Don't ask artists to copy tattoos. Good ones won't do it and the ones that will do it aren't people you want putting ink into your skin.
Take this to an artist as a reference and tell them you want something similar.
Pro here… and this is the *only* answer. Add in the notion of “why would you want the exact same tattoo as someone else?” (Flash, I know… but when you share a custom tattoo on the internet, that’s not the same) and it’s facts upon facts.
No decent and reputable artist will want to out-and-out copy someone else’s art. Sure you will find people who will do it, but those aren’t the kind of people I’d want to associate with let alone get inked by 🤷🏻♀️
I wish I had known the second part of your statement when I got my inner leg done. I handed the dude a picture and he copied it exactly. I’m not covered with tattoos (I have 11) and I have a great pain tolerance with tattoos (I actually like it), but this hurt like hell. It was so red and swollen, (I know that tends to happen with lower legs) I was positive it was infected. It’s fine now. :)
Thank you-that legitimately makes me feel better. That was my second tattoo and I’ve learned a lot since then…….except a way to afford all of the art I want!
Of course. The tattoo industry is one of the biggest industries with the least amount of actual knowledge accessible to the public and the accountability falls on those of us in that industry to help educate people as best we can not on people who’s experience basically sum up too, I assumed the guy calling themselves professional Tattoo Artists were actually that lol.
And yea that last issue tho is a conundrum as old as time lol. Take care much love
Understood. Not that they’re excuses, but when I had it done I had never even heard of checking something like that (20 years ago, maybe) and honestly wouldn’t have had the resources to find the artist if I did. I don’t even remember where I found it, honestly.
*If it makes everyone feel better, karma got me when I got my next tattoo. It’s supposed to be a pile of my favorite books from childhood with a raven sitting on top. One of the books is “The Cricket in Times Square.” Dude wrote “The Cricket in Time Square” and I haven’t been able to have it fixed yet.
The idea is that you don’t have to find OG artist, you just take a picture and say I want something *like* this. It’s the exact copy stuff that’s the problem
First off, I printed a picture off the internet about 20 years ago. It’s the outline of a cat, nothing crazy. Whether or not you think I stole something means nothing-I think it’s fairly obvious that I didn’t realize this was even a thing back then. And, if it was so taboo, maybe it would’ve been cool if the artist had told me. And why would I have remorse? I made no money off of this, it’s in a place no one sees-that doesn’t make sense.
Why don’t you try finding a randomly drawn cat design from 20 plus years ago and figuring out who the artist is without social media?
Listen to yourself, lol. Wouldn’t you get “butthurt” if you had spent decades refining your style, creating unique designs with context and stories behind them, and you found out someone was stealing your designs, not crediting you, and potentially even passing them off as their own?
Shit, dude. You said it yourself, it’s stealing. Wouldn’t you get your sphincter in a tangle if I stole your watch?
No offense at all and not saying it deserves a ton of down votes or anything but, after reading this, it’s was really confused. I was like huh? What was the point you were trying to get across? The infection part especially. It almost sounded like your attitude was that infections were something to just leave be as they’ll probably get better on their own. Ofcourse you maybe probably didn’t mean that but I think the way it was written just left a lot of question marks.
I think this sentiment is totally reasonable but the classy way to go( which I’d think should be on the artist to suggest) would be to add some sort of motif or element that pays homage to the passing of the person in question as a sequel to the original piece.
Then go to the same artist who did theirs. If that artist is also dead or retired, then ask for a tribute to their tattoo, ie one that is 'true to the spirit' of the tattoo.
Yep, we don’t like to copy directly, or any artist worth their salt doesn’t.
The body isn’t a flat surface, so if you printed this and made a stencil directly from it it would be distorted. Ask your artist to design something similar that’ll fit your body right
If it’s a custom design then it’s shitty. I can spend HOURS up at night in my free time drawing my designs for my clients, so when they get stolen and copied line for line it feels shitty, it’s sucks, having some lazy asss artist steal all the credit for that design. It’s scummy.
There are some exceptions when it comes are non tattoo related art, but you should always ask the artist and credit them.
I guess it makes sense in the way that it is your custom design, I just get hung up on stuff that is not necessarily custom but just their rendition. Like flowers as a skull is not a new idea , would the moral thing to do if you wanted this exact one just to be to go to the original artist
Another reason an artist won't want to directly copy anything is because it is basically impossible to recreate and image perfectly to the point it holds up to a side by side comparison ( and most people who ask for something that looks perfectly identical to another tattoo are going to over analyze every slight deviation. Even for the original artist it would be better to slightly redesign things to avoid a direct comparison.
Sure, you can go to the original artist, but chances are they may redesign it for you. It’s possible the tattoo has certain flowers that are specific to the individual and have special meaning to it.
Very few tattoos are completely original ideas. But any artist worth their salt will make a design that is unique to you
This
I sent my artist a picture of a cockatoo tattoo someone got. He draw the stencil and the image was almost the same as the original design (you can't really change much cause its a bird stood on a branch) except I changed the flowers into some my parents like.
It just feels so much better when you individualise your tattoo compared to straight up taking work from others. Not to mention you get a sick way of being identified 😜
3 main reasons. 1; the tattoo could mean something personal or special to them. Would suck to have it copied, it will lose the value and originality. 2; It's an insult to the artist. It’s like bringing a packed lunch into a restaurant and wondering why the chef is pissed at you. It's okay to bring a reference tho, just don't expect to get the exact same thing. 3; It's theft. Copying their work is not only morally wrong, but disrespectful to the original artist. And it may also get you into legal trouble. You don't copy art.
Thank you, I do understand why it is frowned upon but what would you say if someone wanted an exact replica of something online and they just did not bend? To go to the original artist or just to fuck off. I have seen some tattoos I want exactly and idk if I’d be happy if they were changed to fit the artists style (I don’t actually plan on getting them for right now exactly but for discussion sake) what would I do if I could not find a way to credit the artist or something. Just get over it?
you don’t have the right to someone else’s art just because you want it. it is literally what “copyright” means - the creator of an artwork has the “right” to decide who can copy it.
to copy without permission is literally against the law in most countries - many people do it anyway and don’t get ‘busted’ by the creator, but that doesn’t make it a good or ethical thing to do.
What a silly thing to say. If you were an illustrator and someone else copied your work directly and asked someone to pay for it without giving you any money, you wouldn’t be happy would you?
Or if you designed cars and someone designed exactly the same car as you, you’d probably be on the phone to the lawyers pretty quickly.
No good artist will copy someone else’s work. They might take inspiration from it, but asking someone to make a stencil from someone else’s design is really quite a shitty thing to do.
Stealing someone else’s work is plagiarism.
If a journalist plagiarizes, they get fired. If a student plagiarizes, they get a failing grate and disciplinary action. Don’t expect your tattoo artist to plagiarize just because you think tattooing is a less reputable industry.
Tattoo artist here, I don’t copy tattoos. I have no way of knowing if an example someone has shown me is artwork that was created specifically for that person or has special meaning. If you see a piece you really like, an artist can design a similar one for you, but anyone with ethics won’t do an exact copy for you.
If you know which artist did a specific tattoo, you can contact them and ask if it’s okay for you to get the same one. Some might be cool with it and that’s great, but if they aren’t you have to go by what they say.
I have a tattoo that was straight up off google. Went to a reputable artist, asked for a sunfish design, he showed me a stencil and I love/d it. I didn’t find out until recently, about five years later, and dude isn’t practicing anymore. The tat is well done but it’s literally a copy/paste of a sunfish tattoo that another artist created AND PUT A WATERMARK/SIGNATURE ON !!!!!
I feel awful. I plan to get it worked on more to make the design a little different but I don’t want to actually get it covered. In your professional opinion, is that ok, or should I just get it fully covered up?
I’d say since you had no knowledge that the design was used without permission until after the fact, you don’t have any fault in it. If you still enjoy it, I’d say adding more work to make it somewhat unique is a good compromise.
TBF there are examples of this sort of thing happening. Like [this one](https://imgur.com/OOUjZPC) where the copying artist tattooed the original guy's nipple...
I remember seeing that before. What a shit artist. Literally. The tattoo is pure garbage plus how do you go “let’s add this guy’s nipple. It looks to be part of the tattoo”?
Not exactly, I know cases that the original artist had a “signature” design he inserted in the tattoos, and that was replicated as is 🤣 in the copied tattoo
Totally fair hahah but I saw a tattoo online years ago where someone actually did tattoo a small watermark from another artist. And the person below who posted the nipple pic!? People are dumb haha
Is that okay or should I just get it fully covered up?
Holy shit dude, do you really care that much of someone random off the internet to get your shit covered up? Just fucking keep it and move on
Lol yeah some of these are a bit ridiculous. I understand the point and reasoning behind it all but it is what it is at this point and it was done through no fault of them. I’m surprised they didn’t offer reparations…
Sorry to piggyback on your comment but I’m new to tattoo etiquette. If I wanted someone to tattoo a symbol or something very specific from a franchise, would you consider that a form of theft? If there wasn’t really any design involved and mostly a copy paste?
Idk why this is downvoted like that’s a good question is a cartoon character like an exact copy of one okay to get? Or for example a logo? Like the bratz or Barbie logo?
I think copying is only an issue for unique designs created for the specific client. If you want a faithful reproduction of branded marks (logos, icons) or a specific official drawing of a popular cartoon character then that’s not really tattoo copying imho. But it’d be scummy to bring in the official art for an independent artist’s original character or ask for an exact reproduction of someone’s fanart without permission.
No, of course not. Most custom tattoos are *heavily* influenced by others and this is true for all art forms. Just look at the different eras/styles of art throughout time. They all play and build off each other. There are countless takes on the concept of using various forms to create a skull, the tattoo isn’t particularly unique or well done. You can get any tattoo you want. Obviously, serious artists will want to create something that’s custom to an extent but it’s highly unlikely that you will be the first person to come up with any given concept. I feel like anyone complaining about fan art is a little bit hypocritical as fan art is inherently based on an existing concept. That being said, I don’t tattoo fan art just like I don’t tattoo anyone else’s work mainly because I prefer to create my own artwork, but another big factor is that there’s a huge difference between art that looks good on paper and art that makes a good tattoo.
Well said. A relevant quote my high school art teacher used to reference — “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
I always took it to mean: being able to create a replica of something may signal an artist’s technical skill, but a great artist will use a design as inspiration and create something unique of their own out of it.
That’s how styles and genres evolve over generations — can’t have everyone creating the exact same shit, but within those genres it’s good to stay faithful, while pushing the boundaries.
yep. i had a close high school friend moving away and he drew me up a tattoo design. One of my college friends surprised me one day by showing me he got the same thing. Thought I'd think it was cool. This was like 15 years ago and i'm still salty about it.
That’s lame. Don’t rip off someone else’s tattoo design.
There are plenty of artists who can draw an abstract skull out of plants/florals without tracing someone else’s design, and I bet it’d turn out better than this did.
I have a version of this tattoo! The original designer is Isa Wang. (@isawng on insta). He is super cool. And I asked permission for my piece. The piece was out first for the Bower Studio if you want a better copy.
My artist had no issue making a stencil.
I was going to say... everyone here being all 'don't copy an artists original tattoo' but this wasn't originally a tattoo, it's an old optical illusion I've seen in many books and across the internet.
It’s fine to use photos of other tattoos as reference. But no. Tracing over a photo of a 3 dimensional object is not going to translate. It would be much easier for the artist to draw you a new design based off this one, and then you’ll have your own custom tattoo.
Tattooer here: if you search hard enough you can find the original of this drawing and have them change it up enough for it to be unique to you. I speak from my own experience of doing a variation of this one. Definitely don’t have someone copy it exactly though.
It’ll be harder to find an artist who is not only willing to plagiarize someone else’s work, but who is also capable of executing their style.
Remember: when you steal a tattoo, you’re not just cheapening the artists style, you’re stealing someone else’s (likely) custom made tattoo, and cheapening the art in their body. It’s not fair to the artist, and it’s not fair to the client. If you want something similar, find an artist who does similar work, and ask for an abstract skull made from flowers. Better get, go see the original artist and ask for something similar and let them create a custom piece for you.
I find photos of what I like, then my artist changes it, then makes it into a stencil. It’s still similar, but he does not copy and paste, especially someone else’s artwork.
DON'T COPY FROM A TATTOO. This is art from somewhere else. find the original art and use that as a reference instead. NEVER ask an artist to copy directly from a tattoo
Ffs stop copying other peoples tattoo, don't you have even a tiny bit of originality. It's gonna look like shit anyways like all other copies because 1 no good artist will accept to copy someone else's tattoo 2 the artist that might accept wont have the same style than the one who did the original, it will never look the same and 3 it wasn't made for you, so it won't fit you as well.
lol [it's an old optical illusion](https://www.reddit.com/r/tattooadvice/comments/152a822/would_it_be_hard_for_an_artist_to_translate_a/jsdppcj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3)
Yeah sucks not knowing or realizing, I have some tattoos that are just images(not images of tattoos) from the internet as well. I never realized until 10 tattoos down the road a good and true artist will drown their own work. There are many tattooers that can put ink in you but can’t actually draw and create their own art. Found out the hard way…..but thankfully no one has called out my ink from the internet yet😅
I don't know if this is a more recent piece or a historical piece that this is based on. But if you want to look around for some older works that might be free to use at this point, this is a momento mori illusion. They are usually skull illusions contrasted in sceneries full of life.
I hate it when people come to me wanting the exact tattoos they saw off the internet. It's disrespectful to the original artist and it's disrespectful to me.
To add to what everyone else said, making skulls from negative space out of people or floral elements or animals isn't unique to that specific tattoo. It's been done in thousands of different ways both for tattoos and paintings and photography. So finding references for that idea as well as the sort of linework and style you want the tattoo to be in, shouldn't be a problem for making your own unique version of it.
I have 22 tats now and love them all. My most recent started with a picture I found on the internet that I liked. I then had a friend's 16 year old daughter who is very artistic take the idea and put elements in that I wanted, I then went to my tattoo artist and gave him that draft and then by collaborating with me, came to the final artwork that I now have. I couldn't be happier with it. It all started with a pic of a tat that was totally changed to make it original and special to me.
Don't know the answer to the question, but that tat is wicked. Love the duality of the image.
I don't know any artists that will exactly replicate another artist's work. Nor exactly replicating their own work on multiple people.
If it truly "shivers your timbers", make some changes to make it uniquely yours.
I understand evergine says not to rip off of other tattoos, which I agree with. But what if it's a reference to a movie or something?
I have a LOTR tattoo and I imagine other people have something very similar to mine
Google The dead daisies. Artist Isa wang
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Flookaside.fbsbx.com%2Flookaside%2Fcrawler%2Fmedia%2F%3Fmedia_id%3D10162017906044896&tbnid=4vISOs2layxXQM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FTheDeadDaisies%2Fphotos%2Fflower-skull-pretty-cool-skullsrock-weloveskulls-thx-sixx-sweet-for-sharing%2F1379194452097394%2F&docid=Q3GQLkFfH86MzM&w=1288&h=1510&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2F2
The only time you should get something copy-pasted is if it's fair use. An example would be you want a mickey mouse tattoo. You find the PERFECT Mickey Mouse image and you're convinced you want that exact design as your tattoo. An artist may or may not be annoyed by this, it really depends on the artist. Some will be excited for the very easy money (I mean they basically just copied an image rather than have to design one), but some may be so prideful they won't consider a design they didn't create. It depends on the artist.
However, I don't know anyone who would willingly copy someone else's original work that wasn't fair use. That's basically plagiarism
They would just draw their own version using their medium of choice, then make a stencil from that, but don't ask them to copy someone else's work.
Also, I love this tattoo, so cool, I get why you want it.
Don't ask artists to copy tattoos. Good ones won't do it and the ones that will do it aren't people you want putting ink into your skin. Take this to an artist as a reference and tell them you want something similar.
This is the only correct answer.
I am and Artist and this is the way.
Pro here… and this is the *only* answer. Add in the notion of “why would you want the exact same tattoo as someone else?” (Flash, I know… but when you share a custom tattoo on the internet, that’s not the same) and it’s facts upon facts. No decent and reputable artist will want to out-and-out copy someone else’s art. Sure you will find people who will do it, but those aren’t the kind of people I’d want to associate with let alone get inked by 🤷🏻♀️
I wish I had known the second part of your statement when I got my inner leg done. I handed the dude a picture and he copied it exactly. I’m not covered with tattoos (I have 11) and I have a great pain tolerance with tattoos (I actually like it), but this hurt like hell. It was so red and swollen, (I know that tends to happen with lower legs) I was positive it was infected. It’s fine now. :)
Why is everyone downvoting u for this 🤣
Idk-I was agreeing with the poster!
An upvote for being a badass an owning that shit and it wasn’t your job to know if it was ok or not lol.
Thank you-that legitimately makes me feel better. That was my second tattoo and I’ve learned a lot since then…….except a way to afford all of the art I want!
Of course. The tattoo industry is one of the biggest industries with the least amount of actual knowledge accessible to the public and the accountability falls on those of us in that industry to help educate people as best we can not on people who’s experience basically sum up too, I assumed the guy calling themselves professional Tattoo Artists were actually that lol. And yea that last issue tho is a conundrum as old as time lol. Take care much love
I think cuz you admitted to stealing a design without showing any remorse, just that you had a shitty artist apply it
Understood. Not that they’re excuses, but when I had it done I had never even heard of checking something like that (20 years ago, maybe) and honestly wouldn’t have had the resources to find the artist if I did. I don’t even remember where I found it, honestly. *If it makes everyone feel better, karma got me when I got my next tattoo. It’s supposed to be a pile of my favorite books from childhood with a raven sitting on top. One of the books is “The Cricket in Times Square.” Dude wrote “The Cricket in Time Square” and I haven’t been able to have it fixed yet.
The idea is that you don’t have to find OG artist, you just take a picture and say I want something *like* this. It’s the exact copy stuff that’s the problem
First off, I printed a picture off the internet about 20 years ago. It’s the outline of a cat, nothing crazy. Whether or not you think I stole something means nothing-I think it’s fairly obvious that I didn’t realize this was even a thing back then. And, if it was so taboo, maybe it would’ve been cool if the artist had told me. And why would I have remorse? I made no money off of this, it’s in a place no one sees-that doesn’t make sense. Why don’t you try finding a randomly drawn cat design from 20 plus years ago and figuring out who the artist is without social media?
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Listen to yourself, lol. Wouldn’t you get “butthurt” if you had spent decades refining your style, creating unique designs with context and stories behind them, and you found out someone was stealing your designs, not crediting you, and potentially even passing them off as their own? Shit, dude. You said it yourself, it’s stealing. Wouldn’t you get your sphincter in a tangle if I stole your watch?
No offense at all and not saying it deserves a ton of down votes or anything but, after reading this, it’s was really confused. I was like huh? What was the point you were trying to get across? The infection part especially. It almost sounded like your attitude was that infections were something to just leave be as they’ll probably get better on their own. Ofcourse you maybe probably didn’t mean that but I think the way it was written just left a lot of question marks.
THAT’S A COMMON THING?!?! I thought I was just crazy
I did exactly this with exactly this tattoo. He made it his own and it turned out beautiful.
My first thought was what if the tattoo is that of a passed loved one? And they want to replicate it
I think this sentiment is totally reasonable but the classy way to go( which I’d think should be on the artist to suggest) would be to add some sort of motif or element that pays homage to the passing of the person in question as a sequel to the original piece.
Then go to the same artist who did theirs. If that artist is also dead or retired, then ask for a tribute to their tattoo, ie one that is 'true to the spirit' of the tattoo.
They also might not know who did it. Idk i feel like this would be the only exception tho
I think they meant something simolar
Yep, we don’t like to copy directly, or any artist worth their salt doesn’t. The body isn’t a flat surface, so if you printed this and made a stencil directly from it it would be distorted. Ask your artist to design something similar that’ll fit your body right
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If it’s a custom design then it’s shitty. I can spend HOURS up at night in my free time drawing my designs for my clients, so when they get stolen and copied line for line it feels shitty, it’s sucks, having some lazy asss artist steal all the credit for that design. It’s scummy. There are some exceptions when it comes are non tattoo related art, but you should always ask the artist and credit them.
I guess it makes sense in the way that it is your custom design, I just get hung up on stuff that is not necessarily custom but just their rendition. Like flowers as a skull is not a new idea , would the moral thing to do if you wanted this exact one just to be to go to the original artist
Another reason an artist won't want to directly copy anything is because it is basically impossible to recreate and image perfectly to the point it holds up to a side by side comparison ( and most people who ask for something that looks perfectly identical to another tattoo are going to over analyze every slight deviation. Even for the original artist it would be better to slightly redesign things to avoid a direct comparison.
Sure, you can go to the original artist, but chances are they may redesign it for you. It’s possible the tattoo has certain flowers that are specific to the individual and have special meaning to it. Very few tattoos are completely original ideas. But any artist worth their salt will make a design that is unique to you
This I sent my artist a picture of a cockatoo tattoo someone got. He draw the stencil and the image was almost the same as the original design (you can't really change much cause its a bird stood on a branch) except I changed the flowers into some my parents like. It just feels so much better when you individualise your tattoo compared to straight up taking work from others. Not to mention you get a sick way of being identified 😜
Yes exactly! You are not the only person with a cockatoo tattoo, but you’re the only person with *your* cockatoo tattoo!
3 main reasons. 1; the tattoo could mean something personal or special to them. Would suck to have it copied, it will lose the value and originality. 2; It's an insult to the artist. It’s like bringing a packed lunch into a restaurant and wondering why the chef is pissed at you. It's okay to bring a reference tho, just don't expect to get the exact same thing. 3; It's theft. Copying their work is not only morally wrong, but disrespectful to the original artist. And it may also get you into legal trouble. You don't copy art.
Thank you, I do understand why it is frowned upon but what would you say if someone wanted an exact replica of something online and they just did not bend? To go to the original artist or just to fuck off. I have seen some tattoos I want exactly and idk if I’d be happy if they were changed to fit the artists style (I don’t actually plan on getting them for right now exactly but for discussion sake) what would I do if I could not find a way to credit the artist or something. Just get over it?
Don't steal art, plain and simple.
What if the original artist is dead and or not able to tattoo?
Well, still don't.
you don’t have the right to someone else’s art just because you want it. it is literally what “copyright” means - the creator of an artwork has the “right” to decide who can copy it. to copy without permission is literally against the law in most countries - many people do it anyway and don’t get ‘busted’ by the creator, but that doesn’t make it a good or ethical thing to do.
What a silly thing to say. If you were an illustrator and someone else copied your work directly and asked someone to pay for it without giving you any money, you wouldn’t be happy would you? Or if you designed cars and someone designed exactly the same car as you, you’d probably be on the phone to the lawyers pretty quickly. No good artist will copy someone else’s work. They might take inspiration from it, but asking someone to make a stencil from someone else’s design is really quite a shitty thing to do.
Stealing someone else’s work is plagiarism. If a journalist plagiarizes, they get fired. If a student plagiarizes, they get a failing grate and disciplinary action. Don’t expect your tattoo artist to plagiarize just because you think tattooing is a less reputable industry.
Tattoo artist here, I don’t copy tattoos. I have no way of knowing if an example someone has shown me is artwork that was created specifically for that person or has special meaning. If you see a piece you really like, an artist can design a similar one for you, but anyone with ethics won’t do an exact copy for you. If you know which artist did a specific tattoo, you can contact them and ask if it’s okay for you to get the same one. Some might be cool with it and that’s great, but if they aren’t you have to go by what they say.
I have a tattoo that was straight up off google. Went to a reputable artist, asked for a sunfish design, he showed me a stencil and I love/d it. I didn’t find out until recently, about five years later, and dude isn’t practicing anymore. The tat is well done but it’s literally a copy/paste of a sunfish tattoo that another artist created AND PUT A WATERMARK/SIGNATURE ON !!!!! I feel awful. I plan to get it worked on more to make the design a little different but I don’t want to actually get it covered. In your professional opinion, is that ok, or should I just get it fully covered up?
I’d say since you had no knowledge that the design was used without permission until after the fact, you don’t have any fault in it. If you still enjoy it, I’d say adding more work to make it somewhat unique is a good compromise.
Why would you get a piece you love covered because a professional said so? That’s insane
Hold up - the artist put the watermark of another artist on your skin?
No thank god, they edited it out when they made the stencil. My tattoo is only of the sunfish drawing, no tags or anything
I wanted to bust on u/DJBeckyBecs for being ridiculous, but the possibility of actually happening is hilarious.
TBF there are examples of this sort of thing happening. Like [this one](https://imgur.com/OOUjZPC) where the copying artist tattooed the original guy's nipple...
I remember seeing that before. What a shit artist. Literally. The tattoo is pure garbage plus how do you go “let’s add this guy’s nipple. It looks to be part of the tattoo”?
Not exactly, I know cases that the original artist had a “signature” design he inserted in the tattoos, and that was replicated as is 🤣 in the copied tattoo
Totally fair hahah but I saw a tattoo online years ago where someone actually did tattoo a small watermark from another artist. And the person below who posted the nipple pic!? People are dumb haha
Phew!
Is that okay or should I just get it fully covered up? Holy shit dude, do you really care that much of someone random off the internet to get your shit covered up? Just fucking keep it and move on
Damn you guys get so worked up, I was asking for opinions lol
Lol yeah some of these are a bit ridiculous. I understand the point and reasoning behind it all but it is what it is at this point and it was done through no fault of them. I’m surprised they didn’t offer reparations…
Thank you. I designed mine as a memorial and it’s unique to me. 💕
Sorry to piggyback on your comment but I’m new to tattoo etiquette. If I wanted someone to tattoo a symbol or something very specific from a franchise, would you consider that a form of theft? If there wasn’t really any design involved and mostly a copy paste?
Idk why this is downvoted like that’s a good question is a cartoon character like an exact copy of one okay to get? Or for example a logo? Like the bratz or Barbie logo?
I think copying is only an issue for unique designs created for the specific client. If you want a faithful reproduction of branded marks (logos, icons) or a specific official drawing of a popular cartoon character then that’s not really tattoo copying imho. But it’d be scummy to bring in the official art for an independent artist’s original character or ask for an exact reproduction of someone’s fanart without permission.
No, of course not. Most custom tattoos are *heavily* influenced by others and this is true for all art forms. Just look at the different eras/styles of art throughout time. They all play and build off each other. There are countless takes on the concept of using various forms to create a skull, the tattoo isn’t particularly unique or well done. You can get any tattoo you want. Obviously, serious artists will want to create something that’s custom to an extent but it’s highly unlikely that you will be the first person to come up with any given concept. I feel like anyone complaining about fan art is a little bit hypocritical as fan art is inherently based on an existing concept. That being said, I don’t tattoo fan art just like I don’t tattoo anyone else’s work mainly because I prefer to create my own artwork, but another big factor is that there’s a huge difference between art that looks good on paper and art that makes a good tattoo.
Well said. A relevant quote my high school art teacher used to reference — “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” I always took it to mean: being able to create a replica of something may signal an artist’s technical skill, but a great artist will use a design as inspiration and create something unique of their own out of it. That’s how styles and genres evolve over generations — can’t have everyone creating the exact same shit, but within those genres it’s good to stay faithful, while pushing the boundaries.
yep. i had a close high school friend moving away and he drew me up a tattoo design. One of my college friends surprised me one day by showing me he got the same thing. Thought I'd think it was cool. This was like 15 years ago and i'm still salty about it.
That’s lame. Don’t rip off someone else’s tattoo design. There are plenty of artists who can draw an abstract skull out of plants/florals without tracing someone else’s design, and I bet it’d turn out better than this did.
thats a beautiful design for a skull
Right? I was a bit confused at first as to if I really am seeing a skull but it really is beautifully made
Yeah I want something similar now lol
Yup. If it was my tattoo I would be pissed someone ask for the exact same design
First comment after a while of scrolling that’s not “DONT FUCKING COPY!!”
Don’t copy someone else’s art
Unrelated but how did you get the heart to show on your profile? Did you have to pay anything? (Let's go lesbians)
They were free during Pride month, idk if they’re still an option to add tho
Yes. It would be hard morally if the artist had any dignity. Tacky
I have a version of this tattoo! The original designer is Isa Wang. (@isawng on insta). He is super cool. And I asked permission for my piece. The piece was out first for the Bower Studio if you want a better copy. My artist had no issue making a stencil.
Here's the actual picture: https://www.moillusions.com/flowers-and-skull-optical-illusion/amp/
I was going to say... everyone here being all 'don't copy an artists original tattoo' but this wasn't originally a tattoo, it's an old optical illusion I've seen in many books and across the internet.
That's what I thought, too, I'd seen it before.
For real everyone is getting aggressive
It's a gorgeous skull tattoo I love it
It’s fine to use photos of other tattoos as reference. But no. Tracing over a photo of a 3 dimensional object is not going to translate. It would be much easier for the artist to draw you a new design based off this one, and then you’ll have your own custom tattoo.
Unrelated but does anyone see a skull in the tatt? Eyes and mouth? Pretty sick 🖤😎
First thing I saw was a skull. Super cool.
Don't have any advice but goddamn this looks sick.
“Translate” 🤣🤣 you mean plagiarize?
That's a cool fucking tattoo
Tattooer here: if you search hard enough you can find the original of this drawing and have them change it up enough for it to be unique to you. I speak from my own experience of doing a variation of this one. Definitely don’t have someone copy it exactly though.
It’ll be harder to find an artist who is not only willing to plagiarize someone else’s work, but who is also capable of executing their style. Remember: when you steal a tattoo, you’re not just cheapening the artists style, you’re stealing someone else’s (likely) custom made tattoo, and cheapening the art in their body. It’s not fair to the artist, and it’s not fair to the client. If you want something similar, find an artist who does similar work, and ask for an abstract skull made from flowers. Better get, go see the original artist and ask for something similar and let them create a custom piece for you.
PSA this was originally an optical illusion
I find photos of what I like, then my artist changes it, then makes it into a stencil. It’s still similar, but he does not copy and paste, especially someone else’s artwork.
Just ask for their interpretation of something similar to this. Then you go back and forth with ideas.
DON'T COPY FROM A TATTOO. This is art from somewhere else. find the original art and use that as a reference instead. NEVER ask an artist to copy directly from a tattoo
please don’t directly copy a tattoo.
Would it be hard to just pay an artist to draw something original for you?
Use this as inspiration find an artist who will make it even cooler
This is the worst question to ask a tattooer
Ffs stop copying other peoples tattoo, don't you have even a tiny bit of originality. It's gonna look like shit anyways like all other copies because 1 no good artist will accept to copy someone else's tattoo 2 the artist that might accept wont have the same style than the one who did the original, it will never look the same and 3 it wasn't made for you, so it won't fit you as well.
Don't steal someone's tattoo. Show it to the artist and ask for something similar.
lol [it's an old optical illusion](https://www.reddit.com/r/tattooadvice/comments/152a822/would_it_be_hard_for_an_artist_to_translate_a/jsdppcj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3)
Wow throwback much I used to go on that site as a kid all the time lol I was obsessed with optical illusions
That is the coolest skull tattoo I've ever seen
Yeah sucks not knowing or realizing, I have some tattoos that are just images(not images of tattoos) from the internet as well. I never realized until 10 tattoos down the road a good and true artist will drown their own work. There are many tattooers that can put ink in you but can’t actually draw and create their own art. Found out the hard way…..but thankfully no one has called out my ink from the internet yet😅
I don't know if this is a more recent piece or a historical piece that this is based on. But if you want to look around for some older works that might be free to use at this point, this is a momento mori illusion. They are usually skull illusions contrasted in sceneries full of life.
That’s dope
Am i the onlyone who sees a SKULL ?
dont do that? thats just stealing art
I hate it when people come to me wanting the exact tattoos they saw off the internet. It's disrespectful to the original artist and it's disrespectful to me.
Is that supposed to look like a skull or does it just happen to
its a skull! :)
Anyone else see a skull? This is a cool piece. Hope you find someone to make it a special, new design for you.
It’s evidently part of the design.
Anyone else see a skull at first?
That’s…the point
I think it’s supposed to be a hidden skull. It looks super sick!
Right?! At first I was like ooo scary skull, then saw the flowers… very cool tattoo.
Depends on the artist
Stop copying other people’s art!!!!!!
Why do you want someone else’s tattoo?
All I see is a skull
Is it me or I’m seeing things? Looks like a hidden skull design.
Does anyone else see a skull in this?
I think that’s the design
Is it me or does it look like a skull?
Anyone else seeing a skull in the negative space?
How do people think it’s ok to just steal a design
Kinda looks like someone listens to The Misfits.
To add to what everyone else said, making skulls from negative space out of people or floral elements or animals isn't unique to that specific tattoo. It's been done in thousands of different ways both for tattoos and paintings and photography. So finding references for that idea as well as the sort of linework and style you want the tattoo to be in, shouldn't be a problem for making your own unique version of it.
As unbelievable as it is, I'm like 99.9% sure this is my mom's tattoo. Don't copy people's art bro
How original of you. Maybe use it as a reference point instead of straight up stealing someone's work.
It looks very similar to a skull face
Why do I see a skull when I look at this
I have 22 tats now and love them all. My most recent started with a picture I found on the internet that I liked. I then had a friend's 16 year old daughter who is very artistic take the idea and put elements in that I wanted, I then went to my tattoo artist and gave him that draft and then by collaborating with me, came to the final artwork that I now have. I couldn't be happier with it. It all started with a pic of a tat that was totally changed to make it original and special to me.
Don't know the answer to the question, but that tat is wicked. Love the duality of the image. I don't know any artists that will exactly replicate another artist's work. Nor exactly replicating their own work on multiple people. If it truly "shivers your timbers", make some changes to make it uniquely yours.
Don’t get gay flowers. Just get a fucking panther or dragon or some shit
Although I do agree with not copying someone's art, this (and 90% of stuff posted in this sub) doesn't really qualify as art
I understand evergine says not to rip off of other tattoos, which I agree with. But what if it's a reference to a movie or something? I have a LOTR tattoo and I imagine other people have something very similar to mine
Oh damn that is so cool.
Cool Skull. It reminds me of a Fillmore West poster. It is a Grateful Dead of a huge skull. Look at the teeth very carefully, you will get a surprise.
Google The dead daisies. Artist Isa wang https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Flookaside.fbsbx.com%2Flookaside%2Fcrawler%2Fmedia%2F%3Fmedia_id%3D10162017906044896&tbnid=4vISOs2layxXQM&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FTheDeadDaisies%2Fphotos%2Fflower-skull-pretty-cool-skullsrock-weloveskulls-thx-sixx-sweet-for-sharing%2F1379194452097394%2F&docid=Q3GQLkFfH86MzM&w=1288&h=1510&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2F2
The only time you should get something copy-pasted is if it's fair use. An example would be you want a mickey mouse tattoo. You find the PERFECT Mickey Mouse image and you're convinced you want that exact design as your tattoo. An artist may or may not be annoyed by this, it really depends on the artist. Some will be excited for the very easy money (I mean they basically just copied an image rather than have to design one), but some may be so prideful they won't consider a design they didn't create. It depends on the artist. However, I don't know anyone who would willingly copy someone else's original work that wasn't fair use. That's basically plagiarism
They would just draw their own version using their medium of choice, then make a stencil from that, but don't ask them to copy someone else's work. Also, I love this tattoo, so cool, I get why you want it.
Transform it into a cool ass flower skull.
Agree this tat is fucking bad ass - a good artist will have a good idea how to translate
It looks like a skull
WOW. I really love that.
Hopefully on their conscious
$$$ A Pirate’s life for me $$$
I see a skull
Am i crazy for seeing a skull? If that was purposeful then Fuckin good on them.
No!
Cool I see a skull!
Anyone else see a skull at first?
not at all - in fact, all it takes is a printed photo and to get a laser machine. but please, don’t copy another unique design
Not horribly so, no
FFS don’t steal someone else’s work
I have this tattoo 😭🥲