I think it's time I came out with my tattoo cover-up story, that I have been (no pun intended) vaguely trying to cover-up. I've decided to stop being ashamed by it, and instead turn it into a lesson for myself, and a cautionary tale for others.
Now, for some disclaimers before we get into this. One, this is not some sort of attempt at getting anyone "cancelled" or "dragging." The artist and I did not communicate effectively, which led to misunderstandings. I will not be saying who the artist was, or be showing any of their work (other than my own tattoo). I do believe that the artist had the best of intentions; however, there were some red flags that I should have paid attention to that would have notified me that we were not the best match. I say match because I genuinely believe a good tattoo artist/customer relationship is fundamental for a successful piece. I will go into the red flags in a bit. For now, let's get on with the background story.
So, the beginning.
I found this tattoo artist on Instagram, by searching local artist hashtags. I scrolled through their feed and really liked their work, with a fairly new professional Instagram account. I didn't take that as a bad thing (which, for some, is arguably red flag numero uno).
The artist posted a few "flash" pieces for a bargain price. Flash, for those who do not know, are pieces that tattoo artists make, that are generally smaller and simpler, that they sell en-masse to several customers, for a cheaper price because they are pre-designed and can be pumped out faster. I really liked this artist's flash snake designs, and they were on sell for only $90 (which is cheap in tattoo world). I had honestly been wanting a snake tattoo for a while, and saw this as my chance to get one at a low cost (again, another red flag). The designs were minimalist, mainly line-work, with simple clean lines and no shading. Below, I found pieces similar to the flash examples they had posted (but none of these, of course, are the artist).
I really liked them, and for such a good price I decided to DM the artist and book an appointment.
The day came and I was stoked. I decided that I wanted the snake to look like it was slithering up my arm along the outer side. When I got there, we did the typical chat of them showing me the flash sketch, sizing it to my taste, and then placing it on my arm. In this moment, I did not realize that I needed to specify that I wanted exactly what the flash piece looked like, and no changes whatsoever. I, however, had thought that this was all assumed and redundant to mention. There was no further discussion of the appearance of the snake.
Once I had lay down and we began tattooing the snake, we of course had a conversation. We talked about many things, and I asked how they got into tattooing. They told me that they were self taught, and had bought their equipment online, and that their first "client" was their brother in their bedroom. They became more confident in their skills, and applied for a position at this tattoo shop, and got the job. They never went to school or went through an apprenticeship program. Some may disagree with me in saying that this part is a red flag, and although I do agree that we should not assume someone's skill level based off the possibility that they may have, perhaps, been unable access or afford a "proper" education, I do not believe that this fact is irrelevant to my story.
During this conversation, there were other things that I also should have seen as red flags. For example, they suggested that the tattoo artist that did my flower tattoo (whom I will talk about later) had ripped me off for the price that I paid for it, even though it was a commissioned and intricate piece. I also began to get a grasp of their experience level, as they told me that they had bought the equipment and began tattooing only a year ago. Again, red flag for me personally. I know that some might think it is narrow-minded of me to want exclusively well experienced tattoo artists, but I quite frankly believe that when it is something that is going to be on your body for the rest of your life, you have the right to be picky and exclusive. And not noticing ahead of time was my mistake entirely, and hindsight is 20/20, as I had noticed that their Instagram was pretty new, and therefore indicative of how long they had been working on folks, but I failed to make that connection.
I should mention that throughout this entire tattoo, on the back of my arm, I was lying face down on the table. I did not have a mirror up, nor was I checking in on the tattoo throughout the process. It was completely out of my vision. Again, mistake on my part.
When the tattoo was done, my skin was of course red, inflamed, and unhappy. The tattoo looked pretty good, and I was just excited to have it; however, looking at it was causing anxiety in the back of my mind, and I couldn't help but feel something was off. I tried my best to ignore it, but by the time the next day came around, I realized that it was different from what I wanted. I didn't like it. After staring at it in the mirror for some time, it dawned on me - it was shaded! Shaded throughout the entire snake, except the head oddly enough. This was completely different from the flash piece, the reference, and the stencil. Those pieces had absolutely no shading, and we never discussed shading. I was confused, and honestly panicking. This was something I had permanently put - on my body! Forever! Shit!
After unleashing this whirlwind of emotion onto my boyfriend, he suggested I DM the artist on Instagram. I finally did, and when they replied, their answer confused me. They told me not to worry, and that with the second skin on, the ink is leaking and moving around, looking smudged, and that it was normal for the ink to do that, and that they promise that once I take the wrapping off it would look like the references. Even though I had had a tattoo before and knew the process and knew what tattoos look like with the second skin on and the ink leaking, I tried to believe them.
Finally, the moment of truth. I took the second skin wrapping off every so slowly in the shower, and:
Boom. Shading... everywhere. My heart was sinking. I knew in this moment something was very wrong. I DM'd them again, and they tried to tell me that the ink will fade and not be so noticeable over time, and that they thought they had gone over with me that they were shading it, which I unfortunately do not recall. They felt terrible, and offered me a free tattoo to make up for me being unhappy with my first one. I did not take them up on this offer but appreciated them trying to make up for what had happened.
Days pass, eventually turning into weeks, and the reality was setting in. It was during this time, once it had healed, that I was noticing inconsistencies in the tattoos, and things I did not like.
For one, there were patches in the line-work and the shading that did not impress me. I found that many lines wavered in thickness, and that patches in the scales were present throughout the snake. The head size vs. the body's width ration was also something that bothered me, but again that very well could have been my mistake and not seeing it when it was on paper. I thought it kind of looked like a tadpole. As well, with the snake being all shaded, the blank head (which looked fine when the piece was just lines with no shading) looked odd and out of place. The poor guy was definitely in need of some help.
I understand that patches and line thickness inconsistencies can be caused by things outside of the tattoo artist's control i.e. the tattoo not healing properly, the client taking off the wrapping incorrectly, and even the thickness of the client's skin. However, after discussing the appearance with the tattoo artist that eventually fixed it, she came to the conclusion that the piece was done by someone without enough experience, placed on a difficult part of the arm with varying thickness of skin and bone/muscle. Essentially, it was just a bit too advanced.
So, what was I to do? I didn't really know, to be frank. I googled the costs of laser removal, but that was too expensive for me. Additionally, I didn't hate the placement of the tattoo or what it was meant to be, I just wasn't fond of the execution. I still wanted my damn snake tattoo!
- The inconsistent lines
- The patchy and uneven shading
- Wanting to add shading to the edges and along the curled sides to add dimension
- Putting detail in the face
- Is the nose properly shaped? Looks kind of like a sperm
- Add some belly? Add width?
- Flower? To make it nicer
To my even greater surprise, Mackenzie offered to do my cover-up! And on top of that, instead of putting me at the back of the waiting list, she took pity on my and offered to squeeze me in one evening, literally a week away. This to me was an absolute blessing, as I hated having to walk around with this deadass sperm on my arm. I couldn't have been more thrilled!
When the day came and I arrived, Mackenzie and I discussed my laundry list, and ways in which we could execute/fix them. She began drawing on my arm: we decided to change the shape of the snake head and make it more biologically accurate, we added a belly to the snake in order to create width and make it look more proportional, we added markings on the head to make it look less plain, we added shading to make the snake look more 3 Dimensional and to fix the patchiness, we agreed that the outlines needed to be gone over again to make them more consistent, and finally Mackenzie hand-drew little peonies around it to make it special again for me.
Mackenzie went hard at work on this little guy, reshaping him into the snake he deserved to be.
When it was finally done and her and I looked at him thoughtfully in a few mirrors, until we both agreed that he was done! I honestly could not have been happier with the end result; what started out as a major source of anxiety and shame, turned into a beautiful piece that I am beyond happy with. I am so incredibly thankful of Mackenzie and her kindness, fitting me into an evening when she didn't have to. She is truly a phenomenal artist, and a kind soul, who I would recommend to anyone in the Lower Mainland looking for a tattoo similar to her style. If you want her, book her now! Her books fill quickly.
And the best thing? The tattoo looked perfect when I removed the wrapping, and looks even better now fully healed.
So, what did we learn?
Firstly, trust your gut. If something feels off, or different, trust yourself and speak your mind. Second, set your ego aside and accept when you have made a mistake. Especially with something like a tattoo, ignoring it will not make it go away. Face the issue head-on, and come up with a game plan to fix it. Lastly, COMMUNICATE. I cannot emphasize this enough. Even if something seems too obvious, or too small of a detail, tell the tattoo artist absolutely everything you want. The style, line width, the shading, and even the shading style. Trust me when I say - you will regret assuming that you and the artist on the same page!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I hope sharing my story will educate and guide those who need it.
Share this with someone you know getting a tattoo!
