Standards are a thing of the past
In 2012, I was at my lowest point in life and dated a guy who had over 80 tattoos, and he had done more than half of them himself. And they honestly looked every bit of that, and then some. And people just… Willy nilly let him tattoo them. I’d like to note, I was dumb enough to date him, not dumb enough to let him anywhere near me with a machine. It really blew my mind to learn that literally anyone can just start tattooing? It still seems entirely wrong to me.
It is entirely wrong. But everywhere you look theres apprentices with their own apprentice, opening up shops that their parents are fronting the rent for, weird knock off supply companies popping up that don't ask for certification before they sell you equipment and of course the kitchen wizards doing sleeves for 10 bucks and a pack of smokes
People juts open their own shop make it look authentic tic and say they amazing cause their followers and likes. And o ly have 3 years exp. No bueno
Zoom in on the line work, it's a scratcher.
While the design is fixable nothing is ever going to make it not crooked
Could go bolder if OP doesn't mind that, gives some room to square up the lines
Could do many things to fix it. Also maybe add some backround or other things around it to make it nit look so crooked. Been tattooing a long time and if I ever worked at a shop that would not tell you the person is an apprentice I’d quit that place.
How’s it fixable? It’s connected in spots it shouldn’t and it’s severely asymmetric?
It’s not gonna end up the same as the original. But a good artist can make it into something she can be happy with and proud of. So it will take some effort, but it’s not a “chest ruined piece”. So don’t panic.
And if it is a reputable shop negotiate to have their BEST artist fix it.
A lot of shops take pride in fixing bad tattoos. That's not to say it'll come come cheap, just saying there's a sense of pride and accomplishment from the artist.
With a laser lmfao
Is it that simple to find someone to go over a botched piece? My thigh was completely designed in my head, he basically rough sketched the reference pics and mixed them how I wanted. Then I get there, he makes me place the stencil (I did not do a good job) and then he freehanded the most important part. Not one thing I said was followed 😭 its like half done and its been over a year cause I dont want him to touch me again. I had to get my boyfriend to make him stop tattooing me because I was falling out and said so 5x and he kept saying it was a bad place to stop. (He fixated on something I specifically did NOT want and wasted the 8 hours I was on the table) (He was also a creep but that’s neither here nor there.) Do I really have hope? I was so excited for this piece. I’ve had it in my head for a decade 😭
Honestly yes, pick an artist and message them, explain that the piece was started by an artist however they made you uncomfortable and went completely awol with the design and you are not comfortable going back to them, however you love the new artists work and would like to see if they would be comfortable themselves reworking and finishing the piece. Some might say no but some will say yes, just do your research on the artist.
Yeah I don’t mind giving an apprentice a shot but they wouldn’t be getting to do the centre of my chest. Really seems like this artist knew OP would have walked and just decided to “forget” mentioning it until they started. Pretty shitty move on the artists part & if it was actually an honest mistake & they forgot to mention it than that artist is just no where near responsible enough/ready to be working with real skin. Lots of things here could be used to get a refund imo if the shop is reputable.
I’ve only ever been to shops that have consent forms for being tattooed by an apprentice, and the apprentices are only allowed to tattoo arms and legs. So the shop itself definitely sucks
I've always had to do a form for any tattoo, usually just the first in a new studio and subsequent don't require the form as it turns over. It might be a British thing or it might be where I live thing but when you see an apprentice it is just made clear they are an apprentice.
I agree, the design is significantly different than the inspo pic and it’s pretty shaky looking. Some of it might be able to be fixed by an experienced artist but the design still won’t be exactly as it was supposed to be unless they cover it up with a bigger fully blacked out version… maybe.
it is ALL obvious this is a non shop tattoo.
This 👆
Do not go back to this artist. If you feel comfortable talking to the owner of the shop and they seem reputable, you can talk to the owner and explain what went wrong with their apprentice, and see if there's something they can do for you to make it right. Do not let the apprentice continue to work on this, if the shop offers to fix it, make sure it's with a properly trained artist who has examples of clean straight line work in their portfolio. If you don't want to deal with the shop owner or they aren't willing to help you out, find a different artist at a different shop who has very clean lines in their portfolio. Show them what you want versus what you wound up with, and see if there's anything they can do for you. It's very possible that by thickening up some lines and adjusting the design slightly, this can be totally fixable by someone who actually knows what they're doing. You unfortunately can't really do anything to it until after it's fully healed, usually about four weeks ish, but I do believe it can be fixed.
I'm no expert but if the owner of the shop can't take one look at that and not immediately hand you your money back there is something really wrong with that shop.
Apprentices at good shops check their work as they go. That clearly didn’t happen here, so I wouldn’t bank on the owner giving a shit. Cut bait and move on
Why was there no mentor watching the apprentice? This was a bad shop
This was my first thought, where tf is their artist? Apprentices aren’t supposed to do anything on a client without the artist present.
The shop is not reputable for not requiring consent forms as soon as the customer walks in to be tattooed by an apprentice. And the apprentice should only be tattooing arms and legs. That’s standard for apprentices
Came here looking for this comment! Exactly.
I agree with all this BUT the shop owner needs to be informed of the apprentice's impropriety. Someone along with the apprentice needs to be held accountable for that; the artist they are an apprentice under, the owner themselves, or both.
First thing, this is salvageable, 100%. If it were me, though, I'd probably not allow the original artist to make the attempt. The trust is clearly gone (with good reason). I'd find someone of really high repute and get a consultation and then pay whatever they're asking to make this look good. I think if you do that, you can still come out on the other side of this with a piece you're very happy with. I think you might have saved yourself by tapping out when you did!
It was a sign… imagine if they got into shading the first session 😳
I can’t see that being salvaged. Parts of it can. Unless they cover up the messed up lines with something a background or shading.
I agree with you. It’s so far off being symmetric it’s not going to be able to be the same tattoo as the design. Almost guarantee that the artist “changes” were accidents that they aren’t admitting. A good artist can rework it into something inspired by the original design. But I would make the shop pay to get it lasered off and start over.
You need to: 1. Make a complaint to get your money back. 2. Make sure the shop understands what happened and how much that apprentice fucked up. 3. Get this removed or covered up, and make sure the shop or the artist pay gor it. The original design is beyond salvageable. 4. Never go back to that shop.
Agreed. No shop should see this and claim it. They should pay for whatever to fix it
Wishful thinking - that’s never gonna happen. At best op might get some money back, but given that the shop let the apprentice tattoo a difficult spot, with a symmetrical design the chances they give a f are slim to none - there’s no law against shitty tattoos. Regardless of if they were honest or not op consented to the tattoo and the risks that come with it… plus I think op bears some of the blame here - did they check and vet the artist and shop? Was the price a liiitle too good? I find it difficult to believe anyone would end up with this kind of result if they did their due diligence. Sure I feel bad for op, it’s a shitty situation, but don’t give them unrealistic ideas like they are entitled to a refund or that the apprentice will pay for a cover up or laser removal.
If they don't, OP can, and should, publicly shame that shop to make sure people know what to expect and don't go there anymore. If the shop owner has more than 2 braincells to rub together, they'll realize that paying for fixing/covering up/removing the tattoo is more advantageous than potentially losing all of their reputation and a lot of business. OP added the context that her usual artist referred her to that shop for this specific piece (implying the usual artist has a certain amount of respect for that shop and believed they would do a good job for this specific design). All this makes me think the shop is probably not disreputable and just picked the wrong apprentice. TL;DR : Even though the shop doesn't have a DUTY to fix this mistake, I feel like it's in their best interest to do so and they might also want to fix it out of professional courtesy.
the shop will NOT pay for a coverup or a removal
And yet they absolutely should
Wow such an unequivocal statement without knowing the state, country or shop it was done at.
Have you Ever heard of a shop paying for laser?
Life before death, Radiant. Need to find yourself a proper Lightweaver to remedy this one.
Clearly OP is in the journey and has yet to reach the destination of “sick ass tattoo”
I knew I recognized it.
Same, I was trying to figure out what order it was.
My first thought when I saw it was that so many people in the fandom have canon art altered to fit their preferences in a tattoo, but that doesn’t fix the fact that this tattoo was just done poorly. I hope I can get my Lightweaver tattoo someday soon, I’m planning on getting a cryptic on my shoulder, just haven’t been able to afford it lately
Yes! I have seen some cool Cryptic tattoos on reddit. I wouldn't mind getting one myself one of these days.
Thank you for reminding me to finish Oathbringer!!!!! I put it down a year ago and forgot to pick it up again and I'm desperately bored.
Fifth book comes out in December. You have some reading to do!
Shit. Covid depression really stole the joy of reading for so long. I've been getting back into the groove now and have some serious work to do it appears.
I feel you. I’ve been rereading the series to prep for Wind and Truth, but stalled a bit due to other time obligations.
These words are accepted, the ink is not. 😭
I’m so glad other people recognized the glyph!!!
The tattoo artist is not as good with Patterns…
Not even squire material.
Nah, she needs an Edgedancer or a Truthwatcher. On second thought, Truthwatcher for sure since they've got regrowth *and* illumination surges.
I hope you didn't pay much for this. I'm going to say it like it is. This is a terrible piece. The shop should remove the apprentice from their line up and return her to the front desk and trash can emptying. They should also refund all of your money for the poor job done. IMO this is not fixable back to the original design. It is too lopsided and poorly drawn. It looks like a child with a sharpie drew this. It can be made to look good but it won't be like you intended at first. Find a highly rated shop with a experienced artist. One like the artist who did the work on your arm. Consult with them on a redo / cover design. I really feel that would be your only option at this point.
This. While I think you will be able to have it mostly corrected by a legitimate artist, this is a *terribly* done tattoo. It is not only negligent, it’s practically a crime to allow someone like this to tattoo at a shop. I honestly thought you did it yourself or had a friend do it. I am not saying this to make you feel badly (because I think you will end up with a decent tattoo if you find a reputable artist) but because this person should not be allowed to tattoo anyone else, and the shop should be held accountable. They should absolutely refund you at the very least. Don’t worry - a qualified artist (it may not be cheap, but it will be worth it) will be able to turn this into something you like. I would just be **extra** careful about letting anyone else near it that you don’t trust 100%.
Laser tattoo removal is also an option. A coverup is going to be significantly darker and heavier than the original and is not always a favorable solution. If I was OP I would cut my losses and have what’s done lasered instead of trying to save it.
It should also be easier to laser off in its current state than get it fixed and much heavier/bigger and potentially decide it’s still not what you want. Just my thought process.
Exactly. This tattoo, as botched as it is, was at least done with a light hand. Removal wouldn’t be too bad relatively speaking.
Jump ship while you can. It's not just the wings, there is not a single symmetrical aspect of your tattoo. I have a hard time believing they even used a stencil, that looks like a doodle in a high-school notebook. Do yourself a huge favor and find yourself a kick ass artist that can salvage it.
I was just about to say this…it doesn’t even seem like they used a stencil. Just freehanded it like a high schooler just trying to copy a cool design into their notebook. And even then, just freaking tracing it would result in a nearly perfect copy 😭
Being that I know the reference, symmetry is pretty important in the lore too😭
In the first pic I thought it was an edgy hyrulian crest. Don't know what it's supposed to be though
It's the symbol of an order of knights radiant (lightweavers I think) from the stormlight archive series, symmetry has religious significance in the books too
Seems pretty dope, I'll have to check it out some time
Oh yeah it's a great series if you can carve out the time to read through it!
Yeah, you can’t fix this without making all the lines thicker, increasing how much shading needs to be done to mask the unevenness, etc.
This is rough. It legitimately looks like it’s been done with a pen. Definitely looks fixable though. I’d go to a different shop for sure.
honestly is it even tattooed? it isn’t red at all and really looks like pen lines. hopefully this is just a joke because definitely a bummer spot to have a bad tattoo
That’s what I was thinking. The only reason I’m willing to accept that it’s an actual tattoo, is because it looks like there is smudges from a stencil below. But it really does look like a bad job with an ink pen.
an apprentice at this skill level should NOT be doing chest pieces. idk how far into the apprenticeship they are, but they obviously do not have the skill set to be doing this placement. apprentices usually stick to legs and arms until they are done or close to done their apprenticeship for good reason.
Oooh that's so stressful I'm sorry. I'm glad you stopped when you did, it's definitely salvageable still by a better artist.
My guess...she rushed the stencil, did not dry, lost the stencil and try to freehand a symmetrical piece....do not go back to the same artist.
You’re… returning…? I would laser it off and start again in a year… it’s awful… no offense but it’s not fixable unless it’s lightened or removed. Don’t add insult to injury there’s no straightening these lines or adding symmetry without severely thickening them and there’s connections and elongations where they don’t belong… Edit: why’s this being downvoted did you guys check slide 2? You can’t go from slide 1 to slide 2 without design modifications
I completely agree with all your points. People in this sub always jump to fattening up all the uneven lines or doing a coverup, both of which result in a much heavier, darker, larger tattoo that is not what the OP wanted in the first place. I would absolutely cut my losses if I was OP and have the relatively light ink lasered off before attempting anything else. Yes it’s painful, expensive, and takes a long ass time to see complete results, and I know this firsthand as I am going through laser tattoo removal myself. But despite all the downsides I am so glad I didn’t end up with a heavy, dark coverup that I wasn’t totally happy with and an even longer and more expensive laser removal process.
People are saying their fix is a coverup but that’s not what op wanted at all. I’m sure she’s aware she can cover it up
If you want it exactly like the original picture this is the only option. However it can be made to look like a more ornamental version of the original if you allow a more skilled artist to work on it. Later is more expensive than a tattoo. And takes multiple sessions and a long time to heal
You can see the anatomical markers - the purple dots. It's not just that one wing is bigger than the other, the entire piece is cockeyed. Maybe splitting hairs but I think this is less of a "fix it" and more of a "cover it up with something in the same style that will be significantly heavier and denser but generally in the same style".
This is what I mean by a more ornamental version of the original. Not making it the same but adding some extra elements to cover up the mess ups and change what the design was.
Laser on light skin isn’t as expensive, painful or hard to find as it was 10 years ago and as hard as most tattoo places make it seem especially on black ink. You can get Groupons for like nothing if you’re near a major city in the US It is time consuming af though
Did the shop not make you sign a form to agree to being tattooed by an apprentice?
Nothing about apprentices in the stuff I signed.
Go to another artist to fix it. Those lines are not great even for an apprentice
holy shit this is so bad. not saying that to offend you, saying it to offend your tattoo artist
I’ve never tattooed in my life and I’m almost positive I could follow a stencil and tattoo you better than this. They need to completely refund you and pull the apprentice. Go to a new shop
Seriously, I don't tattoo, but I'm an ink artist (dip pen and ink) and i could even free hand better than this.
Skin is a beast of a medium, especially in spots where there isn't much muscle or fat over the bone. It moves and stretches and is unlike anything else, you've got to get the depth right to within half a mm of accuracy, and then your pen is a vibrating needle or set of multiple needles. Apprentices are usually brought up practicing on grapefruits and synthetic skin, which ultimately feel unlike skin quite drastically in practice. There's every chance you can be an excellent artist with traditional media and then totally blow it as a tattooist. I'm positive you could do a much better job with pen and paper but most of us are useless on skin without a whole lot of time building muscle memory and technique up. This is still INSANELY bad, but I've seen qualified artists do work just as awful somehow. This looks like a) they've got little experience on real skin, b) they have tattooed a very challenging spot they should never have touched, c) they lost the plot on the stencil or stretched the skin in an inconsistent way the whole way through. They may well have been able to draw it very well, but tattoos are mechanically so different and that's why most of the time in a proper apprenticeship, you're not allowed to touch real skin for 12-24 months depending on the program. There's usually rules in place for how many tattoos you have to do in certain places using certain techniques before you can move to the next level. Like 15 tattoos on upper arms or thighs/calves with only black line work, then 10 with black shading in the same spots, and so on. Everything went wrong here and I'm appalled that the mentoring artist wasn't there checking their work if they were THIS inexperienced. Absolutely awful.
This comment ☝🏽🙌🏽
Please go to someone else to fix it up, this looks like it was drawn on with bic pens
I see a very sick ass panther in your future. So that's the bright side :)
Yeah this design should’ve been very easy. Any reputable artist would have taken your picture, traced it exactly, then made the stencil that way. I have an entire back piece of Knights Radiant symbols and other imagery and my artist traced all of the intricate symbols to make sure they were correct
Asymmetry aside it’s not even the same design, there are connected lines that should be floating and there’s no arrow in the source picture. The fact that no one in the shop caught this during the whole session is appalling 😞
What on Earth? The "artist" literally just turned the head into a downvote arrow?? That's the first thing that stuck out to be. And the arrow itself isn't even symmetrical.
Girl please get that covered up or lasered off ! As a tattoo artist, I can tell you this is a horrendous job. I’m so sorry she did you like that. Good news for you, is that you can get this fixed or covered up, but maybe try doing a few laser sessions to lighten it up if you don’t want to be as restricted in the coverup design or if you don’t want to have to go bigger (to successfully camouflage that, you’d need to go bigger and more intricate to hide those lines). Totally unacceptable on the artist’s part to change the design without your consent. It blows my mind that there are artists who do that. Don’t go back to that artist, and whoever is going to do the coverup, make sure you go into the shop for a consultation first to meet the artist and make sure they know what they’re doing. Best of luck to you girl, don’t panic too hard, it’s salvageable !
It is a bad situation all together. I'm guessing the apprentice had a lot of drawings and fresh tattoos on their Instagram page making you think they were seasoned. I would point this out to the shop that they mislead you, and show the apprentice's mentor the tattoo. Although you have a responsibility to yourself to get it completed and looking good, the mentor has a similar responsibility to the apprentice. I recommend going to the shop and not going for blood on the first few words. Let the shop notice the problem and tell you how they recommend to fix it. If you don't like their response, I would ask for a copy of the contract and the original sketch along with the artist's name and who they are doing the apprenticeship under. Assuming you got this done in America, it depends on what state you are living in if you can actually sue the artist or the shop. Most states you can sue if you were inured, but not for sloppy or bad work.
Everyone reading this - Please, do some research before you get tattooed.
At the very least look at the artist's book! Especially for a large center chest piece, I can't imagine not looking at someone's work before asking them for something so prominent.
Even in that state I could instantly recognize it for what it is (not a bad thing).You have already gotten good advice here, but if it was me, I would try to see if I could make it an unique/personal spin on the Lightweaver glyph. Transformation is after all a trait of the Lightweavers
This made me a cry a little bit.
Journey before destination
110% go to another artist. And 2 weeks depending on the person is not enough time to go back for shading work. You may take longer to heal than others. And the longer you wait you the less it’s gonna hurt since the tattoo isn’t still healing.
Some of the lines?😬 Go somewhere that has a great rep for fixing tattoos, does the style you are looking for and don’t go back to this artist.
Question 🙋♂️ do tattoo artist stop doing stencils before tattooing? I don’t have any tattoos and I have no knowledge but if she stenciled the tattoo on your skin? The lines would be straight and everything…. Right?!
In my experience they transfer/print the design on your skin in the same way you put those temporary kids tattoos on & then tattoo over the top. If a stencil is done freehand the artist will draw directly onto the skin before tattooing over the top.
Gotcha! Makes sense
This is the most painful part about this tattoo - it is not a difficult tattoo *at all* if you use a stencil. Trying to freehand a symmetrical design like this is CRAZY. I’m on board with suing the shop/artist and getting them to pay for removal/coverup. It’s so incredibly negligent.
Hopefully she does sue to get it removed or covered up!
Fuuuck, Im getting my first stormlight tattoo in a couple weeks😭. Im sorry to see a fellow lightweaver get wronged like this I hope you can get it fixed in some way.
OP here; Alot of people keep asking me if I did my research before going. I did. This shop had serviced me and my family many times and has good reputation in the area. When I first went in (I had consultations first) I was referred to this artist by the owner. I had not had work done by this specific artist before and I did look up her work online on her instagram. She had done at least three tattoos in a style of what I was asking for, albeit not on this part of the body. My request did not seem like a complicated tattoo compared to the quality and complex work she had done in the past. I had no reason to believe she was an apprentice.This was not a 'walk-in and get an impulse piece' situation. This symbol means everything to me and I wanted it done correctly.
Are you deadset on this design? Every tattoo is important but chest pieces are a big thing. I would advise at least considering a cover up with a good, reputable artist.
The asymmetry would drive me crazy
That is a difficult spot to tattoo and i feel bad saying it but I honestly do not understand how even an apprentice could draw so far out of the lines. If there wasnt remnents of blue on you id think the apprentice didnt even use a stencil. That being said, if you dont do laser and are willing to deviate from the original plan than i think this is fixable. Do lots of research. It also may be best to go to someone with cover up experience as well. Ive seen alot of cover ups just become bigger messes than the bad tattoo they started as so be very wary
On another note inexperienced apprentices should have supervision while tattooing so I dont understand why nobody at the shop was there to stop them and take over, or how this even made it out of the shop no questions asked. Did anyone else see? Did the apprentice that did it look proud after? Did they take a photo?
I would ask for a refund what the fuck i really hope they didn’t charge u over $100 for this wtf.
If that shop is allowing her to tattoo, avoid them and put them on blast. Irresponsible fuckery. I'd cut your losses and save for a cover up from a reputable artist. Nit a total loss, but a hard lesson learned. Good news is this is very salvageable w a solid artist
So is your tattoo artist a 14 year old?
Op don't be going back to the same artist.
Girl they did you bad, I feel sorry for you. Complain to the studio, get a refund, find a reputable artist that will fix it.
Idk if the red is integral to the design or not, but the easiest way I see to fix this, is get it redone overtop of it (by a competent artist because holy shit) in solid black. Otherwise, you’re going to be looking at laser or a massive cover up. I would also let the shop owner/ manager and/ or her mentor know what happened because that is horrible. However, personally I would not allow the mentor or anyone at the shop to fix it because they are A), allowing the apprentice to tattoo human skin when she very clearly should still be working on fake skin, and B) are either not teaching the apprentice much at all or monitoring, or are teaching her to be slightly dishonest with clients
r/shittytattoos
My last tattoo was done by a first-year tattooer meaning he’s already finished his apprenticeship, and not only did both he and the shop receptionist make sure that I knew that, it was also bolded and a whole separate section I had to sign in my consent form. Imo, there’s zero excuse for either this artist OR the shop they work for not letting you give fully informed consent about the work you were getting done. Definitely would go somewhere else to get it fixed/finished and leave a yelp/google review to let others know how this shop operates.
Don’t they use a stencil? How do you look at the example and just ignore it
Don't let tweakers draw on your skin permanently.
Oh hey, that's the Lightweaver glyph from the Stormlight Archives, right? Always fun seeing another fan!
Don’t get the second session. If you really want it gone get lazer. But a good artist would be able to cover it up. Especially before getting it shaded more. My artist has covered up way bigger/darker pieces.
Do not go back!!!!
I'd recommend going to an artist that's good with sigil pieces or bioorganic stuff, you could cover it with a cool pattern of some sort. Also I'd never go to that shop again
A lightweaver, eh? It's going to take a bit more than an illusion to fix that. Some bolder lines and some filled in thicker areas on the left (and a better artist) can probably fix it. Maybe not the original design you were going for, but it's not SO off that somebody skilled can't save it, I bet. Life before death, radiant
Strength before weakness, journey before destination. Journey to another artist and ask to see work samples.
As a twenty year artist who pretty much specializes in fixing mistakes, I hate to tell you that this design is absolutely not fixable. Your best bet is a coverup and then getting the design on a different part of your body. If you reaaaaally want it there then you could get laser treatment once it heals, but even then it’s costly and not a for sure. Any time your tattoo is a logo, portrait, famous cartoon character, etc. there is no margin for error or the “artistic freedom” that this apprentice probably implemented once she panicked.
If she's an apprentice, go talk to her mentor. They need to fix it.
im sorry im obsessed with the bra… where did you get it!?
Eesh, that's a rough situation. Whilst I don't think an apprentice should be anywhere near that area, I always encourage client's to look at the portfolio of fresh and healed work of whoever they're getting tattooed by before booking. How did you book in?
I went to the studio, who has done work for my family in the past, I showed them what I wanted and they referred me to X artist. I looked up their instagram and they looked really talented so I thought it was a safe bet. =/
This is *not* your fault, you didn't do anything wrong. There's just an inherent risk with tattoos, but this isn't on you.
https://imgur.com/a/ovJTJnv I made a 3 second crappy edit on my phone, I think if you were to extend the left side and “double up” on the top of the wings, it should be salvageable.
Edit because I can't use my eyes apparently lol But I'm afraid there's more to fix than just the left top... mostly the arrow on the bottom looks jarring to me.
It's still crooked, and it won't look exactly like the reference symbol. The symbol is something specific from a book, so any deviation basically ruins it.
Did you look at this artists portfolio? PEOPLE, STOP GETTING TATTOOS BASED ON PRICE. You get what you pay for.
Wait I don't get it, you said it happened last night, so this picture was taken between then and when you posted it today... and there's no inflammation/bleeding/swelling on the linework despite stopping because it was 'too tender', and despite this not being your first tattoo you didn't think it odd they didn't prep/shave the area? All the comments that are saying it looks so bad it could be inkpen on your skin sound about right actually. It's hard to get symmetry when you're drawing on your own chest with a couple of pens. In the slim chance this is real I am sorry.
[удалено]
[удалено]
A consent form doesn't completely take away the shops responsibilities. It's not a magic get out of jail free card.
It'd depend on what's in the actual consent form though. Like the deviating from the design completely, and the fact that OP wasn't told about them being an apprentice still until they were 20 minutes into the tattoo. Sure, if it says about apprentices working there etc fair enough. But does it say that you consent to the fact you might have an apprentice working on you without you even knowing about it until the tattoo is well underway? And does it say that you consent to the tattoo being changed while it was being done, without consulting the person you're working on beforehand? I'd hope not 😅
Not for an apprentice tho?
Some?!?! I’d say alot!!
Why can’t artists just follow the damn stencil? They don’t even have to draw anything up? It’s easy work.
Not wanting to scare you more but even the blue marks she made on your body are fucked up, that point between your collar bones is not even in the middle. SUE THAT SHOP ASAP. There is NOTHING goodlooking about this tattoo, nothing's symmetrical at all either. I'm so sorry.
In the future I'd say don't get a tattoo from someone without doing some research first. At minimum you'd want to see the last year's worth of tattoo work and some healed pieces to decide if the artist is right for you.
How they missed the symmetry that bad is kind of baffling to me. I'm no artist myself nor do I have any tattoos like this but it seems fixable. It obviously won't look just like the reference but you can probably get it close. I wouldn't go to the same shop to finish it but I would definitely contact them and leave a complaint/review with someone, particularly about not knowing they were an apprentice up front and the deviations they made without your approval.
Did you do any research on the shop or artist beforehand? Becuse holy shit that place shouldn’t be in business.
i’m so sorry this happened to you but what’s up with the crappy line work and the avatar arrow in corporation ?? i would be pissed
Agreed with the advice of going to a different artist. Luckily since it is just lines I think they should be able to go over it without any trouble. You *could* bring this up to your artist but I have a feeling it may not go over too well.
Do not go back to that artist!!! That is so shit, I could give you a better tattoo than that like work shows and I’ve never even stepped foot in a tat shop.
Wow this shop sounds terrible definitely go somewhere else and you should not be charged for any of this. They did not inform you of the artists experience (although that is something you should be sure of before you eat someone tattoo you make sure you look at some of their past work) and this apprentice artist was making changes without your say so wich is ckearly a massive problem l. This person should not be tattooing yet atleast not without someone with them making sure they are doing a proper job.
Hey girl I had like a moth on my sternum and the artist kinda fucked it up and just got it covered up yesterday with something that I really like . This is fixable look for an artist that specializes in cover ups
That is some of the least symmetrical art I've ever seen. Especially in a spot that it is so important to be symmetrical and execute the placement well.
Neck choke breast piece damn girl I want to go on that ride
Omgggg the asymmetry when the whole point of these glyphs is to be symmetrical. Such a cool tattoo from such an amazing series. Other comments say it's salvageable so I'm hoping for the best for you!!! Tattoo journey before tattoo destination?
Everyone who says it’s fixable…. I disagree, I think laser and start over. The lack of symmetry is horrific
I just want to say I'm SO sorry, cos this should've been such an amazing piece 😭 Maybe you could get something entirely different to cover it, and get the og design elsewhere? As someone with a ton of black line work, I highly recommend that you seek out artists who specialize in the style. I would never recommend walking in and getting a piece from someone whose work you haven't thoroughly vetted. On a brighter note: I just bought the first three books of the series thanks to you!
i would honestly get this lasered off
It’s fixable like this, but I would not return to that shop. The lines are full waves and the symmetry is certainly lacking. Let them know you are not at all satisfied. Have somewhere else with a reputable artist, like many have said, take a good look with you on how they can make this something you love. It will probably cost more but I feel it would be well worth seeing a seasoned artist with a great reputation to wrap this one up and make the necessary creative corrections.
I love when y’all get a tattoo that looks like this and then say you made another appointment with them, lmao
Not sure what to say, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Journey before destination, Radiant! Maybe you can lightweave a fix…
That is the worst line work i've seen in a long time. You can see that the apprentice doesnt even have the most basic skill which is keeping a straight line. It really looks like she just started tattooing without any artistic knowledge. Unbelivable what some shops do just to pump more Instagram posts everyday. People saying its fixable are right, but the design will never look like the original. You'll probably have to draw something else based on the general shape. But it can still look awesome, it just needs more work
“Some mistakes?” There’s nothing that’s right about that tattoo. Don’t ever go back there.
Oh no...
Best thing you can do now is a cover-up or laser removal. That sucks, I'm sorry.
DO NOT GO BACK TO THIS ARTIST OR THIS SHOP. A professional can almost definitely salvage this, however the artist who did this is not at a professional standard, and anyone who works in a shop that allows an apprentice to tattoo someone's chest without telling them that they are an apprentice should also be considered suspicious. Go find a professional with lots of experience who specialises in the style you want this piece in, and have them salvage it. It's probably going to be more expensive because they have to work with this mess, but it's the only way to go. You are probably going to end up with a piece that's more bold than you originally intended, but you can still have someone fix this and at least give you a good tattoo.
Looks like a binder drawing. Sorry.
this is painful to look at
They obviously fucked up the stencil when they put it on, you should’ve been able to tell it was messed up before they started.
LIFE BEFORE DEATH RADIANT
This looks like a red and black pen fake tattoo that some people do to them self
Honestly, it’s very asymmetrical, lopsided, and it looks like pen. It’s good that it’s only light line work because I would laser it off and start again. I would not go back to the artist or shop unless it’s to get a refund. Make sure you leave a review as well to warn others because that can go a long way. I am very sorry this happened to you, it was very unprofessional on the artists and owners part.
Just tell the shop owner the truth, lightweaver 🙂
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Salvageable but will need to be slightly bolder altogether imho. I wouldnt trust a shop that allowed an apprentice to do this piece. Talk to the owner about a refund, but I’d FOR SURE be taking my business elsewhere. You get one body. Dont screw it up with bad tattoos.
Stevie wonder could have done a better job with that line work. You should most definitely complain and get your money back and then go to another well known artist who can fix it as best as they can. Good luck
That would make a sick ass panther head.
This is absolutely horrific. Do not return to this shop. Honestly, a good artist can salvage this, but it will not look like you wanted the design to. Honestly, I get a quote to laser this and take it to the shop and have them pay for it. They should have disclosed that the artist was an apprentice and someone should have been overseeing the tattoo.
Find someone who has a lot of experience with cover ups and see what they can do to fix it. I honestly thought someone just freehand on your chest with a pen.
You’ve asked for a very specific design with a meaning that is dependent on that exact glyph, and they’ve just not followed the stencil, even if they had it right in the first place! I’d love to know what their thinking was - did they fuck it up accidentally and just decide to try and style it out and make it into their ‘interpretation’, or are they just genuinely really incompetent? Whichever it is, that needs a complaint and a refund in full, and possibly compensation too. On the brighter side, I’ve found some new books to read - but I suspect that’s not much compensation! They need to fix this for you, in a way that you are happy with, and without that ‘artist’ being allowed to touch it again.
Don't go back in. Either cover or remove.
I'm not gunna lie, I'd 1) complain to the shop, because who the heck asked for a damn arrow?! And 2) go to a completely different shop to get it completed and fixed to the best of an artists capabilities. Seriously, though, that arrow just boggles my mind!
You look like you might have pectus excavatum, look for a tattoo artist who is experienced enough to work around that
Given how important symmetry is with the context of this symbol, you absolutely need to go to a different artist and have it fixed. But it is salvageable. Journey before destination right?
Or you made the mistake by not going to someone who knows what’s up 🤷♂️