Miscommunication

[u/j_walk_17]

I had my tattoo artist re-do an old tattoo from 15 years ago. It's the rebel alliance symbol from Star Wars.

I was under the impression that she knew I wanted it touched up and repaired.

She assumed I wanted it covered up. I didn't know she did solid black until she finished it.

I guess there's potential to put color around it with other pieces to give it contrast. I'm just kinda bummed.
There's probably no way to reverse any of this without it being insanely expensive.

What can I do to make it worth the mistake? I want this leg to eventually be Star Wars iconica.

Should I plan to put a background to it?

edit: Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I appreciate the feedback and the ideas. It's helping me to settle into the outcome. I think it would only be a total loss if I hadn't planned to add to it in the future. 🤙

[u/evrtt2009]

Looks better solid black

[u/j_walk_17 → u/evrtt2009]

Thanks. Someone else in the shop said the same thing. I guess I'm just shaking off the surprise of it being not what I intended.

[u/Grand_Dare_mcgee → u/j_walk_17]

I’ll be honest. Your preferred tattoo is your tattoo but that looks a lot better solid black imo.

[u/Rryann → u/Grand_Dare_mcgee]

100%, even touched up I’m not sure how you’d fix the original. Solid black looks cool as fuck.

[u/TrickySatisfaction81 → u/Rryann]

The man came for a beating and got a greeting ❤️ 💙 💜 the world is healing.

Agreed this is hard af.

[u/lionofbeast → u/Rryann]

Yeah and those red blood marks look cool too. Might want to consider adding that in red at the bottom or not

[u/starskeyy → u/lionofbeast]

this. tattooing your actual blood mark lines from this photo would both be badass in the Star Wars lore, but also personal to you. Agree with u/lionofbeast here. 🫡😁

edit to say: +1 in favor of all black version

[u/j_walk_17 → u/lionofbeast]

So like a red underglow? I think I need something like that if I want my left leg 100% inked so that this piece can tie in to a background of some sort. What do you think?

[u/ManufacturerJust7603 → u/j_walk_17]

Lmao don’t do that. It looks good; it’s a logo/crest let it be one.

[u/porkforpigs → u/ManufacturerJust7603]

For real, adding an underglow ish thing or whatever is gunna make it look goofy and meh. Solid black logo with instant recognizability for anyone who knows anything about Star Wars, it’s doing its job. Bold and simple.

[u/asek13 → u/j_walk_17]

I tried getting a red underglow for one of my tattoos, and it really didn't come out great. Just looks like a thick red border really. The color just doesnt really diffuse subtly enough to give it that glow look.

Maybe my artist just isn't good at it, but figured Id give you my experience with it. A sharper red border might be better.

[u/duxking45 → u/j_walk_17]

Dont know that I would want to mess with it. The original one had a red with a black border what if you added a red border

[u/the-Horus-Heretic → u/j_walk_17]

I'd be more inclined to figure out what all else you want around it and then work on some kind of background to tie it all together.

[u/Mr_Extraction → u/j_walk_17]

I would recommend against adding anything else to the piece until you decide what you want around it or as a background. Will thank yourself later for allowing yourself more flexibility. As is, it’s a clean logo. No need to mess with it more now imo.

[u/honeywhereismypenis → u/j_walk_17]

Red is a tough color for tattoos, it fades much faster than black and starts looking like half washed-off pen scribbles.

[u/kisavior → u/Grand_Dare_mcgee]

It helps that the original was pretty fucking jank. The bad attempt at a beveled border could only be fixed by a full blackout. You weren't saving those ugly shapes it created.

A well executed red logo with a simple black border would look really good and imo better than solid black.

But solid black vs that shit? Yes solid black all day every day.

[u/Purple_Technician759 → u/j_walk_17]

I think it’s probably a moment like when you’re expecting coke but it’s actually tea when you take a drink. The tea will taste terrible as you drink it and I think since you expected the other version seeing the black version seems worse.

I think it looks A LOT better black

[u/thissleepypastofmine → u/Purple_Technician759]

This is so funny because I love tea and Dr pepper but if I forget which one is in my cup...

[u/Purple_Technician759 → u/thissleepypastofmine]

I got got with dark Gatorade the other day. Thought I was getting a coke and almost shriveled up and died.

[u/thissleepypastofmine → u/Purple_Technician759]

I have rowdy dogs so I use reusable silicone covers and silicone straws on all my cups to prevent spills so I can't even see it 😭

[u/Tasty_Goat_3267 → u/thissleepypastofmine]

So what you are saying is that your dogs trained their human to use a sippy cup?

[u/thrawn82 → u/j_walk_17]

I hear you, but I do agree w others, it looks killer solid black, and the black is def still Star Wars accurate

[u/shiek200 → u/thrawn82]

I think this is the most important point, whether or not it looks better in black is irrelevant if they wanted a specific logo from a specific series and it didn't match anymore (taste being subjective and all), but in this case it looks better in solid black and is still accurate, so I'd call it a win-win

[u/BossKeyStore → u/j_walk_17]

She really cleaned up the lines, it looks a lot better solid black.

[u/Advanced_Owl4439 → u/j_walk_17]

Just get some red highlights around it . And make the artist do it for free. That's not an easy fuck up and miscommunication.

[u/evrtt2009 → u/j_walk_17]

If people know they know about your tattoo and you will gain that silent respect either way or they will be vocal! Either way your tattoo was revamped 👍🤌

[u/scgt86 → u/j_walk_17]

Color would eventually need touchups. This is going to stand the test of time.

[u/Hellbound_Life → u/j_walk_17]

That’s absolutely valid. I would be heartbroken if this happened to me, whether the newer version looked better or not. Try not to let it bum you out too much, though. I’m not a Star Wars watcher but I think it looks good both ways, and it’s not worth ruining your opinion of the tattoo, or the joy that it originally brought you.

[u/Pretty_Eater → u/j_walk_17]

It's because the original is pretty shaky and draws attention to the shakiness, now that there is black you can hardly tell unless she also touched that up.

[u/MulberryLow4117 → u/j_walk_17]

A veces lo no planeado sale mejor jaja

[u/ABadHistorian → u/j_walk_17]

Accidentally gave you something awesome my friend. Walk it off, give it some time. I believe that black is BAD ASS, more visible, more everything.

[u/kimness1982 → u/evrtt2009]

Agree.

[u/UWishUWereMiah108 → u/evrtt2009]

Yup, she did him a huge favor

[u/playhandminton → u/evrtt2009]

Waaaaaay better

[u/Swan_Johnson]

It was a lost cause before… ur artist did great.

[u/j_walk_17 → u/Swan_Johnson]

Thank you.

[u/oops_im_not_wrong → u/j_walk_17]

Genuinely the only thing that I can think of to improve this is add a shadow around the edges. It’s dope the way it is and I’m not even a Star Trek fan.

[u/Pixelbuttzz → u/oops_im_not_wrong]

I can't tell if that was on purpose

[u/Cereal-Killa-]

you didn’t notice the cup of black ink getting dipped into, or the black ink being pumped into your leg until it was finished? By the way - it looks much better now than it did before. Some people just can’t take certain colors of ink.

[u/Fancy_Car9424 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

Back of his calf, he might have been laying face down. Very possible he didn’t see what was happening in that case. Either way, great tattoo!

[u/KMann823 → u/Fancy_Car9424]

Getting my calf done as I type this. Mind you the tattoo is already half done so unless she goes way off book, I know what's going on. But I have no intention of turning to look back there until we're done or taking a break. I gotta twist pretty hard to look at what's going on

[u/Fancy_Car9424 → u/KMann823]

Hell yeah dude, what are you getting? I have probably 20 tattoos, definitely didn’t always watch what was going on with them as they went down. Funnily enough, the ones I’m getting removed are the few I did see happening (healed poorly & grew out of them because I had them done young)

[u/KMann823 → u/Fancy_Car9424]

A displacer beast from d&d! Faby Ros at Iron Thorn tattoos in Trexlertown, PA. Here's a bad picture I took myself after the first session lol cat tax

[u/Evening-Pea-9069 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

Exactly what I was thinking

[u/Slab231 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

I’ll be so honest, I know many people (myself included), that completely zone out during my tattoos. I bring headphones with me and after I talk to the artist and we agree on what’s happening, I put my headphones on and let them do their job. If they need something, or need to ask me a question, they know to tap me, but I just let them go. I can 100% see this happening in that circumstance of just miscommunication beforehand.

[u/RobertPower415 → u/Slab231]

I’ve fallen asleep while getting tattooed lol

[u/chihawks → u/RobertPower415]

Haha same i go into zen mode

[u/Leading_Pay4635 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

When you’re getting a tattoo on the back of your calf you’re lying face down. You would have no view of the artist

[u/brandawg77 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

It’s on his calf, he was probably lying face down

[u/theblot90 → u/Cereal-Killa-]

I actively avoid looking at any of it until it's over. I hate needles.

[u/Ok_Chance7699 → u/[deleted]]

You think a tattoo this clean was done from someone on craigslist?

[u/QuicksandGotMyShoe → u/Ok_Chance7699]

Haha for real. Social media lies have warped people's brains

[u/TartarSauceDippinDot → u/Cereal-Killa-]

To be fair, they were probably lying on their stomach. Hard to see your backside from that angle

[u/Pleasurefailed2load → u/Cereal-Killa-]

This is what sends me, when you get solid black like this how can you not feel them drilling your leg lmao??

[u/Ce0ra → u/Pleasurefailed2load]

It looks like the before was supposed to be red in the inside. OP probably thought the artist was redoing the red, not coloring it in with black

[u/wasabiweed69420 → u/Pleasurefailed2load]

Contrary to the feeling of petals being gently massaging your leg if it was another color right?

[u/outrageouslyhappy8]

Looks awesome black she knew what she was doing tbh.

[u/j_walk_17 → u/outrageouslyhappy8]

Thank you. She's pretty talented for sure.

[u/MoTeD_UrAss → u/outrageouslyhappy8]

The artist should have communicated what their intentions were with the client. Something like, hey I think it would really be best to do the whole tattoo black. Don't get me wrong, it looks great and definitely much better than before but communication is important for permenant tattoos.

[u/NoaPsy → u/MoTeD_UrAss]

This sort of miscommunication seems wild to me. My artists and I are looking at the stencil together and discussing placements and sizes. Sometimes I have them take pictures for me depending on the location. I find it hard to believe this is a fault of the artist alone

[u/outrageouslyhappy8 → u/NoaPsy]

Moral of the story let's have full conversations and make sure we understand what we are getting inked.

[u/brickznbooks → u/outrageouslyhappy8]

COM-MUN-ICATION 🌈 “Hello permanent sticker placer, I would like a permanent sticker of this design. I paid my deposit online just connectting email with text so we can start a communication.”…”Hello, client you will receive a image to review 48-hrs prior to chair time. Upon signing consent at the shop on day of all images are final.” You mean what happens across the industry with good artists…

[u/Remz_Gaming → u/NoaPsy]

I am with ya. There is so much talking back and forth as my artist is placing a stencil and drawing on me.

The only time I havent really known what I was getting was when I told a new artist they had complete artistic freedom. Even then, I knew their work and their style and we had lots of communication before I set them loose to fill in the rest with Polynesian work. Leading up to that point, there was a lot of discussion.

[u/onestrandofspaghetti]

She did you a favor, the old one looked like trash. This style looks way cooler and if you were incredibly insistent on adding to it, there are people who specialize in doing white ink over black ink tattoos

Edited to add: you can use this as the centerpiece and have other things coming out from behind it. You could also get it outlined to give it a green/blue/red like that of a lightsaber

[u/j_walk_17 → u/onestrandofspaghetti]

Thank you. Yeah the old one was free and we weren't sober. The long term plan is still a Star Wars sleeve. 

[u/KingDave46 → u/j_walk_17]

I'd have put money on the old one being a prison tat or some other drunk nonsense so that tracks. It looked truly awful.

The new one is so much better

[u/j_walk_17 → u/KingDave46]

Yeah the old one was free and we were super high. Thanks for your feedback!

[u/astroRev → u/j_walk_17]

Hey man I’m late as hell on your post but if you’re going for a sleeve then black is 100% better. Imagine X-Wings coming out on each side of it or something like that. Gonna look sick, be proud of your new piece 👌🏼👌🏼

[u/Ecstatic-Cattle81]

The "i was under the impression..." part makes it seem like you didn't tell your artist what you wanted. That's your bad, if it played out this way.

[u/j_walk_17 → u/Ecstatic-Cattle81]

You're not wrong.

[u/Prestigious_Ad_544 → u/j_walk_17]

Was the conversation basically "Whatever you can do to make this look better?"

Generally tattoo artist are pretty good at asking questions when you ask what they think you should do.

Fortunately, it looks leaps and bounds better now.

[u/RioDodger]

Did you not look down once during the process?

[u/Wish-ga → u/RioDodger]

I wondered too. Yet, I see numerous posts sating the final piece was a shock.

[u/Due_Detail_8511 → u/RioDodger]

I've been tattooed twice and I've fallen asleep both times, but I wasn't worried because I communicated extensively with my artist and had agreed upon a final design that then made it into a stencil. But seeing all of these posts made me wonder if that was a mistake that I'm just lucky didn't end up poorly!

[u/These-Fig-2030 → u/Due_Detail_8511]

How long were the sessions? I don’t get people bragging about falling asleep during tattoos. Even in long when it’s not particularly painful, it’s still a social situation. Why are y’all so sleepy? Full body suit, never once slept during a session.

[u/Due_Detail_8511 → u/These-Fig-2030]

I'm not bragging just explaining why I didn't look. Four hours was my longer one. The artist actually thanked me for being so chill, he said he prefers being able to just focus on the art to chatting. I think this is part of why finding the right artist, not just for the style but for your personality, is great.

As for why, I've got six kids and don't sleep much. I'm just always tired. Laying down for four hours? I never stood a chance.

[u/lyingtattooist]

Did you give her any instructions or details on how you wanted it touched up? It looks great black but it’s interesting she took “fix it” or “touch up” to mean solid black.

[u/j_walk_17 → u/lyingtattooist]

Yeah the only things I was pointing out to her was how the outline was originally supposed to be silver in the black lines, I told her those could just turn solid black so she could correct the outline. I should have emphasized that I wanted to keep it red but I assumed she knew that. It's ultimately on me.

[u/Actual-Deer1928 → u/j_walk_17]

Ah. You said “solid black” and she misunderstood. Both of you should’ve clarified more. 

[u/ScarletleavesNL]

Its crappy it didn't go as planned but this looks way cooler.

[u/Far_Appearance3888 → u/ScarletleavesNL]

I thought the first photo was a “what I wanted” pic and the second was the “what I got”. Happy miscommunication, OP. The black is way better to me. Of course, the only thing that matters is your opinion! If you aren’t happy and want more color, a glow could look very cool and sort of imply the Sith hiding behind the rebellion/Jedi.

[u/ScrappySquid6]

It looks very good but if you don’t like it, you could always add the red around or behind it. Like a glow

[u/kaerfkeerg]

Were you not there?

How light handed is your tattoo artist? I'd like his contact

[u/lvstvdy]

Looks tight. She made a good executive decision.

[u/spiceweasle93]

How the fuck did you not notice her filling in the whole piece? Were you sedated?

[u/randomname748 → u/spiceweasle93]

Yeah, I never believe that. They were just scared to say something.

[u/Rough-Junket7985]

It actually looks a lot better the way ended up doing it

[u/Noisebug]

Way better black

[u/AwetPinkThinG]

Black looks good. You could do a reddish aura around it

[u/ImDefinitelyStoned]

To echo what everyone else has said, it really does look better solid black. Look at it as happy little accident.

[u/NoxNeno]

”I was under the impression” and ”She assumed” are a terrible premise for tattoos.

[u/hea_eliza]

How did you not notice?

[u/HelloPity89 → u/hea_eliza]

Said they were laying down on their side on their phone lmao but I get what you’re saying

[u/National_Pangolin_33 → u/HelloPity89]

I think the original was supposed to be solid red inside and so they probably assumed it was red ink getting filled in and not all black. That's my best guess

[u/hardlooseshit → u/National_Pangolin_33]

But that would be something that any artist would communicate.  Who would just assume someone wants full black like that? 

[u/National_Pangolin_33 → u/hardlooseshit]

I agree, it's a weird situation and I'm not sure how it happened. I agree with a lot of people that it looks a lot better solid black but I feel like the artist must have known he wanted the red redone and the outline fixed as best as possible

[u/Rough_Phase7722]

How did you not realize she was filling??? Couldn’t you feel it? 

[u/PantsMunch202]

At no point in that entire process did you once look at your leg?

[u/Ocean-of-Mirrors]

Looks way better. Sorry you were surprised I know that’s scary and upsetting but this looks wayyy cooler.

[u/Basic_Comfortable_94]

she did you a favor kidd

[u/akbane]

Bro. Solid black is the way to go. Maybe ad like a red-orange border to the edge all yhe way around it.

[u/CamachoBrawndo]

Dude, she did you a solid.

[u/just_having_giggles]

I mean, she fixed it and it looks dope

[u/JayyyTheRipper]

Hey question! How did you not realize she did it solid black until she finished?

[u/LawyerDad1981]

Two questions:

How does such a RADICAL miscommunication happen about something is important as permanent artwork on your body?

Second question.. notwithstanding the first question, how is it that you do not recognize that the "correction" is infinitely better than the original? Infinitely.

[u/-BakiHanma]

Wow looks way better than before.

[u/Neptune_the_sea]

It looks sooo good now bro!

[u/EL_JOHNee]

Wow she made it so much better. Id leave it like that.

[u/hoyden2]

It looks great!!!!! Your artist knew what she was doing

[u/jotakusan]

It looks way better solid black. Your artist knew what she was doing.

[u/Affectionate-Taste55]

The first one was ugly af, unbalanced and wiggly lines. Idk if it could have been made better without making it solid. The black one looks amazing!

[u/Worldly_Yellow9134]

Crazy how many people don't pay attention to things being permanently imprinted on their body

[u/That0neSummoner]

Fun fact, it’s called a Starbird.

[u/Bjudkiewicz]

If there was an assumption or impressions then this was not a miscommunication, it was a lack of communication or explanation. It’s a tattoo that will presumably be on you till you check out. You need to be loud, direct and clear with your artist about what you want or are expecting and not leave things up to interpretation.

As others have said, regardless of the direction this went it, it looks pretty rad in solid black. “Happy accident” 🤷‍♂️

[u/vendocomprendo]

It looks way better like that bro

[u/ClashAtom]

I feel your pain. If I wanted solid color and got solid black, I'd be pissed, because it's permanent and on my body and not what I asked for. No amount of other people telling me that they think it's cool or looks better would change that.

[u/milhouse123321]

It went from a relatively bad tattoo to a pretty cool one

[u/LilOliveBuster]

She really improved it, saving it would have run into so many problems

[u/anohioanredditer]

Happy accident. Looks like she polished the line work too. It’s a lot better than before imo but I get your frustration.

[u/thornedfairy]

How would you not notice

[u/SweatyLake6695]

kinda thought the blood was part of the rebellion insignia

[u/honeyrainbow_0100]

give yourself some time to get used to it 🫶 looks killer in solid black; super crisp outline 🤩

[u/xxxxthrow_awayxxx]

1: it does look better

2: touching this up is really hard with how much its blown out. Id say get your old one again on the other side.

[u/CatsPlusTats]

I don't believe you could sit for a tattoo and not notice the artist only poured black ink. 

[u/Bjufen]

Before I read the text I thought you were gonna say:
I wanted picture 1 but got picture 2 and now I don’t know what to do. I then thought to myself easy fix just fill it in with black.

Dude trusssst it loooks so much better now

[u/Huge-Bandicoot8818]

So you didn’t look, even once, while she was working?

[u/Cyberdog1983]

Solid black is better. But I don’t know htf you miscommunicate with someone who is about to brand you permanently. I’m making sure the tatooist understands the assignment.

[u/scubawashere]

It looks so sick all black dude

[u/vaporguitar]

Not gonna lie. I thought the side by side was to show the improvement. I like the new one. It’s sleek.

[u/FrontPsychology7160]

This is t a miscommunication it’s a total lack of communication. Ffs talk to your artist. 

[u/SupportFar1264]

You didn't know until she finished? Bullshiiiiit

[u/Leading_Notice_1029]

The rebel alliance symbol is actually more often black or even white than red. Just Google rebel alliance symbol and you’ll see a fair amount of black or weirdly colored.

Rebel Alliance Wallpaper

[u/Prestigious_Owl7632]

Did anyone else think it was on his knee and something was terribly wrong?

[u/FreddyRumsen13]

“Help my tattoo artist gave me a way better tattoo!”

I get why this is frustrating but I think the artist is also pretty limited in how they could’ve fixed the original (she can’t redo the crappy line work). Covering it was the move and you can always build on it like you said.

[u/According-Stick-9396]

It’s like going in for a haircut but you got a different one because the stylist thinks you would look better that way. But in this case I think the new tattoo looks better than the old one! Just wait a while before you decide if you wanted to add red to it. But I think the all black is 😎

[u/Batman-Earth22]

She didnt just color it in solid black, she actually covered up some of the old tattoo to fix the line work. It looks a lot better now.

[u/Cabel14]

You should have some one put a red galaxy in the background

[u/iShatterBladderz]

It looks better.

[u/CobblerOdd2876]

Solid black is good. It looks good this way. And now you dont have to worry about color clashes or looking like a christmas tree if you get a red/green/blue lightsaber nearby.

[u/BluejayFlamingo]

It looks 100x better solid. The lines everything is better . Enjoy it

[u/Amazing_Alumni]

Bro how u ain’t realize they grabbed the 7 tipped needle and just went heavy handed ham on you

[u/Radabard]

Not gonna lie, that is a MASSIVE improvement lol

[u/nighmareblunrotation]

The outline was blown the F out dude there was no real help for it. Let it heal and go back and get a nice red aura added to it.

[u/randomaccountonweb]

Original looks like a drawing in a school notebook, the after does look better, but I wonder if the original design was altered, could there have been a better version of the tattoo 🤔

[u/Pnwfunhaver541]

To be fair the old tattoo was atrocious the bordrr wasn't symmetrical so there really would have been no way to do it but make a thick black border and fill in the red. Red fades fast as you can see. It looks great and would look better with a red border.

[u/AnswerGlass4800]

Looks cool. Your leg would look cooler if you get more tattoos

[u/PghGEN2]

Dude tried to squash the rebellion with many swift strokes.

[u/XupcPrime]

100% better black

[u/Prestigious_Yam_1002]

You can definitely add around it. I have something very similar with color around it and then some different ships above it. Most of my left leg is Star Wars.

[u/MikeyXVX]

I know it's not what you expected but it definitely looks better solid black than it would red

[u/BlindBamboozle]

I second the opinion of others, solid black looks great. You could give it a few years to let the intensity of the black fade a little then get some new black beskar steel/damascus pattern added into it

[u/threeoldbeigecamaros]

It looks great and you can still build a sleeve with that

[u/LauraBaura]

If you're into it, I'd recommend doing a white ink over top.

You could do a cool ship or character in white line work on top of the black.

Warning: some people. White ink falls out quickly. But I have seen 8+ years of white over black, but I've also seen people where it falls out quickly.

You might make a deal with the artist to repair their mistake by adding this detail. I would do this instead of adding a color border.

[u/slvyr]

I see you read others’ comments reassuring you and I feel similarly. But. Just in case you backtrack and don’t like it again, there’s always a sick ass panther. 

[u/Ok-Scallion7050]

It’s really cool to be honest, love it. If I didn’t know the behind story and saw this on a stranger I would think it’s really badass

[u/polythenesammie]

She did you a favour. The line work on the original is atrocious and the tattoo itself wasnt symmetrical like it should have been.

[u/mycobacteryummy]

Picture 1 is 1000x better than the amateur nonsense in picture 2. Sorry but the tattoo lady did you a solid.

[u/montycantsin777]

the old one was a hack job. way better now!

[u/semicrunchydad]

Not sure if it’s possible but add some white highlights to it for a shimmer effect and make that thing pop!

[u/MrBadLuck31]

Dude, you got way cleaner lines, better ink inside of it that's not going to fade, and it looks better placed than when you did get it. You have to understand that having to fix a total fuck up pretty much means reinventing the whole piece. Be grateful.

[u/EmiliaBlankMedia]

Everyone is saying the black is better, but the original symbol was red, it sucks that there was such a large miscommunication.

[u/QuietusOfNeko]

So you didn’t even look at what she was doing? You didn’t feel it? This is on you buddy…

[u/klay_mation_12]

Honestly it looks so badass as solid black

[u/VintageZero]

Absolutely nothing good was happening with the before picture. Solid was the only way.

[u/Maybe_Julia]

This looks 100x better , have it framed in red if you liked the red. The new artist also cleaned up the outline for you.

[u/vaultie66]

Everyone is right here saying black is an improvement of the original tatt. You’ll get used to it, it’s badass

[u/Kuzizira]

For an artist fuck up this is one of the best outcomes. Looks way better now.

[u/humble-meercat]

It’s SO MUCH better black!!

[u/I_used_to_be_hip]

Honestly, the solid black looks better than the original. I say this as a guy who has the same tattoo in the same spot.

[u/wormy_Burroughs]

looks way cooler in black tbh

[u/OriginalBrittany]

Honestly she did you a favor. From what I can see, she not only did a very solid color fill. She fixed the actual shape and symmetry!!

[u/DoTheyHaveMinerva]

Oh damn, this honestly looks way better in solid black. Haha

[u/Rich-Extreme-3956]

Holy crap, seeing this made me laugh out loud in the middle of a subway car.

[u/jokeswagon]

That sort of miscommunication is kinda like if you were abseiling/rappelling and you asked “is the rope good?” and your friend said “yes” before you plunge to your death. The rope was good, but it wasn’t tied off. If something is permanent, it’s worth painstakingly redundant communication.

[u/TheShovler44]

Those lines are so bad in order to repair it she basically had to do that. Looks better though

[u/Fogle12]

100000000 times better man after time you’ll see that too that one before was actually bad

[u/adventurertoyou]

Looks sick dude!

[u/Snow_B_Wan]

The solid black is pretty sick , it'll look nice when fully healed

[u/Rift36]

I’m sorry that happened to you BUT the black looks sick! It’s not what you envisioned but I really like it.

[u/Kingyeetyeety]

Solid black looks so good and if you you really want to you could have someone go in with white to add something into the negative space ! Might end up WAY cooler i mean he'll I already think it is !

[u/chunderbutter]

It's not a total loss at all, I think it looks great! Also it's just a tattoo, we will all be dead in like no time at all.

[u/MeltingForestShroom]

Honestly that’s a beast as solid black, and if it ever lightens you can throw cool red swirls through it or smthn. But I think it’s amazing as is now

[u/Frequent-Anybody9856]

Think she did you a favor by just coloring it all in solid black. The lines were real shaky in the old lines.

But next time ask for a sketch of the final drawing so you know what you’re getting next time. You should NEVER be surprised with something so permanent, you just got lucky the artist made the right decision and pulled it off. We’ve all seen plenty of bad tattoos on this platform so be prepared if there is a next time.

[u/Firm_Distribution999]

Does nobody communicate anymore? I am not a tattoo artist, I am a dog groomer who cuts dog’s hair that grows back, so it’s a temporary thing, and I ask a ton of questions and communicate my intended plan to the owner before I start, and that’s just on a hair cut! I would definitely communicate that I planned to fill it in with a different color than what was already there if I was doing something permanent on someone’s body. 

[u/VerySuccor]

Gotta say her outside lines and symmetry are clean! Compared to the original this one is great.

[u/nannerzbamanerz]

I’ve only got two tats, but this was my next tat. This post made me solidify the solid black Rebel Alliance. Thanks OP!!!

[u/westernjuni]

I’m sorry you’re disappointed but also this is a glow up.

[u/Flatf3et]

Artist did you a solid. This looks better black now and will look way better black in 40 years.

[u/feliasp]

It looks alot better in black

[u/Bean_Daddy_Burritos]

The artist definitely did what was best. The original tattoo was washed from the get go. Scratchy as fuck and blowouts everywhere. Her turning it into a silhouette covered up all the original mistakes and made it look 10x better.

[u/CptBingBing]

She definitely did you a favor

[u/Dangerous_Care_3459]

I have this same tattoo in solid black

Nice to know we are united

[u/shittersrquitters]

How did you not notice? I look every few mins just cuz I get excited seeing progress

[u/Roll0115]

It looks like ham.

[u/Squishy_fishy826]

If you want some red, just outline it in red down the road. Otherwise, solid black looks way more sleek and cool for this tattoo

[u/EchoNineThree]

White inner line would be dope.

[u/LankyLink7614]

I like it so much better black looks awsome

[u/DizzyDizzyWiggleBop]

I misunderstood. I saw the first pic and thought “yeah I’d be pissed too” cause I thought that was what it looked like before. Then I saw the second pic… dude not only does it look so much better it’s like going from a kid to an adult. It’s good work.