Any opinions?

From a custom tattooists point of view do you think is it in their right to use a custom piece that was designed for a customer to then use a variation of the same custom piece on someone else. Just curious about different opinions.

I'm not a tattoo artist at all, but i think that is unfair to the customer. They chose not to use a piece of flash for a reason. Maybe the piece could be used as inspiration, but there should be enough difference that the two don't resemble eachother...like, a flower may be the same, but everything else is different. Otherwise, it seems un-fair to charge the first customer so much for a unique, one of a kind piece that is drawn from scratch most of the time, and then let a 2nd customer use it....and besides...isn't the point of a custom artist to have something different than everything else?

If you are speaking of an alteration of the piece then it is not the same piece. So technically you two wouldnt have the same tattoo....If it is the exact same tattoo then yes I consider it very wrong...... it would no longer be a custom piece

A custom drawn piece commissioned and paid for by a client should remain property of that client in perpetuity and, as such, should never be copied , even if changed to a degree, without the express permission of the original client...When a custom piece is drawn at my shop...all notes, sketches and the final rendering is relinquished to the client who paid for it ( with the exception of a photo of the work which is displayed only with the permission of the client...TAz, Painted Angel

Whoa Taz, gettin all professional on us...ouch!

Sorry...its the pre-law comin out... DAMMITTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just make sure it's a really elaborate, detailed, expensive piece, and that it's in the most painful spot you can think of, and then maybe no one will bother......................well, maybe not as many unoriginal schmucks will bother. I mean, COME ON PEOPLE, with all of the great custom artists out there today, if you don't have a vision in your head of what you want, why bother with a custom piece? TCE

heres my take on this, I agree with taz on this to a point, if you custom design a piece for a person, it should not be used again. but heres a bit of a twist, I do alot of custom work, but I do more free-hand work, and I do the free-hand stuff in my own style, so as it goes, there are simularities from one piece to another, but never exactally the same. Mortis

I agree with Taz..... one of my tattoo's for example (my back peice) I drew it myself.. I have always had a problem drawing peoples heads, so I got him to redo that part for me. I paid ALOT of money for this tattoo, and if I were to see something else on someone else that even looked llike it at all I would be a little pissed! Now, at the same time.. if someone asks you to draw something for them, and you have your own particular style, I would assume they would have noticed this when they looked at your pictures or portfolio and would see that you draw things a certian way (i.e. a skull or a rose) they should realize this when they tell you they want the drawing you did, and give you the O.K. to go ahead and tattoo it! Make sense?!? I dunno... Baker sendz.............