...when people write to me and tell me that they've been inspired by my work. It makes me feel good to be a motivational point in someone's life... to influence their art in such a way.
However...
When people write to me saying thanks for the inspiration and I visit their page and find that they were not only inspired by a tattoo I did... they just had to try and get the same one... I'm dissappointed.
It's not flattery.
It sucks...
and it sucks on many levels.
It saddens me when a person chooses to work with an artist who has no creativity... or when the person who wants the tattoo can't draw on their own life experiences to get ideas for a more personal tattoo. The least an artist can do is guide the person in a better direction.
It sucks for the client who was aiming for an original one-of-a-kind tattoo whos idea was stolen and maimed... and yes, most of the time the copy is very much a catastrophe. That client may have thought for years about that design... planned every small detail to mean something more than what you see. When you invest that much time in a design, the last thing you want is to see it on someone else.
It sucks for the recipient of the copy because now they're stuck with a tattoo that's a shadow of what it could have been
and someone elses tattoo. Rarely do copies turn out anywhere near the quality of the original. If an artist is that good, they don't need to copy. A real, professional artist would recommend using a piece for inspiration, but not to copy outright...
Oh... and you can't just trace a photo of someone elses tattoo and expect to have it turn out even close to the original... because in doing so, you capture the contours of the body... something the eye makes up for when you look at a photo. On flat paper, it makes the design look warped. Those flaws stand out even more on skin.
Examples?
Original:
This was to be a one of a kind tattoo for the recipient. She gave me a basic idea... and the faery was based on an amy brown faery... everything else including the color was mine.
Copy:
Copy:
This poor woman thought her 'artist' drew her up an original design... until she came across my original online. It was then that she realized that her 'one-of-a-kind' tattoo was never hers in the first place.
Original:
This was also meant to be a one-of-a-kind piece.
Copy:
Sadly, it isn't any more.
Original:
This piece is STILL one of my favorites and was meant to be a one-of-a-kind original.
Copy:
Artistically, THIS hurts.
It's just very unfair to all parties involved.
Research your artist.
An artist should be able to draw. If said artist is laying the art into your skin, they should be amazing! Why would you settle for anything less if it's something that would be on you forever? If your artist can't draw, they're not an artist... find a new one.
And for gawds sake... Get your own art! Please don't copy mine.
It's not meant for that.