bad inner wrist tattoo

I have a really bad tattoo on the inside of my wrist I want covered up or possibley removed. It is a sort of tribal inspired spider that looks like it was done in prison. The tattoo is faded black and about 7 yrs old. Is there anything I can do to fix this in such a delicate area?

I'm not a tattoo artist but I am an artist..if you're wanting to do a cover up.. and want color.. I'd suggest a few sessions of laser removal before trying to do a cover up.. it'll lessen the intensity of the black and make coverup work a lot easier.. you'll be more likely to end with something you'll love, and the artist will have an easier time covering it up.. black being the hardest color to cover up in tattooing or otherwise..

recommending that you get laser removal without seeing the tattoo is not prudent...you said it was very light and should be able to be easily covered by any competent tattoo artist...consult with a few before deciding....if you can e-mail me a pic it would help in making a recommendation...TAz, Painted Angel Studios

I said if he wanted something color.. If he wants to do something black, or dark colored.. there shouldn't be a problem.. from an artist stand-point.. and I've worked with many mediums, ink included.. black is THE hardest thing to cover up with anything other than a dark blue, dark green, or dark purple.. and even then it still requires more than one coat.. And I don't recall him saying anything about it being light.. just faded..

So ok lets argue...I've been doing tattoos for over 35 years and I think I know what I'm talking about... #1...faded equals lightentened #2...doing art on paper and tattooing on skin only have a passing relationship at best...if you don't tattoo you just do not know...period!!! #3...Black tattoos are covered with ink OTHER than black every day by competent artists....especially faded ones...check out the covers at www.hyperspace.com and google Tim Kerns site...see the black tattoos that can be covered WITH COLOR!!! Have you studied "advanced coverups for tattooists" by James kern...or "reinventing the tattoo" by Guy Aitchison?...Until you do some homework on the subject I would read and listen if I were you. Now I appreciate your posts and your opinions I do NOT however appreciate a person with marginal art skills and absolutely NO tattooing knowledge second guessing me when it comes to my business...a business that I have been successful in for over 3 decades. Scroll down and read the other posts on covering tattoos with other than black...do your homework BEFORE you try to correct a professional...T

I wouldnt take advice about getting tattooed from anyone but a great tattoo artist. Telling someone they should get lasered without seeing the tattoo and not being a tattoo artist is very irresponsible. I would look up ES Kustoms via http://www.JimeLitwalk.com he works with some talented folks and is awesome himself. They will give you great advice.

Gabe you are right ...I certainly do not now nor have I ever considered myself a "great" tattoo artist however I do have quite a few years of experience and think I am sufficiently knowledgeable to give advice to this person...I have been giving advice on this forum for some time now with kudos from some of the "greats" you mention....should I discontinue these efforts?...After all I'm not a "great" artist.....just say the word my friend and I will be happy to pull the plug...TAz

,,,,,

Sorry guys.. I've yet to see any absolutely fuckin' amazing coverup jobs on such a sensitive area, especially something black.. maybe I should stop holding you guys to the such high fuckin' standards I hold my own artwork to? With a wrist you have a MINIMAL area to work with, and it's such a public place for a tattoo.. if I were covering up there, I'd want the original tattoo to be completely invisible, not even a hint of it detectable.. I'm a perfectionist like that.. And, likewise, you tattoo artists aren't gods.. Other people besides artists can make wise, informed observations and give advice... Given the information I was given.. I chose to advice on what I (read: I) would do in the same situation.. Like I said, I'm a perfectionist.. As for not being a tattoo artist, it's not through lack of want, or skill.. believe me.. I've been offered an apprenticeship.. but I have to have a degree in something, so I have something to fall back on in twenty years when the auto-immune disease Reinad's destoys my hands, and thus my art, and my music.. Remember that about me before you criticize next time...

Oh.. and I didn't say have it completely removed.. obviously a few means one or two.. enough to lighten it... no.. I'm too drunk to get into it tonight..

This is an open forum and everyone is very welcome to put their 2 cents in. I dont mind you posting at all taz (or anyone)... That said, my advise is listen to the talented tattoo artist you research and seek out who is doing the coverup and have them look at the tattoo tell you your best course of action. There are great artists that can rework/cover what you have, and if the tattoo looks like it is faded and was done in prison 7 years ago then you probably dont need to zap it, but who knows... The artist doing the coverup. Sure, Im a perfectionist too and am lasering a good chunk of my old crap off completely just in case I want to tattoo pure white over it. But theres no way I would advise someone to get lasering online without seeing the tattoo, the skin, the person, the new design, and knowing the artist who is doing the jobs abilities. Its not like there are tons of great laser guys out there, I know like 3-4 that I would trust to do the job right at a fair price....

how can you say they DON'T need laser and just need to see an artist when you havn't even seen it either.

Thats the whole point...we are NOT saying it should be lasered ...we are not saying it shouldn't be...as we both said previously....we have not seen the tattoo and will not recommend either way...it would be irresponsible to do so.

yeah ducky, now your putting words in my mouth. I have no idea, some artists are more capable than others so the tattoo may or may not need some lasering. I doubt anyone who has read this thread would really know for sure... Its not rocket science that the artist doing the tattoo should see whats there now before knowing what can or cant cover it and what steps to take...

Destined, perhaps you should try telling someone who has not seen samples of the crap you do and claim to be 'art' that you are an 'artist', let alone a perfectionist. As to your snotty statement that you should 'stop holding you guys to the such high fuckin' standards I hold my artwork to' if what you had the gall to post (under "Too Big") are examples of your high fuckin' standards, your standards must be as high as a limbo bar. That sad ass excuse of a phoenix and the even shittier attempt at a dragon speak volumes for both your standards and artistic abilities. As to you saying you were offered an apprenticeship, well that would be a scary thought to say the least. Who supposedly offered you an apprenticeship. Leave tattoing to those who know what they're speaking of and I might suggest staying out of the forum when you're drunk.

i was not tryin to call anyone out, just sayin that just as you can suggest not getting laser removal, someone else can. Sometimes i feel like it's a big risk to say anything that is in disagreement with the bigger tattoo artists on here...then again, i guess most of the people on here have short tempers and sharp tongues lately

So one person says "don't get it lasered" and the guy takes their advice and doesn't do it. Later he finds out he should get it lasered...well, he can just do it then. No big deal. Somebody else says "get it lasered". He takes their advice and then later finds out he really didn't need to get it lasered. He wasted his time and money and went through the pain of laser tattoo removal when it wasn't necessary. Which is worse?

Ducky, for one read the messages, no one said do not get laser, we said that taking advice about lasering form someone who is not a tattoo artist is stupid and that the person who should be advising the client on lasering is the artist doing th work, not someone who was offered an apprenticeship once apon a time. If said not-quite-apprentice feels uncomfortable about dispensing advice about something they dont know about (tattooing coverups in this case) on this forum I wont shed a tear. I dont mind if people have to think a few times before posting on the board. Sure, many of the artists who post have short tempers, but the poiint is to learn and if you want to learn about tattooing for free on a public tattoo forum, then expect to be called out when you talk out yer ass and theres a a few hundred artists who know better reading... I guess people are relatively free to give bad advice on this forum, but we are going to call them out on it. While everyone has an equal right to their opinion, not everyones opinion is equal or right.

ok, im not into drama, so im not trying to start any. but i have seven tattoos, one of which required some heavy touching up. it was mostly black, other parts in color. it was difficult and painful to have touched up, and although i went to an experienced and very talented artist, i did not end up with a great result, only because i didnt get the result i wanted in the end. the first thing i would recommend is coming up with an idea for a coverup that you truely like, and are willing to have on your body for the rest of your life. the next step would be to research tattoo artists, not just by loooking them up online, but by going into their studios, talking to them, asking about their portfolios and the health code requirements, etc. watch them tattoo, see their work. this is the ONLY way to find the person who will tattoo you best. then, discuss what you want, or show them a picture of it. ask their opinions.... as taz said, many tattoo artists have had many years experience, and can give very helpful advice. again, this will be on your body FOR LIFE, so you want it to look good. if you're over the whole tattoo thing, and just want it off your body for good, no coverup, then get it lasered off. theres no point in having any tattoo if you dont really love it. hopefully i gave you some ok, sound advice that wont get you screwed over financially, and hopefully you'll end up with what you really want. thats the only thing that really matters.

ok, im not into drama, so im not trying to start any. but i have seven tattoos, one of which required some heavy touching up. it was mostly black, other parts in color. it was difficult and painful to have touched up, and although i went to an experienced and very talented artist, i did not end up with a great result, only because i didnt get the result i wanted in the end. the first thing i would recommend is coming up with an idea for a coverup that you truely like, and are willing to have on your body for the rest of your life. the next step would be to research tattoo artists, not just by loooking them up online, but by going into their studios, talking to them, asking about their portfolios and the health code requirements, etc. watch them tattoo, see their work. this is the ONLY way to find the person who will tattoo you best. then, discuss what you want, or show them a picture of it. ask their opinions.... as taz said, many tattoo artists have had many years experience, and can give very helpful advice. again, this will be on your body FOR LIFE, so you want it to look good. if you're over the whole tattoo thing, and just want it off your body for good, no coverup, then get it lasered off. theres no point in having any tattoo if you dont really love it. hopefully i gave you some ok, sound advice that wont get you screwed over financially, and hopefully you'll end up with what you really want. thats the only thing that really matters.

An attempt at a cover up by a competent and optimistic artist is a lot less expensive and painful than laser removal. I would opt for that first; and if it turns out like shit, then you can have the whole thing removed later. The key is to consult with enough people to really get a grasp of the situation. I had an old and really shitty looking dragon on my forearm, and another on my upper arm, both of which I had re-done last week by the only artist that I consulted with who was optimistic about what he could do with these 20 year old relics. There was so much black in the one on my forearm that I thought laser removal was imminent. When I decided to go ahead and let this artist do the re-work, I was only looking for them to look better than they did before he started. I was blown away when he was finished!!! These tattoos never looked this good when they were new, and for the first time were actually art. TAz seen 'em,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,whattaya think Buddy? TCE

I think Martin did an amzing job Tim...HE IS GOOD!!! And you of all people have found out that bthere is a HUGE difference in artists not that the leg and foot work is bad by any means but the covers really show a difference in skill levels...choose your artist CAREFULLY....listen to VWCABS advice....makes a LOT of sense!...speaking of which... Now for VWCAB...Where have YOU been?...we could have used your common sense on this forum a long time ago...you said in one post what Gabe and I had been tryin to say for a week!! Thanks so much for your post and I hope to see more of you!!...TAz

VWCAB, Interestingly, my experience with the rework of my old tats was quite the opposite of yours. After 20 years, I still happened to like the designs that I had. The first artist who did them didn't nail them quite perfectly, and there were some things about them that always bothered me, or bothered me for as long as I was even still proud of having the ink. Eventually I didn't even notice them anymore, and they just seemed like birthmarks. Having them redone was an opportunity to fix the mistakes, and make them look acceptable again. But the end results were unbelievable. As I said, better than when new, and really works of art now. This artist used a pen to first map out the planned alterations, and during the actual work the machine glided effortlessly across my skin. He completed each phase with full confidence of what he was doing, and especially on my forearm I was astonished at how little pain there was. When I first got this tattoo 20 years ago, I thought it was fairly painful, but the cover up was a complete 180. Each experience is different. TCE