‘That’s It, I’m Inkshaming’: 30 Times People Didn’t Even Realize How Bad Their Tattoos Were
Not all tattoos are inked equal. While some are stunning and wow people with their artistic merit, some others can force a double-take, making folks wonder what exactly happened there. Welcome to the ‘That’s It, I’m Inkshaming’ Facebook group, a community of nearly 243k members who poke fun at ‘Actually Bad Tattoos.’
The group is meant for posting “truly awful,” low-quality ink, all in the hope of making people laugh. It’s not meant to be mean and there’s no place for general jerkiness. We’ve collected some of the group’s most interesting features photos, the crème de la crème of bad tattoos, to share with you today, dear Pandas. Scroll down and enjoy.
Meanwhile, be sure to read on for Bored Panda’s in-depth interview with the owner of Glasgow-based Archangel 1608 Tattoo Studio, talented tattoo artist David McKinlay.
This post may include affiliate links.
Jesus Tapdancing Christ
What Can I Say Except I’m Sorry
Sooooo Much To Unpack Here
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.
They Look Like Industrial Era Coal Factory Workers
Why?
No. No You Did Not Have To
“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 Lil Girl Looks Like A Tube Of Toothpaste
awww I thought : this one ain't that bad till I read the caption ..now can't unsee it
Found On A Sketchy Sales Page Get Booked In Quick!
Local Shop, Poor Gal Only Wanted Linework Silhouette Of Dog Ears
“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.
Found This In An Article I Came Across On Here, Can't Remember What It Was About, But How Tf Do You Manage To F*ck This Up That Bad?
Looks Like Katherine Ryan
There Are No Words
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 bs tattoo ‘school’ that only care about your money.”
Found This On A Page For A Local Artist… Really Hope The Person Who Got This Atleast Wanted The 6 Fingers
I Thought It Was Supposed To Be A Pile Of Wood Lmao
I Was Told By The Artist He Could Do Watercolors Effect. This Is How That Turned Out
Bored Panda was very interested to learn about the dynamic between artists and their customers. David explained that they have a rule that if they’re not 100 percent confident about the tattoo, they don’t do it.
“We’ll try to offer a compromise, but if the client is too rigid, we’ll point them in the direction of another artist. The client is only right in terms of what they like, not how the tattoo can actually be done or will end up looking,” he said.
Seen On Ig
Sorry But.. The Hair!
Found Here On Facebook
What’s more, the tattoo artist and his staff also draw the line when it comes to certain tattoos. “We won’t do any hateful tattoos—racist, homophonic, sectarian, etc. Those tattoos are bad news, but unfortunately, there are those that will still do them,” he explained.
Ok, I'm Gonna Say This, Only A Real Man Would Rock This With Pride!
What.. What Is Happening Here
I Don't Have Words
Worst is, these people proudly display their tattoos and eagerly show them off. I never know what to say when people look at my tattoos, as about their price and go "wow, that's way too expensive, I go to this guy (shows absolute dog**** tattoo) and he only charges XYZ, his work is amazing." I just nod and walk away. I can't.
Like any other artists and craftsmen out in the wide world, tattooists can make mistakes, too. There’s no such thing as perfection in any craft. It’s best to learn from any mistakes and, most importantly, to learn to control your fear.
“Sometimes, a client will sneeze, or move to answer their phone, meaning the tattoo has an extra line or detail,” David said.
I Normally Love This Artist…but What The Hell?
Found This In A Scorpio Astrology Group. All I Gotta Say Is The Lips Are One Of The Worst Parts
You Guys Like Playing Hidden Picture Games? The First Hidden Item You See Is Your Next Bad Tattoo
“The important thing is not to panic (and not to panic the client). Take a few minutes and work out how to deal with the mistake—maybe add an extra detail, darken up some shading. Nine times out of ten, you can correct an issue. Stay cool and work it out!”
I Feel Awful Because I Think It’s Supposed To Be A Memorial? But I Really Had To Triple Check To See If One Of My Facebook Friends Really Posted This Or If It Was This Group
And They Say Australia Has No Culture
Saw The Guy In The Bottom Pic The Other Day At Mcdonalds. I Thought It Was Vin Diesel
Found In The Wild. Thought It Was This Group At First. Very Unfortunate
OMG. Nevermind the tattoo quality - you can't tattoo over moles and pimples! That's really dangerous and can lead to skin cancer.
It's... Lips?
Ink Shaming Myself And My Best Bud While He Was Apprenticing. Ps If You Have An Issue With Body Hair On Women You Can Go Fys
Saw This On A Fan Page
Found In Another Group
Is It A Gummy Bear Or A Ninja Turtle
Found In Another Group I’m In. Sorry If This Is Yours. I Can Never Get My Head Around How An Artist Can Make A Spelling Error In The Stencil And Not Catch It
How Do We Feel? My Sister Did This One. Its Not Her Best. She Does Have Some Pretty Nice Ones Shes Done But This One, Well. This One
I Found One. Posted By A Local Tattoo Artist. Original Ink Done By Someone Else, Final Product Was Their Cover Up Job
It’s A Twilight Tattoo
And This Was The Day I Had To Disown My Mother. It's Suppose To Be A "Gear" For Our Last Name
I Don’t Even Know Where To Start With This One..
From Tik Tok, They’re Supposed To Be Ballet Shoes
What Cover Up???
I Finally Found One. Sorry If This Is Yours, But, Poor Michael Deserves Better
Why Would You Put The Nose Over The Belly Button
I Really Can’t… Saw On My Timeline
This guy evidently has 2 roommates and it wasn't the professional tattoo artist that did this.
Found In The Wild. Kitchen Tattoos Are A Nope
Found This While Scrolling Through A Dating Site!!!
Somebody On My Page Just Posted This, Yikes
It’s a shame about the caterpillar baby thing, because the clouds and flowers are cute.
Can’t Hate On This One, It’s Such A Sweet Concept. But I’m Angry For This Person Who Didn’t Get Nicer Results
Maybe it's a drawing the little girl did for her father back in the day...???
I Don’t Know What That Purple Blob Is, But An Iris It Is Not.
Imagine Ruining Your Whole Body Like This The More You Look The Worse It Gets
It's A Light Bulb. Grateful LED
He Killed It Alright
I Don't Know Where To Begin
Rembeber Me …..
This Was A Pic On One Of My Wife’s Friend Page. She Was Happy As Hell With This
Saw This On A Cop Show Last Night And It Looks Like It Belongs Here
It’s Supposed To Be A Tornado. It Looks Like A Colon
Moon
She Overpaid
Why does Jesus have feet hands , helicopter blades on his back and what looks like a giant bandaid in his belly ?
Oh No
Lisa Has Lost It!!
Found This Beauty On My Timeline
I Suggest A Cover Up
A Tattoo Of A Guy From My City, He Has Other Bad Tattoos But Unfortunately There Are No Pics Of Them On Fb
At Least It Detracts From The Fact She Has No Eyebrows
Um. Idk What It Even Is
Nailed It?
It Was 40 Dolla
Jesus Would've Wept
Isn't This The Most Realistic Bird You Ever Did See
Tattooing In Saudi Arabia Is Illegal And This Person Isn’t Doing Anyone Any Favors. I Have Lost My Mind To “Positive Vips”
That Poor Snoot
My Friend Saw This On Tinder And Sent This To Me Thought I’d Share It Here And Hear Y’all’s Thoughts … Colors Look Beautiful But Oof. Hope He Loves It
Found On Twitter
I got you a tattoo-gun for Christmas babe, now you tattoo my a**e or I'm not doing dinner!
Local Artist
Saw This One In My Feed. Someone’s Grandma’s First Tattoo
Found In A Bloody Mary Group
Cover Up From A Local Spot. Jesus
Dobbies Seen Some Things He Didn't Need To See
It's A Red Hot Mess..found On Tik Tok
Found This One From A Horror Movie Group. I'm Speechless. "Here's Johnynynyny!"
Local “Artist” That Everyone Praises For Their Amazing Work Yet All Their Work Is Like This Or Worse. Got Wonder Woman Out Here Like “Take My Strong Hand”
Stoppp Lol
Love Naruto But Wtfff
Not Sure If This Has Been Posted Yet But
Hey! It's one of those emoji things that teachers use a lot to help people understand what things are
Just Gunna Leave This Here Eta: Not My Tattoo
This Guy's Page Is Loaded With Great Gems. Put Years Into His Craft And Does It Ever Show
He Looks More Like "Holy Foomanchu The Cloud God" Rather Than Jesus
I Saw This In A Tattoo Sharing Group And I Just Can't Get Over How Inaccurate The Bones Are!
Tsle As Old Os Tine A Sponsored Instagram Post
Found In The Wild On Instagram. The Caption Said “I Love My New Tattoo”. I Cant Tell If Theyre Being Real Or Not
I'm Crying
Absolutely Horrid
Looks like someone just drew on this person with a ball point pen honestly.
Ool Idea, Bad Execution. I Figured By The Shape It Was A Snake, But I Had To Zoom In To The Head To Figure Out What It Was. Wth Is Up With Those Fangs And Tongue??
From A Shop Near Me. It Went Eeeeeeee
That Looks Embroidered
Oof
Found This Beauty On Instagram
Apparently Its Taken 2 Sessions And She Has One More Scheduled
Is…is that on a foot?! That can’t possibly be someone’s ankle?!
Posted In A Horror Collectibles Group I'm In
What In Heck Happened?
Yikes
Team Target At Riot Fest Chicago!
Why…
Some Rando On Tinder
Not My Tattoo: Saw This On A Group I’m In. Oh Hell No
The Eyelashes Hurt Me To Look At
My Boyfriend's Foot Tattoo Of A Pokè Ball - Gotta Catch Em All!! It's Awful
No Words. Seen On Snapchat
My Uncle's Jailhouse Tats.....smh
A Moth Wing Found In Another Group
This doesn't belong here. Beautiful Luna moth. Semicolon is the symbol for those who suffer from a range of mental/emotional challenges Luke depression.
The Hands "That's On Purpose, I Don't Like My Tattoos To Look Clean And Proper, So I Always Ask For Them To Be A Bit Ratty And Worn. Getting A Perfect Replica Or Symmetry Just Bugs Me"
I’m Not Showing Their Face But This Was In A Nightmare Before Christmas Group I’m In And I Just Can’t….
A Girl I Know Personally Got This Yesterday And Bragged. I’m Sorry But The Sign Alone Makes This A Bad Tat Imo
Pain
The Hands Will Haunt Me Forever
This One Made Me Cackle
I Guess That’s The Cheaper Option To Gynecomastia Surgery. Definitely Takes The Eyes Away From Those Moobs
Reasons #2-120 "Why I Have No Tattoos." (#1 is my pathetically low pain tolerance)
Oh gee, Susan, I thought it's because you're smart.
Load More Replies...How can so many people not realize their tattoos suck? How can so many tattoo "artists" not realize they suck?
Perhaps some fabulous tattoos? I've seen some beautiful ones in the wild. Excellent conversation starters.
They had a showcase of Ryan Ashley's tattoos not long ago
Load More Replies...What makes people think tattoing faces is good idea? I have some understanding when it's face of your SO/kid/dog etc, but I have absolutely no clue why would anyone want (bad) portrait of a celebrity imprinted forever on their body. BTW do you know anyone with Bill Cosby tattoo?
Just recently I read an article about a tattoo removal studio. They are booked full to the brim at all times. The removed tattoos they showed in that article were award winning art in comparison to some of the stuff in this post...
Idk who needs to hear this but.... IF YOU CAN OT DRAW, IF YOU ARE NOR CREATIVE, IF YOU ARE NOT EVEN REMOTELY TALENTED AT ANY TYPE OF ART MEDIUM... YOU WILL NOT BE A GOOD TATTOO ARTIST... EVER!! Literally ever. Why do people who cannot draw think that they can just skip the paper and regular mediums and go right to skin? It doesn't work like that and never will. If you don't even have the basic skills to draw a fucken tree... or an eyeball... or a god damn flower.. YOU ARE NOT CUT OUT TO TATTOO ON HUMAN SKIN! Maybe an orange.. or a banana.. but never a real human. All of these people should be in prison. I cannot believe some of these people actually work at shops. I have some bad tattoos that my friends did on me.. people who were artistic but never tattooed before and they look better than every tattoo on here. Also, mine are purposely bad. That's what makes mine great. That was the intention. They didn't lie, deceive and defraud me into getting them. I just can't with these ppl.
Can not** are not** Why does my keyboard lag on here sometimes!? Does that happen to anyone else?
Load More Replies...My son was a tattoo artist, and he was wise enough to tell me "Momzer, I'm telling you right now, you are NOT ever going to get a tattoo! (I've always hated them, so he was being goofy) They hurt too much, and you have no pain tolerance, and your skin is far too fragile (it is), and I'm not about to let someone see parts of my mother that only a doctor or a husband should see!" I have zero tattoos, and unfortunately, no longer a son, either, due to an accident 14 years ago.
What in the world was going through these people's minds when getting those? These things are permanent so I reckon some considerations should be made on the viability of the design and the skill level of the artist?
Always look at previous work from that artist. Don't go for the cheaper option, just because it's cheaper. Not with tattoos.
So off topic... but why are people suddenly mixing up 'an' and 'a' (eg. Above comment "An tattoo artist", should be "a tattoo artist").. ugh, just a stupid pet peeve of mine lol ignore me 🙈
Because not everyone here is a native english speaker
Load More Replies...this is why im never getting a tattoo, also why did i read kinkshaming isntead of inkshaming
There no such thing as a good tattoo. It's either bad or really bad.
I've never had the slightest desire to get a tattoo. This post does nothing to change that.
If you want to convey a message......put it on the T-shirt; don't perverse your body.
On point. Perverse you mind, like how this Christina would police your body out of a superiority complex. It's not like you have a right to pierce your ears or anything else
Load More Replies...No, some are very sentimental. My mother got one for her dad when he died.
Load More Replies...Reasons #2-120 "Why I Have No Tattoos." (#1 is my pathetically low pain tolerance)
Oh gee, Susan, I thought it's because you're smart.
Load More Replies...How can so many people not realize their tattoos suck? How can so many tattoo "artists" not realize they suck?
Perhaps some fabulous tattoos? I've seen some beautiful ones in the wild. Excellent conversation starters.
They had a showcase of Ryan Ashley's tattoos not long ago
Load More Replies...What makes people think tattoing faces is good idea? I have some understanding when it's face of your SO/kid/dog etc, but I have absolutely no clue why would anyone want (bad) portrait of a celebrity imprinted forever on their body. BTW do you know anyone with Bill Cosby tattoo?
Just recently I read an article about a tattoo removal studio. They are booked full to the brim at all times. The removed tattoos they showed in that article were award winning art in comparison to some of the stuff in this post...
Idk who needs to hear this but.... IF YOU CAN OT DRAW, IF YOU ARE NOR CREATIVE, IF YOU ARE NOT EVEN REMOTELY TALENTED AT ANY TYPE OF ART MEDIUM... YOU WILL NOT BE A GOOD TATTOO ARTIST... EVER!! Literally ever. Why do people who cannot draw think that they can just skip the paper and regular mediums and go right to skin? It doesn't work like that and never will. If you don't even have the basic skills to draw a fucken tree... or an eyeball... or a god damn flower.. YOU ARE NOT CUT OUT TO TATTOO ON HUMAN SKIN! Maybe an orange.. or a banana.. but never a real human. All of these people should be in prison. I cannot believe some of these people actually work at shops. I have some bad tattoos that my friends did on me.. people who were artistic but never tattooed before and they look better than every tattoo on here. Also, mine are purposely bad. That's what makes mine great. That was the intention. They didn't lie, deceive and defraud me into getting them. I just can't with these ppl.
Can not** are not** Why does my keyboard lag on here sometimes!? Does that happen to anyone else?
Load More Replies...My son was a tattoo artist, and he was wise enough to tell me "Momzer, I'm telling you right now, you are NOT ever going to get a tattoo! (I've always hated them, so he was being goofy) They hurt too much, and you have no pain tolerance, and your skin is far too fragile (it is), and I'm not about to let someone see parts of my mother that only a doctor or a husband should see!" I have zero tattoos, and unfortunately, no longer a son, either, due to an accident 14 years ago.
What in the world was going through these people's minds when getting those? These things are permanent so I reckon some considerations should be made on the viability of the design and the skill level of the artist?
Always look at previous work from that artist. Don't go for the cheaper option, just because it's cheaper. Not with tattoos.
So off topic... but why are people suddenly mixing up 'an' and 'a' (eg. Above comment "An tattoo artist", should be "a tattoo artist").. ugh, just a stupid pet peeve of mine lol ignore me 🙈
Because not everyone here is a native english speaker
Load More Replies...this is why im never getting a tattoo, also why did i read kinkshaming isntead of inkshaming
There no such thing as a good tattoo. It's either bad or really bad.
I've never had the slightest desire to get a tattoo. This post does nothing to change that.
If you want to convey a message......put it on the T-shirt; don't perverse your body.
On point. Perverse you mind, like how this Christina would police your body out of a superiority complex. It's not like you have a right to pierce your ears or anything else
Load More Replies...No, some are very sentimental. My mother got one for her dad when he died.
Load More Replies...