It's perfectly normal to be unhappy with parts of your tattoo collection. Almost all tattoo collectors will end up with something that does not fit into their long term plans, either because of poor craftsmanship or an inappropriate design choice. The art of tattoo coverup is probably almost as old as the art of tattoo, but for the most part it is a neglected art, confused by many incorrect assumptions about what can and can't be done with the tattoo medium. The majority of all coverup tattoos are darker than the client would like, and in many cases the finished coverup ends up being a bigger problem for the client than the original piece was.
Coverup tattooing is not something that every tattooist is qualified to do. There are some who have a natural understanding of getting the most out of the least, and are able to camoflauge the unwanted piece cleverly without making it into an oversized dark smear. This is always the goal of every coverup project. Unfortunately, most tattooists are trained to believe that only solid black will work, and the finished coverup often is far darker than necessary.
The truth is, solid black actually does not make for very good coverup tattoos. Any scarring that might be left from the application of the original piece, however slight, will be clearly visible in the middle of a field of solid black. And no matter how solid that black is, there will be areas that are blacker still, since the new black combines with the old black to make the unwanted piece even blacker. Solid black coverups are almost without exception easily identifiable as coverups.
My goal as a tattooist is for the new tattoo to show no sign of the old piece whatsoever. If a stranger on the street sees it, they won't say, "nice coverup". Otherwise, I consider it to be unsuccessful.
It is important to remember that the new piece does not cover the old piece, it mixes with it. By the time the work has completely healed and settled, it is sharing the same layers of skin as the old piece, and its pigments are intermingling with the older pigments. We are not covering the old tattoo; we are mixing tattoos. The right patterning, texture and detail will accomplish this far more effectively than heavy shading will.
If the unwanted piece is overly dark or the outlines are too strong, I will request that the client have laser sessions done first to lighten the piece to a point where it can be covered. I personally have had a lot of laser work done to myself, and have a bright, high-contrast biomech sleeve that would have not been possible without the laser sessions. I am a true believer in this process, and at this point I will simply not take on a project that I think will look like an obvious coverup without having the client see a laser surgeon first.
If you are in the midwest, I will urge you to come here to Southern Illinois and go to Unique Ink in Marion IL. for your laser treatments. We are affiliated with this shop and are partners in the laser operation. Jack Morton, our partner in this, has personally had a great deal of laser work done to himself and had therefore had a lot of experience at both ends of it. He has been performing tattoo removal for over a year now and is getting excellent results and highly competitive prices. For more information about tattoo removal at Unique Ink, you can contact Jack directly by emailing him at jack@rethinkyourink.com.
If you are too far to take advantage of this, drop us a line and I'll do my best to make a referral to someone in your area who can be trusted to do a good job with the removal. Not all dermatologists are interested in working with tattoo collectors, and many clients have complained about being treated like third-class citizens by doctors. We have been trying to keep track of who is who in the laser business and hopefully can guide you to the best choice in your area. Eventually, we plan to post a referral page for this purpose.
Most of the pieces in this gallery involved laser lightening; these can be identified by the green (L) on the Before images. In my experience, it is rare that a coverup will not benefit from at least one laser treatment first.
If you are scarred from heavy burns or skin grafts, that can be covered too, but only by the right kind of design. Traditional tattoo designs and methods will often leave you with blown out lines and uneven fields of color. On the other hand, a design that acknowledges the texture in the scarring and incorporates that into the tattoo can be very successful at concealing and beautifying the scars. This is a kind of tattooing that very few artists have explored, but if you are working with an artist in your area that seems to feel comfortable taking on this kind of project with you, be sure that they understand the limitations. Feel free to email me at hyperspacestudios@earthlink.net with any questions about this sort of project. Don't believe anyone who tells you it can't be done; don't ever let one person's limitations be your limitations. If you don't like your scars, beautify them; just make sure it is done the right way.
|
