25 Times A Client’s Tattoo Request Had The Artist Asking “Are You Sure?”

Tattooing is a business, and not everyone in it operates with good business ethics. This is often evident in the horrendous tattoos some people end up with. You can’t help but wonder: why didn't anyone try to stop them? Considering the permanent nature of body art, you'd think that perhaps someone would intervene at least to make sure that they really want that particular design on them forever. Curious about artists’ roles, many have asked if tattooists ever refuse to do embarrassing tattoos. The questions have drawn in responses from all over, sharing fascinating experiences and insights into the world of tattoo design. We’ve collected a variety of stories below that will leave you facepalming, cringing and maybe even slightly apprehensive about the future of our own young relatives' possible explorations into the world of getting inked.

#1

Image source: rdhigham, joyss7 Was in booking a tattoo one day and a woman came in to buy her soon to be 16yo daughter a tattoo. Owner and tattooist says 'sure we can sort something out, what is she wanting' mother says 'she wants to get the playboy bunny on the inside of her wrist' artist refused and said 'I don't want to be responsible for something so cliche and visible on such a young girl'. There was an argument, but the woman leaves yelling she is going elsewhere where her money is good enough. He had strong views on neck, face and hand tattoos.

#2

Image source: Grimzkhul, Liza Summer I've told this story before but why not. Guy comes in with girlfriend, want each other's names, I protest, they insist. We know they'll get it elsewhere and I'm in a walk-in shop at the time so I say okay it lets go. Get's it across his stomach in old English, the moment we're done she yells some like: "next time you'll think twice before sleeping around behind my back!" And runs away. It was awkward to ask for the money....

#3

Image source: TrashApocalypse, JihadKrigeren This was actually a post tattoo proclamation. Woman came in with her boyfriend wanting his name with a crown over It on her wrist. I tried to talk her out of it but she insisted so, my general policy is to do the tattoo well, maybe with a thinner line weight so it’s easier to cover later, but at least it’ll be a good tattoo. So, fast forward to after the tattoo, she’s all wrapped up, ready to go, and she asks me to look at another tattoo to see how much it would cost to cover. Turns around, pulls up her shirt, and lo behold, there, across her lower back, in HUGE letters: some OTHER dude’s name, WITH A CROWN OVER IT!!!!!!! WHAT!?!?!? Are you KIDDING ME????? WHY WOULD YOU WANT THAT??? AGAIN!!!!! Omg... Sometimes, these people, it can be hard y’all. Please tip your artist.

#4

Image source: 100Dachshunds, Klara Kulikova I actually refused to do this one-- an 18 year old girl came in wanting her boyfriends name on her lower back. She had never met him--she was his prison pen pal for a month, and he was being released in a couple weeks and she wanted to get it to surprise him. No judgements on ex-cons or 18 year old girls, but I got the impression the relationship wasn't going to last!

#5

Image source: longshot338, Eren Li Oh, boy...I was traveling through Germany in my late teens and had a few too many liters of beer, when I stumbled into a tattoo shop demanding a flaming pentagram, held by a demon's hand, with a banner of my name under it. I'd been carrying a sketch for MONTHS...the shop owner asked me,"Bist du dir SEHR sicher?" (Are you VERY sure?) and I kinda had a moment there....I said...sorta tentatively, yes, and he turned me away immediately....too drunk to consent. saved my life!

#6

Image source: GarrisonFjord, floundereel Recently talked someone out of getting that stupid anchor tattoo with the words "I refuse to sink" around it. THAT'S WHAT ANCHORS DO YOU MORONS! I hate that tattoo.

#7

Image source: snowlock27, Aleks Dorohovich Not a tattoo artist, but I was told several different stories by one. First was the guy that wanted the Playboy bunny tattooed on each of his cheeks. The artist in question will not do face or neck tattoos, so he would refuse, but the guy would come back every few weeks and ask again. Finally, he came back and asked for something else. Artist goes in the back to get the art, and when he comes back, guy is up front with a bucket of KFC, and there's breading all over the floor. Not just that, but guy is walking all over it, grinding it into the floor. Artist says, you know what, I'll do the bunnies for you after all. That guy is now known as chicken boy around town. Second was a real muscular guy, the type that spends more time in the gym than anywhere. Tells the artist he wants a chain that goes all around his neck. Artist tells him, that's a bad idea, it'll hurt like hell when I get to your collar bone, but guy says he can take it. Artist knows better, but decides to draw up two versions: one he shows the guy that looks like what he wants; the other where it goes up to the collar bone, so it looks like the chains are coming out of his skin. That one he doesn't show guy. He starts tattooing, and when he gets to the collar bone, guy starts crying like a baby. Artist says, you know what, I have an idea of how to do this if you want me to finish. Last was the guy that wanted his girlfriend's name tattooed on him. Artist doesn't like tattooing names, and will do his best to talk people out of it, but he *will* do them. Guy starts talking to the girlfriend on his phone while artist is doing his thing, then guy starts crying. Really crying. Artist is confused, as he has a light touch, and this shouldn't hurt very much. Then he realizes while inking that the guy is crying because his girlfriend had broken up with him, and thought calling her while getting her name tattooed would convince her to take him back. It didn't.

#8

Image source: ipunchcats22, Best_Investment1042 I witnessed a tattoo artist attempt to talk a guy out of a tattoo while getting one. This guy who was maybe early 30s came in, he was super awkward and had a few other people with him. They where obviously drunk. He explained to the artist he wanted a hello kitty tramp stamp the size of a cd. His friends all laughed and started to record this guy. The artist asked him why and he said his friends thought it was funny. The artist tried to talk him out of it. He ended up getting the tattoo. I think about this poor guy who was obviously doing this to fit in with his crowd of “friends” and how he has to live with a tramp stamp of hello kitty.

#9

Image source: anon, -deathrider- I was getting work done and the receptionist came in to speak with the artist. She had someone at the front desk looking for a quote on "Barbed wire starting around his wrist and wrapping around his arm all the way up to the shoulder," "How about nothing, because that's stupid and I won't do it." "Oh, uh, okay, I'll tell him." He looked at me and said, "Sometimes you have to be the good taste police. I did a Nike Swoosh once when I was broke and I still regret it.".

#10

Image source: sp4zzy, Jayson Hinrichsen Asked my artist (25+ years experience) this during my last piece. His most notable was a guy who wanted a solid bright blue "speedo" tattooed on. Over every square inch that a speedo would cover. Said it was super awkward as it was one of his first tattoos but he made good money off of it. Nothing has really fazed him since.

#11

Image source: hurricanechainn, hurricanechainn My 74 year old grandma wanted me to tattoo a cat on her neck. I asked this question. She said yes. My grandma now has a siamese cat on the side of neck. You don't tell grandma no. And she looks dope. Edit for picture link

#12

Image source: gamageeknerd, Paul Sivot Friend wanted angel wings tattooed on her back and asked me to go since I was the only person she knew with tattoos. We walk into a pretty well known tattoo shop in LA and she explains to the artist what she wants. As she explains it gets even more elaborate with the wings starting to decay the farther down her back they went and the artist shows us some pretty sweet wings he'd done before. He explains how it will be done, he'd do the outline first and after a few weeks she could come back and he's start the detail work. Fast forward to 3 days later and she's topless lying on his chair/bed? and he's laying a stencil down. He asks her what other tattoos she has besides this one and she tells him that this will be her first one, tattoo guys face drops instantly and he starts saying how he's going to end up tattooing some of the most painful parts you could tattoo( the ribs mostly) and he asks if she can handle it. She says yes and after a little more talking it happened. She cannot take the pain at all, she's crying and griping the cushion. Artist looks at me and his face reads like (is she really going to do this the entire time?) after half an hour of tattooing with the occasional break he says he can't deal with her screaming in the shop so he stops. He had probably 10% of the outline done on the right wing. We leave with another appointment set so another person could help her with the tattoo and make it something smaller. I didn't go back but she went with 2 female friends and from what I heard was another 10 minutes of tattooing she had a nice wave outline on her back.

#13

Image source: sheargraphix, Marisa Harris Not a tattoo artist but...My dad has a terrible tattoo on his arm of his and my mums name. Years ago she told him to get something around it to make it look a little nicer and he came back with a dolphin on his pec ? *edit* Thanks for my first ever gold kind stranger!

#14

Image source: no_seas_carepicha, no_seas_carepicha Other end of the spectrum- I got asked “are you sure?” About 15x. I was 18 and the tattoo artist who did my first professional tattoo had posted a photo of a piece she wanted to do and it was going to be roughly $900. I didn’t have the money but was in love with the piece so sadly someone else scooped it up. A few months later, she posted the piece again and said that the person had backed out and she wanted to do it for a competition piece at a tattoo convention. It was roughly 13x8 inches, so a large piece ya know. I saw the post, ran down to the shop and paid the deposit and said I would do it as a present to myself for my 19th birthday. She explained it would have to be all done in one sitting (roughly 9 hours) the day of at the convention in time for judging, and I told her I wouldn’t change my mind. It hurt a lot and took forever, but it was one of the best experiences and one of my favorite pieces.

#15

Image source: 12CansOfDrPepper, K1-RB0 Guy wanted a barcode. Artist told him it wouldn't actually work and that it'd be decorative only. Guy says okay. After it's done guy pulls out his cell phone and tries to scan it. It doesn't work. Guy is angry.

#16

Image source: CoolHandRK1, Pavel Danilyuk Opposite end of this spectrum. I was 19 and my buddy from the dorms in college decides he wants a tattoo on his stomach of his initials. Think Tupac "Thug Life" tattoo but like gothic lettering initial or something. Sounded stupid to me but whatever, I am not a tattoo guy. But, we go into this tattoo shop that was pretty popular at the beach near us and he tells the guy what he wants and is looking at pricing and fonts etc. But, the tattoo guy starts trying to talk him out of getting his initials and instead says he needs something more "you know eye grabbing like VIOLENCE, or RAGE, or MAYHEM, you know something cool." His exact words and suggestions. Strangest interaction by anyone trying to sell anything I have ever seen. To also put some perspective on this, this was 1999 and my buddy had a pooka shell necklace, frosted tips hair and wore cargo shorts and Ralph Lauern Polos every day of his life. He was not the "I need a tattoo that says VIOLENCE on my stomach" kind of guy and that was pretty obvious.

#17

Image source: boolean_sledgehammer, cottonbro studio A buddy of mine who ran his own studio once asked me to do an illustration for a strange request that a customer had. I had done a number of custom pieces, and some of them were pretty weird. This one, though... The guy essentially wanted a portrait of a 60's era William Shatner "deep in thought." He also wanted a dream bubble coming out of Shatner's head, and inside that dream bubble he wanted the exact same portrait of William Shatner *with a mustache.* Essentially William Shatner dreaming about William Shatner with a mustache. The dude wanted this engraved on his flesh. I was in awe of how beautifully stupid it was. Being that portraiture wasn't my strong point, I gave it to someone else. Last I had heard, the guy actually went through with it.

#18

Image source: _DeezyD, RagingPanda1 I have a friend with the Ice Age Squirrel tattooed on his inner thigh reaching up.

#19

Image source: lumporr, lumporr Well, my friend recently got 汤, the chinese word for soup, tattooed on his ankle he'd been planning it for like 3 years. he reportedly did his research to make sure they didn't tattoo "truth or beauty or some other thing" edit: he didn't get this from the big bang theory. he first proposed this idea like 3 years ago, idk when the big bang theory did it but i can guarantee you neither of us have watched an episode

#20

Image source: anon, Hammersmith_tattoo Kind of a"reverse" of this. I was 18 and wanted stitches on my neck, all around, as if my head was cut off and sewn back on. The guy said "at 18 you need a parents signature" which was true in Chicago at the time. My mom said ok and came with. I love her, but she's not the best decision maker. The guy sees me roll back in with my mom. He gives the price. It's insane. I have over 30 tattoos, I now have vague understanding of the pricing (vague, I'm not trying to be that guy who thinks he knows my tattoo artist buds). This price was insane. Not just because of placement, difficulty and shop rate. The dude saved me. He knew I didn't have that money, and he saved me by just giving me a crazy price. I could have gone somewhere else but just assumed, at the time, it'd just be that much. TL;DR I was the customer with a crazy request and the artist duped me and saved my skin.

#21

Image source: Bettyrose91, nappy We had this lovely exchange student come into the studio for about a year to get all sorts of piercings and then the day finally came that he turned 18. So asked to sit down and a chat with him about what he wanted. Now the way he asked me made me think that it was going to be this big elaborate design. He asked for a maths equation on his foot. He wanted 3+4=8. I cautiously asked that he knew that was the incorrect answer to the equation. His response was "Oh yeah I know, I just think it'd make a funny tattoo." So yeah.

#22

Image source: anon, _ofarias g A man came in to the shop my husband works at on his 18th birthday and got a pentagram with a goat on the front of his throat. First tattoo in a very visible spot that is satanic. I don't know that kid but I'm pretty sure he's regretting that decision. My husband refused to do this tattoo but someone else in the shop did.

#23

Image source: anon, Brock Wegner A guy came in and got his wife's name covered up with a portrait of his new girlfriend. My coworker used part of her shirt in the picture to cover up the name. Then two months later he turned his now ex girlfriends portrait into a demon. I started working at another shop and in came in the same guy with a third girl and they were getting matching tattoos on their hands. When I walked to the front and saw him he totally pretended he didn't know me.

#24

Image source: valleyVAbuc, Anna Tarazevich Not a tattoo artist but I asked the same question to the artist that did mine. Young couple walk in and girl asks for guys last name on her rib cage. While doing tattoo guy never says a word and the girl is just going on about how much she loves him. When finished artist says "check it out in the mirror". When she looks the guy is standing behind her with this blank stare. She spins around and says "doesn't it look great!" The guy stares at her for 5 long seconds and then says "I know you cheated on me, have a good life" then walks out. She goes to run after him and the artist reaches out and grabs her by the arm and says "you're going to have to pay before you leave the shop".

#25

Image source: liberty285code6, David L Smith I wanted a tattoo on the bottom of my foot so bad. Three different tattoo artists told me no, and objectively they were right. Cuz like, that’s where it’s most likely to rub off, infection chance is much higher, it hurts like hell, etc. But I really wanted it, so I did it myself stick n’ poke. And it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. But five years later it’s still going strong.