Are you a tattoo snob?

[Bun]

I think I may be one. I mean if a person has a small tattoo that really means something special to them, ok. I understand that. But if it's a tribal band and I ask them why and their reply is, "It was pretty cool at the time" or "Man, I was so drunk" I don't want to say I would look down at the tattoo but I wouldn't give that ink as much as respect as a person who really decided/planned/designed/etc. their tattoos. What are your thoughts.

If this topic has been discussed before, forgive me.

[JD LaRish]

yes, yes i am.

[WrathsKitty]

haha i have been reading all the posts and u guys make me giggle! i did say that i am very much tattoo snob cause in my line of work i see a lot of ink (i work in a shop that sells body jewelry etc). but then i looked down at my wrist and i have a little kitty there, its not flash off the wall its a kurt halsey pic that i am completely in love with (if any of u know who kurt halsey is then props to you he is an awesome artist) but my issue is that it was done by a bad tattooist so the hearts look like blobs and the lines have spread, but u know what?? i love my crappy-done tattoo, one day i will get it fixed somehow but i love kurt halsey and i get a lot of omg thats so cute comments rather then omg that is so badly done comments (had a few). so yeh i am a snob but i only think i am because i have learnt from my past, not necessarily my mistakes cause i dont think it is one!

gah!! i hope that made sense, lol!! <3.

[Bones]

Yes, yes I am. But I would rather think of myself as a connoisseur (a nice snobby word for snob). I do, however, appreciate small tattoos and those that may not be as good but have character, simply because they help tell the story of a person's life. I try never to denigrate someone's work even if I do not particularly care for it.

[Helana]

i dont care why someone gets a tattoo or what it is...if they like it, thats their body, thats their deal. i know this one guy tho...once he started getting tattoos, he just got stuff that "looked cool" (once again, its his deal so whatever)...but then he started looking at other peoples ink (including mine) saying "oh u only got, what like, an hour and work done....psh! see this? 8 hours!"...my only response to that was "yeah some of my tats may be small, but the meaning behind them is huge...whats ur story?" and he wouldnt say anything. i think hes the only person i know whos tattoos bother me, only cus he uses them to try and show people hes better than them somehow. i DO feel bad for people who have bad quality tattoos. but if it bothers them, then they will fix it, right?

[Rider]

Like most have said, I don't judge subject matter, but rather quality. As a high school teacher I see that many of my students have tattoos, and since many of them are not 18 they are getting tattooed by "artists" of less than good quality. My students, however, seem only to care that they have tattoos and are therefore cool. They're more impressed by how little they pay for their tattoos than by the quality of the work. It's very disheartening to see people proudly sporting poorly done (and sometimes misspelled) tattoos.

[William]

I'm not a tattoo snob. I think everyone has their own story behind their ink even if they refuse to tell you.

A little off topic, but I read it a few times in this topic. Just because someone doesn't tell you their life meaning behind a tattoo doesn't mean it's meaningless. I never tell ANYONE the full meanings behind my tattoos, as it's my buisness. I'm not on some Miami-Ink shit where I need to tell everyone the meaning behind my tattoo. I get what I want and have my own personal meaning behind it.

[Kristen]

I think Marisa's Tattoo & Sex survey brought up some really great points about attraction to sexual partners and the quality of their tattoo work. It seems that many of the respondents rated the quality of the work as being critical to their attraction to potential partners. That's where I find my snobbery surfacing the most. Poor quality tattoos on friends and strangers are one thing but partners - oh hell no! Damn, I guess I'm a snob.

[Niki]

Yes - I will fully admit that I am a Tattoo Elitist. Call me a snob if you must but I just believe that you get what you pay for. If you are looking to get a "good deal" on your "TAT" then you deserve blown out lines and crappy work. There are only a handful of amazing artists but a whole sleugh of mediocre or bad tattooers out there. I prefer quality over quanity anyday! Maybe it's from working at NY Adorned and Kings Avenue and being surrounded with the most talented artists in the world. Tattooing has changed over the last 10 to 15 years...It's not just about picking something off the wall anymore...it's about being a breathing, walking, living canvas for your tattoo artist.

[anthonyc]

im not, there are plenty of shit tattoos that ive seen that i thought were cool. especially ones with a good story behind them.