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What’s sad is that without the completely blacked out arm this would be a pretty cool tattoo. As it is, the whole “night sky” motif doesn’t really belong on skin (this of course is entirely dependent on how drunk you are).
Submitted by: Unknown
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Somebody has had too much time on his hands. Could someone with better eyesight tell me what it says on the hands please?
Looks like “lifeless.”
It says (lefthand) LIFE (righthand) LESS
although it is in the mirror so my L & R may be wrong… but the words are right….. and tie in nicely with your too much time on their hands comment no life, lots of time.
Would’ve been better off making the fingers say ‘jobless’, because, well, ya know…
It seems unlikely for him to be jobless. To have that extent of coverage (including the blackwork, to make it that solid and even will take a lot of time, and more skill than you’d think) of what appears to be extremely well done tattooing, he either works in the industry, or has a fairly well paying job. The thing is about tattoos, they cost money people, if you see someone with a full body suit of high quality (in terms of skill) tattooing, the likelihood is they have spent a LOT of money to get there, and live a lifestyle that can support such an investment. Not so, of course, if you see someone with a neck tattoo, hand tatts and nothing else.
^Knowledge over ignorance FTW.
Honestly I liked this one. It’s well executed and done in a way that he can cover it if necessary. I think it looks worse than it would in real life because of the camera quality.
I kind of like it. At least the words are spelled correctly and the artwork is well done. The blackened arm fits with the rest of the tattoo. Ugly is a matter of taste on this one.
I had never realized that, this whole time, MJ could have just gotten a white full-body tattoo.
I think being a chalk man might have added to his problems. Maybe you meant a flesh-coloured slight beige-pink?
Oh, you were making a joke, I got confused by it not being funny.
I guess making fun of deceased child molesters is over the line, here.
i really like this. very striking
agreed. this dude is a BAMF.
The “dude” is a child. Also very cool artwork. The tattooist is clearly talented. What is he going to do once he gets kicked out of middle school though?
How do you know it’s a child?
Maybe there was a crappy tattoo that needed covering up?
If he ever overcomes anorexia, the tattoos are gonna look really weird.
Yeah, because a skinny person can’t possibly have a healthy self-image and be comfortable with it, right?
Also, love the typical crap-for-brains response of “durrr, I’ll comment about the body because I have no opinion about the artwork”.
Maybe there was a crappy tattoo that needed covering up? You mean like a cover-up, Einstein? Gee, never heard of those before *rolls eyes*.
All I can think about is how much that must have hurt. The raven looks pretty cool though.
that’s a lot of black but in away it kinda of works for me, not the worst thing I’ve ever seen anyway
Wouldn’t that much ink under the skin be toxic?
maybe he’s a piercer, among whom black-arm is popular.
That is a freaking awesome, well done tattoo.
yup It is.
I also think that this one is just a matter of taste. At first I was kind of repulsed, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It’s not something you see every day, but it’s well executed and blends well with the surrounding tattoos. Completely understandable why not everyone would like it though.
I agree, as a piece of artwork it’s pretty striking. I’d like to see it from different perspectives to see how the black gets integrated with other components. Although I do see a bit of white armpit peeking through- kinda made me chuckle!
And elbow.
I am not a tattoo artist. Is there a reason that they would have skipped over that?
All in all, I think it is pretty amazing; the solid black is unusual but not ugly. His other tattoos are well done also. The only ones I don’t like are the ones on his fingers; I just don’t like finger tattoos.
Looks like there is a flower showing slightly over the shoulder. There could be stuff extending down the portions of the arm we can’t see to the elbow, maybe with a similar transition into blackness as at the wrist. That’s why I said I want to see it from another perspective.
From what I understand, though not from first-hand experience, the armpit and elbow are very painful places to be tattooed. Maybe he’s gathering his strength.
Not that you can see from this angle, but I would imagine the ditch of his elbow is filled in, which is way more painful than the outside. Probably more to do with the colours fading over time, as they are wont to do on the outside. I would imagine it transitions into a lined design.
Like during my previous tattoo, I dozed off twice while getting more ink last week. It’s not that I don’t have a pain threshold; on the contrary, mine is probably lower than normal. Through previous martial arts training, and understanding the importance of blood sugar level in relation to enduring costant pain, I’m able to zone out, sorta like a religious trance, if you will.
That said, I can say from knowing a lot of people in the business, that elbows – in spite of thinking of them as otherwise – are really sensitive to being tattooed, and armpits are a bïtch to handle. If you’ve ever experienced razor rash, or heaven forbid, a cut, in your armpit and then sweat, it would give you an idea, but think of it as constant pain throughout the entire area being tattooed. I have plans to have some tattoo work done in mine, and I know that having other work done that encroaches on the “official” pit area that, yeah, it hurts. A LOT. It’s the price to pay for wearable art, I say.
Well since you bend your elbow so much it wears out, the color fades to a light grey in a matter of months, it is redundant to tattoo the elbow, unless you’re going to keep getting it done like every 6 months. My Uncle had one on his elbow about 3 years ago, and it is nearly gone now.
Most people who have tattoos avoid the elbow because it one of the most painful places to tattoo.
Dumbledore?
Once I got over the initial shuddering at the amount of pain this guy probably dealt with, I’ve decided I like it! Very unique, beautiful art work. It really does fit well with his other pieces.
== BLACK SKY ==
Because sometimes big black stars just ain’t enough.
It’s a black hole. If you get too close, you could be torn into pieces and get sucked into it.
Agree with most of the above, taste is questionable but the ink looks to be very well done. Can’t say I’d ever want a Black sleeve, but I do like the concept in this one
I love how the black blue and purple are blend on photo right shoulder. This is a piece of art!
I hope he never needs an MRI!
…You don’t know how MRIs or biology works, do you?
There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tested the myth that since certain types ofblack ink contains trace amoounts of iron, an MRI machine would cause it to heat up and damage the skin. I’m sure that’s what he was referencing.
And the myth was “busted”, btw.
….. Marry me and have my children!
What’s with the neck on the raven though? It looks like it’s half snake.
Ok, you guys do realize that about the only time someone gets their arm blacked out its because they’ve got some regrettable tattoos underneath they wanted to cover. I’m guessing this is someone early 20′s, who’s embarrassed by the stupid choices he made when his parents first started signing permission for him to get tattooed.
Anyone willing to take a gander at what those tattoos might have been?
“Take a gander” means to look at. So, no, we can’t “take a gander at what those tattoos might have been” because we can’t see through black ink.
And why are you so sure this is a cover-up? How do you know the wearer didn’t design the tat himself?
In the book “Mystic Warriors of the Plains,” by Thomas E. Mails, there is an illustration (on page 346) of three Cheyenne Sun dancers, two of whom have painted their torsos black; one of them has blue spots and the other red. So “black sleeves” have been around for several hundred years.
I think the artwork is fantastic on this piece.
Of course we can’t see what’s underneath, I’m just saying, skinny kid, “lifeless” tattood on his knuckles, gotta be some tortured soul who probably has a super swoop haircut and plays in some awful screamo band. And as far as me knowing that it’s a cover-up, I can’t say for certain, but for as long as I’ve been in the business i can say that most likely it is. Yes, the artwork is done well, but most people collecting serious tattoo art won’t cover an entire arm in black if you’ve got a blank canvas to get more great tattoos. I’m going with cover-up, but that’s just my opinion.
OMG, I KNOW EVERYTHING I AM SO INTELLIGENT!!!
You know nothing, please stop.
It’s called an educated guess, you idiot.
You don’t know that much if you don’t know how to use the phrase ‘take a gander’ correctly.
As said above it means ‘to take a look’.
If Ditship is a tattoo artist, I’d say he knows more than you.
You know less, please stop telling people they know nothing.
Yes I am, been tattooing for 10 yrs, and was drawing flash and selling to shops since ’92. I’m not trying to flex any credibility, but I would put money on this tattoo being a cover-up…
I agree with you about the probability of a cover-up. Just as Rauss said he regrets use of prime real estate on teenage tattoos, I would regret devoting that much space to that black void, as dramatic as it may be. Tell us ditship, is is hard to get (and keep) that much black dark and solid?
Not trying to speak for ditship here, but it’s not easy to get a good, solid black. Though the picture is a little blurry, the black looks pretty damn nice on this guy. He obviously has spent a LOT of time under the needle. Considering the goth/emo theme going on, I’m willing to bet that his left arm is done solid as a part of integrating into the overall theme. I’ve seen a few very-heavily-tattooed arms in the past, but only one that was entirely solid black, and that one didn’t (probably still) look very good.
Another I know of had solid tribal bands done and then on some parts that had solid black points, he had them burned using an electrocautery pen. Talk about dedicated to body art!
Yes, as Amna stated, it can be very difficult. It takes a lot of patience, and many artists will rush the job, with poor results. Early on I had to do a lot of touch ups on solid black because it can be so difficult to get it truly solid. if you overwork it, it’s gonna heal bad. You gotta get it in quick and clean, but you still have to count on your client to actually take care of it.
This work hardly belongs on Ugliest Tattoos, and Jessica would never have misspelled the word “quoth.”
True. Should someone begin a “least likely to be hired by a major corporation” page?
DTMB – quit picking on JackNick and go have some tea with Owl. That will make you feel better. Scones, jam, and a lovely field mouse or two for Owl.
As much as I adore Owl (and I do), I’ll pass. Besides, we spend each day here laughing at others’ ignorance, and now we have a moderator who can’t spell and can’t be bothered to use a spell-checker or dictionary. This is simply too much fun to pass up.
.
I’ve no doubt that in the true weenie fashion of a fellow who can’t even muster a real reply, and must resort to posting childish little images instead, he’ll see that I’m banned from the site before too long, but for the nonce, it’s fish / barrel.
.
JackNick – free advice: if you cannot spell (and there are many folks who can’t, for one reason or another), for Heaven’s sake use the spell-check option or consult the O.E.D. A misspelling right there in the title makes you look rather foolish – rather like a misspelling in a newspaper headline.
Just can’t help poking the stick through the tiger cage. And who are Owl, Anna, myself and the rest of the gang to have booze and crumpets with when you’re kicked off, may I ask?
You can always follow my squirrel backwards and drop me an email.
.
http://www.medievalbooks.org/xsquirreldance.gif
Now I’m just intimidated by your brain.
Aw, poo. You removed your profile on a few sites.
At least I *think* that’s you 
I can indede spel. Unforchunutlee I dont oftin get the chanss to use teh werd “quoth”
You’re welcome.
Dear Lord. You’ve been exiled from LOLcats, haven’t you?
Hey, now. Can’t you complain about our new host AND have tea and field mice with me? You’re making me feel unwanted.
Never think that, Owl. You are – genuinely – a shining star.
Star owl sounds like a character from one of those Japanese power-rangers like shows. I’m gonna have trouble picturing you as anything other than Eric the star-owl from now on.
I’m okay with that.
Invite me. I bring my stash of desiccated lizards.
O.K. — I guess I’m missing something. Edgar Allan Poe wrote (and I quote): “Quoth the raven, Nevermore”. Unless there’s been some rapid-fire editing, the thread title is correctly spelled.
?
damn these out-of-order replies.
It was “Quothe the Raven” originally. And it still says “never again”, not “nevermore”.
It was initially, “quothe.” JackNick edited it; see his post above:
.
“I can indede spel. Unforchunutlee I dont oftin get the chanss to use teh werd “quoth””
It’s also not uncommon to have your arm inked over in black if you are planning to have some scarification work done. Although it’s most likely to have been to cover up tatts he regretted/didn’t like anymore, it does leave a nice blank canvas for scar work which can look amazingly beautiful if done correctly. If you google image search “scarification work” you can see some stunning examples of this and depending on how you treat it as it’s healing you can either end up with while lines that sit flat or a raised relief kind of effect. Not everyones cup of tea I admit (I love it but am too chicken to get it done)
Disagree. Usually hate large blackout, and wouldn’t have it myself, but this tattoo is impressive.
I don’t know if anyone said this cause I don’t feel like digging through the comments, but there is a culture in tattooing called blackarm society, had a friend tell me this, and they blacken one arm. It kind of looks like this to me. Its cool if your into that, but i’d rather have some sort of design work rather than just blacken it out. Also its a way some people cover crappy scratcher work (ie. work like the rest of this site) eh, who knows
I think roughly 90% of all tattoos are ugly and reflect the IQ of the person getting them. This one is a great tattoo and doesn’t belong on this site.
I think roughly 90% of people who make generalisations are idiots and their opinions reflect their lack of common sense.
Also, nice contradiction there, genius.
A generalization would be ‘all tattoos are ugly and reflect the IQ of the person getting them’. After all you can say X% of cars are ‘ugly’ or X% of cars are ‘stylish’ (‘fast’, ‘fuel efficient’, ‘green’, whatever). Also, where is the contradiction? This site is called ‘Ugliest tattoos’. In my opinion this one is not ugly. Over 90% of the ones on here are though; bad artwork, misspellings, tacky etc. I am guessing you have a bad tattoo because you have already revealed the low IQ part. That’s ok, just get it covered up with a monster truck tatt or something….like I know you will.
The work is well done, colours show nicely I don’t see how this is ugly.
The black arm is something I would not do as it’s not my thing, it might be a cover-up but i doubt it, it is smooth and even which is harder than you might think..
He’s gonna have trouble finding that melanoma when he gets older.
Because it’s only ever confined to one arm?
Not to play devils advocate, (or poke the bear
), a prudent artist will go around moles and such to allow for proper observation for skin cancer prevention.
I have one in my wings that my artist went around, drives me nuts so I’m just going to have it removed, and then fill the gap with ink once it heals!
And Rauss, just take some deep cleansing breathes, it’s going to be ok! (I hope)
*breaths
Sorry. I felt like poking, too.
I can’t say that the solid-black look is something I would do, but I have no problem with this. I think it works well with the composition of the other tattoos and I actually really like where the black sleeve ends at the hand in that lacy sort of pattern, that’s really lovely. It’s pretty extreme, and it’s not to my taste, but I don’t think it’s ugly.
The finger tattoo is stupid though, you gotta admit.
Honestly, it’s rare I see a finger tattoo that I genuinely like. I can think of two that haven’t made me roll my eyes, and only one of those two I can genuinely appreciate, but that’s probably because I like the guy.
A river delta seen from a plane
or a cabbage leaf
or a feather
or the fine veins on your hand
or the water running down your shower curtain in the morning
all follow the same beautiful pattern of branching. Because Nature always likes to repeat her pattern.
Back to this tattoo, I do like that it finishes at his wrist much like the bird feathers up at the other end. There’s harmony and a delicate quality which contrasts with the vast black space.
So go so far and throw off it off with digital scrabble is dismaying.
*To go so far
Moderator’s comment about a certain theme not being appropriate for the skin was surprising. I could very well have misunderstood, but it sounded like a judgement call about taste. Not sure what that was all about.
I agree with some that the entire black arm is a bit strong, but the artwork is really beautiful.
Ah. The username “Pooped my pants” holding forth on “judgement calls about taste”. Unintended irony is always the most satisfying.
But you’re right, of course. Dear Jessica would NEVER make judgement calls. Ever the cold, objective eye, that’s our Jessica!
I like the arm, especially the hand termination. Don’t care for the knuckle work, and the skull ‘n’ rose is a bit trite. Just hope this guy had the panache to carry it off.
Newby question: how does the solid black hold up over time?
Redstick asks: Newby question: how does the solid black hold up over time?
Probably fine as long as you wash in cold water with like colors, do not use bleach and tumble dry on low or line dry. Washing with salt can help set the color as well. Iron as needed…..
Line dry is bad advice or black. The sun will fade the heck out of it (or at least it did to all of my black shirts while living in the tropics….)
The thing is that it’s an entirely arbitrary judgement call, delivered apparently straight. It doesn’t make much sense, it’s not an amusing observation, it adds nothing to the commentary…why is it there?
http://cheezburger.com/View/5785550848
As painfully idiotic as the motif is in its uber emo gothiness… one does have to admire the person who actually spent the time and effort into creating that tattoo… it really is a form of art… when done well. Unfortunately artists need to eat too, and this is why tattoos like that exist. No… I don’t have any tattoos.
I think this is stunning. If I was 20 years younger I’d be stalking this guy.
Cut loose Violet – let your inner cougar run wild!
Interrupting nipple. Interrupting armpit.
there are a lot of scary, stupid, ugly, tacky and ridiculous tats on this site. This, however, is at least artistic and well done.
The more I look at it, the more amazing I find it. The fact that his body type is my favorite doesn’t help either. I think I’m falling in love.
Thus quote the raven”Never More”
^ yes.
I’m not sure how noone’s noticed that he might be missing his bellybutton…. just saying
I believe that it is at the center of the rose, which is genius because is gives the rose a bit of depth. Love this work of art.
Oh, wow, great observation you two! The tattoo runs into the side walls of his navel and it does, indeed, give the rose a nice bit of depth. The more I look at this guy’s tattoo work, the more I love it. All of it. No cougar.
Hey gang! Celebrate! NOTHING IS MISSPELLED!
Yeah, but that door is off kilter. Would it have killed them to install it properly?
It’s just always something, with you, isn’t it?! Have a scone – can’t hurt, might help.
I kind of like it! It could be way worse!
I like this one, particularly where the blackwork goes to his wrist and hand. Kudos to the artist. Though…maybe having the nipple blacked in might have been a good choice?
Been a lurker for a long time and enjoy reading the discussions, but not much for commenting. This new guy has a lot on his hands.
It’s a shame cos the crow tattoo on his chest is really cool but the black arm is just demented!!
omg, that had to have been expensive!!!!! So much ink! Almost gorgeous if it werent for the blacked arm… bit too much for my taste
I think it’s a frickin cool tattoo. Wouldn’t get it myself, but great artwork, and very striking.
copy/paste…
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,’ I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’
Blackouts are hawt. For whatever weird reason. The raven/moon motif deal on his chest though? Not so much. I can definitely dig the rest of his work though.
I love the tattoo. Also, I don’t know where you guys live, but around here he wouldnt have any problem getting a job. Everywhere you go here people are tattooed. Even at my job they are accepted, as long as they are not offensive.
its just amazing
That tattoo parlor must have been out of black ink for the next month. Holy shiznat. … Granted I guarantee this wasn’t all done in a day, but it’s the amount of black.
Artsy though. Sadly it won’t look as gorgeous in 10 years, but still very nice.
I think it’s beautiful. Definitely not something you see everyday.
The artwork is wonderful, in my opinion, but that entirely blacked out arm DOES put me off a bit. It looks…. Weird.
I think this is simply gorgeous. It’s the only tattoo I think I’ve ever seen where large areas of black actually WORK. From a sheer artistic standpoint, the amounts of black and “white” perfectly balance each other and are very striking. I love the raven too. Gorgeous! Kudos to this guy and his artist.
His arm looks like it would be really cold to touch, like stone…
Well, I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and say I think totally blacking out the arm is kind of ridiculous. The tattoo might be well done, but someone as white as this guy who has one arm that is dark black looks a ridiculous. If that fades, it’s going to look weird. I also imagine that having that much ink on the skin isn’t good for you. Like, really not good.
Seems like none of you can put together that this is a cover-up.
Maybe he didn’t like the design or it didn’t match etc.. etc. It looks great, one of the more creative alternatives i’ve seen for hiding old pieces.
I think this tat is amazing. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
This guys work is spectacular,how is this even close to an ugly tattoo? Lol..how the hand flower flows into the blackness and the raven on his chest is brilliant,the rest of his work is beautiful as well. Great concept regardless if it was an arm cover up or not.
I absolutely LOVE this, it’s gorgeous in my opinion.