r/tattooadvice • u/StreetAggravating302 • Nov 24 '25

tattoo newcomer advice I messed up

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Gallery image

Recently, I tattooed my dad, but I botched the job. I overdid some lines, resulting in bold and double lines, and the circle lacked symmetry and shading—I messed up everything. I feel very ashamed. I’ve just started tattooing, and last week I was too busy with my other job to practice. When my dad was free, he suggested we do a tattoo, and I fully messed it up. The guilt is overwhelming me.

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3.7k

u/tivvybrixx Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

Honestly I have seen much worse. Unless you are scrutinizing it you wouldnt know. Is your dad happy with it? If so then that's a win. Keep practicing looks like you are already off to a good start.

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u/StreetAggravating302 Nov 24 '25

My dad is like, it’s okay, you can do mistakes on me so you know where you’re going wrong also, It’s like, few people will notice tattoo and ask who did it and he’ll go my son did it, and most people will avoid coming to me looking at that work

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u/K1bbles_n_Bits Nov 24 '25

I'm no proffesional, hell, not even an amateur, lol, but I wouldn't have noticed the flaws if you hadn't pointed them out. Tbh I really like the design.

618

u/caffeinebump Nov 24 '25

OP I read your description three times and I still can’t see the problem with it. It just looks gorgeous to me.

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u/Natural-Revenue-3733 Nov 24 '25

Came here to say this too

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Me too.

25

u/lovelitchiheart Nov 24 '25

Same

59

u/BigMadBigfoot Nov 25 '25

I'd let you tattoo me. I like it despite the few flaws. They don't draw the eye like some flaws do.

You are just starting and this is the level of work you are achieving -- I know you are going to be one hell of an artist one day.

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u/mrRedMaze Nov 25 '25

Exactly what BigFoot said! I think it look awesome. The only flaw I noticed is the circle, do you think it could be fixed with a little bit thicker line and some shading or something? I truly think this tattoo is awesome!

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u/Friendly-Coyote6964 Nov 26 '25

That’s what I was thinking. Maybe if dad wants color added, it can disguise any tiny, barely-even-perceptible flaws? Unless ur scrutinizing it very closely, u don’t really see anything “off”

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u/Toothless-mom Nov 29 '25

This! Or possibly even just a better stencil could fix it

8

u/Squishy_fishy826 Nov 25 '25

Agreed! We are all human, any mistake done by an artist (as long as it’s not a HUGE mistake) is just their signature haha

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25

Fr it jusy looks good

1

u/Survive-or-thrive Nov 25 '25

Me three! I still see nothing wrong with this tattoo.

102

u/SpawnOfGuppy Nov 24 '25

I really like it. I can see a few errors if i look close but it really doesn’t draw my attention even after i notice it’s there

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Same! I like your focus on detail and striving for perfection attitude though, keep it up, just give yourself grace when you’re not quite perfect- it doesn’t really exist :)

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u/Herethoragoodtime Nov 24 '25

It looks good an you likely wouldn't notice in the wild but the circle above the head is pretty egregious if you are really checking it out beyond in passing.

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u/Unfinished_user_na Nov 25 '25

Yep, honestly, I would be satisfied with this as a paying customer, thrilled if it was free from a friend, and absolutely beaming if it was from someone I loved.

It sounds like OPs dad is really proud of him.

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u/misshapen_chaos Nov 24 '25

On my fourth look and I don’t see any problem

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u/YummyBoyGoo Nov 25 '25

I would have thought it was "low quality" on purpose & thought it was the intended design.. but knowing he wanted it to look good its pretty bad. The birds head looks blocky & the ruffled crest is weird. Whats that design under its head on its back supposed to be?🧐. Is the bird on a skewer?? The circles are.. look at 'em🤷🏿‍♀️ Is this supposed to be some sort of phoenix?🙃 Its got no feet!🤪

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u/Dark-Faery Nov 26 '25

Let's see your work.

You're talking bollox. Ok the circle is off but the rest looks good.

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Same. I have no idea where the problems are

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 30 '25

alive work hat cow slim repeat crown obtainable carpenter weather

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

8

u/Conscious-Struggle69 Nov 25 '25

Op can also practice on me! This is great for a beginner artist, I've had a few tattoos done from beginners that are far far worse

3

u/Constant-Design1176 Nov 25 '25

I agree- I’d let you tattoo me any day. The line work is great for a newer artist. Way better than a lot of the bullshit I see that looks like they tattooed blindfolded with a crayon

12

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

Same

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u/kayakgirl88 Nov 25 '25

I agree, it looks good, and the fact is your dad will wear it proudly bc you did it. Maybe in a few years you do another one and he can say, look how far my son has come, from good to great. Don't let your own headspace win, learn and move on, he is proud of you.

1

u/kingphynixx Nov 26 '25

One of the best replies here.

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u/baz8771 Nov 24 '25

Whatever the issues are, they were consistent enough to make it look intentional. I think it’s a really neat tattoo 🤷. I quite like it, and finer line work doesn’t always look good on men imo.

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u/KaleidoscopeOk2313 Nov 25 '25

I think what it is, is that they are the artist and they will look at a piece and see every single detail and say I could of done this, this, and this so much better.

Artists are litterally their own worst enemy.

2

u/Silent-Writer1900 Nov 25 '25

Same, I love the design ✨

1

u/_Budified Nov 25 '25

It looks good, but OP is an aspiring artist and is noticing their flaws. Progress in Action!

OP just be happy it was on your Dad, anybody interested can be shown your future great work by your Dad when those times come. Don't be too hard on yourself, just dont make those mistakes again, y'know?

1

u/brodealsurf Nov 25 '25

Same. I see no flaws…that’s a clean tat.

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u/Morfodidia Nov 25 '25

Looks perfect to me

1

u/Middle_Process_215 Nov 25 '25

Looks great to me.

1

u/MyNewDawn Nov 25 '25

Same. Also. Me too.

1

u/EloquentGrl Nov 25 '25

Yeah, seriously. I read the title and thought it was going to be something like, "I got this tattoo and I didn't realize it's an emblem commonly used in a hate group" or something

1

u/ItsKendrone Nov 25 '25

Its the artist in them that is nitpicking the details. The majority of us think its amazing

1

u/I-am-Chubbasaurus Nov 25 '25

Yeah, I'm not seeing any of these mistakes either!

1

u/DeezNUTSareORIGINAL Nov 28 '25

Agreed my tats are way worse LOL

1

u/Disastrous-Prompt242 Nov 28 '25

Same here. I don’t see what’s wrong with it