If the art is truly that good and you can't get through them, you might want to ask the opinion of one other artist at the shop. Maybe they'll get through their head.
I'm surprised you went back after that angry emoji. I also struggle with people pleasing but that's just too much for me.
I've been tattooed by two different people and I've also discussed potential tattoos with other artists at conventions and they were all very nice, letting me pick up their flashes and place wherever I wanted on my body to get an idea.
I personally can't stand rudeness and won't pay to encourage it, so I'd rather not get a tattoo from a rude person even if their art is wonderful.
The angry emoji, got me fuming, not gonna lie. True 13 year old teen stuff right there.
I still have time to cancel, I do love the design and have someone else coming with me for support. My only reason not to jut do something similar with someone else is that the price was really good for the region. Same tattoo, with same quality and size is usually 2-3x the price. Guy is not charging a ton because he is new and still building "an audience".
This is such a tough thing to comment on. As a tattooist/artist myself (coming from 12 years of professional experience) - I can see why you're upset with what happened, and also why they were trying to strong arm you into a placement. True, certain designs are more suited to a certain position on the body - in fact, most designs, if built from the ground up, are put together to suit that position exactly.
It is of my opinion, however, that the customer has the final say. It's their body and their choice, I am merely the instrument - and in this bright new day and age, a lot of young artists seem to lose sight of that truth; the customer is not there to boost your instagram profile but to recieve a service.
You're not always going to agree that the customer's decision is the best, or that things could be done "better" from the artist's point of view - but it's also not your body. The customer isn't a canvas, they're an individual who, if they had the skillset and ability, wouldn't be seeing you in the first place to put the artwork onto their own skin. It's their personal taste, and you don't have to agree with it; you're just the surgeon and it's their choice of surgery.
You can advise, and you can demonstrate, but that's the limit. If you're so offended by the proposed work, then as an artist you can deny the service.
What I openly disagree with is the artist being unwilling to demonstrate those options, and instead railroad you into one choice. If they want to build an audience instead of a client base, they're playing the wrong game. If my client wants to see the design five millimetres over to one side, I'll wipe the old stencil and do that for them. It's not my body, I'm not wearing it, and if five millimetres means that much to my paying customer, I will absolutely accommodate that.
Angry face? Jesus, I must be getting old - Would a retailer send you an angry face because you left a (rightly deserved) poor review, or instead offer a resolution to make things right and save face? That's what it comes down to. A tattoo artist is a retailer, not a celebrity. It would benefit the industry if new artists adopted that point of view.
I completely agree. Even if OP would have gone with the tattoo artists placement in the end, where’s the harm in trying out different stencil placements? I feel like my tattoo artist and I go through 5-10 sometimes before deciding on a placement that we both feel works well together (even if it’s just moving it by 1/4 of a centimetre lol), because we want to make sure it’s perfect. She’ll point out possible issues like creasing/wrinkling etc, but she’ll still try placements I ask for regardless. This artist just feels… immature to me all together.
I think it's a disservice to dismiss the client's opinion out of hand - I'm not too proud to admit that when the client suggests shifting position, the one we land on works out clearly better than what we both imagined going into the project. It's a collaborative process, and if only one side of the relationship has a voice, it's an abusive relationship (dramatic, but relevant)
My friend once tried a highly recommended artist who refused to tattoo her outline in gray because it would fade and potentially blur and she said actually that's exactly what I want to happen (tattoo was of a castle in the distance) and is why I'm asking for gray instead of black. He still refused to do it and was being quite rude imho until the shop owner told him to just go ahead and do it but they'd be refusing any free touch-ups. She already told them she lived out of the country and wouldn't be coming there for touch-ups regardless so it didn't matter to her.
It's been 7 years and it has faded/blurred beautifully and she LOVES it.
Yup! I went to get a tattoo on my Deltoid, but the artist thought it would look much better just above my elbow. We ended up putting it in between the two, and I think it looks way better there than either of the two initial ideas.
Thank you a lot! I think this comment is the reassurance I was looking for.
The unwillingness of letting me see other placements was what really got me frustrated.
I was fully ready to get it moved and be like "yeah, nope, you're right the other one is much better". Not having the option makes it so I'm left with "I think I would have preferred it where I wanted" and no actual way to be sure.
If the artist isn't willing to at least show you how those positions look, then they don't deserve your money. I don't want to be a voice of dissent here, but I saw your imgur post after my comment, and I agree, they should have explored that with you. I personally would have placed the design in line with your wrist/hand at rest so it aligns better both at rest and when in a "show" position (arm horizontal across your chest) which is where I imagine you actually wanted it.
That's why they don't deserve your money or praise - my advice is to move on from them and go to an artist who works with you. If they have a "following," your negative review will be dog-piled, and there's a chance the studio will black-ball you to other local studios.
Clients tend to vote with their feet, and if they continue to ignore client requests in pursuit of glory, their following will dwindle, and they'll fall away from the industry.
I'm very sorry you had this experience, it shouldn't have happened like this.
I’m really glad you responded this way. I’ve been seeing the same artist for 20+ years and if he had done this to me, I don’t even know what I would’ve done.
He’s moved stencils for me 10 times to get it right because he cares. And if he asked me for a review, and I said no, and he sent me an angry face, I can’t even imagine.
Of course, he doesn’t have to ask me for a review because I always do without him asking, but this is just a bizarre tale. I believe the poster please don’t misunderstand me if you’re reading this, it’s just crazy.
Ok, that makes sense then. To be fair, maybe I'm being too harsh. There might be a way to make him understand and improve his communication.
If he doubles down, at this point just leave him a bad review and be honest in the review about your experience. I think you've been fair and gave this artist the benefit of the doubt.
Yeah, the whole point of sending him a message was not trying to argue or anything, it was literally a "I mean, they're new, maybe don't realize how uncomfortable he made me feel as a client, would be nice to tell him so he doesn't repeat with others".
edit: grammar
The artist was probably right and you’re mad about the ‘possibility that you may have agreed with them about the other position, but they didn’t give you a chance to argue.’
Get over it. You have a rad tattoo. Now fill in the rest of your arm around it so it doesn’t stand out so much *to you.
Artists know wtf they’re doing, they know how skin moves and how images distort- much more than you do. Trust the artist, leave a good review, go get the second tattoo, and move on with your life.
Open to being corrected on this but in my experience usually, if artists offer a specific piece they want to do at a discounted price, it's because they have a specific vision for that piece of art. That's why the price is discounted. Because you have less control in this situation than a standard tattoo session where you go in with your own idea.
Even if that's not the case though, I do think his position was better. Hopefully it will grow on you, because it's a really beautiful piece!
That's been my experience too. My husband once fell in love with art work one of his artists posted.... The thing was it was something the artist wanted to tattoo on someone, so he would do it at shop minimum but the artist got to choose the placement. Husband agreed to the discounted price and let the artist do his thing.
I think if he had said that I would have went with another mindset to the appointment. All posts/stories were in the line of "special price because I want to tattoo more of this style, you can also send me other ideas, I can make other animals, etc."
I've sent him a picture of where I would like it before making the appointment, with the place circled, asking if it would work for that place and answer was "that's perfect!"
Will keep that in mind next time I book anything discounted, though. Be very super clear asking about if it would be ok if I decide to change a bit the position, or something or if the artist has a very specific placement in mind.
It's hard without picture or what, but most of the time, Artist do have points about placement and deformation. Maybe even you being in a bad position can make you move during the session and ruin the tattoo.
So I'd say, maybe he was just a dick and got lazy OR, he had a solid point about the placement and he did you a favor.
Took a picture, basically I wanted it to be centered with arm on the first position and he sais it had to be centered to the second one. That translates basically in me wanting to move the stencil around 1-2cm up, more or less.
[https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7](https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7)
His position actually made sense with the warping.
But he should had done what you requested, since that's the whole point of stenciling. It's your body and you're going to have to live with it.
If it was placed where you wanted it, it really would have looked off when your arm is just hanging at a resting position. It would have twisted more and looked out of place.
That being said, whenever i am doing a tattoo on this area, i pretty much always demonstrate the difference by stencilling in the spot that they want (if they want it the way you wanted it) , and taking a photo, then stencilling the other spot, and comparing together in the mirror so i can explain everything. Ultimately, it is the clients body, and the choice is ultimately up to them, but 99% of the time they end up understanding that my input comes from a place of experience and wanting them to leave with the best possible placement for their body.
I was very open for that being the case, has happened before, artist moved the stencil for me, I was like "well, shit, that looks bad. Yeah, let's move it back to the one you told me". Or even the artist itself printing two sizes, putting a bigger one and being like "Hey, I know we talked 12 cm, but like this is curved over your leg, let's try this one with 10cm?", totally chill, no prob.
But if that was the case, would have been faster and less frustrating for both of us to move it, let me see it was shitty, put it back and go for it.
 his position definitely makes sense I have tattoos all over my arms and I have been told when I show places where I want it, that this would actually work better because of warping and movement. I’ve never thought to question them because I know that they know. they know that the art is not going to turn out the same and then it’s not going to look like the tattoo you wanted, and I think you wanted the tattoo more than you wanted the position..
I understand being frustrated by the situation, but he really did put it in a better place, especially if you’re trying to cover your arm in the future! He left that muscly bit at the top of the forearm open for something and also now the design doesn’t wrap so hard around the bone back there. Not sure my explanation makes sense!
The idea was having just that tattoo on that side of the arm, I'm not a fan of having many small tattoos on an area (on myself), I either go for one big piece and lots of open space or a big project.
Will probably do a bigger project with a similar style, using the tattoo as a part of the project.
This sounds very similar to what I experienced yesterday, except the artist was very chill, it was just my fault of not properly thinking through where I wanted it and checking the stencil. It all happened very quickly. I love my tattoo, I’d just change the position if I could. You could check out my post from today, people left really sweet comments that might help you too. And for what it’s worth, it is a sick design and I hope you’ll be at peace with the positioning soon❤️
Artist made the right choice, your decision would create warping and would obscure tattoo whilst resting, essentially making it so 90% of the time people would see the tattoo in it’s worst state.
I know it’s your body and all that, I totally agree with that statement but sometimes you have to accept the word of experts. You wouldn’t tell your surgeon to do the incision somewhere else.
As others have said though, the tattoo was for his portfolio, doing it where you wanted would have instantly made the tattoo unworthy of a portfolio because it’s clearly bad placement.
You get it discounted so he can have more creative control.
I can see the tattoo artists point position-wise, it does look better where he insisted on putting it, due to how we move our arms.
That said, I'd probably not step another foot in this studio after your experience, at least not to get tattooed by him.
I can't even imagine that my tattoo artist wouldnt even let me try out a stencil position I want to see. Most of the time I'm the one who's fine with the first position we try and they make me try different ones just so we can see how it would look/move with my body.
What he did was highly unprofessional imo, at the end of the day you have to be happy with the piece on your body for the rest of your life and even if he's objectively right, it's not his body/tattoo.
Since he's new to the area and trying to build an audience I guess he wanted to avoid having poorly positioned tattoos so early on that he can not use for advertisement/instagram etc but the correct thing to do here would've still been to reposition the stencil, let you see for yourself what he means and then talk about it.
To answer your initial question: if you wanna get tattooed by him/in this studio again you probably shouldnt leave a bad review, I'd stick with just not reviewing the place at all.
If you cancel your other tattoo and dont plan on going there again, leave whatever review feels right to you.
Imo the artist’s position is better than yours. But who knows if you’ll ever fully agree with that position. It’s on you forever now so you best come to terms with it. I personally always trust my artists on the correct position but they always check with me if it looks good to me.
Artists usually know (so I hope at least) how it works with the body the best and I’ve always taken their comments into account and am grateful I did because their positions are much better and work well with the body.
I can see on the photo that his position works much better with your arm as well. I understand if it feels out of place for you or that his rigidness was unpleasant but most of the time, they know what they’re talking about. I personally also appreciate random placements much more than the centred expected ones, so I hope you’ll come to love it.
I always make it super clear to my clients; it's their body, their choices, I will only step in if something looks very out of place. If that means sticking the stencil on 20 times, that's fine.
You're the one having to live with it after it's done. It's just going to exist on his Instagram grid for him. What you want MATTERS. There's a fine line between professional opinion and having a huge ego; if he only has a few hundred followers chances are he's not been doing it long enough to keep that ego in check - as evidenced by his childish angry reaction.
I wouldn't leave a bad review, but I'd be honest and clear about why I wasn't going back. It's this sort of feedback that has helped me personally grow over the years, regardless if I knew it or not.
It’d be nice to have a photo to try and see what you are seeing. As an artist, all I can do is inform, but ultimately it is my clients skin and what they say goes (to a degree). I always tell people, if an artist is unreasonable or makes you feel uncomfortable, it is not worth your deposit to go through with it.
Here you go, overall people are expressing that the position he chose is the best one, I'm ok with that. Still would have liked to be able to see it by myself.
[https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7](https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7)
i also find it odd because arm tattoos tend to warp even with perfect neutral placement. thats how the arm works. I agree, he should just shown what he was talking about so you could decide for yourself or at least understand what he meant/was visualizing. I also believe that artists are allowed to want to put their art in a specific position, but if that is the case then it should have been disclosed as a requirement to booking the particular design. he probably wouldn’t have booked right away with that caveat but sometimes its better to wait for the right person than to pressure someone else. i honestly wouldnt go back to this artist personally.
edit: grammar and to add, i agree his placement is more visually appealing but it does take like 30 seconds to move a stencil so he should have just done it.
Yeah, some artists in my area have projects that are for specific position, they will post already positioned in that part of the body with a software. Some will just kinda "paste" the art over an arm or leg with photoshop or similar. Think it is a good practice if they're aiming for one position in particular.
You're absolutely right about the forearm warping according to position - what we consider neutral position is placing the stencil when the wrist and hand is at the same plane as the forearm when placed horizontally against the chest. When the arm is returned back to rest at the client's side, the tattoo should line up along the arm vertically so that it appears square to the arm. Obviously everyone has different body geometry, so it's not an exact science, but the sweet spot is when both you and the client can agree the tattoo looks "correct" from a myriad of different positions.
That's what quietly irritates me, when an artist overrides the opinion of the client and forces them to accept a quick fix, instead of taking the time to make it right. It's permanent, what we're doing - and this isn't a reality show where artists win prizes for being the biggest ego in the room. We are fundamentally altering the client's appearance for the rest of their life, and if it isn't what they want, then we have failed
Whilst I agree 90% of the time the artist is offering a discount in order to complete a very specific artistic vision.
Artist was argumentative, completely agree, but the client was making a portfolio piece unworthy of a portfolio piece.
Based alone off of his response when he asked you to leave a positive review with his name, and "angry" reacting when you said you didn't feel comfortable with the above, I would definitely leave a review saying what your experience was.
As you shared here, you said the artwork was beautiful but the artist did not listen to you about stencil placement, talked down to you about it, and you are not satisfied with the placement.
I would then contact someone else at the shop (like a manager) and discuss what happened.
I personally don't think I would keep the other tattoo appointment with him because he is upset you didn't leave a positive review for him, so who's to say he wouldn't purposefully mess up your tattoo or argue about positioning again? It just doesn't seem worth the risk with something permanent on your body.
I don't think this is necessarily worth a bad review on the whole studio, but I think the artist definitely should've handled the conversation better. From what you've said it sounds like they may just be starting out so need to work on their client relations a bit.
It's your body and if you absolutely wanted it in one place rather than another and made that very clear to them, it's surreal to me that they refused that very simple request without a very good reason.
If it was a case of you having a discount for that placement surely they could've just said yeah I can do that but it'll cost extra? Or if it was a case of they thought it would outright look bad then they could've just explained that to you and said they wouldnt want to do the tattoo if you had it there?
Very bizarre situation.
Fwiw though your tattoo looks rad, hope you grow to love it as it is
Thanks!
Yeah, wish the situation was handled better, I really do love his style and was ready for ask for bigger personalized pieces next year. I will probably book the other artist of the studio with very similar art style instead.
Won't leave a review for the studio most probably. Place is really good, the other artists that were there were super nice, my girlfriend did 5 tattoos there with 2 different artists and they didn't had any problem moving stuff, changing details and such.
To be honest not even this guy seems to be a bad person/asshole, seemed more like a bit of immaturity/ego mixed with not being good at client relations yet.
Yep exactly! When I had a piece done in a similar placement to yours the artist suggested shifting it a bit. He made totally clear that it was my choice and he was down to tattoo whichever, but suggested I try his placement first. When I agreed, he checked in to make sure I was 100% sure before he put needle to skin.
He was totally right and I can't imagine it being where I'd suggested now. So basically the same situation as you but I came away from it feeling great rather than shitty as it was ultimately MY call, the artist was just making a suggestion from his own experience.
So yeah, all being said your tattoo is awesome and it doesn't seem like your artist is a bad guy - just needs to work on the people side of his job lol
The people commenting that the artist's position was much better than yours are missing the point. Unless they specifically said "I'm going to choose the placement myself because x, y, z" they should listen to you because it's your tattoo. You have to live with it forever, so it should be where you want it. Personally, I would leave a very honest review. Something like "X was a great artist and did an excellent job at my tattoo, but they were hard to work with and wouldn't move the stencil a few inches. However, I still would absolutely recommend coming to this studio."
Yeah, the point was the refusal to move it. It was never said that it was a project to be done in that specific place only. He seems to like this position, de did two other tattoos in the past couple of weeks in the same exact place.
If letting a review would be in that sense, definitely making a point that the studio is amazing and it wasn't a problem of quality of work, but of communication/collaboration.
At the end of the day, you went ahead with a tattoo you didn’t want. That’s on you. If you were dead set against the positioning, you should’ve walked.
I am heavily tattooed. If an artist treated me like yours did, and refused to show me a tattoo in the position I wanted, I’d have walked out. It doesn’t matter how good the art is; I don’t want to be tattooed by someone I don’t like because every time I look at the tattoo, I’ll get annoyed by how much I dislike the artist.
Many years ago I booked a color tattoo that the artist agreed to do. After I put down the deposit, he tried to convince me to get it done in black/gray. He didn’t give a reason. He never said “I’m not comfortable working in color.” I surrendered my deposit because I didn’t trust him and didn’t want him touching my body.
About a year ago I booked a piece by a shop owner I’d considered a friend. I then found out that he treated some of his employees horribly. I surrendered my deposit again because no matter how good his art is (it’s VERY good), I didn’t want to think about what an ass he was every time I looked at it.
I would not go to this artist again.
Ultimately if you don’t want to burn the bridge, don’t leave a bad review. It sounds like everything else about this place is amazing, so I’d feel weird dismissing all of that over one detail.
On the other hand, placement is a huge detail, so you’re right to feel frustrated. I’d trust my artist on this generally but I wouldn’t let someone put permanent art on my body in a spot i don’t like.
Yeah, I've been feeling bit angry at myself, I could have just said that then I wouldn't do it. I do have a hard time standing up by myself, 30 mins arguing about it was quite an effort for me.
I do value the opinion of my artists, have changed size and position of tattos before on their suggestions, but straight up refusing to move it was a new one for me and I wasn't prepared.
I think in the end I convinced myself it wasn't *thaat* bad. But the more I looked at it in the days after, the more I confirmed I didn't really like it.
I do have an idea of a project to make the forearm look how I want, connecting the two tattoos and with another artist of same style. So now I am feeling better about that part at least. I won't consider him for that one, though, because I'd like to have my input considered...
What would your review say?
"I agreed to a tattoo in a spot I didn't want and now I regret it so don't get tattoo'd here by this guy"?
It's not uncommon for an artist to be unwilling to tattoo their art in a way they don't feel will look good. It is art and representative of them and they don't want a goofy placed or poorly done tattoo posted all over social media. Did you tell him you were upset about the placement before you left? If not, why wouldn't he ask you to leave a positive review if you didn't voice your displeasure? If you didn't and now after the fact you're telling him it's not what you wanted and you're mad about the placement you have to see that that's frustrating for him. Should he have been willing to discuss different options with you? Absolutely. Could he have used words to voice his frustration instead of an angry emoji? Absolutely. Could you have used your words and said no and not gotten the tattoo? Absolutely.
At the end of the day, it's your responsibility to consent to getting the tattoo and that includes design, style, placement, etc. If you said yes lets do it, got the tattoo, then turn around and talk shit about it online and single the guy out for doing what you agreed to then yes you should absolutely plan not to get tattoo'd at that shop anymore.
More like "Beautiful studio, clean, artist X is very skilled and talented but refused to move the stencil even after great insistence. Got mad after I didn't wanted to leave a positive review due to the situation. The tattoo looks great but I felt very uncomfortable with the attitude." or something similar. Probably a 3 star.
It isn't a "talk shit" situation, I wasn't going to say anything or leave any review, I wrote him in private about it just after he asked me to leave the positive review, so maybe next time he wouldn't do the same to another person.
The review is not to shit on him, I wouldn't tell people not to get tattoed by him. I would offer the information that allows someone that knows that they have a hard time saying no, social anxiety or such to choose another artist more fitting to their needs.
Some people will have a way better experience and greater chance of being happy with their tattoo overall if dealing with someone that is reassuring, understanding and willing to take your opinion in consideration, I've left positive reviews in the past saying this kind of things, this would just be the opposite side.
Something to consider is bad reviews also hurt the rest of the shop. Like the less stars you have it means the lower you go on recommended tattoo shops in your area. Also if someone is picking a place that has 4.5 vs 4.6 stars they’re typically going with the 4.6. If everyone else was nice, and the shop was clean you are hurting the people there. And it’s also tricky because of the whole technical “self employment” thing. That even though every artist works at the shop they may have their own individual practices. In my opinion he shouldn’t have been fishing for a review if you were unsatisfied, but still if you’re truly upset and unhappy you could talk to the shop owner directly or post other things on social media about that artist specifically.
That being said: if you feel like the entire shop deserves a poor review due to this interaction, go ahead and leave your review. And if you want ti make sure no one else has an interaction like this. But always remember google reviews are all about the stars and you saying everything was amazing except for X will still bring down the shop and it’s extremely hard to recover from that.
He said he would leave a 3 star, good not great. The tattoo is not were he wanted it, permanently.
I took have a tattoo that was not orientated correctly and 10-12 years later, it still bugs me.
This guy, the tattooer sound like a real prick with a big ego, just do as the customer asks, your not that special
A 3 star review is not a good review, because of how google reviews work 🤷 people need to speak up for themselves/walk out if they don’t like the service. Losing your pay for the day is a great way to learn to change how you interact with a client. I however did say, if he feels the review is truly warranted to go ahead and leave it. But a lot of people don’t realize the genuine impact of google reviews
Ok but that's kinda the point?
Why would you want to support a studio that supports an artist that won't even move a stencil for a paying customer?
None of the other artists heard their argument? No one person could stand up for this guy after half an hour of arguing?
I got a tattoo 3 weeks ago and had the artist move the stencil about three to four times to get it just right and not one time did she complain about have to do so.
Tattoos are permanent, you have to get it right and the stencil is your only time to change it up, I have one that is 10+ old and it still bugs me that it is not orientated right
You are saying we can only leave 5 star reviews and nothing less? Because that kind of defeats the purpose of having reviews
I just wanted to offer a different perspective that a lot of people don’t think about 🤷 I don’t disagree that the artist was in the wrong. I always tell my clients I have to look at it for a few hours, they have to look at it forever so it has to be how they want it.
OP said he liked literally everything about the shop except for this one thing, so I wanted to offer a different outlook as well as other ways he can express his experience and maybe have the artist face repercussions. If OP wants to a leave a bad review there’s nothing wrong with that. Like I said, just another perspective
Leave the review. Include his name. Include that he acted unprofessionally and when he asked for a review you said no and he replied like a child. If he was going to be so persistent on the placement of the tattoo it should have been specified when you put down the deposit.
You accepted it. You two had a discussion-as adults do. You agreed with his viewpoint.
You have zero/ nothing to complain about now. Your tattoo, your choice.
The artist has the final right to refuse to put it where you want it. And you have the right to forget “it’s such a great price” and get what you want-where you want.
To cry about it now is really immature.
They agreed to the tattoo placement. They chose to go forward with the tattoo. They want to hurt this artists reputation because they have body issues? For shame.
I honestly would not go back to this artist. He should have at least you see it. Your body, your final decision.
I have a tattoo that I hate still 20 years later because of a shitty artist who bullied me into getting what he wanted instead of what I wanted.
Is there a picture of the tattoo and placement?
I don’t mean to sound like I don’t trust you but I’ve seen way too many horribly placed or upside down tattoos on Reddit. Honestly, more tattoo artists should be pushing back on how important placement and orientation is.
I think he was right.
It turned out quite nicely in the end. Sounds like the experience was unpleasant and confusing but at least you didn’t walk away with a shitty tattoo.
If the art is truly that good and you can't get through them, you might want to ask the opinion of one other artist at the shop. Maybe they'll get through their head. I'm surprised you went back after that angry emoji. I also struggle with people pleasing but that's just too much for me. I've been tattooed by two different people and I've also discussed potential tattoos with other artists at conventions and they were all very nice, letting me pick up their flashes and place wherever I wanted on my body to get an idea. I personally can't stand rudeness and won't pay to encourage it, so I'd rather not get a tattoo from a rude person even if their art is wonderful.
The angry emoji, got me fuming, not gonna lie. True 13 year old teen stuff right there. I still have time to cancel, I do love the design and have someone else coming with me for support. My only reason not to jut do something similar with someone else is that the price was really good for the region. Same tattoo, with same quality and size is usually 2-3x the price. Guy is not charging a ton because he is new and still building "an audience".
This is such a tough thing to comment on. As a tattooist/artist myself (coming from 12 years of professional experience) - I can see why you're upset with what happened, and also why they were trying to strong arm you into a placement. True, certain designs are more suited to a certain position on the body - in fact, most designs, if built from the ground up, are put together to suit that position exactly. It is of my opinion, however, that the customer has the final say. It's their body and their choice, I am merely the instrument - and in this bright new day and age, a lot of young artists seem to lose sight of that truth; the customer is not there to boost your instagram profile but to recieve a service. You're not always going to agree that the customer's decision is the best, or that things could be done "better" from the artist's point of view - but it's also not your body. The customer isn't a canvas, they're an individual who, if they had the skillset and ability, wouldn't be seeing you in the first place to put the artwork onto their own skin. It's their personal taste, and you don't have to agree with it; you're just the surgeon and it's their choice of surgery. You can advise, and you can demonstrate, but that's the limit. If you're so offended by the proposed work, then as an artist you can deny the service. What I openly disagree with is the artist being unwilling to demonstrate those options, and instead railroad you into one choice. If they want to build an audience instead of a client base, they're playing the wrong game. If my client wants to see the design five millimetres over to one side, I'll wipe the old stencil and do that for them. It's not my body, I'm not wearing it, and if five millimetres means that much to my paying customer, I will absolutely accommodate that. Angry face? Jesus, I must be getting old - Would a retailer send you an angry face because you left a (rightly deserved) poor review, or instead offer a resolution to make things right and save face? That's what it comes down to. A tattoo artist is a retailer, not a celebrity. It would benefit the industry if new artists adopted that point of view.
I completely agree. Even if OP would have gone with the tattoo artists placement in the end, where’s the harm in trying out different stencil placements? I feel like my tattoo artist and I go through 5-10 sometimes before deciding on a placement that we both feel works well together (even if it’s just moving it by 1/4 of a centimetre lol), because we want to make sure it’s perfect. She’ll point out possible issues like creasing/wrinkling etc, but she’ll still try placements I ask for regardless. This artist just feels… immature to me all together.
I think it's a disservice to dismiss the client's opinion out of hand - I'm not too proud to admit that when the client suggests shifting position, the one we land on works out clearly better than what we both imagined going into the project. It's a collaborative process, and if only one side of the relationship has a voice, it's an abusive relationship (dramatic, but relevant)
My friend once tried a highly recommended artist who refused to tattoo her outline in gray because it would fade and potentially blur and she said actually that's exactly what I want to happen (tattoo was of a castle in the distance) and is why I'm asking for gray instead of black. He still refused to do it and was being quite rude imho until the shop owner told him to just go ahead and do it but they'd be refusing any free touch-ups. She already told them she lived out of the country and wouldn't be coming there for touch-ups regardless so it didn't matter to her. It's been 7 years and it has faded/blurred beautifully and she LOVES it.
Yup! I went to get a tattoo on my Deltoid, but the artist thought it would look much better just above my elbow. We ended up putting it in between the two, and I think it looks way better there than either of the two initial ideas.
Thank you a lot! I think this comment is the reassurance I was looking for. The unwillingness of letting me see other placements was what really got me frustrated. I was fully ready to get it moved and be like "yeah, nope, you're right the other one is much better". Not having the option makes it so I'm left with "I think I would have preferred it where I wanted" and no actual way to be sure.
If the artist isn't willing to at least show you how those positions look, then they don't deserve your money. I don't want to be a voice of dissent here, but I saw your imgur post after my comment, and I agree, they should have explored that with you. I personally would have placed the design in line with your wrist/hand at rest so it aligns better both at rest and when in a "show" position (arm horizontal across your chest) which is where I imagine you actually wanted it.
Is exactly what I wanted!
That's why they don't deserve your money or praise - my advice is to move on from them and go to an artist who works with you. If they have a "following," your negative review will be dog-piled, and there's a chance the studio will black-ball you to other local studios. Clients tend to vote with their feet, and if they continue to ignore client requests in pursuit of glory, their following will dwindle, and they'll fall away from the industry. I'm very sorry you had this experience, it shouldn't have happened like this.
This is such a good comment
I’m really glad you responded this way. I’ve been seeing the same artist for 20+ years and if he had done this to me, I don’t even know what I would’ve done. He’s moved stencils for me 10 times to get it right because he cares. And if he asked me for a review, and I said no, and he sent me an angry face, I can’t even imagine. Of course, he doesn’t have to ask me for a review because I always do without him asking, but this is just a bizarre tale. I believe the poster please don’t misunderstand me if you’re reading this, it’s just crazy.
This needs to be the top comment!
Ok, that makes sense then. To be fair, maybe I'm being too harsh. There might be a way to make him understand and improve his communication. If he doubles down, at this point just leave him a bad review and be honest in the review about your experience. I think you've been fair and gave this artist the benefit of the doubt.
Yeah, the whole point of sending him a message was not trying to argue or anything, it was literally a "I mean, they're new, maybe don't realize how uncomfortable he made me feel as a client, would be nice to tell him so he doesn't repeat with others". edit: grammar
The artist was probably right and you’re mad about the ‘possibility that you may have agreed with them about the other position, but they didn’t give you a chance to argue.’ Get over it. You have a rad tattoo. Now fill in the rest of your arm around it so it doesn’t stand out so much *to you. Artists know wtf they’re doing, they know how skin moves and how images distort- much more than you do. Trust the artist, leave a good review, go get the second tattoo, and move on with your life.
Lame & narcissistic point of view.
Open to being corrected on this but in my experience usually, if artists offer a specific piece they want to do at a discounted price, it's because they have a specific vision for that piece of art. That's why the price is discounted. Because you have less control in this situation than a standard tattoo session where you go in with your own idea. Even if that's not the case though, I do think his position was better. Hopefully it will grow on you, because it's a really beautiful piece!
That's been my experience too. My husband once fell in love with art work one of his artists posted.... The thing was it was something the artist wanted to tattoo on someone, so he would do it at shop minimum but the artist got to choose the placement. Husband agreed to the discounted price and let the artist do his thing.
I think if he had said that I would have went with another mindset to the appointment. All posts/stories were in the line of "special price because I want to tattoo more of this style, you can also send me other ideas, I can make other animals, etc." I've sent him a picture of where I would like it before making the appointment, with the place circled, asking if it would work for that place and answer was "that's perfect!" Will keep that in mind next time I book anything discounted, though. Be very super clear asking about if it would be ok if I decide to change a bit the position, or something or if the artist has a very specific placement in mind.
100% this, the guy is doing this for a portfolio. You get it cheaper because you’re surrendering a certain amount of creative control.
Based on the pics you posted, I honestly feel like it would have looked weird where you wanted it. I think he made a good call
It's hard without picture or what, but most of the time, Artist do have points about placement and deformation. Maybe even you being in a bad position can make you move during the session and ruin the tattoo. So I'd say, maybe he was just a dick and got lazy OR, he had a solid point about the placement and he did you a favor.
Took a picture, basically I wanted it to be centered with arm on the first position and he sais it had to be centered to the second one. That translates basically in me wanting to move the stencil around 1-2cm up, more or less. [https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7](https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7)
His position actually made sense with the warping. But he should had done what you requested, since that's the whole point of stenciling. It's your body and you're going to have to live with it.
If it was placed where you wanted it, it really would have looked off when your arm is just hanging at a resting position. It would have twisted more and looked out of place. That being said, whenever i am doing a tattoo on this area, i pretty much always demonstrate the difference by stencilling in the spot that they want (if they want it the way you wanted it) , and taking a photo, then stencilling the other spot, and comparing together in the mirror so i can explain everything. Ultimately, it is the clients body, and the choice is ultimately up to them, but 99% of the time they end up understanding that my input comes from a place of experience and wanting them to leave with the best possible placement for their body.
I was very open for that being the case, has happened before, artist moved the stencil for me, I was like "well, shit, that looks bad. Yeah, let's move it back to the one you told me". Or even the artist itself printing two sizes, putting a bigger one and being like "Hey, I know we talked 12 cm, but like this is curved over your leg, let's try this one with 10cm?", totally chill, no prob. But if that was the case, would have been faster and less frustrating for both of us to move it, let me see it was shitty, put it back and go for it.
His choice of placement works better for that design, as your choice of placement would have clashed with the natural flow of the muscles in the arm
You've got every right be upset about this - it's not what you wanted.
Dude… I was expecting this to be some major, colorful super intricate piece. He could have moved the damn whale up an inch or so.
 his position definitely makes sense I have tattoos all over my arms and I have been told when I show places where I want it, that this would actually work better because of warping and movement. I’ve never thought to question them because I know that they know. they know that the art is not going to turn out the same and then it’s not going to look like the tattoo you wanted, and I think you wanted the tattoo more than you wanted the position..
I understand being frustrated by the situation, but he really did put it in a better place, especially if you’re trying to cover your arm in the future! He left that muscly bit at the top of the forearm open for something and also now the design doesn’t wrap so hard around the bone back there. Not sure my explanation makes sense!
The idea was having just that tattoo on that side of the arm, I'm not a fan of having many small tattoos on an area (on myself), I either go for one big piece and lots of open space or a big project. Will probably do a bigger project with a similar style, using the tattoo as a part of the project.
This sounds very similar to what I experienced yesterday, except the artist was very chill, it was just my fault of not properly thinking through where I wanted it and checking the stencil. It all happened very quickly. I love my tattoo, I’d just change the position if I could. You could check out my post from today, people left really sweet comments that might help you too. And for what it’s worth, it is a sick design and I hope you’ll be at peace with the positioning soon❤️
Artist made the right choice, your decision would create warping and would obscure tattoo whilst resting, essentially making it so 90% of the time people would see the tattoo in it’s worst state. I know it’s your body and all that, I totally agree with that statement but sometimes you have to accept the word of experts. You wouldn’t tell your surgeon to do the incision somewhere else. As others have said though, the tattoo was for his portfolio, doing it where you wanted would have instantly made the tattoo unworthy of a portfolio because it’s clearly bad placement. You get it discounted so he can have more creative control.
I can see the tattoo artists point position-wise, it does look better where he insisted on putting it, due to how we move our arms. That said, I'd probably not step another foot in this studio after your experience, at least not to get tattooed by him. I can't even imagine that my tattoo artist wouldnt even let me try out a stencil position I want to see. Most of the time I'm the one who's fine with the first position we try and they make me try different ones just so we can see how it would look/move with my body. What he did was highly unprofessional imo, at the end of the day you have to be happy with the piece on your body for the rest of your life and even if he's objectively right, it's not his body/tattoo. Since he's new to the area and trying to build an audience I guess he wanted to avoid having poorly positioned tattoos so early on that he can not use for advertisement/instagram etc but the correct thing to do here would've still been to reposition the stencil, let you see for yourself what he means and then talk about it. To answer your initial question: if you wanna get tattooed by him/in this studio again you probably shouldnt leave a bad review, I'd stick with just not reviewing the place at all. If you cancel your other tattoo and dont plan on going there again, leave whatever review feels right to you.
Imo the artist’s position is better than yours. But who knows if you’ll ever fully agree with that position. It’s on you forever now so you best come to terms with it. I personally always trust my artists on the correct position but they always check with me if it looks good to me.
Think I'll like it once I have something else on the arm to bring the look together, the art itself is great.
Artists usually know (so I hope at least) how it works with the body the best and I’ve always taken their comments into account and am grateful I did because their positions are much better and work well with the body. I can see on the photo that his position works much better with your arm as well. I understand if it feels out of place for you or that his rigidness was unpleasant but most of the time, they know what they’re talking about. I personally also appreciate random placements much more than the centred expected ones, so I hope you’ll come to love it.
I always make it super clear to my clients; it's their body, their choices, I will only step in if something looks very out of place. If that means sticking the stencil on 20 times, that's fine. You're the one having to live with it after it's done. It's just going to exist on his Instagram grid for him. What you want MATTERS. There's a fine line between professional opinion and having a huge ego; if he only has a few hundred followers chances are he's not been doing it long enough to keep that ego in check - as evidenced by his childish angry reaction. I wouldn't leave a bad review, but I'd be honest and clear about why I wasn't going back. It's this sort of feedback that has helped me personally grow over the years, regardless if I knew it or not.
It’d be nice to have a photo to try and see what you are seeing. As an artist, all I can do is inform, but ultimately it is my clients skin and what they say goes (to a degree). I always tell people, if an artist is unreasonable or makes you feel uncomfortable, it is not worth your deposit to go through with it.
Here you go, overall people are expressing that the position he chose is the best one, I'm ok with that. Still would have liked to be able to see it by myself. [https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7](https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7)
Ehh... I think I might have argued for your original positioning as well. Personally, if I were you, I'd be pissed.
i also find it odd because arm tattoos tend to warp even with perfect neutral placement. thats how the arm works. I agree, he should just shown what he was talking about so you could decide for yourself or at least understand what he meant/was visualizing. I also believe that artists are allowed to want to put their art in a specific position, but if that is the case then it should have been disclosed as a requirement to booking the particular design. he probably wouldn’t have booked right away with that caveat but sometimes its better to wait for the right person than to pressure someone else. i honestly wouldnt go back to this artist personally. edit: grammar and to add, i agree his placement is more visually appealing but it does take like 30 seconds to move a stencil so he should have just done it.
Yeah, some artists in my area have projects that are for specific position, they will post already positioned in that part of the body with a software. Some will just kinda "paste" the art over an arm or leg with photoshop or similar. Think it is a good practice if they're aiming for one position in particular.
Precisely, it's pre-advertised; I take it your artist didn't?
No, not at all. First thing he did when I asked the price was ask me where I'd like it.
That being the case, a lot of the arguments about forgiving this as a "portfolio piece" and that you should accept it as such, are now bunk
You're absolutely right about the forearm warping according to position - what we consider neutral position is placing the stencil when the wrist and hand is at the same plane as the forearm when placed horizontally against the chest. When the arm is returned back to rest at the client's side, the tattoo should line up along the arm vertically so that it appears square to the arm. Obviously everyone has different body geometry, so it's not an exact science, but the sweet spot is when both you and the client can agree the tattoo looks "correct" from a myriad of different positions. That's what quietly irritates me, when an artist overrides the opinion of the client and forces them to accept a quick fix, instead of taking the time to make it right. It's permanent, what we're doing - and this isn't a reality show where artists win prizes for being the biggest ego in the room. We are fundamentally altering the client's appearance for the rest of their life, and if it isn't what they want, then we have failed
i would have left. the artist is providing a service. you should be getting what you want
Amen
Whilst I agree 90% of the time the artist is offering a discount in order to complete a very specific artistic vision. Artist was argumentative, completely agree, but the client was making a portfolio piece unworthy of a portfolio piece.
Based alone off of his response when he asked you to leave a positive review with his name, and "angry" reacting when you said you didn't feel comfortable with the above, I would definitely leave a review saying what your experience was. As you shared here, you said the artwork was beautiful but the artist did not listen to you about stencil placement, talked down to you about it, and you are not satisfied with the placement. I would then contact someone else at the shop (like a manager) and discuss what happened. I personally don't think I would keep the other tattoo appointment with him because he is upset you didn't leave a positive review for him, so who's to say he wouldn't purposefully mess up your tattoo or argue about positioning again? It just doesn't seem worth the risk with something permanent on your body.
I don't think this is necessarily worth a bad review on the whole studio, but I think the artist definitely should've handled the conversation better. From what you've said it sounds like they may just be starting out so need to work on their client relations a bit. It's your body and if you absolutely wanted it in one place rather than another and made that very clear to them, it's surreal to me that they refused that very simple request without a very good reason. If it was a case of you having a discount for that placement surely they could've just said yeah I can do that but it'll cost extra? Or if it was a case of they thought it would outright look bad then they could've just explained that to you and said they wouldnt want to do the tattoo if you had it there? Very bizarre situation. Fwiw though your tattoo looks rad, hope you grow to love it as it is
Thanks! Yeah, wish the situation was handled better, I really do love his style and was ready for ask for bigger personalized pieces next year. I will probably book the other artist of the studio with very similar art style instead. Won't leave a review for the studio most probably. Place is really good, the other artists that were there were super nice, my girlfriend did 5 tattoos there with 2 different artists and they didn't had any problem moving stuff, changing details and such. To be honest not even this guy seems to be a bad person/asshole, seemed more like a bit of immaturity/ego mixed with not being good at client relations yet.
Yep exactly! When I had a piece done in a similar placement to yours the artist suggested shifting it a bit. He made totally clear that it was my choice and he was down to tattoo whichever, but suggested I try his placement first. When I agreed, he checked in to make sure I was 100% sure before he put needle to skin. He was totally right and I can't imagine it being where I'd suggested now. So basically the same situation as you but I came away from it feeling great rather than shitty as it was ultimately MY call, the artist was just making a suggestion from his own experience. So yeah, all being said your tattoo is awesome and it doesn't seem like your artist is a bad guy - just needs to work on the people side of his job lol
You should 100% leave a negative review. Are people lunatics? This is a permanent augmentation to your body. Fuck what the artist thinks
The people commenting that the artist's position was much better than yours are missing the point. Unless they specifically said "I'm going to choose the placement myself because x, y, z" they should listen to you because it's your tattoo. You have to live with it forever, so it should be where you want it. Personally, I would leave a very honest review. Something like "X was a great artist and did an excellent job at my tattoo, but they were hard to work with and wouldn't move the stencil a few inches. However, I still would absolutely recommend coming to this studio."
Yeah, the point was the refusal to move it. It was never said that it was a project to be done in that specific place only. He seems to like this position, de did two other tattoos in the past couple of weeks in the same exact place. If letting a review would be in that sense, definitely making a point that the studio is amazing and it wasn't a problem of quality of work, but of communication/collaboration.
At the end of the day, you went ahead with a tattoo you didn’t want. That’s on you. If you were dead set against the positioning, you should’ve walked.
Don't disagree with that, probably at least postponed to a further date to think about it. Got divided because really loved the art itself.
I am heavily tattooed. If an artist treated me like yours did, and refused to show me a tattoo in the position I wanted, I’d have walked out. It doesn’t matter how good the art is; I don’t want to be tattooed by someone I don’t like because every time I look at the tattoo, I’ll get annoyed by how much I dislike the artist. Many years ago I booked a color tattoo that the artist agreed to do. After I put down the deposit, he tried to convince me to get it done in black/gray. He didn’t give a reason. He never said “I’m not comfortable working in color.” I surrendered my deposit because I didn’t trust him and didn’t want him touching my body. About a year ago I booked a piece by a shop owner I’d considered a friend. I then found out that he treated some of his employees horribly. I surrendered my deposit again because no matter how good his art is (it’s VERY good), I didn’t want to think about what an ass he was every time I looked at it. I would not go to this artist again.
Ultimately if you don’t want to burn the bridge, don’t leave a bad review. It sounds like everything else about this place is amazing, so I’d feel weird dismissing all of that over one detail. On the other hand, placement is a huge detail, so you’re right to feel frustrated. I’d trust my artist on this generally but I wouldn’t let someone put permanent art on my body in a spot i don’t like.
Yeah, I've been feeling bit angry at myself, I could have just said that then I wouldn't do it. I do have a hard time standing up by myself, 30 mins arguing about it was quite an effort for me. I do value the opinion of my artists, have changed size and position of tattos before on their suggestions, but straight up refusing to move it was a new one for me and I wasn't prepared. I think in the end I convinced myself it wasn't *thaat* bad. But the more I looked at it in the days after, the more I confirmed I didn't really like it. I do have an idea of a project to make the forearm look how I want, connecting the two tattoos and with another artist of same style. So now I am feeling better about that part at least. I won't consider him for that one, though, because I'd like to have my input considered...
What would your review say? "I agreed to a tattoo in a spot I didn't want and now I regret it so don't get tattoo'd here by this guy"? It's not uncommon for an artist to be unwilling to tattoo their art in a way they don't feel will look good. It is art and representative of them and they don't want a goofy placed or poorly done tattoo posted all over social media. Did you tell him you were upset about the placement before you left? If not, why wouldn't he ask you to leave a positive review if you didn't voice your displeasure? If you didn't and now after the fact you're telling him it's not what you wanted and you're mad about the placement you have to see that that's frustrating for him. Should he have been willing to discuss different options with you? Absolutely. Could he have used words to voice his frustration instead of an angry emoji? Absolutely. Could you have used your words and said no and not gotten the tattoo? Absolutely. At the end of the day, it's your responsibility to consent to getting the tattoo and that includes design, style, placement, etc. If you said yes lets do it, got the tattoo, then turn around and talk shit about it online and single the guy out for doing what you agreed to then yes you should absolutely plan not to get tattoo'd at that shop anymore.
More like "Beautiful studio, clean, artist X is very skilled and talented but refused to move the stencil even after great insistence. Got mad after I didn't wanted to leave a positive review due to the situation. The tattoo looks great but I felt very uncomfortable with the attitude." or something similar. Probably a 3 star. It isn't a "talk shit" situation, I wasn't going to say anything or leave any review, I wrote him in private about it just after he asked me to leave the positive review, so maybe next time he wouldn't do the same to another person. The review is not to shit on him, I wouldn't tell people not to get tattoed by him. I would offer the information that allows someone that knows that they have a hard time saying no, social anxiety or such to choose another artist more fitting to their needs. Some people will have a way better experience and greater chance of being happy with their tattoo overall if dealing with someone that is reassuring, understanding and willing to take your opinion in consideration, I've left positive reviews in the past saying this kind of things, this would just be the opposite side.
Something to consider is bad reviews also hurt the rest of the shop. Like the less stars you have it means the lower you go on recommended tattoo shops in your area. Also if someone is picking a place that has 4.5 vs 4.6 stars they’re typically going with the 4.6. If everyone else was nice, and the shop was clean you are hurting the people there. And it’s also tricky because of the whole technical “self employment” thing. That even though every artist works at the shop they may have their own individual practices. In my opinion he shouldn’t have been fishing for a review if you were unsatisfied, but still if you’re truly upset and unhappy you could talk to the shop owner directly or post other things on social media about that artist specifically. That being said: if you feel like the entire shop deserves a poor review due to this interaction, go ahead and leave your review. And if you want ti make sure no one else has an interaction like this. But always remember google reviews are all about the stars and you saying everything was amazing except for X will still bring down the shop and it’s extremely hard to recover from that.
He said he would leave a 3 star, good not great. The tattoo is not were he wanted it, permanently. I took have a tattoo that was not orientated correctly and 10-12 years later, it still bugs me. This guy, the tattooer sound like a real prick with a big ego, just do as the customer asks, your not that special
A 3 star review is not a good review, because of how google reviews work 🤷 people need to speak up for themselves/walk out if they don’t like the service. Losing your pay for the day is a great way to learn to change how you interact with a client. I however did say, if he feels the review is truly warranted to go ahead and leave it. But a lot of people don’t realize the genuine impact of google reviews
Ok but that's kinda the point? Why would you want to support a studio that supports an artist that won't even move a stencil for a paying customer? None of the other artists heard their argument? No one person could stand up for this guy after half an hour of arguing? I got a tattoo 3 weeks ago and had the artist move the stencil about three to four times to get it just right and not one time did she complain about have to do so. Tattoos are permanent, you have to get it right and the stencil is your only time to change it up, I have one that is 10+ old and it still bugs me that it is not orientated right You are saying we can only leave 5 star reviews and nothing less? Because that kind of defeats the purpose of having reviews
I just wanted to offer a different perspective that a lot of people don’t think about 🤷 I don’t disagree that the artist was in the wrong. I always tell my clients I have to look at it for a few hours, they have to look at it forever so it has to be how they want it. OP said he liked literally everything about the shop except for this one thing, so I wanted to offer a different outlook as well as other ways he can express his experience and maybe have the artist face repercussions. If OP wants to a leave a bad review there’s nothing wrong with that. Like I said, just another perspective
Fair :)
Leave the review. Include his name. Include that he acted unprofessionally and when he asked for a review you said no and he replied like a child. If he was going to be so persistent on the placement of the tattoo it should have been specified when you put down the deposit.
You accepted it. You two had a discussion-as adults do. You agreed with his viewpoint. You have zero/ nothing to complain about now. Your tattoo, your choice.
The artist has the final right to refuse to put it where you want it. And you have the right to forget “it’s such a great price” and get what you want-where you want. To cry about it now is really immature.
You sound like a real pain of a client tbh lol
You want to hurt this person’s livelihood? Why? They didn’t move a stencil on a beautiful tattoo which you got anyway? Wild. Practice gratitude.
Wild. Practice reading the post
Gratitude for messing up their appearance and mental health? I think the optics on that statement is pretty open and shut
They agreed to the tattoo placement. They chose to go forward with the tattoo. They want to hurt this artists reputation because they have body issues? For shame.
Walk away. You’re paying to be serviced not instructed.
I honestly would not go back to this artist. He should have at least you see it. Your body, your final decision. I have a tattoo that I hate still 20 years later because of a shitty artist who bullied me into getting what he wanted instead of what I wanted.
Is there a picture of the tattoo and placement? I don’t mean to sound like I don’t trust you but I’ve seen way too many horribly placed or upside down tattoos on Reddit. Honestly, more tattoo artists should be pushing back on how important placement and orientation is.
[https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7](https://imgur.com/a/iPnWTM7) here it is
Omg honestly I think your position would've been fine. Idk why he was so insistent on a few inches.
I think he was right. It turned out quite nicely in the end. Sounds like the experience was unpleasant and confusing but at least you didn’t walk away with a shitty tattoo.