Hogrider

Yup, no matter what anyone says, size matters. hahahahaha

The smaller you go, the more you lose detail and the more it will all run together visually.

What went wrong was the the tattooer was in WAY over his head on this tattoo and tried to do it anyway. It doesn't look unfixable, it's just going to take some time, money and maybe the aid of a laser. Where do you live, maybe someone on here could give you a recommendation?

Portraits are incredibly hard to do well and very few people do them really good. I would NOT go back to the same artist to try to get it fixed. I think your only hope is to find someone that specializes in portraits and coverups and see what they can do.

You can stop worrying. If it is blowout you can't do anything about it anyway. Blowouts are much more common on really thin skin. No tattoo is 100% perfect. Look at the forest, not the trees.

+1 If you start screwing around with it before it's completely healed, you'll probably do more harm than good. Also, if you aren't happy with the tattoo, don't go back to the same artist. Maybe it's me, but I don't get that. If I'm not happy with someone's work the first time, why would I give them a second shot at my skin?

Burning is never normal. I don't use lotion until it starts to peel. Usually A&D ointment for four days, then start with coco butter.

I never said it makes anyone evil to buy instead of adopt. Most of the people I know who have bought just don't know about the problem. As far as knowing what you get from a breeder, where do you think the 'problem' pure bred dogs sitting in shelters come from? I encourage everyone to do their own research. We've been sold a bill of goods by the AKC about the 'superiority' of pure bred dogs. Research shows that purebreds have more behavioral and health issues than mutts.

I hate to preach, but please don't buy animals, adopt. If you don't know why, look up puppy mills and see the horrific conditions most of these dogs you buy are bred in. 2.7 million animals are killed in shelters every year, many of them pure breds. There just is no excuse for buying an animal. I hate to be a downer, but I do a lot of rescue work and every time someone buys an animal, they make some greeder wealthy and one more shelter animal is killed. Petfinder.com is a great place to start. OK, getting off of soap box.

I've got some tattoos which are 7 years old where very occasionally the outlines will raise a little. I think it may be heat related as it always happens when it's very hot and humid. If you do some research, you will find that actual allergic reactions to any ink are very rare. Someone takes a little longer to heal than normal and all of a sudden it's 'an allergic reaction.' Many people who are new to the tattoo world don't understand what the normal healing process is. Too much watching TV shows where it looks like you walk out with a fully-healed, pain free tattoo. Not that it doesn't happen, but odds are it's nothing.

It's not in the guidelines, but talking money is a no no. There are some great artists in the DC area, just be really careful who you get. Doing portraits is really hard and I don't see very many good ones.

You might try vitamin E, but just a little bit. I had two small spots that took a long time to heal completely and after a few weeks of using vitamin E SPARSELY once a day, they healed completely. Lotion twice a day after three weeks sounds like serious overkill.

My first tattoo was a sleeve and chest panel. I thought about it for years and took about a year to find the right artist. I now have two sleeves, chest panels, back and am working up one leg to tie it into my chest panel and back. Go big or go home.

Whatever they say it is. :-) Seriously though, too much ink in too small a space is a recipe for disaster. It might look good day one, but in a couple of years, it might not look so great.

If you want the tattoo in the link, that is too much detail for a small tattoo. Although tattoos have less stigma than they used to, the only person who's opinion counts is the person hiring you. Just my two cents, but if you are worried about it, don't do it. I have two sleeves, back, chest and am working on a piece from my ankle up to my chest, but everything can be covered with long pants and long sleeves.

If you don't trust what your artist says, you should probably look for another artist. ;-) I concur with @SStu, see a doctor. It shouldn't be that red and spreading after a week and a half. Meantime, I'd use a cold pack. That should help with the swelling and itching.

That is rough. I'd stop trying to fix it and look into some laser treatments to lighten it up before you do anything else. Then find someone really good at coverups. If you've got a tattoo that looks bad after a year, it's time to significantly upgrade your tattooer.

Don't let your artist off the hook to easily. It is not the artists job to just take any picture you hand them and put it on your skin. Their job is also to let you know if something isn't going to work well and make suggestions on alternatives. If you then say do it anyway, it's on you. I don't think my artist has ever just put something I gave him on my skin. He ALWAYS has suggestions for improving my ideas. I've always taken his advice and I've always been glad.

That was really confusing until I looked closely. If you hadn't told me it was a key I doubt I would have noticed. If you don't want the key colored, color the parts that aren't the key. The best thing though is to take your concerns to a qualified tattoo artist and get suggestions. It's not a bad tattoo, there is just nothing that differentiates the key from the other elements.

+1 You're on the bus or you're off the bus.

#1 - put your artist on speed dial. #2 - google "tattoo filler american traditional"

If someone is giving away tattoos that should be a HUGE red flag. Good artists are usually booked far in advance, not out trolling for clients.

These aren't FREE tattoos. You're going to have to pay to have them covered up or lasered off. Take a deep breath and stop. As @Devious6 said, do your research. Shit tattoos are no bargain.

I feel bad for the guy, but knowing what MS is, I can't believe you let someone that has the disease work on you. Not to mention the fact that he kept using parts of the same drawing you kept saying you didn't want to use. I feel bad for your artist, but as @Devious6 said, it's your skin. I'd rather have somebody with hurt feelings that a bad tattoo. NOBODY should be tattooing if they aren't capable of laying down a straight line.

Not a bad tattoo, but it's very monochromatic and hard to read. I had to stare at it a while to figure out what everything is. Also, the proportions are off - the man is as big as the horse. I'm not sure what you would put around it, I'd find a really good artist and ask for ideas.