Should I keep it or get a touch-up?

[Theatralica]

Hey everyone!

Sorry for using this part of the forum but I'm really in need of competent advice.

About 5 weeks ago I got my first tattoo which is mostly healed now. While it looked okay-ish to me in the beginning, many people pointed out that the quality of the linework is awful. And while many of the flaws are not as prominent when I look at the tattoo in the mirror, I can see plenty of them when viewing pictures of it.

Here you can see the current state of the tattoo. I'm debating whether I should get a touch-up by a different artist or just keep things as they are. Since I went through an emotional rollercoaster with the tattoo it's hard for me to tell whether it's more a 'no tattoo is perfect, human skin is no paper' or a 'this is horrible, you need a touch-up asap' kind of thing. That's why I'd be glad to read your neutral opinions!

My concerns about getting a touch-up are that the tattoo might look too dominant/rough with thicker lines. Also with heavier lines the middle circle and the half-circle might touch since there isn't a lot of space inbetween. Unfortunately, I haven't found any proper comparisons for touched-up linework but maybe some of you can share their experience on this topic.

Thanks ahead!

[ughanxiousppl]

Anytime you have a tattoo that’s that small and composed only of a few lines, many of which are either straight or circular, you are going to see flaws. There is no “touch up” that’s going to make it look any better. It would more than likely ruin it altogether. My advice would be to live with it awhile and see if it grows on you. If not, you’d have a lot of options to cover it up if you go to a good artist and give them some freedom. Best of luck!


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[Dan]

 if you think  it needs it,most artists give free touchups(remember to tip,for cost of supplies)

or just leave it alone and plan your next badass tattoo.

looks ok to me for what it is.

Edited November 16, 2019 by Dan

[Theatralica]

3 hours ago, Tattooju said:

Anytime you have a tattoo that’s that small and composed only of a few lines, many of which are either straight or circular, you are going to see flaws. There is no “touch up” that’s going to make it look any better. It would more than likely ruin it altogether. My advice would be to live with it awhile and see if it grows on you. If not, you’d have a lot of options to cover it up if you go to a good artist and give them some freedom. Best of luck!


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Intesting, I acutally thought working on bigger geometric tattoos would be more demanding. I have a bigger dark shoulder tattoo planned for the distant future which I could easily use for a cover-up, so I'm not too bothered about it. In the end it's on my back so I don't get to see the tattoo a lot anyway. But I'd like to be able to show it off without being ashamed of the result.

3 hours ago, Dan said:

 if you think  it needs it,most artists give free touchups(remember to tip,for cost of supplies)

or just leave it alone and plan your next badass tattoo.

looks ok to me for what it is.

I'm pretty sure the original artist would give me a free touch-up but honestly I don't feel comfortable about it and would rather pay a different artist.

 

Thanks to both of you for sharing your thoughts!

Edited November 16, 2019 by Theatralica

[Hogrider]

What exactly do you think someone can touch up?

Don't ever use that artist again if your goal is to get good tattoos.

[Theatralica]

6 hours ago, Hogrider said:

What exactly do you think someone can touch up?

Don't ever use that artist again if your goal is to get good tattoos.

My initial hope was to fix the wobbly and uneven lines. But after talking to a lot of people it seems it will be necessary to go further in order to make it look pleasing. Don't worry, I don't intend to let the same artist touch my skin again.

 

How do you feel about the quality of works of this artist?

 

[Hogrider]

22 hours ago, Theatralica said:

My initial hope was to fix the wobbly and uneven lines. But after talking to a lot of people it seems it will be necessary to go further in order to make it look pleasing. Don't worry, I don't intend to let the same artist touch my skin again.

 

How do you feel about the quality of works of this artist?

 

You can't "fix" a wobbly line, you can only make them thicker and I've never seen that turn out well.

The artist you linked to is exponentially better than the one you previously used.

 

Good luck

[oboogie]

It's not going to look any better if you futz with it. Just cover it up with something better.

[SStu]

A high quality artist could thicken the lines and smooth it out, but a half-assed artist will make it look worse. Proceed very carefully. 

Herzdame looks to be qualified. 

Never go back to that original tattooist. 

[Theatralica]

On 11/18/2019 at 6:55 PM, Hogrider said:

You can't "fix" a wobbly line, you can only make them thicker and I've never seen that turn out well.

The artist you linked to is exponentially better than the one you previously used.

 

Good luck

Thicker lines alone wouldn't do the trick either way since there are also  symmetry issues. I'd really like to avoid a full cover up so I hope I'll find an artist willing to integrate the given result into something new/bigger and enhance it by adding a background, filling shapes in or adding new shapes. Not sure if it is possible at all but I'd like to give it a try.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Theatralica

[SStu]

Schedule a consult with Herzdame. 

Keep in mind that getting in front of a high quality artist make take some effort and a great deal of patience. This is a good thing.