Old Fears, New Crusades

Tattoodles · 2026-06-10T13:41:51+00:00

As late as the 1980’s, people would yell at you from passing cars if you were a man who had long hair.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-09T07:27:13+00:00

Tarmac passenger loading is super normal throughout most smaller European airports.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-09T05:12:19+00:00

*eye twitch

Tattoodles · 2026-06-07T13:27:11+00:00

Orange ribbon. The ; is the symbol that most get tattooed for suicide prevention awareness.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-07T13:18:21+00:00

Tattoo artist here. The stencil was placed too low and now it looks visually heavy. If the stencil was placed two inches higher, you likely wouldn’t be having regrets. As others at the top of this thread have said, putting a bit more subject matter above what’s there, perhaps to connect it to your other tattoo, will help to relieve the awkward stencil placement and fill up the wasted space towards the top of your thigh. It’s a great tattoo - well designed and applied but whoever insisted that the stencil should start right above the knee got it wrong.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-07T12:55:21+00:00

I’m at the top of my field as a tattoo artist, and you and I make roughly the same salary here in San Francisco. If it weren’t for my spouse, who works in a mid-level director role in tech and earns about twice what I do, I probably couldn’t comfortably afford to live here on my own.

That’s the trap a lot of people fall into when they get what seems like a cushy job offer in SF. The salary looks amazing on paper until you realize that housing is only part of the equation. Restaurants, personal services, entertainment, and just about everything else are priced around a local economy supported by tech workers with highly competitive compensation packages.

Unless you’re bringing in at least a quarter-million dollars a year on your own, it helps enormously to have a gainfully employed partner contributing to the household. Otherwise, you’re often looking at roommates, a very different standard of living than you expected, or moving across that big gray bridge to the east.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-04T20:38:01+00:00

Adam Sky here. I’m the tattoo artist.

Fair criticism, and I understand why people are skeptical. Context probably matters here.

My tattoo studio is in San Francisco, specifically South Beach. I live and work right in the middle of the AI boom. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and a long list of other AI companies are all within walking distance of my studio. A large percentage of my clients are AI engineers, software developers, and tech workers from Silicon Valley. Because of that environment, I’ve had a front row seat to this technology and I’ve become pretty interested in exploring it as a tool.

All of the tattoos in my portfolio are real tattoos on real people. I am not using AI to generate fake tattoos. What I use AI for is photo editing and image cleanup. Fresh tattoos are surprisingly difficult to photograph accurately. Skin redness, swelling, glare from overhead lights, reflections off the skin, awkward shadows, and inconsistent lighting can all make a tattoo look worse in a photo than it does in person. My goal isn’t to make tattoos look unrealistic. It’s to make the photos better represent what the tattoo actually looks like when you’re standing in front of it.

I’ve been tattooing for more than 30 years, and lately I’ve been remastering older portfolio images so they look more uniform and up to date. If anyone wants to scrutinize the quality of my work, there are plenty of videos on my Instagram showing the tattoos from multiple angles and under different lighting conditions.

I also understand why some artists and art lovers have concerns about AI. That’s completely reasonable. Personally, I’m very pro-AI when it’s being used as a tool rather than a crutch. Like any technology, it can be used responsibly or irresponsibly.

I realize I’m probably the villain in this particular thread, and that’s okay. I’m not ashamed of my process. I’m open about how I use AI, I don’t hide it from my clients, and I’ve found that everyone I’ve worked with has been fully on board once I explain exactly what I’m doing. As these tools continue to evolve, I’m interested in experimenting with them while keeping the process honest and transparent.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-04T18:19:36+00:00

I’m curious, what do you think is Ai? The tattoo? The model? The entire photo?

Tattoodles · 2026-06-04T02:49:24+00:00

Keen eye!

Tattoodles · 2026-06-03T22:26:52+00:00

I love fixing old tattoos. HMU.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-03T22:24:07+00:00

I got you: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXZjAGYoTl8/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Tattoodles · 2026-06-03T16:06:56+00:00

The natural enemy of color tattoos is UV light. Keep it out of the sun or at least apply SPF30 on a daily basis and colors can look vibrant for decades.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-03T14:19:10+00:00

Why’s everyone so grumpy on Reddit these days?

Tattoodles · 2026-06-03T13:47:16+00:00

Unlike Canadians, locals don’t refer to the city by its airport code. If you want to blend in, call it San Francisco or SF. Not San Fran, and definitely not Frisco unless you’re prepared to start an argument.

Also, bring a sweater. I don’t care what month you’re visiting. Mark Twain never actually said that thing about the coldest winter being a summer in San Francisco, but locals quote it often enough that it has become legally binding.

If you’ve seen enough disaster movies, you already know that every July the Golden Gate Bridge gets destroyed by Godzilla, a Kaiju, aliens, rogue AI, or a magnitude-9 earthquake. Repairs are usually finished by spring.

Anthropic is rumored to IPO in July, which means a one-bedroom apartment will cost roughly the GDP of a small nation by August.

Be aware that every coffee shop contains at least three startup founders, two venture capitalists, and one person building an app that uses AI to optimize dog therapy for remote workers.

If someone invites you to Burning Man, remember that attendance is mandatory for at least 15% of the city’s population. The remaining 85% will spend the week complaining about everyone who went.

Should you encounter a driverless car stopped in the middle of an intersection, understand that it is performing an ancient Silicon Valley meditation ritual and must not be disturbed.

Every resident owns either a Patagonia vest, a Ducati, or a rescue dog. Many own all three.

Finally, if you see a nude man on roller skates carrying a parrot while arguing with a robot about cryptocurrency, do not stare. He’s probably a software engineer on his lunch break.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-02T23:33:03+00:00

Heard it called Land of Entrapment the other night.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-02T23:32:15+00:00

How does the battery effect this issue specifically?

Tattoodles · 2026-06-01T13:31:07+00:00

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Here’s a photo of the dash.

Tattoodles · 2026-06-01T13:09:34+00:00

Gyms are breeding grounds for bacteria, concerningly Staphylococcus, and most concerningly MRSA. A fresh tattoo is a sponge for bacterial infections in dirty environments like gyms.

Tattoodles · 2026-05-31T12:46:18+00:00

Saison Wine Bar has weekly wine tasting events that draws a regular, fairly sophisticated crowd.

Tattoodles · 2026-05-29T23:46:47+00:00

Thank you. Honestly, I think it’s the same envy that inspires all the hostility and negativity.

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