Semi Spin off- regret tattoo

Jells2dot0

There was a tattoo post back about a week ago. I got distracted with being sick, then leaving on vacation, then, you know, some drama

Anyway, I have a tat that I got when I was 17 and drunk. So, yeah, it wasn't well thought out. I want to have some work done to it to make it something meaningful. One thought was to have it done in Tahiti using the old school traditional tapping method. I plan on being in Tahiti next year, so it would work out. It's expensive, though. So, another thought was to get it done locally. (@MagicInk maybe you have recs or could help? )

Anyway, does anyone have a tat they regret? Or if you had one changed, did you change it to something super meaningful or just something more aesthetically pleasing?

Edit- having problems with words and booze

mikenberger

Jells2dot0 said:

There was a tattoo post back about a week ago. I got distracted with being sick, then leaving on vacation, then, you know, some drama Anyway, I have a tat that I got when I was 17 and drunk. So, yeah, it wasn't well thought out. I want to have some work done to it to make it something meaningful. One thought was to have it done in Tahiti using the old school traditional tapping method. I plan on being in Tahiti next year, so it would work out. It's expensive, though. So, another thought was to get it done locally. (@magicInk- maybe you have recs or could help? ) Anyway, does anyone have a tat they regret? Or if you had one changed, did you change it to something super meaningful or just something more aesthetically pleasing?

I had a celtic knot put on my wrist, but it had an extra line - making it totally worthless. It was my first tattoo and I didn't properly research my artist. I've gotten FAR smarter with my subsequent tattoos. 

Anyways, it looked like a penguin looking at its feet. When my DH and I started dating, I told him the story of how someone pointed it out to me and he grabbed a pen and colored in the feet and wings. So I got that tattooed on me after 5 years of having this shitty Celtic knot. It still looks shitty, but it's a great reminder to me in patience.

lovemesomemonster

My first one was done when I was 18, the meaning behind it is there it just wasn't the quality of work I wanted because I didn't research the artist enough. When I found an artist I really like and does amazing work he added to the first one and then spent time fixing it to look better. I am much happier with it now!

ShesSoCold

I want to get a cover up. I don't dislike it, but I'm kinda meh now. I keep talking about going in and talking to the guy but even the thought of tattoo needles and shit makes me sligthly lightheaded.

Jells2dot0

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct.

Etf-spelling

NowIamMrsKlein

I don't have any tattoos myself but FI has one that's an unfortunate reminder of an ex. He looked into designs to cover it up but because of the placement of it, any new tattoo would be visible, and he didn't want that.

So we are in the long and expensive process of getting it removed.

novella1186

Pretty sure I posted about this before (so sorry if I'm repeating) but I got a tattoo when I was 19 that wasn't a good idea in general, but I also went to a terrible artist who did a really shitty job, and changed the design and colors we originally agreed upon. So this thing was ugly. 

Years later, I found a really good, talented, reputable artist to cover it up. It originally was a shooting star across my hip with flames and odd colors and bad lines and all kinds of weird shit going on. The new guy I went to covered it with twisted amazing branches and leaves with a Chinese peony (from my trip to China-- people paint them above their doors for good fortune) and the national flower of Spain (which looks similar to a peony-- it's a carnation-- and he used similar colors so they went together really well). 

I went back to him later and he expanded the tattoo up my side, almost up to my ribs. He added more branches and flowers, and different birds that represented different women in my family. So there were definitely some meaningful elements in there, but the base design (the twisted branches) was pretty much for the purpose of covering up the ugliness. 

cupcait927

I've got one that I regret. It's on my upper left arm in a funky spot that says "love is enough". It's not so much that I hate the tattoo, I just wish I had picked a better spot and made it bigger and not quite as simple. I plan on getting it covered up with flowers in the next year or so. It's all thin black lines so it shouldn't be too hard to hide. 

I'm also not a fan of the one on my hip (three stars) but that's more because it's 10 years old and needs to be touched up/fixed. Luckily the only person that sees it is H and the public the few times a year when I put on a bikini.

arrippa

Jells2dot0 said:

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct. Etf-spelling

It's better than soup.

 

I have a tattoo that has flames and a flower rising from it...yeah... It's in full color so it would be hard to cover it up. I don't hate it but I would get something different now if I could do it again.

randomslove

I was 19 when I got my first tattoo. It was matching with two people and the situation was really odd... but it was black script about two inches across on my shoulder. I eventually decided to incorporate a bunch of smaller tattoos into a complete back piece and got that shoulder covered by a Starry Night Butterfly I've named Vincent.

My tattoo work (I have more than 40 hours) is (to me) an outward reflection of my soul and a reminder to myself to love my body. I'm 26 now and it wasn't until I was 24 and getting my legs tattooed that I ever liked wearing shorts and showing my legs. I love every inked inch even when I feel "fat" or "gross"because it's all covered with things I love. I've also started loving the non-tattooed part of me more, too. It's funny how that works.

Anyway, I suggest getting it covered locally for practical reasons. You can more easily have it tweaked if something goes wrong and (depending on how large it is and how high your pain tolerance is) it will be a lot easier to handle getting it done.

Jells2dot0

arrippa said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct.

Etf-spelling

It's better than soup.

 

I have a tattoo that has flames and a flower rising from it...yeah... It's in full color so it would be hard to cover it up. I don't hate it but I would get something different now if I could do it again.

Lol it might mean soup for all I know. Who's to say that it really meant "to give love" in the first place? It could mean grapes or slut.

charlottesmom0626

Ive posted about my removal process before..

got a tattoo done while studying abroad in college; similar story---didn't do research, turned out shitty.

Getting it removed now...I've already had 8 sessions and spent close to 1,500. It's still there. 

novella1186

arrippa said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct. Etf-spelling

It's better than soup.

 

I have a tattoo that has flames and a flower rising from it...yeah... It's in full color so it would be hard to cover it up. I don't hate it but I would get something different now if I could do it again.

The tattoo I had covered was in full color. You can't even tell at all that something was covered. The weird orange flame things were covered with brown, the hideous lop-sided blue and yellow star was covered with different hues of purple and some shading, etc. If the artist is really good, and has experience with cover-ups, it can be done. 

Jells2dot0

charlottesmom0626 said:

Ive posted about my removal process before..

got a tattoo done while studying abroad in college; similar story---didn't do research, turned out shitty.

Getting it removed now...I've already had 8 sessions and spent close to 1,500. It's still there. 

I won't get mine removed. It's on my right lower back/upper buttocks and is not visible unless i'm naked or have a thong on. I obviously cannot see it unless I try to see it. So, to me, spending that much money to remove it doesn't make sense.

arrippa

novella1186 said:

arrippa said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct. Etf-spelling

It's better than soup.

 

I have a tattoo that has flames and a flower rising from it...yeah... It's in full color so it would be hard to cover it up. I don't hate it but I would get something different now if I could do it again.

The tattoo I had covered was in full color. You can't even tell at all that something was covered. The weird orange flame things were covered with brown, the hideous lop-sided blue and yellow star was covered with different hues of purple and some shading, etc. If the artist is really good, and has experience with cover-ups, it can be done. 

Hmm.. Maybe I will look into it after getting the one I am planning now. I honestly would be surprised if they could do anything with it.

novella1186

arrippa said:

novella1186 said:

arrippa said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I should say mine was not done poorly. But, I picked out a Japanese character from a set that claimed to mean "To Give Love". Except, I only wanted "love" so I picked out the character that I thought meant love. I'm pretty certain I didn't pick the right one and my Tat means "To give" if it's even correct. Etf-spelling

It's better than soup.

 

I have a tattoo that has flames and a flower rising from it...yeah... It's in full color so it would be hard to cover it up. I don't hate it but I would get something different now if I could do it again.

The tattoo I had covered was in full color. You can't even tell at all that something was covered. The weird orange flame things were covered with brown, the hideous lop-sided blue and yellow star was covered with different hues of purple and some shading, etc. If the artist is really good, and has experience with cover-ups, it can be done. 

Hmm.. Maybe I will look into it after getting the one I am planning now. I honestly would be surprised if they could do anything with it.

Yeah I was 100% sure there was nothing that could be done with my awful tattoo because of how much of a colorful mess it was. But the guy looked at it and was like "oh yeah, I can fix that" and then he sketched something up and I was stunned. It was a really cool, beautiful design. I was sure if it could even be covered at all, it would have to be covered by like a big blob or something. But he was really good at his job, and it turned out awesome. 

I'm not saying every single bad tattoo can easily be re-invented, but sometimes there are a lot more options than you might think. If you really don't like it, it's definitely worth talking to a good artist just to see what they might be able to do. 

NowIamMrsKlein

charlottesmom0626 said:

Ive posted about my removal process before..

got a tattoo done while studying abroad in college; similar story---didn't do research, turned out shitty.

Getting it removed now...I've already had 8 sessions and spent close to 1,500. It's still there. 

We're at 5 sessions and 600$ for FI tattoos removal. Thankfully it's actually pretty darn faded. Fingers crossed its gone before we break the 1000$ mark, although I was pretty much willing to pay whatever it took for it to be gone. 

photokitty

I love that show where they cover up peoples awful tattoos! What's it called? Can you go it? That would be awesome! I'd be all, that's Jells, I know her, sort of, online, well anyway...

novella1186

photokitty said:

I love that show where they cover up peoples awful tattoos! What's it called? Can you go it? That would be awesome! I'd be all, that's Jells, I know her, sort of, online, well anyway...

I love seeing stuff like that! Or like these cover-up jobs: 

VulgarGirl

Cover ups are very individual. You really need to meet with the artist, talk about what you have and what you'd like instead and see what their personal tattooing style is.

This is one my friend had done at a local shop:

relliotts

Coverups work a lot of the time because the coverup art is designed to draw the eye away from the lines of the original tattoo.  They do actually "cover" the old tattoo, yes, but they also keep the focus away from the old lines.  If you look at the examples @novella1186 posted, in the first picture you can still see parts of the original tattoo if you really look (the leprauchan's hat and the yellow of the sleeve in the nose, for example) but as a whole the new design draws the eye away from that so you don't really notice it unless you're looking closely. I would be willing to bet a talented artist who does a lot of cover up work could do something for you, @arippa!

I love all but one of my tattoos, which unfortunately happens to be my largest piece.  It's a huge, badly drawn and badly done, solid black tribal looking dragon that climbs from my left ankle to halfway up the side of my calf. I got it done when I was 16. I was... um... not in my right state of mind. I'd like to get it covered, but I'd have to get pretty much a full leg piece to do it and with placement it would be a challenge to design a tattoo that could do it.  I've been keeping an ear out for an artist that specializes in cover up work. I'd like to talk to someone to see what we can do to fix it.

It was interesting to me to read from a PP that they felt their tattoos gave them confidence to show parts of their body they hadn't been comfortable with before.  I HATE my upper arms... I always have, even when I was thinner and they were smaller. I know it's silly, but I can't get over it, and I won't wear a lot of tops because they don't cover them well enough.  I've been considering half sleeves because I just in general love tattoos but also partly because I think having something beautiful/meaningful on my arms would help me feel more confident about them. It's good to know someone else has had that experience.

doeydo

photokitty said:

I love that show where they cover up peoples awful tattoos! What's it called? Can you go it? That would be awesome! I'd be all, that's Jells, I know her, sort of, online, well anyway...

Tattoo Nightmares or possibly America's Worst Tattoos?

southernbelle0915

This is why I'm terrified to get a tattoo. I'm barely satisfied with paint colors in my house after a few years....

emmaaa

southernbelle0915 said:

This is why I'm terrified to get a tattoo. I'm barely satisfied with paint colors in my house after a few years....

This is me. I rearrange furniture and repaint so often.

BouxRadley

scribe95 said:

I got mine when I was 22 - totally sober. It's a cross on my ankle. But the color has faded over time. I need to get it recolored I guess. It hurt then and I am such a wimp so I have been avoiding it. 

We're twinsies. However, I regret mine. That and I have a Eye of Horus on the outside of my wrist that I don't like. Pretty sure the artist was a crackhead going through withdrawals. 

photokitty

emmaaa said:

This is why I'm terrified to get a tattoo. I'm barely satisfied with paint colors in my house after a few years....

This is me. I rearrange furniture and repaint so often.

I can't even put nails in the walls of my house. My mom, exBF or DH has literally hammered each one. I just can't commit. #weirdo

Jells2dot0

My tattoo is black. It's pretty boring. If I could go back, I wouldn't get it, but since it's out of sight, it's kind of out of mind. I was just hoping to make it something a little more meaningful. If I get it done in Tahiti, I have an artist picked out. I met him on a previous trip. If I get it done at home, i'm fucking clueless as to where to start.

novella1186

Jells2dot0 said:

My tattoo is black. It's pretty boring. If I could go back, I wouldn't get it, but since it's out of sight, it's kind of out of mind. I was just hoping to make it something a little more meaningful. If I get it done in Tahiti, I have an artist picked out. I met him on a previous trip. If I get it done at home, i'm fucking clueless as to where to start.

Honestly, I found my current artist because my favorite bar tender in the town where I live now has some amazing work, so I asked him who did it. He gave me the guys name (and had nothing but good things to say about his work), and I looked the guy up online, went through his portfolio, read reviews, and went from there. 

Jells2dot0

Because of what we do for a living and our particular circle of friends, most people we come into contact with on a daily basis do not have tattoos. If they do, it's because that person got theirs in the military (and they were stationed elsewhere).

My SD has many tattoos, but hers are very poorly done. They had friends "in training" do them. I cringed when she told me that, but I guess that's what you do when you are young and broke!

VulgarGirl

I'd suggesst googling. Check out some of the artist's online portfolios. Then call them, set up an appointment. You might have to pay for a consultation, not all artists/shops charge though. Just ask them if there is a consultation fee.

If you are out and about in the world and see someone with a nice piece of artwork you like, nicely compliment them (I love that flaming sword on your arm!) and ask them if they mind telling you who they use as an artist (Can I ask where you got it done). Despite what certain user who shall remain nameless once thought, peeps with tats are cool peeps. Just be nice, compliment the work, and ask if they'll tell you who their artist is. 

I mean obviously if they're like doing something else don't stop and insist they talk to you. But for real, most of us don't mine chatting about our tats so long as we're not like...performing surgery or trying a murder or something. (cause people in all professions can have tattoos, I know tattooed judges)

VulgarGirl

Jells2dot0 said:

Because of what we do for a living and our particular circle of friends, most people we come into contact with on a daily basis do not have tattoos. If they do, it's because that person got theirs in the military (and they were stationed elsewhere). My SD has many tattoos, but hers are very poorly done. They had friends "in training" do them. I cringed when she told me that, but I guess that's what you do when you are young and broke!

Not everyone who has a case of the poors gets shitty tattoos. A lot of people just save up. Also "in training" could mean a lot of things. Artists apprentice for 6 months-2 years (mine was a year) before they become paid artists. These people are under the guidance of real artists who know what the fuck they are doing and won't let them do shitty tattoos. Cause they rep your shop. 

A dude in a kitchen with a tattoo gun (that you can buy off the internet) is not in training for anything other then spreading Hep C around. And if this is where your SD is going, she's about to have a lot bigger issues then some meh tattoos.