# How did this horrible tattoo even happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253 "2011-07-16T15:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/61 "2011-07-17T15:45:06Z")
That does it. I am going to take that course in laser tattoo removal. In a few years, the bucks will just roolll in. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/62 "2011-07-17T17:45:42Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > I agree, they make it look much worse (and that’s a tricky thing to accomplish, with the wonderful lettering). But I’m pretty sure they are supposed to be stylized women’s faces. OK, as much as I hate animal print in general, I want those “things” to be leopard spots rather than a whole bunch of women’s faces! All on somebody’s back like that? What the hell? Even if they’re smiling, that’s scary. Actually, after looking at it again, I think they resemble the bumps you see on manhole covers. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/63 "2011-07-17T17:53:53Z")
For those doubting the pink color - I can say that a friend of mine went in to get her lips tattoo’ed. (“No!” I hear her say, “It’s NOT a tattoo, it’s PERManent LIPstick! ! !”) She asked for a very natural rosy pink, nothing too obvious, just enough so that her lips have some color in the morning. They came out just that atrocious coral pink. Eesh! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/64 "2011-07-17T18:01:47Z")
I’m posting a link to that picture next time someone gives me a hard time for saying tattoos look like scribbling. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/65 "2011-07-17T18:43:34Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Actually, after looking at it again, I think they resemble the bumps you see on manhole covers. They look like cells in various stages of mitosis to me. Look at the dark parts and tell me you don’t see chromosomes now. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/66 "2011-07-17T19:09:01Z")
I think I know how the spots originated. The tattooist did all the lettering and the ribbon, then stood back to look at his work and realized how bad it looked. So then he thought to himself, “This shit looks horrible, I need to do _something_ to take people’s eyes away from that terrible lettering and that big goofy ribbon. Oh, I know… SPOTS! That will fix everything!” ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/67 "2011-07-17T19:32:58Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > For those doubting the pink color - I can say that a friend of mine went in to get her lips tattoo’ed. (“No!” I hear her say, “It’s NOT a tattoo, it’s PERManent LIPstick! ! !”) > > She asked for a very natural rosy pink, nothing too obvious, just enough so that her lips have some color in the morning. They came out just that atrocious coral pink. Eesh! What does _she_ think of the color? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/68 "2011-07-17T19:59:19Z")
I don’t see what’s so bad about this tattoo, other than that some people are miffed it wasn’t done professionally by a highly skilled fine tattoo artiste. It looks no uglier than a skull-with-snake-crawling-through-eyesocket proudly displayed on somebody’s neck. Or those arrows on legs pointing to body orifices. Or a wise Chinese or Japanese saying on some high school dropout from Tuscaloosa. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/69 "2011-07-17T21:39:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m posting a link to that picture next time someone gives me a hard time for saying tattoos look like scribbling. 😃 You think a photo of a bad tattoo gives any weight to your argument that \*\*all \*\*tattoos look like scribbling? For every horrible tattoo (like the one in the OP) you post, I can post something like [this](http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/mike_devries_tattoos_1.jpg). Or [this](http://www.wired.com/table_of_malcontents/2007/06/pointillist_seu/). ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/70 "2011-07-17T23:08:08Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I don’t see what’s so bad about this tattoo, other than that some people are miffed it wasn’t done professionally by a highly skilled fine tattoo artiste. It looks no uglier than a skull-with-snake-crawling-through-eyesocket proudly displayed on somebody’s neck. Or those arrows on legs pointing to body orifices. Or a wise Chinese or Japanese saying on some high school dropout from Tuscaloosa. It’s poorly aligned, the text runs into itself, and it’s not indicative of what one usually wants a text tattoo to look like. [Good text](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l38i06GDzu1qc6jmko1_500.jpg) is hard to do, and [good handwriting text](http://www.flickr.com/photos/saylamarz/391351808/) is harder. I’ve seen really good artists who are not formally trained and really questionable artists who are formally trained; however, the quality of their work and the cleanliness of their work area and tools are more important when choosing an artist than their training. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/71 "2011-07-18T00:09:11Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > They look like cells in various stages of mitosis to me. Look at the dark parts and tell me you don’t see chromosomes now. Ew. You’re right. But they also remind me of frog eggs. Which is an even WORSE thing to have on your back. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/72 "2011-07-18T01:52:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m posting a link to that picture next time someone gives me a hard time for saying tattoos look like scribbling. 😃 > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > You think a photo of a bad tattoo gives any weight to your argument that \*\*all \*\*tattoos look like scribbling? For every horrible tattoo (like the one in the OP) you post, I can post something like [this](http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/mike_devries_tattoos_1.jpg). Or [this](http://www.wired.com/table_of_malcontents/2007/06/pointillist_seu/). Or [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/52891562@N00/3425702961/). Or how about [this one](http://www.groenbekk.com/2010/08/19/mucha-tattoo/)? (If I were ever going to get a big back piece, I would so have a Mucha print done – he’s my favorite artist) **aruvqan** – I love your tat – that’s beautiful! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/73 "2011-07-18T03:08:48Z")
One thing that always amazes me…when it gets really cold here you will see people wearing tank tops, when the temps are in the 20s-30s, in order to show off spectacularly bad tattoos. Tattoos that would have me wearing long sleeves in the hottest part of summer if they were on me! Actually, I really appreciate good ink, so it’s not like I’m anti-tat or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/74 "2011-07-18T05:14:02Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > You think a photo of a bad tattoo gives any weight to your argument that \*\*all \*\*tattoos look like scribbling? For every horrible tattoo (like the one in the OP) you post, I can post something like [this](http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/mike_devries_tattoos_1.jpg). Or [this](http://www.wired.com/table_of_malcontents/2007/06/pointillist_seu/). It was a joke, son. That’s why I put a Big Grin after it. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/75 "2011-07-18T07:27:19Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > That does it. I am going to take that course in laser tattoo removal. In a few years, the bucks will just roolll in. Like removing [this one](http://www.imbecile.me/pic/tattoo-fail-clearly-i-have-made-some-bad-decisions/attachment/tattoo-fail-clearly-i-have-made-some-bad-decisions/)? Clearly the guy makes bad decisions on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/76 "2011-07-18T08:06:08Z")
Ever since I’ve had my sleeve, anywhere I go people want to show me their (usually terrible) tattoos and ask me questions about mine. And it never fails that they’ll tell me about what a “good deal” on their work. Any decent artist can take a design off the wall and do a decent rendering, but with cover ups or extensive work you really do get what you pay for. And, IMO, it’s worth it to wait until you find the right artist. Unfortunately, people are impulsive and impatient, and that’s how they end up with dreadful work. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/77 "2011-07-18T11:19:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The lettering is horrible, but I can ignore it for some reason. > > I cannot ignore those marks that are supposed to resemble leopard spots. > > They are horrid. If I had trypophobia, I’d be screaming right now. > > At least it’s on her back and not in a place where she’d have to look at it every day. I was thinking the same thing. But because I think the spots make her look like she has some skin disorder. In fact, that was the first thing that jumped out at me before I noticed there even was lettering. And if your handwriting is not clear enough to be read from a distance on paper, it’s not going to look good on someone’s back. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/78 "2011-07-18T14:16:15Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The lettering is horrible, but I can ignore it for some reason. > > I cannot ignore those marks that are supposed to resemble leopard spots. > > They are horrid. If I had trypophobia, I’d be screaming right now. > > At least it’s on her back and not in a place where she’d have to look at it every day. Amen to that. They look like giant pimples all over her back :eek: I usually like tribute tattoos, but Z— for execution! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/79 "2011-07-18T14:38:22Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > Amen to that. They look like giant pimples all over her back :eek: They almost look like gravel… like somehow her back had been pushed along a poorly paved street and picked up some stones and a ribbon that was just lying there… ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253/80 "2011-07-18T15:48:34Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > They are horrid. If I had trypophobia, I’d be screaming right now. Uh, yeah. No screaming, but I did have to walk away from my computer for a while. Not as bad as lotus boob lady, but still Double Plus Ungood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-this-horrible-tattoo-even-happen/589253.md?page=5)