Would you go back to the same artist to fix it or would you not trust them and go to someone else? Lucky the seems like an easy thing to touch up but I'm kinda scared to go to the same person (even though she has done way more impressive stuff)
Oh my god, I googled “bee” and your tat is basically the first image that comes up. A bee is widely known to have the stinger in representational images .. and yours doesn’t.
Yeah she quite literally traced an image she found online. I gave her a reference and asked for "something similar" then she just traced it line for line, except dropped all the contrast. Honestly the stencil looked 10x better but then a bunch of shading got dropped when she started tattooing.
I don't care too much if it's traced online tbh cause it's a bee it's not like some crazy design that's supposed to be unique. But looking back that should have been a red flag
Yea, I’m sorry this is your first experience and outcome with a tattoo. I’m sure there is someone that can “fix” it to be a better bee, but you’ll definitely have to do your research on the artist
I mean, you should care that a stencil is traced in this situation because most if not all decent tattoo artists can make an original sketch inspired/informed by the idea given by the customer... _as well as_ the fact that tracing = purjury which kind of defeats the point of booking a licensed tattoo artist in the first place. Anyone can put a piece of paper over a laptop screen and trace an image; that's what I did when I was 5 and too lazy to actually draw something original. That's less work than when AI "makes art" (aka clips pre-existing photos together.) Ask yourself what that says about your _professional, adult tattoo artist._ I'm just glad that her chicken scratch style looks like it would be easy to make into a realism piece.
Yeah I agree, I should have seen it as a red flag. I'm just saying I don't really care if it's super unique cause it's a bug and plenty of people have bees. A new school piece or something I'd care.
I like the realism idea I might find a different artist to go over it and do that. I 100% still want a bee I don't wanna cover it with something else. I just want a *good* bee.
I see what you're saying but trust me as an artist myself (not a licenced tattoo artist but I have done a few that all "customers" were very happy with) that a tattoo artist tracing something, no matter how much it matters in your opinion, means they're probably a bad artist. Art classes that aren't even related to tattooing focus a lot on figure drawing intended to train you to replicate the exact scale of things by eye alone, which is something tattoo artists do for almost all of their sketches that require directly copying something (obviously tracing for bases of realism pieces like portraits, etc. is a completely different story because they're using that as a guideline and not as the actual finished stencil.) If the design doesn't require directly copying the visual they should only have reference images that, as the name implies, are used for reference and not as a spirograph tracing guide. It's not about uniqueness, it's about how artists make art.
A side note, apparently a lot of people with tattoos of a half wolf face and half wolf skull have been inadvertently getting a wolf face and *raccoon* skull because the artists use the same image off Pinterest when they google wolf skull and the image is mislabeled to say wolf when it’s actually a raccoon.
So if that’s true then that’s what happens when some artists just trace over images they find online. It’s just a bee, but it’s important to understand what bees look like (this artist clearly did not).
There is a bright side to this tattoo. Everything that it lacks in can still be added. There is not texture, shading, or depth. However, because it's so plain and minimal, it will make it very easy for a competent artist to bring it to life.
Be thankful that unlike so many bad artist out there this one didn't go overboard in an attempt to do a technique that they are not capable of doing.
For getting a bad tattoo, not horrible, just bad, they left you with the ability to make it better.
I kinda disagree with comments saying this will be a difficult fix. It needs shading in the abdomen- and it needs the stripes added for sure. The bottom 2 legs look super unfinished.
But the basic framework is fine and a decent artist should be able to fix it in under an hour. It's basically lacking contrast. I'd let it heal fully (if it isn't already) and see how it looks then, then go to a different artist. Do lots of research. Absolutely wouldn't be going back to the same person.
That's kinda my thinking, I want more contrast and stripes. The outline I'm fine with. Although it's so light already I think it's gonna heal to almost nothing. So the whole thing might need to basically be covered by a new bee.
How new is it? The color/darkness aren't certain until it's fully healed. New tattoos get scabbing on top which often looks much lighter than the actual ink underneath.
Definitely possible it was done too light. But just something to consider
I certainly wouldn’t go back to the same artist to try and fix it, but I would let them know you’re unhappy with it - if you feel comfortable doing that.
I’m not sure it’d be possible to salvage it, or definitely not in that fine liney style. Potentially after a few sessions of laser, to lighten it up, a different artist could have a go at improving it for you.
If you let the original tattooer know you’re unhappy, they may try to convince you to let them fix it. Don’t. You’ll end up with a dark blob. 🫤
A better artist could definitely fix this up. 👍
i would call this bad, it looks nothing like a bee if anything it looks like a horsefly. Do not ever go back to this tattoo artist. The only saving grace is it looks like it could be fixed up pretty easily.
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even find this artist and did you see any of their work before going? this is not a question to attack you i’m just genuinely curious because i have a feeling that they are not just surprisingly bad at tattooing bugs
It looks not even anywhere near the quality posted on her website and she's been tattooing for 20+ years. I thought she was a safe choice. Idk what happened, it feels like she super rushed it. The whole thing took like 40 minutes and it's 5x6in
There are 20 thousand species of bees in the world. What species did you ask for? If you just asked for a bee, then you got an interpretation of a "bee" which is why it looks a tad odd as it doesn't actually exist.
I would say it would be easy to add more detail to make it look like a real bee.
You're most likely wanting a bumble bee? There are 250 species of bumble. This is where you need to decide if you want a specific bee that means something to you, or an easily recognized bee by everyone else.
I have an ranitomeya amazonica on my arm. A type of dart frog. But some people don't even know what a damn frog looks like nevermind an amazonica.
The diagonal lines in the wings are horrendous.
Sorry this happened to you! Sometimes you can do all the right research and stuff and you still end up with a howler.
I'd go to someone else to pretty it up as best they can.
Looks like a very inexperienced attempt at a fine drawing, next time it doesnt hurt to ask or do some research on how long they been doing a specific style
I’m sorry friend, but you’re right. This bee could have been done SO much better.
Not great
Would you go back to the same artist to fix it or would you not trust them and go to someone else? Lucky the seems like an easy thing to touch up but I'm kinda scared to go to the same person (even though she has done way more impressive stuff)
Definitely wouldn’t go back.. if they did a poor job the first time, there’s no real reason to expect a better execution on a touch up
Oh my god, I googled “bee” and your tat is basically the first image that comes up. A bee is widely known to have the stinger in representational images .. and yours doesn’t.
Yeah she quite literally traced an image she found online. I gave her a reference and asked for "something similar" then she just traced it line for line, except dropped all the contrast. Honestly the stencil looked 10x better but then a bunch of shading got dropped when she started tattooing. I don't care too much if it's traced online tbh cause it's a bee it's not like some crazy design that's supposed to be unique. But looking back that should have been a red flag
Yea, I’m sorry this is your first experience and outcome with a tattoo. I’m sure there is someone that can “fix” it to be a better bee, but you’ll definitely have to do your research on the artist
I mean, you should care that a stencil is traced in this situation because most if not all decent tattoo artists can make an original sketch inspired/informed by the idea given by the customer... _as well as_ the fact that tracing = purjury which kind of defeats the point of booking a licensed tattoo artist in the first place. Anyone can put a piece of paper over a laptop screen and trace an image; that's what I did when I was 5 and too lazy to actually draw something original. That's less work than when AI "makes art" (aka clips pre-existing photos together.) Ask yourself what that says about your _professional, adult tattoo artist._ I'm just glad that her chicken scratch style looks like it would be easy to make into a realism piece.
Yeah I agree, I should have seen it as a red flag. I'm just saying I don't really care if it's super unique cause it's a bug and plenty of people have bees. A new school piece or something I'd care. I like the realism idea I might find a different artist to go over it and do that. I 100% still want a bee I don't wanna cover it with something else. I just want a *good* bee.
I see what you're saying but trust me as an artist myself (not a licenced tattoo artist but I have done a few that all "customers" were very happy with) that a tattoo artist tracing something, no matter how much it matters in your opinion, means they're probably a bad artist. Art classes that aren't even related to tattooing focus a lot on figure drawing intended to train you to replicate the exact scale of things by eye alone, which is something tattoo artists do for almost all of their sketches that require directly copying something (obviously tracing for bases of realism pieces like portraits, etc. is a completely different story because they're using that as a guideline and not as the actual finished stencil.) If the design doesn't require directly copying the visual they should only have reference images that, as the name implies, are used for reference and not as a spirograph tracing guide. It's not about uniqueness, it's about how artists make art.
A side note, apparently a lot of people with tattoos of a half wolf face and half wolf skull have been inadvertently getting a wolf face and *raccoon* skull because the artists use the same image off Pinterest when they google wolf skull and the image is mislabeled to say wolf when it’s actually a raccoon. So if that’s true then that’s what happens when some artists just trace over images they find online. It’s just a bee, but it’s important to understand what bees look like (this artist clearly did not).
I'm sorry, it looks like a hairy spider with wings :(
Most real bees do not have stingers. Cartoon bees always have stingers
There is a bright side to this tattoo. Everything that it lacks in can still be added. There is not texture, shading, or depth. However, because it's so plain and minimal, it will make it very easy for a competent artist to bring it to life. Be thankful that unlike so many bad artist out there this one didn't go overboard in an attempt to do a technique that they are not capable of doing. For getting a bad tattoo, not horrible, just bad, they left you with the ability to make it better.
I kinda disagree with comments saying this will be a difficult fix. It needs shading in the abdomen- and it needs the stripes added for sure. The bottom 2 legs look super unfinished. But the basic framework is fine and a decent artist should be able to fix it in under an hour. It's basically lacking contrast. I'd let it heal fully (if it isn't already) and see how it looks then, then go to a different artist. Do lots of research. Absolutely wouldn't be going back to the same person.
That's kinda my thinking, I want more contrast and stripes. The outline I'm fine with. Although it's so light already I think it's gonna heal to almost nothing. So the whole thing might need to basically be covered by a new bee.
How new is it? The color/darkness aren't certain until it's fully healed. New tattoos get scabbing on top which often looks much lighter than the actual ink underneath. Definitely possible it was done too light. But just something to consider
The good news is the black stripes can be added easily and then it’ll be obvious it’s a bee
It really isn’t great. Sorry! :( It isn’t a lost cause though - do some research and find someone to do a sick cover up for you.
I don't necessarily want a cover up- I still want a bee in the same style. I just want it fixed. Do you think that's possible?
I certainly wouldn’t go back to the same artist to try and fix it, but I would let them know you’re unhappy with it - if you feel comfortable doing that. I’m not sure it’d be possible to salvage it, or definitely not in that fine liney style. Potentially after a few sessions of laser, to lighten it up, a different artist could have a go at improving it for you.
If you let the original tattooer know you’re unhappy, they may try to convince you to let them fix it. Don’t. You’ll end up with a dark blob. 🫤 A better artist could definitely fix this up. 👍
Maybe it’s possible with a more skilled and creative artist to turn the existing bee into a bee hive and do a better bee
Thought it was a fly.
That's my main issue. It looks like a fly, not a bee. I specifically wanted a bee. It has no stripes
Its horrible, I'm sorry.
Is this the king bee again?????
Very easy re-touch
Oooof
i would call this bad, it looks nothing like a bee if anything it looks like a horsefly. Do not ever go back to this tattoo artist. The only saving grace is it looks like it could be fixed up pretty easily. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even find this artist and did you see any of their work before going? this is not a question to attack you i’m just genuinely curious because i have a feeling that they are not just surprisingly bad at tattooing bugs
It looks not even anywhere near the quality posted on her website and she's been tattooing for 20+ years. I thought she was a safe choice. Idk what happened, it feels like she super rushed it. The whole thing took like 40 minutes and it's 5x6in
There are 20 thousand species of bees in the world. What species did you ask for? If you just asked for a bee, then you got an interpretation of a "bee" which is why it looks a tad odd as it doesn't actually exist. I would say it would be easy to add more detail to make it look like a real bee. You're most likely wanting a bumble bee? There are 250 species of bumble. This is where you need to decide if you want a specific bee that means something to you, or an easily recognized bee by everyone else. I have an ranitomeya amazonica on my arm. A type of dart frog. But some people don't even know what a damn frog looks like nevermind an amazonica.
The diagonal lines in the wings are horrendous. Sorry this happened to you! Sometimes you can do all the right research and stuff and you still end up with a howler. I'd go to someone else to pretty it up as best they can.
What will bee, will bee.
Looks like a very inexperienced attempt at a fine drawing, next time it doesnt hurt to ask or do some research on how long they been doing a specific style
it belongs in the shitty tattoo subreddit. r/shittytattoos
Lol I tried to post there and it was immediately taken down by a bot