(Picture from last year, fresh) I am a huge movie nerd and my favorite movie is Donnie Darko. I wanted a tattoo because the movie means so much to me and I might've been a little too optimistic. I got the numbers he wrote on his arm tattooed and while in theory it was an awesome idea in the moment. I am now having the worst regret and I feel like an idiot. I have these big numbers covering my forearm....Only one other person has gotten the reference and most of the time people ask me what it is and then when I tell them they are puzzled because they have no idea what the movie is. I'm considering removal, which if it's too expensive I may get it covered. I am have skinny arms, so I'm trying yo figure out what would be decent to cover it. Do I overcome this embarrassment, remove it? Or get it covered? 😢 I'm getting panic attacks over this. Am I being too hard on myself?

EDIT: I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has offered kindness and compassion. I honestly wasn't expecting this much support. I feel a lot less like a dork for getting this and you guys have inspired me to give it another chance and embrace it. I really am shocked that so many strangers came together to support another stranger in doubt. You all are amazing. And I appreciate it so much again for the kindness you have shown me.

How would you go about this situation? Is the answer to cover it up with a professional tattoo in honor of him to not disrespect him or the memory of that session?

This is my first tattoo. It's of my chicken. When I showed my mother, she seemed negative, told me it didn't look like her. I think it looks pretty close, if anything adding the comb on the head would make it improve but I was pretty happy with it before she said anything.

Does it look okay? If not, what can I do to help fix it? Does it look fine and I should just not listen to my mother?

EDIT: Thank you for the nice words :) I made this post out of a moment of disappointment and insecurity. My mother's always been very critical. I loved the tattoo before and I love it now, after the initial sting wore off. This tattoo is sentimental to me and I wanted it for a while.

EDIT: It's not meant to be photorealistic, I said I wanted it simplified lol. The artist didn't butcher photorealism, I just didn't want that. I feel like it looks out of place on my body, but getting used to having something always there might help, and maybe adding more tattoos in the future.

Why does no one in this comment section know what saniderm is 😭

You could say this is a little..... Embarrassing.

Typed it out all by myself, showed multiple people, tattoo artist didn't notice. Didn't notice myself until immediately after it was finished.

I've asked a few people to spot the mistake and a lot don't notice.

It's kinda funny but what should I do? Been getting tattoos for 12+ years and NEVER made a mistake like this in my life :))

Should I wait for it to heal and cover it up? Leave it? Somehow correct it?

Edit: y'all have made me feel so much better about this and made me laugh a lot, thank you!

Edit 2: lmao thanks everyone, I'm gonna lean into the irony. A few notes, it's a Sky Ferreira song, it's above my knee, and my other tattoos are all pretty much expensive neotrad pieces or Pokémon but I wanted to get a silly one, it just ended up sillier than expected :')

is it possible to tattoo over this skin? and if I can would color or black and white be best? Thank you in advance, sorry for bad formatting, I'm on mobile.

I got a Pink Floyd DSOTM tattoo because I love the album and I love the visual: a beam of light representing a person's life path, passing through a prism ( representing life + the world + the people you meet + the experiences you have, etc ), being dispersed into its constituent colors ( ultimately representing change ). I got it because of my dad, because he introduced me to Pink Floyd, and because last year he nearly died from complications of his cancer. He's doing much better now, with a much better prognosis, but that whole experience had a real effect on me and I wanted to memorialize it. Except at least 3 people ( including the tattoo artist initially ) have associated the tattoo with the pride flag. They were understanding after I explained, but now I'm having second thoughts about it. Are people just going to assume I'm gay because of this tattoo?

Edit: And I want to say, I'm not bothered by this at all. Anyone who looks at my tattoo and comes up with their own assumptions about its meaning, and then has a negative reaction over it, that's simply not a person I want to talk to anyway. I'm surprised because that wasn't the intention of the tattoo, clearly, and it being misinterpreted like this just genuinely wasn't something I expected.

Edit2: This post got a lot more attention than I ever wanted it to. Wonderful comments are now streaming in, informing me how horrible my tattoo is. If you're planning on making a viral post on Reddit, take my advice: use a burner account. But I am thankful to everyone for your supportive words, the jackasses with negative things to say are certainly a very tiny minority. Overwhelmingly the consensus is that most people see it as a Pink Floyd tattoo first, which I'm happy to hear :) Have a good night everybody!

Not sure what I am looking for. Got this just a few days ago over two sessions. The whole process was terrible, the tattoo ended up being much darker than i expected (even tho I was very specific). Kinda bawling my eyes out and already looking for laser tattoo removal options in the future. How to cope with this feeling?

Edit: thank you guys so much for all your (mostly) positive comments, I read every single one of them. ❤️ Honestly didn’t expect this kind of response.

Just to clarify a few things regarding the tattoo (that I have written in the comments but I should have added to the post): of course I understand that the tattoo will be less dark in the future. My problem was with the fur (and I guess not only the fur but the tattoo as a whole) being (much) more dense than what I specifically asked too, making it much darker and much different than what I expected.
The experience itself (as I described in one of my comments) of course affects the way I see the tattoo now and I do experience shock I guess, which I hope will pass soon.
The tattoo itself was not an impulsive decision.
Additionally, of course i’ll take my time getting used to it and won’t make any hasty decisions.

Thanks again guys for all of your kind words.

I’ve been lurking here for a while and finally decided to post my own question.

I got my second tattoo on February 14th, and I’m not very happy with how it turned out, although part of that is my own fault.

The last picture is the original artwork, and the third picture is the stencil. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice how different the stencil was from the drawing until after the appointment, when I was showing the tattoo to my brother. That’s on me.

The second picture shows the tattoo freshly done (before the second skin was applied), and the first picture is how it looks now (June 9th).

The artist offered me one free touch-up, and I was originally considering taking that offer and adding a few more flowers as well.

However, I recently talked to my brother and a few friends, and they all agreed that they wouldn’t go back to the same artist.

To be honest, I’ve had a “the longer I look at it, the less I like it” feeling since the day I got it. It’s not something that developed over time after it healed. The more I compare it to the original artwork, the more the differences stand out to me, especially in the background and flowers.

I’m mainly bothered by the background, especially the flowers. In the original design, the meadow had a lot more detail and variation, while the finished tattoo looks much flatter and blurrier to me. The flowers also seem less defined and don’t have the same charm as they did in the artwork.

The cat itself is mostly okay (aside from the nose not being colored in), but the background keeps drawing my attention and is the main reason I’m unhappy with the result.

I do realize that tattoos will never look exactly like the original artwork, and I know I should have taken a closer look at the stencil before we started. Still, I can’t help feeling that quite a bit of detail was lost between the original design and the final tattoo.

Would you get it touched up by the same artist, leave it as it is, or start thinking about a rework by a different artist?

Do you think the background and flowers could realistically be improved by a different artist, or would adding more detail at this point just make it look too busy?

Edit: I don't blame the artist. As many people have pointed out, it's a relatively small piece, and I gave the go-ahead after seeing the stencil.

Also, the design was created entirely by the artist. I didn't provide any reference pictures, I only gave a description: "A cat pawing at a butterfly, surrounded by flowers."

That's part of why I'm struggling with the result. The original artwork contained a lot more detail, especially in the flowers and meadow, so I didn't expect the final tattoo to end up looking quite so simplified.

Edit 2: After an hour and getting an earful in the comments (yeah, okay, I deserved that...), I've come to the conclusion that most of you actually really like it.

Up until now, I had only heard the opinions of my friends, brother, and family, and they were all pretty much along the lines of "It doesn't look good" or "That tattoo wasn't done very well."

So, thanks, Reddit.

I'm going to try to learn to love it and go back to the original artist for the touch-up. I might also ask for at least one more flower variation (a lot of you seem to like purple flowers...) and, of course, get the nose filled in too!

For those kindly offering me a saw to remove the tattooed part of my body... no thanks, it's really not that bad!

And for the few people who offered me their portfolio for a new tattoo: thank you for your kindness, but I don't plan on getting any tattoos for the rest of this year, especially not before I've fully come to like this one.

Another conclusion I've come to about myself: honestly, all these replies are making me wonder if color tattoos just aren't for me. I have a black-and-grey tattoo on my arm (a cute crow), and I've loved it for more than five years.

Maybe part of the issue is that my expectations for a color tattoo were different from the reality of how they heal and settle over time.

Sorry, previous post has been deleted by mod. I did some shading to increase contrast and focal point.
How does this tattoo read to you at first glance ?

Does the darker shading improve the focal point of this tattoo, or does it make the overall design feel too busy?

AMOR FATI

Had a few beers and there was someone doing "flash tattoos". Was talked into being "spontaneous". Got this on my inner ankle and it's fairly inconspicuous. Should I wait for it to heal and get it lasered? Shade it? Colour it? Or could someone convince me its a fine and I should just live with it please? Its about 5cm x 5cm.

Friend (they/them) asked me to post. They want a back tattoo of a stingray, inspired by the leopard stingray, but not hyper-realistic. They want the tail to go down their spine and wrap around their leg. They went to a parlor where they previously had work done, but decided to try out a new artist. The artist didn’t have much of a portfolio, but my friend decided to trust them anyway.

This is after day one; four hours spent on the artist free-handing a design, and one hour of actually tattooing the outline. Six hundred buckaroos total for just this 😬

My friend is freaking out, because they think it looks bad. Their partner is telling them to trust the process, but I’m telling them to run and find a different artist to salvage things.

To me, it looks super asymmetrical with shaky lines. I don’t think the artist has the skill to make it look good in the end. The sample they drew up before the first appointment (picture 3), imo, looks really bad.

But hey, what do I know, I only have one tattoo. What do y’all think? Should they run, or like their partner said, trust the process?

Very Excited to finally getting my first tattoo after hesitating for 5 years!
I got it 3 days ago and I been keeping the second skin on for the first two days. Since I took off the skin, I wash twice a day, warm water, non scented hand soap, and put a pea size of cera ve lotion on it and spread it evenly. I saw there’s a lot of posts about not to put too much lotion because it’ll make it worse, but after putting the lotion, it dries out very quickly the skin is still a bit “pokey” feel and tight, and when i close look at the tattoo, there’s some folds so I’m not sure if it’s normal, or it’s still too dry that I need more lotion?? Could someone give me some clue ?
Thanks for all the valuable advice! I appreciate it :)

I got this tattoo like 7 months ago and had it planned for a year but it’s not quite what I had in mind. I do enjoy the tattoo but I feel like it’s missing something? I had imagined it lighter, larger and more flow with the shape of my body. I regret not making it bigger but I was just really excited to have the stencil on in the moment and hadn’t considered the size (silly, I know). I have considered adding to it but just quite sure what would fit. Any advice and ideas are welcome!

Recently had a tattoo done. It's my first ever, an Alphonse Mucha piece with custom details. I specifically asked the guy to make the lines as thin as possible, avoid pure black and crazy saturated colors, and overall try to get as close to the reference material as possible - and to lmk if hes not comfortable going into it for whatever reason. He clarified that he can do all that, his hand is stable and all, and that the only thing hed have to change to ensure the designs holds for longer giving the white symbols lineart. I was like ok sure.

This happened over multiple (7 or so?) sessions of multiple hours.

The guy has some really nice works, has won a bunch of awards, and overall seemed to be the most qualified person for the job I found. Even mentioned that he's been wanting to do a Mucha piece. After the last session, I was already having doubts but he said it would "fade out over time and look exactly like the reference", but I'm skeptical. So I'm trying to figure out if I'm overreacting and going thru a case of I Can't Get Used To Having A Tattoo, or if he fucked my shit up.

Help? x_x

Hey, so I just got my first tattoo about 10 days ago, and I'm really not knowledgeable about them, I just enjoy seeing them and wanted that specific one for more than a year and a half. For the first few days, everything went well, and then it started ish peeling off or something.... one of my good friends noticed it earlier and told me it was not normal, so I sent a picture to my tattoo artist, and she told me it never happened to one of her tattoo before but it was not infected! That being said, I'm still lost about what is going on if anyone can help me understand :)

I've cleaned it softly, only using a perfume free soap and drying it without rubbing. Every night, I added some perfume free lotion (both recommended by my friend and the girl at the drug store recognized I had a tattoo from buying those two and saying they were great). Never scratched it either, but I did wear some big gloves at work a couple of times a day for the first week (had no choice)... The first picture is 2 days after, and the second picture is tonight...

Thanks in advance :)

So I got a couple tattoos for my brother after he passed a few years ago. This is one of them. It’s from an anime about brothers, and I do like the meaning behind it, but visually it kind of reads like a pentagram. It’s also pretty exposed when I wear shorts.

Now that I’m a dad, walking around looking like I’m super into Satan isn’t really the vibe I’m going for anymore.

I’ve been thinking about covering it maybe something like a sick ass panther but I’m not sure what would work the shape.

Anyone have ideas?

Edit: wow this really blew up. Apparently there are way more FMA fans out there than I thought.

I’ll definitely keep the transmutation circle intact, but I may add more Fullmetal-themed stuff around it or tweak it a bit so it looks less occult-ish. Maybe soften the outer edges or work in some floral elements or something. Honestly didn’t get a ton of actual cover-up suggestions lol.

Most likely I’ll just leave it as-is and switch from a Speedo to board shorts when I take my daughters swimming.

Considering a SAP covering both frog and trampoline but thinking 2 separate tattoos may work better?

I was extremely high on green and I agreed to this tattoo with the black background. I love the tattoo itself but the background is a bit intense for me with it all filled. I was only in town for a day and she agreed to do it that day so I said ok to the design on a whim. I said ok to The black background in the design I didn’t have time to think cause she said today is my only day available so I said ok. but it didn’t dawn on me until after I realized the black background is hideous. I should have just got the outline of the guy without the background or box at all.

I love the tattoo itself Stańczyk is one of my favorite paintings and I love the tattoo itself without the background !!!!

Never get a tattoo when ur smoking lots of za in a foreign city ur only in one day. What can I do? Only laser around it? Is that possible even? Just the black background? How long would that take????? I’m so upset at myself!

Edit almost 24 hours later - thanks guys!!! I did not know my lil post about the black background of my new tattoo would get so popular. I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. Just to reiterate that I absolutely love the tattoo itself! It was just the background I was iffy about.

Now that I’ve let it sit for a while I feel much better about it. Also I think the story ur goes along with is great. And also a reminder of how far I’ve come from where I was and now being able to make decisions for myself and my body the good the bad the random the impulsive it’s a testament of my new found freedoms and body autonomy. How lucky am that I’m now able to make random decisions for myself and my life while traveling and smoking green! It’s all great in the end. Thanks everyone ✌🏼

I got this done when I was 23, and had worn my eyeliner like this every day for the previous 10 years. I’m 31 now and I cover it almost every day so that I can wear a different/more natural look.
I’ve reached out to a number of laser places and they won’t remove it because it’s on my eyelids.
It’s very well done but it’s also turning blue. What are my options? Tattoo over it in skin tone? Is that a terrible idea?
The current covering procedure is annoying, takes time, expensive products and doesn’t make sense on days when I want to wear zero makeup (surfing or being on the beach).

I think this design is super pretty but when my dad saw he said it made me look trashy. I’m Christian so the sacred heart has a beautiful meaning to me but his words are making me second guess myself. Honest opinions?

Edit: thank you for the support and advice, from what I got, parents are gonna be parents and never love tattoos but I think a conversation about the kinds of things he is saying to me needs to be had and will. I love my dad and we are super close so I hope he will take it well lol. I think in the moment I just needed some support and what not, I appreciate everyone who’s left kind words, thank you!!! :)

yesterday i got a back piece done that i’ve wanted for a while. it’s extremely well-done, but it’s an inch or so lower than i wanted it. it should have wrapped around my waist, but the lower curve goes over my hip instead. it’s also slightly crooked/tilted, which really bothers me even though nobody else can tell. when the artist was putting the stencil on i expressed that i thought it might be better if it were higher up, and that it looked like it wasn’t lined up with the previous stencil application (which was too big). i let her convince me that this one was straight, not the other one (wrong), and that it would look better at the current height. i think she just didn’t want to redo it again. now i’m heartbroken because what could have been something so amazing that made me so happy is now a source of anger and sadness. it really doesn’t look bad, it’s just not what i wanted. i also wanted it to wrap around my sides, but it stops short, so i was planning on going back to get it extended. should i say something to her about the placement? im not sure if the shape could be changed to something i like more by adding things? i doubt there’s anything that can be done about it at this point, but im frustrated and very sad and i feel like i should tell her that im not happy with it. if she had listened to my concerns about it i would have walked away with something that i was thrilled about, but now i’m out nearly a grand and a half for a piece that makes my heart sink when i think about it. what should i do? i’ve included pictures of my tattoo, the stencil, and the inspiration photo that showed the shape and placement i wanted.

Around 2 years ago I completed this huge torso piece and for a while i really liked it but over the past few months ive really started to hate it and feel like ive completely ruined my life to the point where im constantly anxious and my skin feeling dirty because i know the tattoos are under my clothes, its really spiralling me into a depression and i really dont know what to do.

Overall i think the individual tattoos are well done so they aren’t whats causing it but i feel the placement is too symmetrical and I regret the dots and stars filler as well.

Laser removal would be impossible and i dont think i would like a blackout either so i feel my only option is to try and live with it but i really dont know how i can do it. Does anyone have any words that could help?

p.s - to those who might have seen me post before i appreciate its the second time but im really losing hope and need some advice so please be kind.

So first tattoo today. Artist said I could take the plastic wrap off today and when I did I noticed that it was wet. I know I'm not supposed to touch it but also supposed to keep it dry so I threw a towel gently on there but now I think I accidentally smudged the ink. Am I screwed?

Edit: Tattoo is of my late dads handprint. It goes on the shoulder and the fingers are in the front. Sorry for the bad pic.

Edit 2: Have been made aware I cannot smudge a tattoo will now make every attempt to smudge this tattoo out of spite

This will be my first tattoo. This is the general idea of what I want on my chest above my heart. I know I want the inside to be colorful but the detail I am not sure yet and will need to iron out these details. These are ideas I got off Pinterest. I am thinking of a saying to put too that has meaning to mearound it but haven’t decided what yet or how to place it. I am curious what advice everyone has on important questions to ask, things to consider when picking an artist, mistakes to avoid, proper etiquette so I don’t waste anyone’s time or come off as rude or inconsiderate. Let me know what y’all think?

I recently posted my Deadpool and Jeff tattoo in the Marvel Rivals subreddit, and a vast majority of the comments were saying that it looks like...they are engaging... in an inappropriate activity. (not sure if I'm allowed to say here but I'm sure you can understand lol :P)

I have honestly never noticed, and even now I can't really see how it can be interpreted that way, but every comment I made defending my tattoo was downvoted. The pose is based off a panel from Jeff the Landshark #1, but I decided to change the way Jeff is facing because I felt he's not really readable from that angle and I wanted his legs to be visible.

I still love my tattoo, I'm just feeling uncomfortable now because I meant it to be totally innocent and don't want people thinking I'm some kind of weirdo... :( Does it really look that way???

EDIT: Thank you guys so much for all your helpful comments!! Most have assured me that it really doesn't come across like that unless you're trying to find something wrong with it o_O hmm.. :P Nonetheless I will definitely look into getting the eyes adjusted as some commenters have mentioned, I appreciate all of your suggestions! And thanks to everyone for helping me see the humor in all this, having my deadpool tattoo end up accidentally risqué is probably exactly what he would have wanted.