Inkshaming: 15 Times People Didn’t Even Realize How Bad Their Tattoos Were

Tattoo artist David, who runs the Archangel 1608 Tatoo Studio in Scotland, was kind enough to answer Bored Panda’s questions about tattoos.

We spoke about how tattoo artists hone their skills, whether or not customers are always right, and what happens if an artist makes a mistake while tattooing someone.

“Tattooists can practice on any number of things initially, to help them get the mechanics and techniques to tattoo properly,” David explained to Bored Panda.

“You can buy synthetic skin, pig skin from a butcher’s, or even use fruit, such as oranges or lemons, bananas,” he told us.

However, the tattoo artist pointed out to Bored Panda that there is “no substitute for moving, breathing, sweating, bleeding human skin.” In short, nothing beats the real thing. And sooner or later you’ll have to switch to inking real live human beings. Though, later is best. Once you’ve got the fundamentals down and feel confident.

“The first 4 or 5 tattoos I ever did were on myself. It was a pretty severe learning curve, but I had to prove that I wanted the apprenticeship, and it let me see how the tattoos would heal up, and what I could do better,” David revealed to Bored Panda the dedication that he personally had for his craft when he was just starting out.

“You shouldn’t really be tattooing actual clients for a long time, but if you can persuade friends to let you once you’re ready, that’s great,” he said.

David takes a lot of pride in what he does for a living. “Tattooing is a craft, a skill, and should be taught directly from one person to another,” he said that it is not something that should be learned “by a YouTube video or a [nonsense] tattoo ‘school’ that only care about your money.”

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