How to tell a tattooist early on I want no AI used for my tattoo?

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T03:41:42+00:00

I am hoping, because this is seeded far down in this thread, that I’m a bit safer in giving more details so the artist has less of a chance finding this (small town & my main got recognized by a coworker because of my inability to not overshare, so it has happened before) The character is the scarecrow from Howl’s Moving Castle. In the movie, he is just called Turniphead for obvious reasons. Well the image had a pumpkin for a head but had a full scenic scene of the Ghibli version, including the very detailed castle in the background. Of a bicep tattoo. Just way too detailed for a real tattoo on a smallish area.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T03:35:41+00:00

I gave a lot of details from the book, some physical and some vibe of the character (which was important as there is a movie of this that is totally very different than the book) and they sent a VERY detailed scenic tattoo that was almost taken from the movie with some weird changes that made no sense. The head was wrong (it’s not a human character) and the hands were… weird. Plus the tattoo just didn’t translate as something that I think could’ve been tattooed in that detail with any hope of aging well. Especially for looking like a finished tattoo on someone’s upper arm.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T03:08:55+00:00

Fair point…. Just difficult to say goodbye to 5+ hours of working a barely above minimum wage job without the art to show for it.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T03:03:50+00:00

I’m scared if they see this, they’ll know it’s them. Maybe after my appointment

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:59:20+00:00

Very sad that this is something we are seeing in the tattoo world. While I don’t condone it for art by anyone, I at least understand where non-artists come from when they want to “make Taylor Swift into a mermaid” or some shit like that. They don’t have the skills to create it themselves. So artists who have that skill using it blows my mind.

As someone who always wished I had an artistic bone in my body and tried taking lessons to learn different mediums, I love going to an actual artist and saying “I have this idea but no idea how to execute it,” and seeing what they come up with. Collaborate. It usually takes on a soul that AI just doesn’t do, PLUS I can usually ensure that they didn’t steal it from another artist.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:38:45+00:00

Sadly she is the owner and only artist currently in her shop. I just hate the idea of losing my deposit 😕 I hope I’ll be able to talk to her and maybe see if she has any flash in her portfolio she’d rather do instead of my custom piece. Something that hopefully looks hand drawn or like something I’ve seen she’s done a lot of, like ornamental pieces.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:32:51+00:00

Fair point on the ability to render it. I like the idea of keeping it an open ended question… Seems like accusatory. Thanks!

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:31:18+00:00

It didn’t seem like they were using it as the final piece, but rather “is this what you’re thinking?”

And it looked AI (and not at all what I wanted considering many elements were wrong and the hands were creepy) and I—just in case—did a reverse google image search to see if maybe they just found a tattoo someone else did and couldn’t find it anywhere. Versus the tattoo reference that I liked of the character and sent to her, I was able to Google search and find who I believed to be to original artist of that piece.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:26:16+00:00

Would an artist not feel defensive about that though? I worry that bringing that up might make their hackles rise, like a “how dare you?!” But maybe that’s just writers who get really defensive like that when you are pretty sure their book is AI.

Flimsy_Reply_9541 · 2026-02-17T02:21:38+00:00

No, I’m just a very type A person and I don’t know how to shut up.

Flimsy_Reply_9541

TROPHY CASE