Tattoo Copying

I have to admit I prefer having a unique tattoo, but I don’t understand some people’s outrage about copying tattoos. You walk into any shop and the walls are covered with Flash fast sell small pieces to full arm or back pieces. Go to any convention and you see 80% of all the tattoos are the same or with simple variations. How many people have you seen with the Laugh Now, Cry Later Masks or the Scream mask or cherries, dragonflies. A lot of the Celtic designs are so close you can’t tell them apart. So tell me where is the line really drawn

I think that the outrage comes from seeing an exceptional "custom" tattoo done by an exceptional artist who's style is renowned and respected and then seeing that duplicated by and artist who makes just the slightest variance and calls it his/ger own at a lesser quality. Flash on the other hand is ment to be copied, used as a visual reference, and used as a "buisness card" to get that particular artists name and style out into the tattooing realm.... Only my opinion....J

word...

There ya go!...The word directly form da MAN...The reknown chicken mutilator jwerk himself...Can't tattoo chickens for SHIT but he does make some sense!!

Callous...there is a BIIIGGGG difference between tattoos on the wall of a shop("flash") and custom tattoo art....Flash is INTENDED to be copied...when you pick a tattoo off the wall you can fully expect that lots of other people have picked that same damn tattoo so ya really can't whine when ya see "your " tattoo on somebody else at the local Shop n Hop!...Now a custom tattoo...that is another monster altogether...a client pays a premium for a custom tattoo artist to design a unique tattoo that ,by its very definition, is designed just for that client....Now it is human nature to want things that are neato spiffy so if that "custon tattoo" is in anyway published be it on the artists web site, om Myspace or whatever ,there are going to be those who see it, like it and want it...No self respecting professional artist will copy another artists custom work....thats a no no...but they may design a tattoo "like" the custom piece that is a little bit the same but still very different. There are many unscrupulous tattooists out there that,sadly enough, WILL duplicate (well usually TRY to duplicate) a custom tattoo and that is something that will never change...it sucks! As far as celebrity tattoos well thats another bucket of fried maggots...celebs pay the price for being celebs and just because they are in the public eye they have to expect people to emmulate them....and yes that sucks too but oh well thats life!! TAz, Painted Angel Studios

Cheap chicken, cheap tattoo....what else would you expect?

My first two tattoos were with needle and thread , India ink and a lot of beer when I was 13. I have since covered both, one with a panther head back in 68, the other I had done maybe five years ago with a dragon. I thought I was getting a fairly unique dragon but as it turns out it was a knock off of either a flash or someone else’s design. I’m happy with it but I have seen three or four on the web sense then that are almost identical. I’m in the market for another tattoo, I have worked up my own design because it a memorial to my dad. I have taken it to two shops both wanted to change it. I did expect it to be redrawn as my art is fair at best but the first place made changes that I felt were changing the soul or meaning of the tattoo. I haven’t seen the art work from the second place yet. If I was getting a knock off of a flash it would be different I wouldn’t mind the artist taking liberties. But this is a statement about my relationship with my father. Money is not a big issue, but I do have a working mans budget, I plan on anywhere from 300 to 600 for a lower arm piece.

I understand you 100% about keeping the "soul" of the tattoo...sometimes ya just gotta find that special artist that can take your design and keep the essence of your idea!