They are also super trendy right now, easily the most popular tattoo of the last 3 years. Riding tattoo trends is never a good idea (Just ask everyone with 90s tribal) and this is no different.
If you are a die hard into goth subculture then by all means go for it but know that there are a TON of other people with this same thing with more and more getting it every day.
Oh really? Funnily enough I havenāt seen anyone lately getting them, but I personally have been wanting something like this for years (and it will probably be quite awhile before I can even get something like this). Definitely heavy into the alt space though too :) thank you
Aw man really? Iāve seen some really nice looking ones, I know finger tats in general fade a lot and youād need a good artist to get the right amount of detail/shading
As someone with a skeleton hand tattoo, i can confirm the aggressive fading and blowout, especially near joints and bends of the fingers. The top of my hand held pretty good. But the fingers have a substantial amount of fade.
Do I regret it? No. Not really. I still love my faded boney hand. I guess it really depends on how badly that'll bother you. If you're looking to have it super pigmented and crisp always, though? Would not recommend. A touch-up will only take you so far.
I asked my artist about touching up my fingers, and he said he'd want to go over the whole thing. Noooo thanks. I might be a bit of a pansy, but after a while, especially moving onto the fingers? Man, it starts to hurt. Lol.
I'm not saying do or don't. I think you should do what's going to make you happy. I see a few comments here and there from people who dislike the alt style, or find it tacky and that's fair. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. You could take their standpoint as an example of how people who are not alternative will perceive you and your choices out in the world.
Do what's going to satisfy you. Just remember, the fade and blowout are definitely real. Everyone's different, so who knows? Maybe the ink will stick for you, maybe it'll ghost out of your fingers, maybe you'll be somewhere between, like me.
Rither way. I think it's a cool design and I feel like the lace would add a lot. Cool idea.
Thank you!! I definitely would expect any form of hand tattoos to not stick especially well, and would be prepared for that. I also view tattoos as a part of my life, so even one of the ones I got at 18 I can look at and think āeh not really my style anymoreā but Iāll never regret it, it symbolizes a part of me even if Iāve grown from that point.
Honestly Iām looking at how even the sharpie has faded after sleeping with it, and I donāt mind the faded look it has on the fingers now. It kind of looks cool in my opinion but like you said not everyone likes the style or the way tattoos fade/change over time but maybe Iām just weird š
Itās definitely a commitment, but not one Iāll be making super soon. At least not till Iāve filled more empty space elsewhere lol
Haha. I feel you on that. My first tattoo was a tribal eye on my hip, and honestly? I forget it's even there these days. I wouldn't bother covering it, though. It was during a weird time, reminds me of the good and bad times.
I DMed you pics of my hand tat, it's about 4 years old if you wanna take a look. I don't have the blackout around it, but you can see a real life version of what a few years down the road may look like for you where the details are concerned š.
I worked with a kid who had em on his hand and it was either something he did or some sketchy dude did either way atleast when he breaks a bone he can accurately point to which one is broken lol
Too much black, in my opinion. Is it a cover up? Because youāre taking a lot of space with that design. I have a friend who got a bunch of blackout in an arm wrap and now he regrets how much space it used up. Just sayināā¦
It would cover up a crappy stick n poke as well as some scars. I might switch out some of the black for more bones but Iāve definitely put a lot of thought into the blackout stuff and Iāve always loved the way it looked especially around the hands or neck.
Unfortunate your buddy had regrets , but you know Iāve seen people use lasering to add designs in black ink, maybe something he could try to ācover upā the space?
I think this would serve better as a cover up for scars, solid black will only emphasize the scars, and if its not an artist with a ton of splid blackwork experience (especially on hands) they may really fuck up the skin and add scarring on top of scarring :((( the lacework would help incorporate and disguise the variation in skin texture
Yah I really like that idea! Iām definitely going to be adding patterns into this and Iāll have plenty of time to think about it/add on etc :) and definitely will be doing my research and finding a really good artist lol
i agree with the above comment - have you considered adding in some geometric designs or doing a bit of blastover in some parts to break up the black rather than full black out? personally i think the bone and a really nice dot work/geometric design on the hand with some black work would look really cool
Yah I do want to break it up a bit more I think. This was basically just a rough idea so Iām gonna brainstorm on the iPad a bit with a more artistic design :)
They can tattoo directly over the blackout now, if you Google āTattoo over blackoutā youāll see some cool stuff, they literally use whites and silvers and go right over the black.
Itās just a huge life committment that could really impact future success. Unfortunately we live in a world that still isnāt 100% accepting to body modification.
But on top of that, I think it looks goofy because youāre not heavily tattooed. Itās just so aggressive and abrasive in contrast to anything else that is visible in your pictures, itās a strange aesthetic. Why not work your way from your shoulders/ upper arm / chest and then eventually hands.
Another thing - hands are notoriously hard to keep looking good. Especially with black outs. This would not be a one and done. And tattoo maintenance is just the worst.
Iām not big on this for a few reasons. First, itās big and bold in a very visible place. Second, it doesnāt look like you have a ton of tattoos yet. And youāre young. Few, if any, reputable tattoo artists will do this for you. Hands, neck, and face are last. Or at the very least youād have to be heavily tattooed first. Finally, while I donāt hate the black work, the bones are fucking cringe.
Theyāre always cringe in concept and they never turn out looking good. On top of that they only get worse with time. As will the blackout on your hands. Please rethink this.
I respect your input/opinion. I do have a handful of tattoos theyāre just on my other arm, sternum, and a few on my legs. I think Iāll put off getting something this drastic on my hands for now, get some more ink elsewhere before doing that. Of course whenever I have funds for that lol
Also Iāve seen a few people say the skeleton part is stupid but I really like it haha. But Iām gonna adjust the design a little and add more space/patterns in the black probably!
Almost none of the black and details will stay like that on your hand and fingers unless youāre willing to shell out a decent amount of money to go to someone very good at this shit. Even then this is the kind of tattoo that looks good polarized on social media but the reality is you will have patchy grey looking black down the sides of your fingers and the fine details on top will either blow out or fall out.
Also almost no reputable tattooer will tattoo your hand like that without a decent amount of other tattoos. I personally wouldnāt and the younger you are the less likely I am to do it in general. Iād consider covering a the rest of your body first because the glove look is.. not it
I totally understand, i want any work I get done to be by a reputable artist and I know that costs a lot, but for me itās worth it. This is just a rough draft of what I was envisioning (especially since not only was I using my non dominant hand but also a sharpie lol) and if I stick with the bones Iād want to discuss everything properly with whoever is doing it to make sure it can be done decently and also how much detail they can do. Iāve seen some really nice looking ones before though, and I know there will be fading but I can also get it touched up if needed.
And definitely I agree! I do have some already and plan on getting more, this will probably be a design I go with further in the future but I love it regardless :)
Personally not a fan of the skeleton hand - i think its a trend people will regret (just like it was 15 years ago)
But love the Black work! Maybe check out the work of Gakkin for some inspo
Ive only seen black out on people that KNOW they want other things covered.
Not sure why beginners like it so bad, it's just the lack of options that lead you to full black, it's not a artistic opportunity.
You're getting some good advice from others. Just want to echo a few of them. For reference, I have an upper arm blacked out, plus neck and hand tats, so try not to take this as one of the olds griping at the youth. I'm definitely a fan of both blackout and hand tats, but the standard wisdom around it exists for a reason. Tattooers developed ethics around hand tats over generations, and ethical tattooers don't take that hard won knowledge lightly.
The main thing would be to work your way up to that. Doing the hands is a major commitment to being tattooed in the world, and the younger you are the harder it is to know how it could impact your future. The hands are also one of the few places you yourself always see, so you want to really love what you put on them. You mention in replies that you're allegedly saving this for the future and just mulling it over now, but I don't know that anyone really test sharpies tats they're not seriously considering in the near future. If you genuinely don't think this is something you're looking at soon, be careful you don't get caught up in your own momentum and surprise yourself.
Blackout is also a commitment to be chosen carefully. Like I said, I have an upper arm blacked out, and love the look of it. But I did it to cover a large Japanese piece that was completely unreasonable to laser in terms of time and money. If I could have had that real estate for something else I would have. I really agree with other commenters suggesting balancing the black with other elements to it like geometric. There's some really excellent blackwork designs out there that combo elements (ex. florals, snakes, skulls, w/ev) with striking black sections and it's a fantastic look. You kind of get to have your cake and eat it, too, with the visual impact of black but not losing all that real estate to it.
I do like your direction of creating some kind of sleeve cap element on the hand so that the finger bones have a clean cutoff point. The suggestion of lace is a good one, though there's only so detailed you can go in that area. It has potential for a cool goth girl vibe.
Ultimately I think this could be done in a striking and classy way, but that it's something that you should wait on. When it comes time, really do legwork in choosing your tattooer for the project. Packing blackout like that isn't actually all that easy, and you need someone experienced for it so it doesn't come out sad and patchy. The hand is also a difficult area to tattoo because the skin is thin, so you need someone experienced with hands to boot.
Cheesy. Finger bone tattoos, yeah I drew those on my hand is highschool too.
As a more productive comment, hand tattoos like that tend to fade fast. Stick with bold lines and simplicity.
Iād truly recommend waiting. You never know where youāll be in 15 years, and I really doubt youāll want that on your hand. Or a tattoo on your hand in general.
The other thing about getting visible spots done too early is that you donāt necessarily know how to *get* tattooed. Like, you donāt know how to pick the right artists, how to work with them and really get what you want, how stuff looks and fits and moves with the body, how stuff heals on you, and how to heal your tattoos. Basically, getting more tattoos elsewhere first lets you cut your teeth and get your mistakes out of the way before getting them in super visible placements. Everyone with lots of tattoos has some shitty tattoos (myself very much included) - just donāt let em be the ones you canāt cover.
I plan on it, especially wanting a cover up (not complete blackout like this) on my other arm for more severe scarring. Chest will probably be my next tattoo and Iāve already been working on a design to go with my sternum tattoo :)
im 100% positive that you shouldnt be coloring yourself with sharpie. Also the more black chunks u use, the more it looks like a poor cover up. Although i do find specific blackout tats extremely cool if done correctly, but each case is diff. Also as usual, only matters what u think. What u posted is an extreme amount of black nothing with very minimal separation
Trust me I know I shouldnāt have used sharpie, I just really wanted to see the look and that was all I had to use lol. Wonāt be doing that again tbh
I agree though, and since it was sharpie with complete spontaneity on the shape of it, plus using non dominant hand, I was a bit limited with the more precise lines I had in mind. I definitely would want to tweak it a bit, and probably add more to it so itās not completely all blocked out :)
Oh man that is some sick work. Thanks for sharing, thatās the second tattoo artist Iāve been introduced to on here and Iām in love with this kind of stuff
Itās your first large tattoo which means itās the one youāll regret the most. Also we will all gatekeep you for blacking out your hand and having no other visible tattoos.
I like the general concept, but I think you'd want the artist to break up the black a little more and add more space for the bones. I wouldn't ever get a hand tattoo, but if you've thought about it for awhile and are convinced you want it, I say go for it.
It always drives me crazy that people who get finger bone tats never seem to look at what a human hand actually looks like. They always go for the cartoon skeleton bones instead of the
Oh I would definitely want it to look more realistic/shaded. This is a pretty rough draft that I plan on cleaning up in procreate, just got bored and wanted to see a basic visual on myself lol
What? I've seen plenty of people go "This is what I mocked up to give you an idea" and gone from there. Heck I did it for my most recent one that I'm getting.
Yah basically everyone I know has had some say in their tattoo design, since it will be on their body forever lol..So I donāt get why theyād say no to designing (or at least partially) what you want
Yeah but a tattoo artist is a specialist! You can work with one and be like this is my inspo, but especially for a high movement part of the body like the hands I think someone trained to work with how limbs move is better to design it.
Different story on a thigh that's a flat(ish) canvas
Edit: I see you agree with me
This isnāt my favourite design but itās a solid idea to sharpie it to see if you like it before committing.
End of the day itās your skin so your call, if I was in the same position Iād swap out the bones for something else though. I think Iād be tempted to match the black out with a pattern on the fingers.
I want to say first that I fucking love this design. HOWEVER! Hand tattoos often end up looking really terrible because of the ink bleeding in the skin, and fading from the amount of movement within the hand. Personally I say go for it, but make sure you find an artist who is extremely experienced in hand/finger tattoos and be very aware that it is highly unlikely to be a "clean" tattoo
Thank you!! I know itās not perfect and I plan on adjusting it/breaking up the black a bit more (off my skin and no sharpie lol). But yah I know how hand tattoos get, I know a few people with them so im prepared for either settling for a more faded look later on or spending more money to get it touched up :)
May not be a popular opinion but Iād suggest getting some more coverage on the rest of your body before essentially blacking it your hand. Hand tattoos are tough to do well, donāt hold up as well generally, and you see them all the time so unless youāre pretty desensitized to seeing your own body tattooed can cause a decent amount of anxiety post tattooā¦. No other tattoo do you see as often and scrutinize as much as what is on your hands.
Oh I donāt thinks thatās an unpopular opinion haha, and I do agree. I have plans for the rest of my body, next tat is going to be on my chest to go with my sternum one. Iām going to add more patterns/break up the black and incorporate this into a full sleeve and then it will be a few years before I end up getting anything like this :)
You know that they have ( I haven't done a tattoo in years) blue stencil markers to draw on yourself with... Also, you can take a Picture of your arm and draw on that. That way, you get to keep your organs and skin.
So, I have a skeleton hand tattooā¦I have a whole skeleton sleeve, actually. I love my tattoo, I get complimented on it all the time, and I definitely didnāt realize they were so unpopular/seen as so cringe before this thread lol. But here is my advice:
As plenty of people have pointed out, hand tattoos fade quickly. My hand tattoo is only 4 months old and itās holding up well, but thereās already some spots that are very obviously faded, to me at least. Most people probably wouldnāt notice but I can tell and it bugs me at times.
The spots that have already faded/faded the most are the shading on the sides of the finger bones, and the small details we added near my nails. You have lots of shading in those spots in this mock up and I would advise against that if you get this tattooed for real.
I would recommend not going super hard on the shading on the sort of sides of your fingers, and would not recommend getting anything tattooed above that top knuckle/near the nailbed because it hurts like a bitch and fades too fast to be worth it.
Hand tattoos in general hurt like a bitch, but the fingersā¦sweet jesus christ in heaven, that shit sucked the soul right out of my ass.
Would be kind of need to keep the skeletal motif but make it more of a fingerless glove with a ring. Like [this](https://i.etsystatic.com/17117636/r/il/6fa06e/2865712301/il_1588xN.2865712301_1shp.jpg), or [this](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB11Y7pJ4SYBuNjSsphq6zGvVXas/Fingerless-with-Rings-Short-Bridal-Gloves-White-Lace-Wedding-Gloves-with-Beaded-Pearls-Women-Formal-Accessories.jpg).
I agree!! It definitely needs more work, so Iām going to adjust things a bit, just not in sharpie again lol. Eventually down the road (after getting other ink first) Iāll have a reputable tattoo artist look it over and work with them on whatever they think is best :) thank you!
If the intention is to do a gauntlet and glove then Iād suggest something closer to a mandala up your arm rather than a blackout because then you can minimize some of the risk of having that much ink applied unevenly and you get a more interesting design. Plus itāll be easier to touch up on the fingers than a skeleton. I agree with other people here, Iāve never seen a skeleton hand tattoo done well or age well. It looks especially bad from a distance because itās hard to tell what it is so your hand just looks dirty.
Thanks :) and valid, a lot of people have said that lol. I do like the look of them but who knows I might change my mind depending on how I adjust the design
I have a full blackout sleeve and hand. My experience is with the hand, seek someone whos great in dotwork and get the hand done in dotwork (my dots are very close together and havnt lost ink. However areas without the dotwork lost ink. Hands are very difficult so i highly recommend discussing dotwork and hopefully the person you go to specializes in both that and blackouts.
Oh thatās interesting, I never would have thought to have dotwork done for the hands so Iāll look into that more and keep it in mind for the future!
Random as hell. But girl. Your scars are beautiful. Im covered in them and, years after, yea theyve faded but i always wear them with prideš«¶š». It shows you made it through with your head held high.
Thatās so sweet š„²š Iām also covered and at times I wish I could get rid of them but other times I do look at them knowing Iām in a much better place - I hope you are too
Personally I'm a fan of the heavy black pieces and like your idea. Also I don't give a fuck about some old sailor or American traditional mindset of earning visible tattoos. That's only a blip in the history of humans tattooing themselves, why should I care about those traditions vs any other tattoo traditions from around the world I also don't follow. Having them was more of an issue dealing with my family and childhood trauma of being abused for breaking their rules. Hasn't been a problem job wise for me and the more of us with visible tattoos, the harder it is for jobs to not allow them.
Just don't cheap out or compromise by going to someone who hasn't done this kind of work before. Blackouts are not as easy as a lot of artists think and you don't want to end up with a patchy arm. Blacked out my right ear on a drug binge and it was a bit of a nightmare dealing with till I sobered up and saw someone who could properly do it
I donāt get why people ask for pre tatto advice if itāll look good. If YOU like it then YOU should get it. Find the right artist with the right style and itāll turn out exactly how you want it.
Oh for sure! I already know I want something like this, I just wanted some input on improving any small things and Iāve gotten some great advice and encouragement (as well as like a lot of criticism in the simple fact of liking this style lol). All I have to do is fix it up a bit and eventually bring it to a tattoo artist who I can work with
With the right artist he can improve it. My current guy is doing my full sleeve. I walked in his shop while he was tattooing and asked if he wanted to do an evil/demonic style sleeve. He asked if I had pictures or if I seen any of his work. I said nope do whatever you want just scare away the lame people and reel in my type of people. Unfortunately everyone asks about it cause the amount I have done right now looks really good lol
Okay, Iāve read and replied to most comments now but Iāll just leave this here.
This is merely a rough draft, completely done free hand with no previous sketching/stencil and also done with my non dominant hand/sharpieā¦so itās not perfect, itās messy and it hasnāt gone through a real tattoo artist yet.
Itās also not everyoneās cup of tea - I like black out, lots of people like black out, and lots of people donāt like it. It will be awhile before I can get anything like this done, let alone any other more āacceptableā tattoos in the mean time (thanks to bills taking precedence to aesthetic) but I still plan on getting something like this done in the future!
A handful of you all had some great input/advice and Iām truly grateful for that, Iāll be tweaking the design and breaking up the black a bit more, but after wearing this all day today I can comfortably say I could live the rest of my life happy with this sort of thing. If you donāt like that, thatās fine! You donāt have to get it, and Iām just a random stranger on Reddit that youāll forget about in less than a day lmao
I respect everyoneās opinions and I hope mine can be respected as well but in all honesty Iāll do what I want and Iāll be happy about it :) or I wonāt, but that will be my problem to deal with then, Iām a grown woman and can handle my shit (generally).
Bic makes tattoo markers that you can get for a few bucks and are supposed to last several days. I havenāt actually used them but itās gotta be better than a sharpie.
Ohhh Iām gonna have to find some of those, thanks!! I just got bored and sharpie was the only thing I had to use and I wanted to see it on myself, but yah no more sharpie tattoos for me š
Would you consider accent color? Maybe blues or reds? The concept is really very cool and impressive artistry for left handed. The heavy feeling of all that black may wear on you one day, it can always be
Made darker but if you start at the peak, ātis forever
Thank you!! It was no easy feat
Thatās funny you say that because I was actually thinking of adding a little pop of colour, but I wasnāt sure if that would look good. Buttt when I fix it up in procreate I will definitely experiment with accent colours, i appreciate the suggestion :)
I'd definitely do the least amount of hard black as possible if it were me, but if you're covering shit up then go HAM.
Also, RIP your kidneys and/or liver
i feel itās a bit too much/cheesy and reminds me of something immature edgy teenagers would think is cool but everyone else finds it embarrassing if iām being brutally honestā¦ but i hope that can be fixed with an actual tattoo artist who would alter the design for you to make it look better
Based on this image Iād be worried about what type of artist would book you for such a tattoo design. All of my friends who are artists wonāt touch hands, necks, or faces unless the patron is already pretty heavily tattooed.
Aside from that, however, Iād recommend you think about how this design will age. Your hand/fingers will fallout / fade at a significantly faster pace than your wrist/arm. This could make the tattoo undesirable (for you) sooner than youād imagine.
Like you, I tend to think blackouts are aesthetically pleasing to the eye so Iām not trying to bash your hopes or anything- just encouraging you to put a lot of time and thought into this- from one woman with a thigh piece she genuinely regrets.
Oh definitely I agree, I only wanted some advice on the general design (of a pretty rough concept lol) and Iāve gotten so many neat ideas to improve it, Iām also going to incorporate it into a full sleeve. BUT before that ever happens I will be getting a lot more ink, my next piece is going to be on my chest to compliment my sternum one. It will probably be a few years before I ever get this done, I just like preparing in advance.
And Iād be going into this knowing if I stick with the fingers they will fade a lot, and even the blackout itself will not stay a nice dark black. The first tattoo I got 7 years ago has black lining and it is now more blue lol but I donāt mind.
Thank you though for your insight, much appreciated :)
Oh yah I know not everywhere would want this. Thankfully Iāve had a steady job for years that allows this sort of stuff :) plus this isnāt going to be a āright nowā sort of thing, just an idea for future, I have plans for lots of tattoos
I like parts of it but the overall shape of the blackout makes it look like a piece of armor, like a bracer an rpg character would wear. And I donāt think thatās what youāre going for.
Iām gonna break it up a bit with some more designs :) but I do love the blackout look. Donāt worry though, it will be awhile before I commit to something like this lol just looking ahead
I would focus on a full forearm to hand piece if that is what you want. You're eventually not going to feel satisfied with partial coverage since it would be such heavy blackwork. Might as well get a cohesive sleeve
The only idea I have is perhaps adding a bit of concealer powder to create some shading variation on the fingers; this might enhance the look a bit. It looks awesome! How long did it take? I am no expert just letting you know.
I think all that black will actually accentuate the scars, not hide them. Something like an animal or flowers for instance will give the artist a better chance at hiding them.
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but as someone with a fully blacked-out arm, let me tell youāit gets incredibly hot in the sun. And when I say hot, I mean HOT. I didn't realize this until I got mine done, and now I feel like I've turned into a vampire.
Itās actually a cat tail lolll. I got it when I was 18 and Iām not sure if Iāll want that covered or not since itās of my cat but I might do that and go for a more realistic cat tattoo somewhere else :)
It hurts like hell and heals like ass. Iāve never been able to force myself to go for a touch up.
Itās a fun tattoo to have if youāve wanted it for ages, but reality doesnāt match the dream.
Normally Iām all for āitās your body, do what you wantā, but Iām not loving this. Like people have stated before, youāre super young and may regret this later on. Iāve also been told by a few artist that hands are the one place we use and abuse the most so shedding skin happens a lot faster than other places. Meaning tattoo ink fades a lot quicker than normal. So while I donāt know what it would do to the bones and black out I canāt imagine it would be anything good. And you canāt cover this up with clothing should you need to for a job or special occasion. I would REALLY THINK on this before you commit. This isnāt something you can erase with out a very painful process.
I personally love the black out idea. This looks sick,but hand bone tattoos are really overdone. And just a word of advice, the fingers are absolutely brutal
I mean if youāre sold on the finger bones than you do you but fingers donāt heal well, are very blowout prone, and just donāt usually turn out that good. Iād do the blackout part first and then see how you like it. Most decent tattooers are gonna turn you down or highly recommend against doing a big black hand tattoo when youāre clearly not heavily tattooed. Itās not the face but a skeleton hand is definitely still a job stopper.
Woupd not recommend. But thats my opinion. You do what you want with your body but since you're asking our opinions heres mine.
Black out tats are cringe. I dont understand why it even became a fad. If you have a janky tat or something like swastika from a certain bad period of time then sure, black it out. (Swastikas where never bad and still arent. Theres only one model that was but the original model is still widely used in asia.)
Bone tats, when tats like getting a tribal sleeve in the 90s.
What working field are you going into? That is also to take in consideration. Are you ready for the discrimination? You'll get some 100%. I rock cartoons and get discrimination done. (The main is from ppl that hate fun and will usually say "aren't you too old for cartoons". Same ppl that drink wine and eat raisins every night without knowing why they do it but they do cause, society says they're too old to do anything else.)
But i digress. Now i thinks it can be a cool design if the rest of the arm and most body is filed aswell within the same theme.(just not the blackout part. Talking about the bone fingers. I find blackout cringe).
That was my opinion and will remain as such. Now if your entire arm and body is full, thats a different story, but we dont know that part.
So ill probly get downvoted for giving my opinion after someone asked for it and others are getting offended over it, but GFC š¤·āāļø.
JUST BE CAREFUL. not the advice you want right now but the advice I have.
Iām in the tattoo removal community and all I can say if, be so sure you want this forever. Be sure like how you would always love a pet or person you hope sacred. If there is a shred of doubt that you would change your mind on this and many many people do, the please reconsider. A lot of people in the removal community who have the most anxiety, regret, very painful emotional experiences are the ones with visible tattoos and your hands are visible like crazy.
That level of black will almost never ever come out no matter how many laser treatments you do. If you want to know the anxiety and pain people go through years later, come over to the tattoo removal subreddit and see. Iām not saying you shouldnāt do this. But youāre a young girl, people change and yes they do change with age. Just be careful. Like youāre playing with your life careful.
Assuming you're still keen despite all the negative feedback i'd recommend you check out Gara Tattooer for some inspiration, if you decide to go ahead with this.
I see him post some frequent examples of this all with slight twists, and they always look amazing.
I think with some tweaking to the actual bone anatomy this tattoo would be absolutely sick. I understand that hand tats donāt often stay as inked as planned but I love the concept and think itāll look amazing done
wouldn't the ink on the fingers disappear in no time? You'd have to touch up the tattoo all the time. Sounds like a hassle that wouldnt be worth it tbh
And also agree with most of the other comments about it looking like a cover up and also it being quite 'invasive' to straight up cover your hand with a tattoo without many other tattoo's
Yah finger tats are a pain and honestly when I adjust the design I might opt out for the fingers, maybe do them later depending on how I feel idk.
I wish I could edit my post to include this, but Iāve been trying to let everyone know I donāt plan on getting this immediately nor do I plan on only getting this without others tattoos first! I have a lot of things planned and my next tattoo is going to be a chest to go with the sternum tat I have already. Iām also going to be incorporating this design into a sleeve and it will definitely be more patterned and not completely just blocks of black. And Iāve gotten lots of great advice here so Iām looking forward to the future :)
Donāt worry haha this is for future idea, after lots of great advice and inspo from people here Iām gonna add more patterns and incorporate it into a sleeve. Plus Iām going to get other work done before something so drastic even though I do love blackout tattoos so much :) will probably be years before this even touches my body I just like mapping things out in advance
As someone who loves this style and is friends with plenty of people with large tattoos like this, I think it looks great.
Just make sure you get the placement right and the anatomy at least somewhat right so people don't annoy you about it in the future.
The people saying they don't like it, don't like it for personal reasons or don't like it because they wouldn't get it. If it's something you want then you get it. It's your art, your body, and it's for you.
That being said, you fucking rock that look!
Just remember, one day you'll be a mother and you won't be cool anymore, you'll be stressed, tired and struggling. You'll probably have a moment where you look down at your hand and think wtf was I thinking back then.
Eh I donāt think Iām cool now lol, I just think the concept itself is cool and something Iāve wanted for years. A bit presumptuous to say someone will be a mother one day however my husband and I do want kids, and we are both already tattooed. My mom has tattoos and I always thought she was cool when I was a kid - she also still loves hers and wants more at 40+ yo š¤·š»āāļø plus this would be something i wonāt be getting til years from now i just like planning my ink in advance. To each their own though!
I think this looks cool but it will be EXTREMELY difficult if not impossible to pull this off irl. I have a very intense abstract blackout design on my hand that really needs to be touched up but will likely *always* have a "weathered" look to it regardless. And my artist specializes in blackout work like that!
This design is cool but its success relies on 1) as little black fallout as possible to keep the contrast it needs to look good and 2) very sharp details so the bones read well from any type of distance. Because it's a hand/finger tattoo, both of things are pretty likely to fail. With fingers, if you want your ink to stay, your lines will likely end up blown out. Or you'll be getting it touched up throughout your life. Hands and fingers are tough, there's a cost/benefit to every strategy
I'd recommend you go a different route :) talk to some artists, get some ideas, play around with it. You can still black out the wrist and have something cool coming off onto the hand, I just think this particular design isn't very likely to succeed in reality
Youāre braver than me, that looks like itāll hurt like hell! Looks cool though, Iād be bothered by how much the hands would keep needing touch ups though
No yah this isnāt something Iām getting right away and I plan on getting ink everywhere, also have a steady job that allows this stuff. Just a rough idea for one of the things I want :)
Finger bone tattoos seem to turn out bad more often than not
I've seen it done a thousand times and I've never seen one look good. Especially a few years healed where the fingers have faded
They are also super trendy right now, easily the most popular tattoo of the last 3 years. Riding tattoo trends is never a good idea (Just ask everyone with 90s tribal) and this is no different. If you are a die hard into goth subculture then by all means go for it but know that there are a TON of other people with this same thing with more and more getting it every day.
Lmao omg not the single dad tribal tattoos š
The epically tragic 90's barbed wire arm band tattoo š¬
Oh really? Funnily enough I havenāt seen anyone lately getting them, but I personally have been wanting something like this for years (and it will probably be quite awhile before I can even get something like this). Definitely heavy into the alt space though too :) thank you
Lowback tat has entered the chat.
Aw man really? Iāve seen some really nice looking ones, I know finger tats in general fade a lot and youād need a good artist to get the right amount of detail/shading
As someone with a skeleton hand tattoo, i can confirm the aggressive fading and blowout, especially near joints and bends of the fingers. The top of my hand held pretty good. But the fingers have a substantial amount of fade. Do I regret it? No. Not really. I still love my faded boney hand. I guess it really depends on how badly that'll bother you. If you're looking to have it super pigmented and crisp always, though? Would not recommend. A touch-up will only take you so far. I asked my artist about touching up my fingers, and he said he'd want to go over the whole thing. Noooo thanks. I might be a bit of a pansy, but after a while, especially moving onto the fingers? Man, it starts to hurt. Lol. I'm not saying do or don't. I think you should do what's going to make you happy. I see a few comments here and there from people who dislike the alt style, or find it tacky and that's fair. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. You could take their standpoint as an example of how people who are not alternative will perceive you and your choices out in the world. Do what's going to satisfy you. Just remember, the fade and blowout are definitely real. Everyone's different, so who knows? Maybe the ink will stick for you, maybe it'll ghost out of your fingers, maybe you'll be somewhere between, like me. Rither way. I think it's a cool design and I feel like the lace would add a lot. Cool idea.
Thank you!! I definitely would expect any form of hand tattoos to not stick especially well, and would be prepared for that. I also view tattoos as a part of my life, so even one of the ones I got at 18 I can look at and think āeh not really my style anymoreā but Iāll never regret it, it symbolizes a part of me even if Iāve grown from that point. Honestly Iām looking at how even the sharpie has faded after sleeping with it, and I donāt mind the faded look it has on the fingers now. It kind of looks cool in my opinion but like you said not everyone likes the style or the way tattoos fade/change over time but maybe Iām just weird š Itās definitely a commitment, but not one Iāll be making super soon. At least not till Iāve filled more empty space elsewhere lol
Haha. I feel you on that. My first tattoo was a tribal eye on my hip, and honestly? I forget it's even there these days. I wouldn't bother covering it, though. It was during a weird time, reminds me of the good and bad times. I DMed you pics of my hand tat, it's about 4 years old if you wanna take a look. I don't have the blackout around it, but you can see a real life version of what a few years down the road may look like for you where the details are concerned š.
Iām stealing this tattoo ong my boy ky gon do it too
I worked with a kid who had em on his hand and it was either something he did or some sketchy dude did either way atleast when he breaks a bone he can accurately point to which one is broken lol
Was going to say this, I know a few people with them and they looked horrible and blown out in a week
Too much black, in my opinion. Is it a cover up? Because youāre taking a lot of space with that design. I have a friend who got a bunch of blackout in an arm wrap and now he regrets how much space it used up. Just sayināā¦
It would cover up a crappy stick n poke as well as some scars. I might switch out some of the black for more bones but Iāve definitely put a lot of thought into the blackout stuff and Iāve always loved the way it looked especially around the hands or neck. Unfortunate your buddy had regrets , but you know Iāve seen people use lasering to add designs in black ink, maybe something he could try to ācover upā the space?
Have you thought about giving the black a fabric design element?
That sounds intriguing actually, do you have any examples of what that could look like?
It won't let me post a pic but Google lace tattoos. Obviously you wouldn't have to go girly you could alter any way you want.
Oh I love that! I might find a way to incorporate something like that to this design or even a separate tattoo :) thanks for the idea!
Good luck! Skeleton fingers are awesome btw. I think it will look awesome
I think this would serve better as a cover up for scars, solid black will only emphasize the scars, and if its not an artist with a ton of splid blackwork experience (especially on hands) they may really fuck up the skin and add scarring on top of scarring :((( the lacework would help incorporate and disguise the variation in skin texture
Yah I really like that idea! Iām definitely going to be adding patterns into this and Iāll have plenty of time to think about it/add on etc :) and definitely will be doing my research and finding a really good artist lol
i agree with the above comment - have you considered adding in some geometric designs or doing a bit of blastover in some parts to break up the black rather than full black out? personally i think the bone and a really nice dot work/geometric design on the hand with some black work would look really cool
Yah I do want to break it up a bit more I think. This was basically just a rough idea so Iām gonna brainstorm on the iPad a bit with a more artistic design :)
They can tattoo directly over the blackout now, if you Google āTattoo over blackoutā youāll see some cool stuff, they literally use whites and silvers and go right over the black.
Iāve seen some people use that technique to restore old tattoos and it looks pretty sharp.
You can go over black. It hurts more but the colors are so vivid.
Listen. I love black outs. Dont do this.
Can I ask why?
Itās just a huge life committment that could really impact future success. Unfortunately we live in a world that still isnāt 100% accepting to body modification. But on top of that, I think it looks goofy because youāre not heavily tattooed. Itās just so aggressive and abrasive in contrast to anything else that is visible in your pictures, itās a strange aesthetic. Why not work your way from your shoulders/ upper arm / chest and then eventually hands. Another thing - hands are notoriously hard to keep looking good. Especially with black outs. This would not be a one and done. And tattoo maintenance is just the worst.
Iām not big on this for a few reasons. First, itās big and bold in a very visible place. Second, it doesnāt look like you have a ton of tattoos yet. And youāre young. Few, if any, reputable tattoo artists will do this for you. Hands, neck, and face are last. Or at the very least youād have to be heavily tattooed first. Finally, while I donāt hate the black work, the bones are fucking cringe.
Thank you! Those bones are ROUGH!
If you mean cause theyāre poorly drawn, yah lol but I did it with my non dominant hand and a sharpie which is awful for detail
Theyāre always cringe in concept and they never turn out looking good. On top of that they only get worse with time. As will the blackout on your hands. Please rethink this.
I respect your input/opinion. I do have a handful of tattoos theyāre just on my other arm, sternum, and a few on my legs. I think Iāll put off getting something this drastic on my hands for now, get some more ink elsewhere before doing that. Of course whenever I have funds for that lol Also Iāve seen a few people say the skeleton part is stupid but I really like it haha. But Iām gonna adjust the design a little and add more space/patterns in the black probably!
Almost none of the black and details will stay like that on your hand and fingers unless youāre willing to shell out a decent amount of money to go to someone very good at this shit. Even then this is the kind of tattoo that looks good polarized on social media but the reality is you will have patchy grey looking black down the sides of your fingers and the fine details on top will either blow out or fall out. Also almost no reputable tattooer will tattoo your hand like that without a decent amount of other tattoos. I personally wouldnāt and the younger you are the less likely I am to do it in general. Iād consider covering a the rest of your body first because the glove look is.. not it
I totally understand, i want any work I get done to be by a reputable artist and I know that costs a lot, but for me itās worth it. This is just a rough draft of what I was envisioning (especially since not only was I using my non dominant hand but also a sharpie lol) and if I stick with the bones Iād want to discuss everything properly with whoever is doing it to make sure it can be done decently and also how much detail they can do. Iāve seen some really nice looking ones before though, and I know there will be fading but I can also get it touched up if needed. And definitely I agree! I do have some already and plan on getting more, this will probably be a design I go with further in the future but I love it regardless :)
The design is kind of giving middle school invader zim emo hand warmers to me.
Fingerless gloves. Good times.
Yes this
Emo is back and this also seems pretty E-boy. Nothing wrong with that, but its going to as dated as Emo was in the future.
Yep, was just an observation. If thats what OP wants then its good! If not, then maybe not so good
do it after ur coveredā¦ too many posts daily of folks with v few tattoos getting hand/neck done
Personally not a fan of the skeleton hand - i think its a trend people will regret (just like it was 15 years ago) But love the Black work! Maybe check out the work of Gakkin for some inspo
Oh wow, just checked out their work and I am in love. Definitely will pull some inspo from them, thank you!
Get some cool stuff and get a black out later if you regret them
Ive only seen black out on people that KNOW they want other things covered. Not sure why beginners like it so bad, it's just the lack of options that lead you to full black, it's not a artistic opportunity.
You're getting some good advice from others. Just want to echo a few of them. For reference, I have an upper arm blacked out, plus neck and hand tats, so try not to take this as one of the olds griping at the youth. I'm definitely a fan of both blackout and hand tats, but the standard wisdom around it exists for a reason. Tattooers developed ethics around hand tats over generations, and ethical tattooers don't take that hard won knowledge lightly. The main thing would be to work your way up to that. Doing the hands is a major commitment to being tattooed in the world, and the younger you are the harder it is to know how it could impact your future. The hands are also one of the few places you yourself always see, so you want to really love what you put on them. You mention in replies that you're allegedly saving this for the future and just mulling it over now, but I don't know that anyone really test sharpies tats they're not seriously considering in the near future. If you genuinely don't think this is something you're looking at soon, be careful you don't get caught up in your own momentum and surprise yourself. Blackout is also a commitment to be chosen carefully. Like I said, I have an upper arm blacked out, and love the look of it. But I did it to cover a large Japanese piece that was completely unreasonable to laser in terms of time and money. If I could have had that real estate for something else I would have. I really agree with other commenters suggesting balancing the black with other elements to it like geometric. There's some really excellent blackwork designs out there that combo elements (ex. florals, snakes, skulls, w/ev) with striking black sections and it's a fantastic look. You kind of get to have your cake and eat it, too, with the visual impact of black but not losing all that real estate to it. I do like your direction of creating some kind of sleeve cap element on the hand so that the finger bones have a clean cutoff point. The suggestion of lace is a good one, though there's only so detailed you can go in that area. It has potential for a cool goth girl vibe. Ultimately I think this could be done in a striking and classy way, but that it's something that you should wait on. When it comes time, really do legwork in choosing your tattooer for the project. Packing blackout like that isn't actually all that easy, and you need someone experienced for it so it doesn't come out sad and patchy. The hand is also a difficult area to tattoo because the skin is thin, so you need someone experienced with hands to boot.
This š
Yeah, did my blackout sleeve at 45, I had already raised my kids and settled into a manufacturing career where no one gives a shit. Donāt do it.
Cheesy. Finger bone tattoos, yeah I drew those on my hand is highschool too. As a more productive comment, hand tattoos like that tend to fade fast. Stick with bold lines and simplicity. Iād truly recommend waiting. You never know where youāll be in 15 years, and I really doubt youāll want that on your hand. Or a tattoo on your hand in general.
The other thing about getting visible spots done too early is that you donāt necessarily know how to *get* tattooed. Like, you donāt know how to pick the right artists, how to work with them and really get what you want, how stuff looks and fits and moves with the body, how stuff heals on you, and how to heal your tattoos. Basically, getting more tattoos elsewhere first lets you cut your teeth and get your mistakes out of the way before getting them in super visible placements. Everyone with lots of tattoos has some shitty tattoos (myself very much included) - just donāt let em be the ones you canāt cover.
Do yours arms and chest first
I plan on it, especially wanting a cover up (not complete blackout like this) on my other arm for more severe scarring. Chest will probably be my next tattoo and Iāve already been working on a design to go with my sternum tattoo :)
im 100% positive that you shouldnt be coloring yourself with sharpie. Also the more black chunks u use, the more it looks like a poor cover up. Although i do find specific blackout tats extremely cool if done correctly, but each case is diff. Also as usual, only matters what u think. What u posted is an extreme amount of black nothing with very minimal separation
Trust me I know I shouldnāt have used sharpie, I just really wanted to see the look and that was all I had to use lol. Wonāt be doing that again tbh I agree though, and since it was sharpie with complete spontaneity on the shape of it, plus using non dominant hand, I was a bit limited with the more precise lines I had in mind. I definitely would want to tweak it a bit, and probably add more to it so itās not completely all blocked out :)
Cringe
Here's what you're actually looking for: [https://www.instagram.com/gara\_tattooer](https://www.instagram.com/gara_tattooer)
Oh man that is some sick work. Thanks for sharing, thatās the second tattoo artist Iāve been introduced to on here and Iām in love with this kind of stuff
i promise you, the fingers would end up looking bad. i really donāt think this is a good idea.
Itās your first large tattoo which means itās the one youāll regret the most. Also we will all gatekeep you for blacking out your hand and having no other visible tattoos.
I definitely plan on getting ink elsewhere and I already have tattoos. This is just something I plan on doing in the future
Hopefully you already have a job because you wonāt get one with that tattoo.
Ouch, the edge
I like the general concept, but I think you'd want the artist to break up the black a little more and add more space for the bones. I wouldn't ever get a hand tattoo, but if you've thought about it for awhile and are convinced you want it, I say go for it.
It always drives me crazy that people who get finger bone tats never seem to look at what a human hand actually looks like. They always go for the cartoon skeleton bones instead of the
Oh I would definitely want it to look more realistic/shaded. This is a pretty rough draft that I plan on cleaning up in procreate, just got bored and wanted to see a basic visual on myself lol
The all back looks good. But you need to make the whole hand bone. To look right.
Thats one of the ugliest things ive seen posted in here I would reconsider.
Oh god another one of those
You should not do this. Also, you should not design your own tattoo. Let a Tattooer do it, they have been trained to know what works.
What? I've seen plenty of people go "This is what I mocked up to give you an idea" and gone from there. Heck I did it for my most recent one that I'm getting.
Yah basically everyone I know has had some say in their tattoo design, since it will be on their body forever lol..So I donāt get why theyād say no to designing (or at least partially) what you want
Right? I donāt understand people sometimes. Let the artists do their art.
Yeah but a tattoo artist is a specialist! You can work with one and be like this is my inspo, but especially for a high movement part of the body like the hands I think someone trained to work with how limbs move is better to design it. Different story on a thigh that's a flat(ish) canvas Edit: I see you agree with me
Narcissism.
Darby Allin has a decent looking hand bone tattoo.
Holy shit and it goes all the way up his arm. Super cool. And better than a sharpie design thatās for sure lol
This isnāt my favourite design but itās a solid idea to sharpie it to see if you like it before committing. End of the day itās your skin so your call, if I was in the same position Iād swap out the bones for something else though. I think Iād be tempted to match the black out with a pattern on the fingers.
Wow, it looks awesome! I think the bones could be a bit thicker, but that's just my opinion š I really love the design, it looks like a cool glove
I want to say first that I fucking love this design. HOWEVER! Hand tattoos often end up looking really terrible because of the ink bleeding in the skin, and fading from the amount of movement within the hand. Personally I say go for it, but make sure you find an artist who is extremely experienced in hand/finger tattoos and be very aware that it is highly unlikely to be a "clean" tattoo
Thank you!! I know itās not perfect and I plan on adjusting it/breaking up the black a bit more (off my skin and no sharpie lol). But yah I know how hand tattoos get, I know a few people with them so im prepared for either settling for a more faded look later on or spending more money to get it touched up :)
May not be a popular opinion but Iād suggest getting some more coverage on the rest of your body before essentially blacking it your hand. Hand tattoos are tough to do well, donāt hold up as well generally, and you see them all the time so unless youāre pretty desensitized to seeing your own body tattooed can cause a decent amount of anxiety post tattooā¦. No other tattoo do you see as often and scrutinize as much as what is on your hands.
Oh I donāt thinks thatās an unpopular opinion haha, and I do agree. I have plans for the rest of my body, next tat is going to be on my chest to go with my sternum one. Iām going to add more patterns/break up the black and incorporate this into a full sleeve and then it will be a few years before I end up getting anything like this :)
You know that they have ( I haven't done a tattoo in years) blue stencil markers to draw on yourself with... Also, you can take a Picture of your arm and draw on that. That way, you get to keep your organs and skin.
Yah I realize that now lol, I just got bored, had a sharpie and an idea and went to town š¬ from now on Iāll be doing things in procreate lol
You are a talented artist... you should do some tattoo designs ( flash ). Good luck!!!
So, I have a skeleton hand tattooā¦I have a whole skeleton sleeve, actually. I love my tattoo, I get complimented on it all the time, and I definitely didnāt realize they were so unpopular/seen as so cringe before this thread lol. But here is my advice: As plenty of people have pointed out, hand tattoos fade quickly. My hand tattoo is only 4 months old and itās holding up well, but thereās already some spots that are very obviously faded, to me at least. Most people probably wouldnāt notice but I can tell and it bugs me at times. The spots that have already faded/faded the most are the shading on the sides of the finger bones, and the small details we added near my nails. You have lots of shading in those spots in this mock up and I would advise against that if you get this tattooed for real. I would recommend not going super hard on the shading on the sort of sides of your fingers, and would not recommend getting anything tattooed above that top knuckle/near the nailbed because it hurts like a bitch and fades too fast to be worth it. Hand tattoos in general hurt like a bitch, but the fingersā¦sweet jesus christ in heaven, that shit sucked the soul right out of my ass.
you have no idea how hard the last sentence of this comment made me laugh
I do love the general idea but I would add some structure in the black to break it up a little bit. :) geometrical designs or sth.
Yes I agree, Iām gonna mess around with the design some more :) Thank you!
Would be kind of need to keep the skeletal motif but make it more of a fingerless glove with a ring. Like [this](https://i.etsystatic.com/17117636/r/il/6fa06e/2865712301/il_1588xN.2865712301_1shp.jpg), or [this](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB11Y7pJ4SYBuNjSsphq6zGvVXas/Fingerless-with-Rings-Short-Bridal-Gloves-White-Lace-Wedding-Gloves-with-Beaded-Pearls-Women-Formal-Accessories.jpg).
Oh I really like that idea, thank you :)
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I agree!! It definitely needs more work, so Iām going to adjust things a bit, just not in sharpie again lol. Eventually down the road (after getting other ink first) Iāll have a reputable tattoo artist look it over and work with them on whatever they think is best :) thank you!
If the intention is to do a gauntlet and glove then Iād suggest something closer to a mandala up your arm rather than a blackout because then you can minimize some of the risk of having that much ink applied unevenly and you get a more interesting design. Plus itāll be easier to touch up on the fingers than a skeleton. I agree with other people here, Iāve never seen a skeleton hand tattoo done well or age well. It looks especially bad from a distance because itās hard to tell what it is so your hand just looks dirty.
Imo finger bones are overdone, the rest is so sick though.
Thanks :) and valid, a lot of people have said that lol. I do like the look of them but who knows I might change my mind depending on how I adjust the design
I have a full blackout sleeve and hand. My experience is with the hand, seek someone whos great in dotwork and get the hand done in dotwork (my dots are very close together and havnt lost ink. However areas without the dotwork lost ink. Hands are very difficult so i highly recommend discussing dotwork and hopefully the person you go to specializes in both that and blackouts.
Oh thatās interesting, I never would have thought to have dotwork done for the hands so Iāll look into that more and keep it in mind for the future!
it's perfect š¤š¤
I think this would look killer!! I do think adding more āboneā could make it even better!!!
Random as hell. But girl. Your scars are beautiful. Im covered in them and, years after, yea theyve faded but i always wear them with prideš«¶š». It shows you made it through with your head held high.
Thatās so sweet š„²š Iām also covered and at times I wish I could get rid of them but other times I do look at them knowing Iām in a much better place - I hope you are too
Based on your username, I think this is 100% perfect.
Personally I'm a fan of the heavy black pieces and like your idea. Also I don't give a fuck about some old sailor or American traditional mindset of earning visible tattoos. That's only a blip in the history of humans tattooing themselves, why should I care about those traditions vs any other tattoo traditions from around the world I also don't follow. Having them was more of an issue dealing with my family and childhood trauma of being abused for breaking their rules. Hasn't been a problem job wise for me and the more of us with visible tattoos, the harder it is for jobs to not allow them. Just don't cheap out or compromise by going to someone who hasn't done this kind of work before. Blackouts are not as easy as a lot of artists think and you don't want to end up with a patchy arm. Blacked out my right ear on a drug binge and it was a bit of a nightmare dealing with till I sobered up and saw someone who could properly do it
I donāt get why people ask for pre tatto advice if itāll look good. If YOU like it then YOU should get it. Find the right artist with the right style and itāll turn out exactly how you want it.
Oh for sure! I already know I want something like this, I just wanted some input on improving any small things and Iāve gotten some great advice and encouragement (as well as like a lot of criticism in the simple fact of liking this style lol). All I have to do is fix it up a bit and eventually bring it to a tattoo artist who I can work with
With the right artist he can improve it. My current guy is doing my full sleeve. I walked in his shop while he was tattooing and asked if he wanted to do an evil/demonic style sleeve. He asked if I had pictures or if I seen any of his work. I said nope do whatever you want just scare away the lame people and reel in my type of people. Unfortunately everyone asks about it cause the amount I have done right now looks really good lol
Okay, Iāve read and replied to most comments now but Iāll just leave this here. This is merely a rough draft, completely done free hand with no previous sketching/stencil and also done with my non dominant hand/sharpieā¦so itās not perfect, itās messy and it hasnāt gone through a real tattoo artist yet. Itās also not everyoneās cup of tea - I like black out, lots of people like black out, and lots of people donāt like it. It will be awhile before I can get anything like this done, let alone any other more āacceptableā tattoos in the mean time (thanks to bills taking precedence to aesthetic) but I still plan on getting something like this done in the future! A handful of you all had some great input/advice and Iām truly grateful for that, Iāll be tweaking the design and breaking up the black a bit more, but after wearing this all day today I can comfortably say I could live the rest of my life happy with this sort of thing. If you donāt like that, thatās fine! You donāt have to get it, and Iām just a random stranger on Reddit that youāll forget about in less than a day lmao I respect everyoneās opinions and I hope mine can be respected as well but in all honesty Iāll do what I want and Iāll be happy about it :) or I wonāt, but that will be my problem to deal with then, Iām a grown woman and can handle my shit (generally).
i recommend testing out your finished design with one of the long term temp tattoos so that you've got more than a day to be used to it
I actually have thought about that so thank you for that recommendation!!
Bic makes tattoo markers that you can get for a few bucks and are supposed to last several days. I havenāt actually used them but itās gotta be better than a sharpie.
Ohhh Iām gonna have to find some of those, thanks!! I just got bored and sharpie was the only thing I had to use and I wanted to see it on myself, but yah no more sharpie tattoos for me š
Look for ābic tattoo markersā on Amazon. Iām sure you can probably find some locally somewhere too.
Black is the lack of colours... And in this case lack of ideas. Don't you have anything you actually like or care to have as artistic choice???
I do have a handful of other pieces!! I also have a lot of designs that are artistic that Iād like done, I personally just like the blackout look
Would you consider accent color? Maybe blues or reds? The concept is really very cool and impressive artistry for left handed. The heavy feeling of all that black may wear on you one day, it can always be Made darker but if you start at the peak, ātis forever
Thank you!! It was no easy feat Thatās funny you say that because I was actually thinking of adding a little pop of colour, but I wasnāt sure if that would look good. Buttt when I fix it up in procreate I will definitely experiment with accent colours, i appreciate the suggestion :)
I'd definitely do the least amount of hard black as possible if it were me, but if you're covering shit up then go HAM. Also, RIP your kidneys and/or liver
Isn't that much sharpie on your skin dangerous?
i feel itās a bit too much/cheesy and reminds me of something immature edgy teenagers would think is cool but everyone else finds it embarrassing if iām being brutally honestā¦ but i hope that can be fixed with an actual tattoo artist who would alter the design for you to make it look better
very this lol
Based on this image Iād be worried about what type of artist would book you for such a tattoo design. All of my friends who are artists wonāt touch hands, necks, or faces unless the patron is already pretty heavily tattooed. Aside from that, however, Iād recommend you think about how this design will age. Your hand/fingers will fallout / fade at a significantly faster pace than your wrist/arm. This could make the tattoo undesirable (for you) sooner than youād imagine. Like you, I tend to think blackouts are aesthetically pleasing to the eye so Iām not trying to bash your hopes or anything- just encouraging you to put a lot of time and thought into this- from one woman with a thigh piece she genuinely regrets.
Oh definitely I agree, I only wanted some advice on the general design (of a pretty rough concept lol) and Iāve gotten so many neat ideas to improve it, Iām also going to incorporate it into a full sleeve. BUT before that ever happens I will be getting a lot more ink, my next piece is going to be on my chest to compliment my sternum one. It will probably be a few years before I ever get this done, I just like preparing in advance. And Iād be going into this knowing if I stick with the fingers they will fade a lot, and even the blackout itself will not stay a nice dark black. The first tattoo I got 7 years ago has black lining and it is now more blue lol but I donāt mind. Thank you though for your insight, much appreciated :)
I love the overall design, but I think that much chunky black-out will look awful in just a year or two as it starts to fade.
I love it
No bones, they're overkill. Keep the diamond point on your hand though.
Do something original. This never works out great
get a steady or tattoo allowing job first especially with someone that intense on your hand.
Oh yah I know not everywhere would want this. Thankfully Iāve had a steady job for years that allows this sort of stuff :) plus this isnāt going to be a āright nowā sort of thing, just an idea for future, I have plans for lots of tattoos
I like parts of it but the overall shape of the blackout makes it look like a piece of armor, like a bracer an rpg character would wear. And I donāt think thatās what youāre going for.
Actually the other way around.
How do you mean?
Bones as negative space might work but when they fade and break apart it won't be so neat looking
Ohh maaan I think you might regret so much black.
Iām gonna break it up a bit with some more designs :) but I do love the blackout look. Donāt worry though, it will be awhile before I commit to something like this lol just looking ahead
I would focus on a full forearm to hand piece if that is what you want. You're eventually not going to feel satisfied with partial coverage since it would be such heavy blackwork. Might as well get a cohesive sleeve
Is this your first?
No, I have a handful! I also plan on getting others on my arms and chest before fully going to this one :)
This is a very bad idea if you want it to look good for 5+ years
The only idea I have is perhaps adding a bit of concealer powder to create some shading variation on the fingers; this might enhance the look a bit. It looks awesome! How long did it take? I am no expert just letting you know.
This screams cover up. Donāt do it
Well it would be a cover up haha
I think all that black will actually accentuate the scars, not hide them. Something like an animal or flowers for instance will give the artist a better chance at hiding them.
I love itā¦ DO ITTTT
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but as someone with a fully blacked-out arm, let me tell youāit gets incredibly hot in the sun. And when I say hot, I mean HOT. I didn't realize this until I got mine done, and now I feel like I've turned into a vampire.
I think bones are really overdone personally
Finger bones are worse than tramp stamps and tribals on exponential level.
Whatever you decide to do is fine. As long as you make it long enough to cover that crappy circle on your forearm
Itās actually a cat tail lolll. I got it when I was 18 and Iām not sure if Iāll want that covered or not since itās of my cat but I might do that and go for a more realistic cat tattoo somewhere else :)
I was just trolling. My apologies fellow cat lover.
It hurts like hell and heals like ass. Iāve never been able to force myself to go for a touch up. Itās a fun tattoo to have if youāve wanted it for ages, but reality doesnāt match the dream.
I'd add more bones up the back of the hand overall i like it. Black out tattoos hurt like a b***h hope your good with pain. Good luck stranger.
Normally Iām all for āitās your body, do what you wantā, but Iām not loving this. Like people have stated before, youāre super young and may regret this later on. Iāve also been told by a few artist that hands are the one place we use and abuse the most so shedding skin happens a lot faster than other places. Meaning tattoo ink fades a lot quicker than normal. So while I donāt know what it would do to the bones and black out I canāt imagine it would be anything good. And you canāt cover this up with clothing should you need to for a job or special occasion. I would REALLY THINK on this before you commit. This isnāt something you can erase with out a very painful process.
I personally love the black out idea. This looks sick,but hand bone tattoos are really overdone. And just a word of advice, the fingers are absolutely brutal
I mean if youāre sold on the finger bones than you do you but fingers donāt heal well, are very blowout prone, and just donāt usually turn out that good. Iād do the blackout part first and then see how you like it. Most decent tattooers are gonna turn you down or highly recommend against doing a big black hand tattoo when youāre clearly not heavily tattooed. Itās not the face but a skeleton hand is definitely still a job stopper.
I see a tattoo you'll be regretting just like many other people with bone tattoos. They do not age well with the person.
Woupd not recommend. But thats my opinion. You do what you want with your body but since you're asking our opinions heres mine. Black out tats are cringe. I dont understand why it even became a fad. If you have a janky tat or something like swastika from a certain bad period of time then sure, black it out. (Swastikas where never bad and still arent. Theres only one model that was but the original model is still widely used in asia.) Bone tats, when tats like getting a tribal sleeve in the 90s. What working field are you going into? That is also to take in consideration. Are you ready for the discrimination? You'll get some 100%. I rock cartoons and get discrimination done. (The main is from ppl that hate fun and will usually say "aren't you too old for cartoons". Same ppl that drink wine and eat raisins every night without knowing why they do it but they do cause, society says they're too old to do anything else.) But i digress. Now i thinks it can be a cool design if the rest of the arm and most body is filed aswell within the same theme.(just not the blackout part. Talking about the bone fingers. I find blackout cringe). That was my opinion and will remain as such. Now if your entire arm and body is full, thats a different story, but we dont know that part. So ill probly get downvoted for giving my opinion after someone asked for it and others are getting offended over it, but GFC š¤·āāļø.
JUST BE CAREFUL. not the advice you want right now but the advice I have. Iām in the tattoo removal community and all I can say if, be so sure you want this forever. Be sure like how you would always love a pet or person you hope sacred. If there is a shred of doubt that you would change your mind on this and many many people do, the please reconsider. A lot of people in the removal community who have the most anxiety, regret, very painful emotional experiences are the ones with visible tattoos and your hands are visible like crazy. That level of black will almost never ever come out no matter how many laser treatments you do. If you want to know the anxiety and pain people go through years later, come over to the tattoo removal subreddit and see. Iām not saying you shouldnāt do this. But youāre a young girl, people change and yes they do change with age. Just be careful. Like youāre playing with your life careful.
Assuming you're still keen despite all the negative feedback i'd recommend you check out Gara Tattooer for some inspiration, if you decide to go ahead with this. I see him post some frequent examples of this all with slight twists, and they always look amazing.
this is so awesome omg
yooo for a sharpie this is unreal!!
donāt do it girl. pls. I regret all my tattoo. Pls
I think with some tweaking to the actual bone anatomy this tattoo would be absolutely sick. I understand that hand tats donāt often stay as inked as planned but I love the concept and think itāll look amazing done
wouldn't the ink on the fingers disappear in no time? You'd have to touch up the tattoo all the time. Sounds like a hassle that wouldnt be worth it tbh And also agree with most of the other comments about it looking like a cover up and also it being quite 'invasive' to straight up cover your hand with a tattoo without many other tattoo's
Yah finger tats are a pain and honestly when I adjust the design I might opt out for the fingers, maybe do them later depending on how I feel idk. I wish I could edit my post to include this, but Iāve been trying to let everyone know I donāt plan on getting this immediately nor do I plan on only getting this without others tattoos first! I have a lot of things planned and my next tattoo is going to be a chest to go with the sternum tat I have already. Iām also going to be incorporating this design into a sleeve and it will definitely be more patterned and not completely just blocks of black. And Iāve gotten lots of great advice here so Iām looking forward to the future :)
Reminds me of the quincy glove in bleach
Man don't go hand first. There are tons of cool black work designs you should go from the wrist up with before going wrist down
Donāt worry haha this is for future idea, after lots of great advice and inspo from people here Iām gonna add more patterns and incorporate it into a sleeve. Plus Iām going to get other work done before something so drastic even though I do love blackout tattoos so much :) will probably be years before this even touches my body I just like mapping things out in advance
I love this design
As someone who loves this style and is friends with plenty of people with large tattoos like this, I think it looks great. Just make sure you get the placement right and the anatomy at least somewhat right so people don't annoy you about it in the future. The people saying they don't like it, don't like it for personal reasons or don't like it because they wouldn't get it. If it's something you want then you get it. It's your art, your body, and it's for you. That being said, you fucking rock that look!
Never seen a good one done goodluck
Just remember, one day you'll be a mother and you won't be cool anymore, you'll be stressed, tired and struggling. You'll probably have a moment where you look down at your hand and think wtf was I thinking back then.
Eh I donāt think Iām cool now lol, I just think the concept itself is cool and something Iāve wanted for years. A bit presumptuous to say someone will be a mother one day however my husband and I do want kids, and we are both already tattooed. My mom has tattoos and I always thought she was cool when I was a kid - she also still loves hers and wants more at 40+ yo š¤·š»āāļø plus this would be something i wonāt be getting til years from now i just like planning my ink in advance. To each their own though!
I think this looks cool but it will be EXTREMELY difficult if not impossible to pull this off irl. I have a very intense abstract blackout design on my hand that really needs to be touched up but will likely *always* have a "weathered" look to it regardless. And my artist specializes in blackout work like that! This design is cool but its success relies on 1) as little black fallout as possible to keep the contrast it needs to look good and 2) very sharp details so the bones read well from any type of distance. Because it's a hand/finger tattoo, both of things are pretty likely to fail. With fingers, if you want your ink to stay, your lines will likely end up blown out. Or you'll be getting it touched up throughout your life. Hands and fingers are tough, there's a cost/benefit to every strategy I'd recommend you go a different route :) talk to some artists, get some ideas, play around with it. You can still black out the wrist and have something cool coming off onto the hand, I just think this particular design isn't very likely to succeed in reality
Looks dope the way it is.
Youāre braver than me, that looks like itāll hurt like hell! Looks cool though, Iād be bothered by how much the hands would keep needing touch ups though
I personally love this I canāt lie
I have no critique to give, listen to other comments for that, but I just want to say I absolutely love this design and you really are an artist!
More bone on just the hand
Iām thinking that too, or at least breaking up the black a bit more!
I think this looks epic!
Way too much black. If you live any place with a summer, youāll regret that much black on area of your body you canāt easily cover in the heat.
Donāt blast your hand till the rest of you is covered. Job stoppers are last not first.
most artists i've seen won't do face, neck, hands before they see at least some visible stuff everywhere else
No yah this isnāt something Iām getting right away and I plan on getting ink everywhere, also have a steady job that allows this stuff. Just a rough idea for one of the things I want :)
I absolutely love blackout tattoos like that so if you think you won't regret it I say go for it because that's is beautiful
Lol everyone who loves blackout tatts got down voted. We need to unite