Not all that inks is gold

[wowippyiscool]

I remember a while back in the General Discussion,
there was a heated subject on the morality of tattoo artists.

Yes, we know that they can be sleazy scumbags, but really...
Does your level of attractiveness effect how your tattoos turn out?

I can't find the thread anymore, but it went something like:

"Now, I'm not the prettiest or most fit girl wanting tattoos.
But I'm still a respectable human being and I still want my ink!
I've gotten a few from a couple different shops and
I'm slowly realizing that tattoo artists are slacking on my jobs.
I've seen the "hotter" girls come in and often walk out
with a much better looking tattoo job.
Is this something I'm going to have to accept?"
-Very general summarized version of her post

A tattoo artist (if he really was what he said he was)
posted that a lot of times this is a common occurrence.
He claimed that he thought overweight people that looked
like they didn't care for themselves were a "dirty" canvas
and they didn't deserve his hard work and effort
if they couldn't even take care of themselves.

Is this as common as the thread made it out to be?
Is it the kid that wanted the tattoo's fault because they didn't research the artist?
Is it the tattoo artists a "bad guy" for discriminating?
What do you think?

 

[wowippyiscool]

My friend that is a tattoo apprentice has a larger girlfriend
and he says that it is often a bit harder to tattoo her than a smaller girl
because her skin is so "loose" and that it's a different "texture".
But overall, it shouldn't be a problem.

He said that tattoo artists that don't do the best they can on
every tattoo piece are, ahem, "bullpussy" and that
they don't deserve to be tattooing at all.

"You're changing someone's entire life in those few short hours.
Whether you like it or not, you are bonded with them forever.
Someone trusted you with their body when you tattoo them.
Do you want that shitty piece to follow your entire career?
No, that's just stupid."

If only the world worked that way, hmm?

 

[Dysphoric Melody]

I think it's bad that artists would discriminate like that, but I feel that the people are partly to blame for not doing their research thoroughly enough...

I believe that the greater artists and the non-discriminators like your friend, work at better, more respected shops. If you're going to get a tattoo you should do a lot of research on the shop, it's artists, the artist who would do your piece, and any of the alumni of the shop. I think that you should investigate not only the quality, but also the integrity of the shop and it's artists past and present.

If you want a quality tattoo, then you need to find an artist who will put their whole effort into the piece and care about it as much as you do.  

[wowippyiscool]

I agree with you completely.

That's one of the reason why I don't have any tattoos right now.
None of the shops near my town, in my eyes (no offense to my friend)
aren't fit to even THINK about touching my skin.

They're unprofessional and have major superiority complexes.
Either that, or their art simply isn't up to par.

Maybe someday once I find the time and energy to
actually look into a shop out of town, but definitely not now.

 

[Dysphoric Melody]

I feel the same way. I want to be a tattoo artist myself and I feel that it's not just a profession for money, it's about creating masterful works of art. I want to love the tattoos I do just as much as the people that they're on do.

I haven't gotten any tattoos yet b/c I don't have the funds... I want to get a tattoo done by an artist that creates amazing work and puts their soul into it, and I just done have the money for that kind of work right now... sad  

[wowippyiscool]

That's good to hear.
Most people run into shops and get tattoos without a second thought.
I've even gotten made fun of because I didn't have tattoos.
I never saw the point to that, but to each their own, I guess.
(They're the ones with ******** up bodies anyway, hahaha.
I guess the joke is on them!)

 

[wowippyiscool]

Which reminds me...

I hate how at Spencer's we sell this keychain that says:
"The only difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people
is that tattooed people are way cooler and can kick your a**."


Yay white trash merchandise.
Yay indeed.

 

[Dysphoric Melody]

they sell so much crap at spencer's....  

[wowippyiscool]

I wish I could say that a lot of it isn't crap, but...
gonk

 

[Dead Chaos Souls]

I feel like most tattoosit are always discriminating. But out of the 3 artists I've had (Yes I switch alot) One was just pissed off, The other I think was too damn hyper (Nice girl though) And the last one I've had is half asleep but he's doing excellent work on my shoulder. I think it really matters if you talk to your artist cause I didn't talk to my first artists when he did my wraith tattoo but did when he did Hatchetman. And hatchetman hasn't need touching up at all. The last 2 I was talking to them about the different pain levels where the tats go. And they seemed pretty happy talking about that stuff while doing the tat itself. Seems like most artists around your area are just jerks really. No offense. But thats just my veiw on them.  

[dagon is a gloomy bear]

I'm sure this happens all the time, and with tattoos that they don't want to do or aren't interested in.  

[Lance Castle]

I can understand both sides there.

I see how a tattooist wouldnt like the idea of a dirty canvas but I think the best artists wouldnt care. They'd do their best job ever regardless of the "canvas"  

[Nekojin_cat]

I was lucky enough with my tattoo (a cat) to have a good studio really close by, with an artist who also likes cats. It made me less nervous, knowing that she really liked the subject she was about to draw on me, and as another plus, she was professional and friendly as a matter of course. I imagine that there are artists out there who just look upon most tattoos as a day-in-day-out, boring monotony, but even then, in the sake of professionalism, they should still put in all the effort possible.

I mean, I can understand there's only so much feeling you can put into a flash butterfly that someone's just picked on a whim, or you may really hate cats and there's some twit demanding that it look EXACTLY like this fuzzy picture of dear departed Fluffykins, but that doesn't mean that their tattoos are any less permanent. If you ******** up Fluffykins' face, then that twit will have a crappy picture of a treasured pet for the rest of their life.  

[wowippyiscool]

Yep, yep.
It kind of makes getting a tattoo much more scary than it already is to me.
(I have the pain tolerance of an infant.)

 

[Zombina Corpse]

As morally 'wrong' as it sounds, I don't really have anything against it. Sounds like free market capitalism to me. ^__^
If you don't like that the artist discriminates, then don't go to him.
Logically, what he's doing is just bad business in general, but I like the idea of a free market economy, so, in a sense it'd work and he'd eventually have to stop being such a p***y b***h about working on overweight people if he wants a strong and reliable clientell.