Why it's important to find a good tattoo artist

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Because you don't want the memorial to your beloved wife to look like this:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/499142480_9aa7caef52.jpg?v=0
In case that image doesn't make it through, here's a link to the image on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40865443@N00/499142480/).

[3894]

The worst part is the nose.

[Alex]

Is the person who got it complaining about the quality or is it just something going around that others are laughing at?

The recipient must have approved the transfer and it would have been similar.

[mousepod]

Unless it was freehand.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

That's a good candidate for one of the before/after photos in the haunted mansion hallway.

[wendybeth]

Transfers are seldom perfect- they more or less form the outline, with shading, etc, to be done by the artist in the hopes they know what the hell they are doing. This one didn't.

[AllyOops!]

I sat here laughing hysterically until I realized it was a "in loving memory" tribute to the young bride in the photo. Yeouch. :(

Still..that is just so tragic! I wouldn't want my face pressed into anybody's flesh (except my boyfriend's and I'm not talkin' tattoos). ;)

Aw. What a mortifying method of shading & shadowing. :(

[Alex]

My transfers always included everything. Including shading. But I've only gone to really good people so my expectation is probably skewed.

Also, I've never really seen a photograph tat of a person that I thought looked great. Certainly much better than that, but not great.

[Gemini Cricket]

She looks like one of my uncles...

[thecorndogwalker]

OMG, she looks like a pre-op transexual on his arm...

[Capt Jack]

I was always of the mind that skin art should be more symbolic than directly representative. why in gods name would you try to produce portrait type art in tat form is beyond me. Ive never ever seen one come out worth a durn.

[Kevy Baby]

I agree. Even some of the ones I have seen (good) artists put out as part of their portfolio have been iffy.

[Alex]

I take back what I said earlier.

There's a small pool of portrait tattooists that do absolutely amazing work. But they're rare and if you get one without seeing exemplars of similar work from the artist then you deserve what you get. Without a special talent, it is going to still be essentially gray line art and it'll end up looking like a Wall Street Journal caricature.

But yeah, I'm strictly a stylized or abstract person when it comes to tats. Human faces are particularly awkward since we're so attuned to them that any defect is glaringly apparent and as you age it is going to warp and fade anyway, just adding to it.