Hello. I just joined the forum because I was looking for some group input. Let me say I have been getting tattooed for nearly 20 years. Recently I got tattooed after seeing an ad on Craigslist for tattoo work. I sometimes see very good work on there from artist who have shops or work from home but then you have the scratchers too. I have been itching to get a dragon tattoo, traditional Japanese. I see the ad and the guy is having a special on doing just that, the pictures he has of his work look very good so I shoot him an email. I get the response and he seems like a nice guy. I sent him a picture of my arm because I had a tattoo already on it that we would need to cover with the dragon half sleeve.
He says no problems and he would sketch out some ideas, I sent him a pic of the dragon head I would like to design this one based on. He tells me his shop is in an art district and they just opened up and how he has had shops here and there. I go to the shop as scheduled and the place seems like a house converted into a shop space, sends a red flag but I have had house tattoos and shop tattoos, to me the biggest thing is that it is sanitary and the artist does good work. I get tattooed for 5 hours to do the outline and whatnot, we talk about rescheduling. I am checking out the work when I get home and to say the least I am not impressed but its just the outline and no color so it is tough to really imagine how the finished piece will be but I am trying to have positive thinking that it will turn out fine.
I show a friend some of his work from the online pictures he had on CL and Facebook, he says that looks familiar and he has seen it before. This statement gets me worried so I start to look online searching for images and find the exact same one. Now I am really worried and search some of the other images and find about 5 more that you can find via Google image search. Now I am not worried but pissed off and a bit bad at myself for not seeing a real portfolio and going based on the online portfolio. Now I am in a dilemma as to what I should do about the situation. I am not sure if I can sit for 5 hours more to have it finished with someone who is a liar and has deceived me along with worrying that I might possibly ruin my arm if I have not already. I am sick about this. 🙁
What should I do?
@poxphobia 137712 wrote:
Never ever ever go back to this “artist”.
Go see a professional! Anyone good enough to be working out of their house will have a good rep and it should be easy to find pictures online from different sources.
So go to a proper tattoo artist, and see if they can fix it.
Thanks for the advice. I was trusting the pictures on his Facebook page and CL were really his from his portfolio. It sucks to be a somewhat trusting person. To me using someones images and claiming them to be your own is the biggest sin for a person who does tattoos.
@Sam-I-Am 137719 wrote:
Remember, nobody puts their bad work in their portfolio.
Haha. Very true but stealing others work to put in your portfolio is a hanging offense.
I bet that if you had thought to ask to see a hard copy portfolio he either wouldn’t have been able to produce it for some reason or it would have been filled with the same stolen images that you already saw.
Terrible. But that’s Craigslist. And if they are advertising there, especially with some kind of “special discount” that should be a huge red flag.
DO NOT GO BACK TO HIM. I hope you find a real artist to rescue your dragon.
@peterpoose 137722 wrote:
This should never be allowed to happen, where the fuck are the laws. Its like opening up a eye laser clinic and not knowing what your doing, would never happen. Should be the same in the tattoo industry!
I agree. If you are lying about your portfolio using someones images that are not your own then that should be punishable. I am sure I could take him to small claims court or something. The images are on the CL ad, the Facebook page and website for the shop.
@tattoocollector 137738 wrote:
I agree. If you are lying about your portfolio using someones images that are not your own then that should be punishable. I am sure I could take him to small claims court or something. The images are on the CL ad, the Facebook page and website for the shop.
There are laws. Forget small claims court, Hire a lawyer and go big. You have many expenses – laser removal, cover up tattooist, lost time, pain and suffering small claims is like $3000 limit you are talking $20,000-$30,000 plus shutting this fuck stick down.
You really need to talk to a lawyer before talking to this guy again. Most Lawyers will do a free consultation. As soon as you mention lawsuit to this douche of a tattooist he will get rid of all fake pics.
Please post a link to this piece of shit.
@tattoocollector 137710 wrote:
What should I do?
You’ve been getting shit work from people tattooing out of their kitchens for 20 years. Why stop now?
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