Not all tattoos are inked equal. While some are stunning and wow people with their artistic merit, some others can force a double-take, making folks wonder what exactly happened there. Welcome to the ‘That’s It, I’m Inkshaming’ Facebook group, a community of nearly 243k members who poke fun at ‘Actually Bad Tattoos.’
The group is meant for posting “truly awful,” low-quality ink, all in the hope of making people laugh. It’s not meant to be mean and there’s no place for general jerkiness. We’ve collected some of the group’s most interesting features photos, the crème de la crème of bad tattoos, to share with you today, dear Pandas. Scroll down and enjoy.
Meanwhile, be sure to read on for We’s in-depth interview with the owner of Glasgow-based Archangel 1608 Tattoo Studio, talented tattoo artist David McKinlay.
#1 Jesus Tapdancing Christ
#2 What Can I Say Except I’m Sorry
#3 Sooooo Much To Unpack Here
Tattoo artist David, who runs the Archangel 1608 Tatoo Studio in Scotland, was kind enough to answer We’s questions about tattoos.
We spoke about how tattoo artists hone their skills, whether or not customers are always right, and what happens if an artist makes a mistake while tattooing someone.
“Tattooists can practice on any number of things initially, to help them get the mechanics and techniques to tattoo properly,” David explained to We.
#4 They Look Like Industrial Era Coal Factory Workers
#5 Why?
#6 No. No You Did Not Have To
“You can buy synthetic skin, pig skin from a butcher’s, or even use fruit, such as oranges or lemons, bananas,” he told us.
However, the tattoo artist pointed out to We that there is “no substitute for moving, breathing, sweating, bleeding human skin.” In short, nothing beats the real thing. And sooner or later you’ll have to switch to inking real live human beings. Though, later is best. Once you’ve got the fundamentals down and feel confident.
#7 The Lil Girl Looks Like A Tube Of Toothpaste
#8 Found On A Sketchy Sales Page Get Booked In Quick!
#9 Local Shop, Poor Gal Only Wanted Linework Silhouette Of Dog Ears
“The first 4 or 5 tattoos I ever did were on myself. It was a pretty severe learning curve, but I had to prove that I wanted the apprenticeship, and it let me see how the tattoos would heal up, and what I could do better,” David revealed to We the dedication that he personally had for his craft when he was just starting out.
“You shouldn’t really be tattooing actual clients for a long time, but if you can persuade friends to let you once you’re ready, that’s great,” he said.
#10 Found This In An Article I Came Across On Here, Can’t Remember What It Was About, But How Tf Do You Manage To F*ck This Up That Bad?
#11 Looks Like Katherine Ryan
#12 There Are No Words
David takes a lot of pride in what he does for a living. “Tattooing is a craft, a skill, and should be taught directly from one person to another,” he said that it is not something that should be learned “by a YouTube video or a bs tattoo ‘school’ that only care about your money.”
#13 Found This On A Page For A Local Artist… Really Hope The Person Who Got This Atleast Wanted The 6 Fingers
#14 I Thought It Was Supposed To Be A Pile Of Wood Lmao
#15 I Was Told By The Artist He Could Do Watercolors Effect. This Is How That Turned Out
We was very interested to learn about the dynamic between artists and their customers. David explained that they have a rule that if they’re not 100 percent confident about the tattoo, they don’t do it.
“We’ll try to offer a compromise, but if the client is too rigid, we’ll point them in the direction of another artist. The client is only right in terms of what they like, not how the tattoo can actually be done or will end up looking,” he said.
#16 Seen On Ig
#17 Sorry But.. The Hair!
#18 Found Here On Facebook
What’s more, the tattoo artist and his staff also draw the line when it comes to certain tattoos. “We won’t do any hateful tattoos—racist, homophonic, sectarian, etc. Those tattoos are bad news, but unfortunately, there are those that will still do them,” he explained.
#19 Ok, I’m Gonna Say This, Only A Real Man Would Rock This With Pride!
#20 What.. What Is Happening Here
#21 I Don’t Have Words
Like any other artists and craftsmen out in the wide world, tattooists can make mistakes, too. There’s no such thing as perfection in any craft. It’s best to learn from any mistakes and, most importantly, to learn to control your fear.
“Sometimes, a client will sneeze, or move to answer their phone, meaning the tattoo has an extra line or detail,” David said.
#22 I Normally Love This Artist…but What The Hell?
#23 Found This In A Scorpio Astrology Group. All I Gotta Say Is The Lips Are One Of The Worst Parts
#24 You Guys Like Playing Hidden Picture Games? The First Hidden Item You See Is Your Next Bad Tattoo
“The important thing is not to panic (and not to panic the client). Take a few minutes and work out how to deal with the mistake—maybe add an extra detail, darken up some shading. Nine times out of ten, you can correct an issue. Stay cool and work it out!”
#25 I Feel Awful Because I Think It’s Supposed To Be A Memorial? But I Really Had To Triple Check To See If One Of My Facebook Friends Really Posted This Or If It Was This Group
#26 And They Say Australia Has No Culture
#27 Saw The Guy In The Bottom Pic The Other Day At Mcdonalds. I Thought It Was Vin Diesel
#28 Found In The Wild. Thought It Was This Group At First. Very Unfortunate
#29 It’s… Lips?
#30 Ink Shaming Myself And My Best Bud While He Was Apprenticing. Ps If You Have An Issue With Body Hair On Women You Can Go Fys
#31 Saw This On A Fan Page
#32 Found In Another Group
#33 Is It A Gummy Bear Or A Ninja Turtle
#34 Found In Another Group I’m In. Sorry If This Is Yours. I Can Never Get My Head Around How An Artist Can Make A Spelling Error In The Stencil And Not Catch It
#35 How Do We Feel? My Sister Did This One. Its Not Her Best. She Does Have Some Pretty Nice Ones Shes Done But This One, Well. This One
#36 I Found One. Posted By A Local Tattoo Artist. Original Ink Done By Someone Else, Final Product Was Their Cover Up Job
#37 It’s A Twilight Tattoo
#38 And This Was The Day I Had To Disown My Mother. It’s Suppose To Be A “Gear” For Our Last Name
#39 I Don’t Even Know Where To Start With This One..
#40 From Tik Tok, They’re Supposed To Be Ballet Shoes
#41 What Cover Up???
#42 I Finally Found One. Sorry If This Is Yours, But, Poor Michael Deserves Better
#43 Why Would You Put The Nose Over The Belly Button
#44 I Really Can’t… Saw On My Timeline
#45 Found In The Wild. Kitchen Tattoos Are A Nope
#46 Found This While Scrolling Through A Dating Site!!!
#47 Somebody On My Page Just Posted This, Yikes
#48 Can’t Hate On This One, It’s Such A Sweet Concept. But I’m Angry For This Person Who Didn’t Get Nicer Results
#49 I Don’t Know What That Purple Blob Is, But An Iris It Is Not.
#50 Imagine Ruining Your Whole Body Like This The More You Look The Worse It Gets
#51 It’s A Light Bulb. Grateful LED
#52 He Killed It Alright
#53 I Don’t Know Where To Begin
#54 Rembeber Me …..
#55 This Was A Pic On One Of My Wife’s Friend Page. She Was Happy As Hell With This
#56 Saw This On A Cop Show Last Night And It Looks Like It Belongs Here
#57 It’s Supposed To Be A Tornado. It Looks Like A Colon
#58 Moon
#59 She Overpaid
#60 Oh No
#61 Lisa Has Lost It!!
#62 Found This Beauty On My Timeline
#63 I Suggest A Cover Up
#64 A Tattoo Of A Guy From My City, He Has Other Bad Tattoos But Unfortunately There Are No Pics Of Them On Fb
#65 At Least It Detracts From The Fact She Has No Eyebrows
#66 Um. Idk What It Even Is
#67 Nailed It?
#68 It Was 40 Dolla
#69 Jesus Would’ve Wept
#70 Isn’t This The Most Realistic Bird You Ever Did See
#71 Tattooing In Saudi Arabia Is Illegal And This Person Isn’t Doing Anyone Any Favors. I Have Lost My Mind To “Positive Vips”
#72 That Poor Snoot
#73 My Friend Saw This On Tinder And Sent This To Me Thought I’d Share It Here And Hear Y’all’s Thoughts … Colors Look Beautiful But Oof. Hope He Loves It
#74 Found On Twitter
#75 Local Artist
#76 Saw This One In My Feed. Someone’s Grandma’s First Tattoo
#77 Found In A Bloody Mary Group
#78 Cover Up From A Local Spot. Jesus
#79 Dobbies Seen Some Things He Didn’t Need To See
#80 It’s A Red Hot Mess..found On Tik Tok
#81 Found This One From A Horror Movie Group. I’m Speechless. “Here’s Johnynynyny!”
#82 Local “Artist” That Everyone Praises For Their Amazing Work Yet All Their Work Is Like This Or Worse. Got Wonder Woman Out Here Like “Take My Strong Hand”
#83 Stoppp Lol
#84 Love Naruto But Wtfff
#85 Not Sure If This Has Been Posted Yet But
#86 Just Gunna Leave This Here Eta: Not My Tattoo
#87 This Guy’s Page Is Loaded With Great Gems. Put Years Into His Craft And Does It Ever Show
#88 He Looks More Like “Holy Foomanchu The Cloud God” Rather Than Jesus
#89 I Saw This In A Tattoo Sharing Group And I Just Can’t Get Over How Inaccurate The Bones Are!
#90 Tsle As Old Os Tine A Sponsored Instagram Post
#91 Found In The Wild On Instagram. The Caption Said “I Love My New Tattoo”. I Cant Tell If Theyre Being Real Or Not
#92 I’m Crying
#93 Absolutely Horrid
#94 Ool Idea, Bad Execution. I Figured By The Shape It Was A Snake, But I Had To Zoom In To The Head To Figure Out What It Was. Wth Is Up With Those Fangs And Tongue??
#95 From A Shop Near Me. It Went Eeeeeeee
#96 That Looks Embroidered
#97 Oof
#98 Found This Beauty On Instagram
#99 Apparently Its Taken 2 Sessions And She Has One More Scheduled
#100 Posted In A Horror Collectibles Group I’m In
#101 What In Heck Happened?
#102 Yikes
#103 Team Target At Riot Fest Chicago!
#104 Why…
#105 Some Rando On Tinder
#106 Not My Tattoo: Saw This On A Group I’m In. Oh Hell No
#107 The Eyelashes Hurt Me To Look At
#108 My Boyfriend’s Foot Tattoo Of A Pokè Ball – Gotta Catch Em All!! It’s Awful
#109 No Words. Seen On Snapchat
#110 My Uncle’s Jailhouse Tats…..smh
#111 A Moth Wing Found In Another Group
#112 The Hands “That’s On Purpose, I Don’t Like My Tattoos To Look Clean And Proper, So I Always Ask For Them To Be A Bit Ratty And Worn. Getting A Perfect Replica Or Symmetry Just Bugs Me”
#113 I’m Not Showing Their Face But This Was In A Nightmare Before Christmas Group I’m In And I Just Can’t….
#114 A Girl I Know Personally Got This Yesterday And Bragged. I’m Sorry But The Sign Alone Makes This A Bad Tat Imo
#115 Pain
#116 The Hands Will Haunt Me Forever
#117 This One Made Me Cackle
#118 I Guess That’s The Cheaper Option To Gynecomastia Surgery. Definitely Takes The Eyes Away From Those Moobs
