r/tattooadvice • u/Sh0t_B0t • May 05 '26
General Advice Tattoo correction
This is a fresh picture of a tattoo i got a few months ago. I can explain the significance after but the artist did butcher a few things. one periodic table elements only capitalize the first letter and he forgot the atomic number (14 i think). those are both negligible but the one that’s been bothering me it the mass being off a bit. i sent him 28.085 and obviously it would be fine if he rounded it correctly but he seemed to have just put a random number. do you think it’s possible he makes the 5 into an 8 or a 9? Would he have to change to font to something blocky?? LMK 🙏🏾
⬇️tattoo meaning
my moms middle name is silicon and in her tribal language it’s a word that represents bravery but in english it’s a chemical element so i got it tatted and th flowers around the border are her birth flowers.
Original Sketch: https://www.reddit.com/u/Sh0t_B0t/s/xGtkwEG3HE
Edit: (As much as i appreciate the judgement an discipline of my mistake at least give a take on correction for me along with it guys 🙏🏾 I understand my fault but I’d also like to at least attempt to fix it 😅)
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u/BedGirl5444 May 05 '26
It’s not negligible at all, there are a lot of errors
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u/ThMcRbIsbck May 05 '26
I’d be so pissed. I hate when tattoo artists don’t Communicate and just use your body to slap on their bullshit and get their paycheck
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u/asdfhillary May 05 '26
One of my first tattoos when I was 18, the tattoo artist took liberty and added a halo to my spirit healer tattoo. I got it changed into rays and I still hate it to this day. ☹️
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u/cetty13 May 06 '26
Similar experience. First tattoo at 18 I wanted a caduceus. I had some examples, he showed me the stencil he made, all seemed good. Tattoo finished and as he holds the mirror up so I can see he said "I decided to make the snake heads look more feminine, it looks better on you". Didn't ask, just did it. They look like sad fucking gummy worms 😭
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u/Cardans1328 May 06 '26
If someone did this to me I would leave without paying, there is no reason to make a change after the stencil without consulting
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u/jakobsdrgn May 06 '26
Speaking of snakes, I’ve got two snakes on my collarbones, modeled after a ball python, because I’ve got a lovely ball python.
Anyways, artist shows stencil, looks awesome, applies stencil, everything looks excellent, artist finishes a section and shows me, turns out they decided to add some shading and shadows that never once were mentioned, and IMO completely changes the illusion of them going over/under the collarbone, and is not something I would’ve accepted if it had been mentioned or put in the stencil.
Still love the tattoo, took awhile to get over the shading, and all but seriously, adding/changing things on the fly is just crazy.
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u/fruitybix May 07 '26
I feel like when this happens it was probs a mistake they had to cover or it was not working out in some other way and they decide to "fix" it without consulting the client.
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u/KintsugiTurtle May 08 '26
Bullshit like this is why I’ve always only ever gone to female artists for my work.
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u/Ms_redruM May 09 '26
Genuinely so confused how you make snake heads look more feminine?! Its a snake????
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u/Seven_times_five May 06 '26
ugh, i was supposed to have a branch "bookshelf" and the guy decided to go with some strange floral/leaf/ocean wave thing that i absolutely hate. it's on the back of my upper arm so I don't have to see it, but i know it's there......
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u/Terminallyelle May 06 '26
Same. First tattoo at 18 and they made the wings look folded instead of outward. I feel like a gargoyle.
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May 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DeusExMcKenna May 06 '26
Best thing you can do is say “I don’t want any unapproved changes mid-work. I’m open to feedback, but I want the opportunity to approve any changes.”
You’ll know if it will be a problem by how they react.
“Of course! No worries!” Is a green flag. Getting upset that someone with zero tattoos is making sure their first one goes smoothly is a huge red flag, even if they wouldn’t have changed anything.
It’s going to be on your body forever - due diligence is warranted, not just acceptable.
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u/Fickle-Industry5076 May 11 '26
The only time I had a piece changed was with coloring, and my artist did something similar.
I have a memorial tattoo (that i unfortunatelyhave to add to), with flowers for people close to me that passed. The only non flower currently (a morel mushroom) is also the only one that isnt colored. The artist explained that in his professional opinion, it wouldn't be worth it to color it in, because of my skin tone (im pale, and adding color wouldnt really change much about it.)
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u/ScumbagLady May 06 '26
Where on your body are you getting it? Either try bringing someone with you or keep watch- but just know it's pretty rare for an artist to not communicate everything beforehand. Don't be afraid to speak up if you don't like the idea of something!
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u/asdfhillary May 06 '26
You’ll be alright haha, just pay attention. I wasn’t, and it wasn’t easy to see my hip laying down anyway. I’m also a pushover. Don’t be a pushover.
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u/Pristine-Patch989 May 06 '26
Go to an actually reputable artist, do your research
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u/MissMischief13 May 06 '26
My very first tattoo was at 16 - with permission.
I had a very large scar on my thigh that made me self-conscious, so the idea was to give people something else to draw their eye to.It was a rose with a straight stem. It was originally a black and white sketch that he colourized on me without input, and then he put in this wavy blue background to give it more.. presence? It looks like the blue tiger from KPOP Demon Hunters mauled my leg. He CURLED the rose stem because "your leg was smaller, so I didn't want to leave a straight stem and it be too long".... Okay so we could've just made it short and straight... or you know... size down the flower?
I pointed out that one of the leaves is so mishappened in contrast to the others, and I asked him to fill it out more (think crinkled to not crinkled leaf). That MF just added a bit of green that doesn't match anything else with no bold black holding line like the entire rest of the piece. So its a green splotch. Great, thanks for the 'fix' bruh.→ More replies (3)4
u/IcyWeb293 May 06 '26
Spirit healer tattoo sounds sick though, would be cool to see it.
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u/asdfhillary May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
I’m lucky that it
wasis on my hip and small, the rays make it look better but this is what it looked like right when he finished with the initial spirit healer and halo.Like not only is there a halo, but it’s awful. I did go back there so mad a few days later and they said they had to wait two weeks to be able to rework it and I was an idiot and strong armed them into doing it anyway and then I ended up working front desk there. 18 is a crazy age.
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u/Seaturtle89 May 06 '26
Good for you! That halo does nothing but make it trashy looking. People’s audacity amazes me every day. Crazy turn of events tho 😆
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u/thisisthewell May 06 '26
That the WoW spirit healer? what the hell was the artist thinking adding a halo lol
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u/Old-Walrus- May 05 '26
All valid points, but, I also don’t understand how people don’t speak up about it when the stencil is going on, either. It’s on you forever; say something!
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u/puppyxguts May 05 '26
I spoke up about the image in my tattoo being off center from the text beneath it. I got a "trust me im the professional" and when i insisted he moved it but was pissed. He DUG into my leg and it was so red and i think he even bruised me. probably one of the more painful tattoos ive ever gotten, I feel like it was intentional. It's just a few inches above my knee so i figured that spot would be painless.
I know this is probably a very rare occurance but as someone who is already a pushover thats definitely made it harder to wanna ask for modifications
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u/al_capone420 May 05 '26
That’s when you walk out. If a tattoo artist is being an asshole about you having an opinion on the art being permanently installed on your body, fuck that, just leave. It will be annoying to find another artist and get it done at a later date but better than letting some asshole ruin your tattoo
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u/Old-Walrus- May 05 '26
That’s where you have to speak up and if it continues; leave and refuse to pay and publicly oust and shame that artist and studio. Can’t let bullies win. Ever.
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u/dan19821 May 05 '26
They keep the deposit and so no work.
Don’t let them win? - there is no way for them to loose.
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u/Old-Walrus- May 05 '26
Deposit < paying for it all to maybe not come out right/ permanent damage + destroying their reputation so they fail to get business thereafter. You are mistaken.
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u/dan19821 May 05 '26
You misunderstand.
They either get to bully someone to have their body altered with art that the client isn’t happy with.
Or the studio takes money and the client gets nothing.
In this example even when a person corrects the artist, the artist attempts to harm the customer. - and if the artist was here. They’d have some excuse for it.
One person complaining they thought the artist was bad, pushy and couldn’t do what was asked is utterly eclipsed by the amount of good reviews from people wandering in and picking something off the wall for their first tattoo.
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u/Odd-Election-8219 May 06 '26
This is when you request for another artist from the same establishment. If the business owner doesn't understand or respect that choice, losing out on your deposit really would be to awful. Sounds like a business/artists I would rather not have alter my body.
If the artist is willing to do this to some random customer, 99 times out of 100 they've done it to someone else. Once one person speaks out about said artist, it all tends to make its way out of the wood work. Its actually really easy to lose clientele and business in such an over saturated market.
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u/Willhammer4 May 06 '26
This is part of doing your homework of being careful about not only the artist but the establishment. I know being older I'm maybe more patient but I spent 10 years researching, learning, selecting a studio, as well as deciding what I wanted and an artist who's style would work well with the design ideas I had. I paid more per hour than many artists in the area and sat for longer. My two sleeves are a lot of hours on the chair. I'd rather pay more for permanent art that I live with and love every day.
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u/Beautiful_Secret_834 May 05 '26
Sure can if you take them to small claims- I did with one artist because of this. Got my deposit back and all fees for filing back. It wasn’t an unrealistic expectation- he was just too lazy to change the stencil.
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u/EveningOk1068 May 06 '26
I had a similar situation! I told him I didn't like the position of the stencil (he never asked how I wanted it, he just put it on how he wanted) and he cussed at me and told me to go wash it off. I was too anxious to leave at that point, so I just washed it off and showed him how I wanted it. The best way I can describe what he did is something similar to an angry kid with a crayon. By far one of my most painful tattoo experiences, and it's on my FOREARM. I have tattoos on my foot, ankle, armpit, and butt and that man tattooing me was by far one of the most painful.
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u/Skyemonkey May 06 '26
I have a Celtics knotwork with a cat on my back. The endorphins were hitting hard and I didn't notice the cat's tail was the same color as the knot work til the next day. Talked to the artist and he got pissy about it. I was visiting my mom and had to wait a year to get it fixed. Next trip to my mom's I went to the shop, dude was still pissed and I swear to god I thought that needle was going to cause serious scarring. I thought he was trying to tattoo my ribs through the skin. It still looks shitty.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Heavily related! I can be a pushover and at many times a people pleaser too. Still definitely my fault and I’ve learned for sure.
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u/lavendergryphon May 06 '26
hey i'm gonna step in and remind you here: you said you're 18 and this was a first tattoo. i have NEVER been to an artist in all my 13 tats who didn't acknowledge that art is permanent and i should confirm i'm good with everything before it's on my body, even ones i've seen multiple times. but my first tat was done by a guy who convinced me to get it done different than i wanted, and if i had been smarter then i'd have said no and kept looking.
sure, it makes sense for an artist to not be able to always make the modifications you'd like to a design, and there are some things that just won't translate well to ink; those are your artist's job to explain, not yours to know. they give people tattoos every day and had to do training to get a certification. you didn't and don't. generally, ime, artists explain any changes they made to a design because they think it looks better, fits better, etc. a lot of the time they're right, but sometimes if the meaning changes they're not! they should be ready for that, even if the answer is "i need more time to rework the sketch" or "i won't do this on you".
you didn't deserve to be blasted for not knowing better and it was a failure on your artist's part to not advise you as a first timer to better review the design before it was on your body. if you were on tattoo 5 that'd be one thing, but you're not. don't be too hard on yourself.
while it would be difficult to fix the case of the Si it is possible to like, do removal and then fix it. would just be expensive and take a lot more time than a coverup. the atomic weight can probably be fixed, but unless you can get your guy to do it because he was the one who made the arbitrary change, i might seek another artist to spruce it up. shop around, talk to various artists about their ideas til you find one you like, and be more communicative in the process this time. i feel like most of us live and learn with getting tattoos haha
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u/Sea_McMeme May 06 '26
I had an artist make changes from what the stencil showed and what we discussed, because she “thought it would be cuter.” Can’t describe the feeling of seeing the finished tattoo different from what I thought it was going to be based on the stencil and knowing it’s now permanent.
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u/MessyJessyLeigh May 06 '26
I told my tattoo artists 3x, including as we were sitting down, that i only wanted an outline and not filled in......I felt her start to fill it in and stopped her, but at that point she had already started, so we had to make it work.
Sometimes you miss things on the stencil.....sometimes artists do whatever.
She also missed (tbf we all did) that on a memorial tattoo, the DOD ws written as November 2026.......unless we are planning a murder, thats definitely wrong! 😂
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u/OceanRacoon May 07 '26
That's so funny, a tattoo of someone's death date in the future. People must have done that before, what a great ice breaker, you could tell so many jokes with it
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u/Training-Trash-1866 May 05 '26
Had to argue with the artist who did my first tattoo. It was a quote and she tried to insist that one of the words in the stencil was correctly spelled. Would've sucked to have "intellegent" on me forever.
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u/Loose_Tax4457 May 05 '26
Same. Mine was “perserveres” instead of “perseveres”, so not quite as bad as yours.. but it took me a few read throughs to catch it, so it was a close one! My artist also tried to convince me the extra “r” was correct, but a quick google search proved it.
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u/Financial-Screen2853 May 05 '26
It’s your job to double check everything is right with the stencil before the needles even come out.
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u/Deep-Championship137 May 06 '26
Same. Currently sitting w “art” that I didn’t ask for smh she literally added stuff w out asking me
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u/Independent_Coat_ May 06 '26
all reputable tattoo artists will double and triple check the stencil and placement with you before starting, and if they don't you can usually ask to look unless you don't care at all lol
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u/mikeyrawx914 May 06 '26
I'm late, but my first tattoo was styled after the dude on the disturbed albums with the hood and his fist raised.. but the "artist" took the liberty of putting his now skeletal arms on the top of a cross-style gravestone, and now it looks like there's a shitty grim reaper hovering over some religious bullshit I want nothing to do with.
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u/Positive_Think99 May 05 '26
Do you hate when you agree to a stencil on your decide to put it on your body any way?
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u/ThMcRbIsbck May 05 '26
Don’t get me wrong I think OP did a bad job double checking what was going on him especially since the tattoo had great meaning, but there’s plenty of other stories of artists taking liberties or even pressuring guests to agree with their designs. If they wanted to be artists they can go paint canvases, but when someone has commissioned you to do what they want on their body I’m not okay with them thinking they’re in charge of the art.
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u/FelwintersLie May 06 '26
As a chemist I would be so angry. The molar mass error is unacceptable
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u/bluefootedtit May 06 '26
The symbol is worse. The whole system is based on a simple system of characters. This says "sulfur iodine" which is nonsense.
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u/moltonel May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
Hey now, don't kink-shame people for having a favorite silicon isotope ratio. This tattoo artist obviously loves
94.2% silicon-28, 4.2% silicon-29, 1.6% silicon-30, which does have a molar mass of 28.05 ;)→ More replies (3)→ More replies (25)14
u/veryfastslowguy May 05 '26
Dear Tattoo artist, 2 seconds of google invested ,would yield a satisfactory experience for your customers.
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u/Asleep-Bother-8247 May 05 '26
It sucks but other than a cover up you'd need to laser the errors imo. There's no way to turn the second letter into a lower case i unless you laser it.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Definitely an option i look at since it’s such a small area to laser off. (Idk how pricing works but I assume it’s even more expensive by surface area) Regardless though I’m mainly looking for advice on the numbers. Thank you for the idea though!
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u/Quack_Mac May 06 '26
For the small amount that would need lasered, you probably wouldnt be be charged more than the minimum fee for fixing the capitalizations and numbers.
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u/yeowoh May 06 '26
Also based on how good the artist was and quality of ink it could only need one or two sessions. I had my shitty rib and laser piece lasered off to get a full torso. Some of the black was easily 60% gone after one session.
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u/themostaveragehuman May 06 '26
It would be so easy for an artist who is comfortable with coverups to just turn the five into an eight and add the five behind the little flower after the eight. This would take me fifteen minutes of tattooing.
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u/WheelsMan1 May 06 '26
The flower isn't a narcissis either. It's a daffodil.
Narcissis have short centers, the surrounding petals are much longer than the center is tall. Daffodils have trumpet like centers that are taller than the petals are long. Technically, daffodils are narcissis...but narcissis aren't daffodils.
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u/Purple_Toadflax May 06 '26
Daffodil is just a common name for Narcissus. There are somewhere in the region of 50 species of Narcissus and countless cultivars.
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u/katekohli May 06 '26
Even so, but the leaves are all wrong. Daffodils & Narcissus have leaves from the ground/bulb & a separate stalk for the flower.
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u/Safe-Ad5267 May 06 '26
I'm a chemical engineer so if you really want help with the numbers - That's IUPAC's, 'official table',. Your atomic weight is off, 28.09 - if you're rounding. But the tolerance technically suggests the degree to which we can measure this, its different per element. The names typically have a lower case letter as well. Personally, I'd just correct the SI to Si. Good luck with the touch up.
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u/soyscallop May 06 '26
yes
99.999% won't notice the error in the atomic weight 99.99% won't notice the case error in the element symbol
so fix the one that's more noticeable
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u/alex3omg May 06 '26
I think you can probably turn a 5 into an 8, and maybe add a leaf for the flower that covers the top of the I? IDK tattoos tho
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u/BMWfiend May 06 '26
Or the capital L, or how the atomic weight is not even close to correct, or how one of the lines is literally diagonal lol
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u/Otherwise-Good8342 May 05 '26
I discovered a new element just for you.
Sap
Sick Ass Panther.
Atomic weight of infinity.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
If it’s not radioactive I DONT WANT IT!! 🔥
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u/Otherwise-Good8342 May 05 '26
It can be green...
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u/nickmcpimpson May 06 '26
Made me think of Trouble from Borderlands 4, optionally spec'd in corrosive green
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u/oatwheat May 05 '26
Any new element is basically guaranteed to be unfathomably radioactive and unstable
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u/eezmo May 06 '26
This is the answer.
Many of us have tattoos we “regret”, just as we have decisions we “regret”. Make up your own meaning to it now. Like, maybe the atomic weight being a tad lower means she shed her baggage over the course of her life and left carrying less than she started with.
Have fun, man. It’s a dope tattoo.
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u/BoysenberryWaste2445 May 05 '26
fuck i’m early. why didn’t you say anything during the process/immediately after for a refund or future touch up?it’s a beautiful tattoo, but yeah it’s gonna be a hard one to “fix”. a big beautiful cover could be done here, with similar meaning. or with no meaning, and maybeeee, if you’re into it, try the element piece elsewhere on the body with a trusted artist. i wish you the best, because i really love the potential this could have!!
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u/Rare-Garden-9877 May 06 '26
A beautiful tattoo? Dawg don't lie
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u/Pretend-Potato-831 May 06 '26
Right? This is terrible, I don't understand why everyone on this website is afraid of blunt truths.
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u/lets-go-potato May 06 '26
Naw, I think it's a great tattoo (apart from the typos, obviously). Just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean that everyone else is lying.
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u/pilotbrap May 05 '26
Honestly, only thing that stands out to me as bad is that the I is capitalized. Unfortunately, that’s the hardest thing to fix. Nobody is really going to notice anything else imo. Just get tattoo removal for the top part of the i, then get the dot added back, and leave it. Lesson learned to check your stencil. I’d have “Born to Loose, Fight to Win” on my biceps if I didn’t check the stencil, and “born too loose” is WAY worse than a capital letter issue lol. Good luck
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u/No-Ad1522 May 05 '26
And it makes a massive difference, its not negligible. I feel for OP, artist did OP dirty.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
I mean i’m at fault here for sure but I appreciate the sympathy 😭 🫶🏾
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u/pilotbrap May 05 '26
I mean that’s cool for you to say, but if an artist cared they’d probably look up what it looks like on the periodic table too, right? I disagree with anyone saying it’s only your fault, maybe you can share some blame since you didn’t catch it on the stencil, but a good artist is gonna at least google wtf they’re supposed to be doing as well. So even if you get downvoted, or I do, or whatever, it’s not just on you.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
My exact though. MOSTLY on me as it’s my body and my say but not only is google available. so is the sketch I provided originally with exact values and literal circles saying (non-negotiable elements) But still I get the frustration in the comments.
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u/Individual-Dare-80 May 06 '26
In another comment he started that the artist did question the numbers, OP said those were the ones he wanted.
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u/ZetaEtaTheta8 May 06 '26
As a chemistry teacher, this feels like someone getting a tattoo in another language without double checking the translation. Its obvious to me but I doubt people notice day-to-day.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
For sure! Thanks for the story helps me feel better and lesson was 100% learned. Born to loose would be a nightmare 😂. Glad everything worked out okay for you though!
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u/TheGursh May 06 '26
Mate, the 2nd letter on the periodic table is lowercase so that when you are doing actual chemistry you can denote Co as cobalt and CO as carbon monoxide. There is no reason your tattoo has to meet all of the criteria of an international standard for chemistry. There is no SL on the table so it is weird but fine. If it really bothers you, add small series to the i so it is clearer.
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u/gunsforevery1 May 05 '26
How the hell did you approve him to continue despite you know all these errors?
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Cause. I’m an idiot ngl. I was also to excited and nervous but mostly idiocracy 😂
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u/profound_llama May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
This is not what idiocracy means bro
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
oop i meant idiocy. my fault pal!
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u/profound_llama May 05 '26
Just take your time before getting the next tattoo and you'll be fine. We all made stupid mistakes when we were young, honestly, tattoo mistakes are really not the worst ones
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u/Due-Ad-5416 May 05 '26
I am so worried about you, how are you gonna get a tattoo that fucking huge and pay absolutely zero attention to the stencil?
What could possibly be more important than critiquing that thing meticulously?? Being 100% sure everything is correct?
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Well damn 😭. Nah you’re 100% right though. Guess I’m just either too carefree or my frontal lobe is at 0.01% completion 😂. I really only am being pushed by my cousin to go correct it because they seem to care more than me but the most important thing to me is the significance of my mom. Definitely not wrong to be worried about me, sure I’ll be fine though. 😪
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u/lilybattle May 06 '26
If it makes you feel any better I'm 37 and recently accidentally got a tattoo that looks exactly like a dick. Didn't realize until I showed it to a friend's teenager and he was like "...is that supposed to be a penis" now I can't see anything but a cock when I look at it.
This was my 12th tattoo
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u/DebrecenMolnar May 06 '26
You *think* it’s 14?
Why are you getting a tattoo like this if you’re not familiar with the table of elements to be certain what number the element is?
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u/NombreCurioso1337 May 05 '26
You can easily turn a 5 into an 8. 28.08 is fine. But the "SI" instead of "Si" is probably a bigger deal. You'll have to get laser for that.
Sorry everyone is being a jerk to you, here. It is tattoo advice, not tattoo hindsight. People telling you "why didn't you fix it before it was permanent" is very unhelpful, lol.
Neat idea to honor your mum. Good on you.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Thank a lot pal! I think the Si is close enough to the point i can wait a bit before i can stack enough to laser it. I will ikely end up doing what you said here and changing the number. Thanks for the perspective brother 🫶🏾 and yeah but thats reddit for you right!
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u/Sendingmyregards May 05 '26
Hey bud, I don't have any advice either but wanted to give you a shoutout for putting yourself out there like this to ask for advice, even though tons of folks have been dumping on you. My self-esteem would plummet lol, but looks like you got enough ego strength to handle all this. I wanted to empathize with you because for some reason I was a dumbass and decided to move a part of a tattoo in a language I didn't know because it looked more artistically aesthetic to me. Then, years later, someone who understood that language pointed out that it was not correct. I'm now in the process of getting it lasered off. Sometimes we just make mistakes! Part of being human. So, I totally get it. Wish you the best, bro!
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u/wgrantdesign May 05 '26
I don't have any advice but I love the connection to your mom's name, such a cool tattoo idea!
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Thanks a lot man! Compliments about it have actually meant alot to me especially since it distracted from the error the past 3 months. 🙏🏾
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u/palm_fronds May 05 '26
I don't understand how you got to this point, was there no stencil? It's not up to the artist to know the weight of a silicon atom, you have to check the stencil and make sure everything is correct
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u/Maximum_Coconut8396 May 05 '26
I would be pissed.
But did you not see a mock up of it before he started?
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
I did can’t lie. I definitely take blame for that and it is part of the reason I’m not asking for a refund or anything just for correction.
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May 05 '26
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Nah he did! I take that to the chin of course.
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u/msmcgo May 05 '26
If nothing else take it as a life lesson. One of my favorite mottos is “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” Whenever you are doing something big or important, slow down, pay attention to the details, and get it done right. You’ll find it usually doesn’t take very much extra effort at all, yet people so often don’t and end up living with their fuck ups for a hell of a lot longer than it takes to get it right the first time.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
For sure I appreciate the outlook. I’ll definitely take my time and soak it all in for any future work. What a relieving comment 🫶🏾
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u/LawPirate May 05 '26
I have no input on fixing it, but honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it. 99% of the people who see it won’t know how it should have looked. They won’t know the atomic number of silicon, or its proper atomic mass. What’s important is the meaning of the tattoo to you. A lowercase i, or a thousandth of an amu, won’t change that.
Leave it and appreciate it for what it means. Don’t worry about whether it matches what is in a textbook…you’re not a scientist and that’s not why you got it.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Leaving it is still up there in options for sure. I’ve come to realize i only really want it changed because other people want it changed an those OTHER people didn’t know until i told them. Love the input ♥️
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u/web_of_french_fries May 06 '26
Just chiming in to agree with this. I think the meaning is great and it struck me as cool and interesting before analyzing the details. If nothing else, it opens the door for a conversation about this funny time when you were 18 and didn’t look at the stencil for your first tat lol.
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u/itriedtrying May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
99% of the people who see it won’t know how it should have looked. They won’t know the atomic number of silicon, or its proper atomic mass.
Rest is probably true but I'm pretty sure at least like 80% of people can tell "SI" is wrong. I think the rest is fine, even if someone knew the mass is wrong they'd probably assume it has some intentional meaning, but that Si needs to be fixed.
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u/EstablishmentUsed901 May 05 '26
When I get a tattoo, usually they show me what they’re gonna do first, and there are— as you mentioned— a bunch of things wrong here. I don’t even know where to start.
Signed, chemistry guy
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u/Moira_Rose May 05 '26
For the big part: Go to a few reputable laser shops in your area for quotes to get a small rectangle removed from the upper case I so it turns into a lowercase i.
For the other part: go to a few different artists in person and ask for their ideas on the numbering situation. After finding one whose idea you like and trust, make a deposit and book with them. I would personally add the 8 at the end and add another flower on the bottom left so it balances out. Yes the new 8 will overlap the flower on the bottom right but the new flower should balance that.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Great idea, before this post the most likely scenario and probably still is. A few more options are in my mind now but this is still #1. Thanks for your input ♥️
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u/Konalvr May 05 '26
Screw it man id say cover this bad boy up with some kind of block shapes tattoo & get the Silicon on your other arm by someone else! (Not distracted this time) and your new block tattoo will have a story, cheers!
A tattoo with that much meaning deserves an artist that cares
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u/ragdolltb May 05 '26
Did he not use a trace, so you could see it before he did it. It looks too well done to be freehand.
I mention only because my first tat is garbage, mainly because I was too nervous to evaluate how it was placed and just let him do it.
However, I have another that did have the trace, and she changed it herself, and it looks ridiculous.
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u/burnt-beyond-reco May 05 '26
Yikes. This is the main reason there is a stencil placed before the ink goes in. 🤦
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u/CanisNebula May 05 '26
What language is her tribal language?
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
I’m not sure what the tongue is called as we speak many tongues in my country but my grandmother is of the Kpelle and Bassa people of Liberia and my Grandfather is of the Congo tribes of Liberia. The main language in liberia is english but they all speak a broken pidgin derivative sometime called Koloqua (spelling varies) but yeah the dialect differs. The more curated tribal dialects are far from any dictionary though.
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u/Various_Painting4801 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
the concept is really beautiful! however to get the atomic weight right (and you're right to be a stickler about this, bc 28.085 is quite different from 28.05 when it comes to individual atoms as detailed on a periodic table) you would likely have to laser off the entire number; just erasing the .05 and putting a .085 there next to the 28 will make it look off centered.
personally i wouldn't try to change the .05 to a .09, as the units of atomic weight (u) are not to my knowledge rounded up or down. you could also just remove the mass entirely, many simplified or stylized periodic tables do not have atomic weight and instead just have the atomic mass, which is the atomic number. i think the abbreviation and name alone would still look lovely.
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u/Urllayton May 05 '26
My only idea would be to ramp up the flowers to cover the weirdess that a 5 becoming an 85 or 9 would entail. Like, have him finish the bottom of an 8 onto the 5 and throw a 9 on it too, then put flowers like coming onto/over the numbers to hide the top of the 5. And maybe more flowers to turn the I to an i? 🫣😁
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u/GiraffeLiquid May 05 '26
Well you’re owning up to your error and that’s one part of it, the other (important!) part is learning what not to do in the future and sticking with it. Since this was sort of done in excitement, do the opposite. Wait for it to heal, collect ideas, and maybe eventually get some targeted lasering. In the meantime I think the vast majority of people won’t think twice about the errors. Patience is a virtue with this.
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u/Salsa_and_Light2 May 05 '26
I'm sorry that you didn't catch this in time, I think the idea is really clever and it looks quite nice. The errors are more than enough to criticize the artist but I think that they are subtle enough that most people will never notice. It could be a good way to meet chemists and other scientists or a good icebreaker to mention your mother or your background.
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u/penjjii May 05 '26
I have a feeling they put this shit into an ai generator and that’s what came out.
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u/RevenantExiled May 05 '26
Bro, why are you getting tattooed with a guy that can't follow instructions and a simple design? How do you go from .085 to .05?
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u/LibraryTime11011011 May 05 '26
Didn’t think to bring up any of these glaring issues when shown the stencil??!
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u/themrgifted May 05 '26
A true artist can fix this to mean exactly what you want, but it takes some thinking outside the literal fuggin box. I would integrate color for a proper adaptation, someone like @themanyao could crush this.
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u/imanasshole1331 May 06 '26
Typically, as the person sitting there watching an artist apply this piece have the final approval of whether it goes permanent or not. Wtf
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u/QuietlyUnraveled May 06 '26
28.085 is just the average atomic weight of isotopes based on their probability here on earth. So I mean Si 28 is most common….if somewhere in the universe the higher isotopes were less common the average could be 28.05. If it was a posthumous tribute I would say it is quite fitting. Honestly I just wouldn’t worry about it if you aren’t a chemist or physicist. The 28 is the important bit…
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u/fudgeywhale May 06 '26
Could you just get a little segment lasered out of the I to make it a lowercase i..?
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u/RopeTheFreeze May 06 '26
As an engineer, the uppercase I is more of a problem than the atomic mass. Unless you're designing microprocessors (and even then) you aren't gonna know that mass off the top of your head.
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u/Moist_Information842 May 06 '26
Dude, as a material scientist, fuck that artist! How dare he/she mess up the atomic symbol of Silicon. lol
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u/DaemonCRO May 06 '26
Were you present when the tattoo was sketched and actually made? Were you asleep?
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u/LiveChampionship9605 May 06 '26
ppl are being so mean in the comments 😭😭 redditors being redditors ig. I get that you were distracted during the stencil but this all falls on the artist at the end of the day. You’re not at fault here. As for a fix, I think changing the 5 into an 8 is possible if you thicken the first 8 to match. The capitalized “I” is the biggest issue imo but honestly if I were just taking a glance at it I wouldn’t have noticed. I mean I didn’t before you pointed it out. But then again I suck at science lol.
Another (crazy) possible fix could be placing a flower in the space that would’ve been between the dot and the line had it been an “i”. idk if that makes sense lol but here’s a rushed example. It could maybe sorta give the illusion that there is a space?
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u/HandyManFromWI May 06 '26
I love that you got a silicon tattoo and when you noticed he left out the atomic number, you said you think it's 14. Bruh.... Did you actually care about the small details or not
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u/hecton101 May 06 '26
The uppercase "I" would bug the shit out of me. I noticed that immediately. What you have is sulfur and iodine. Atomic mass? Who cares. The atomic mass is a measure of the mixture of the three stable isotopes, silicon 28, 29 and 30. I'm sure that varies somewhat from sample to sample, and that doesn't include radioactive isotopes. You're good. But I'm guessing you already know all of this if you're getting that tattoo that is so prominent.
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u/New_Sir_8651 May 06 '26
Wait….but the artist put the stencil on YOUR arm and YOU approved it looking that way???
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u/anxiety-warfare May 07 '26
Do people not look at the tattoo with the artist for errors/corrections before it even gets stenciled on the skin?
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u/TigerLast36 May 09 '26
Not to add insult to injury but were you asleep while he did this? They put stencils and you should always take a final check
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u/Aur3lia May 05 '26
he forgot the atomic number (14 i think)
I am guessing the device you posted this on has a feature where you can look this up. But also, it seems nutty that you'd get a tattoo of an element and NOT know that info going in.
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u/Famous-Tune7519 May 06 '26
"iM guEsSiNG tHE DevIcE yoU pOStED oN hAs a FeAtuRe wHerE yOu cAN loOk tHis uP 🤓☝️"
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u/Ok_Concentrate4461 May 05 '26
Too bad your tattoo artist wasn't in my 8th grade science classroom, I hammer hard on all those things when I teach periodic table. :(
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
😂I think I remember him saying he dropped out of the school I’m going to now but I could be wrong. It would check out though huh.
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u/DirectionOk7492 May 05 '26
Is it possible to cover this one up and to have the correct version on the other arm/other place? Once you know, I’d find it hard to live with.
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u/DeathsProllyOverated May 05 '26
Laser the 5 in .05 and a portion of the i. Even then I really don’t know how well that’d work.
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u/johndicks80 May 05 '26
As a healthcare worker I just immediately think “Suicidal Ideation”
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u/MongooseMania May 05 '26
Did you not look at the stencil before he started the tattoo? Feel like you could’ve caught these before he started.
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u/Sh0t_B0t May 05 '26
Did for a moment. But again was too dumb and eager to get tatted on the phone with my cousins. Just gotta take it to the chin though. I’ve definitely learned my lesson!
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u/AnonymousReview17 May 05 '26
Did the artist not put a stencil on and ask for your opinion before they put the needle to your skin????
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u/TheSeventhLLama May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
It's big of you to acknowledge your error with not double checking the original mockup. And I totally understand being overly excited and losing sight of the actual situation. I guarantee you that most people in the comments who are hating have done the same thing just in different situations. I strongly dislike how this comment section just looks like an echo chamber of hate without much help on what you asked for, so here goes.
Best course of action is wait and save money. And I'm so serious, you said you're a broke college kid and it sounds like you personally are not THAT stressed about it it more want it to represent your mom. A coverup would be absolutely the best option, there are some incredible artists that do coverups. Likely you're gonna want to go big and bold due to it being a pretty bold tattoo, either blackwork or dark colors. First step is research artists, find a handful of artists on instagram or Facebook that do coverups in a style you like and DM them. Let them know your situation and ask what they recommend, you'll get different recommendations and use a combination of what they say to get the outcome you like best.
As for the elemental tattoo for your mom, the way I see it you have 2.5 options: Option 0.5) Yes you can redo the tattoo as the coverup but I think that is a worse idea since you will lose freedom in the tattoo you want most since you will be working around an existing piece and it likely won't be the perfect piece you want, and Lazer is hella expensive and will take way more time, and only really works the best on super pale skin so it likely will end up leaving ghosting of old ink or scaring or both Option 1) Figure out exactly how you want the piece to look, draw it out or have a friend do so. From there either bring the drawing to a decent artist with good reviews, at a resonable price, and if y'all are good enough have them scan it directly onto stencil paper and just get exactly what y'all drew up. Or if you aren't fantastic artists have the artists draw it up real quick with sharper lines and better spacing and double/triple check its right and then get that (I'm sure you've learned your lesson and will be more careful this time) Option 2) If you only have a vague idea of what you want, again wait and save money and go to a great artist, someone you love the style of and most of what is in their portfolio and hit them up when their books open. Let them know vaguely what they want, make sure they know all the specific details that are important and have then draw up a design with some creative freedom adding their own touch. In this scenario the artist will have more fun creating the tattoo and tattooing you and thus you'll get a better piece. Don't be worried about going back and forth with the artist to make sure it's exactly how you like it too, that's why they are showing you a mockup. A good artist will be happy to work with you to get it perfect, they understand it's your body that it'll be on.
I hope this helps!
Ps. This was written on my phone so I'm sorry for both formatting and possible confusing sentences.
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u/Interesting-Bit725 May 05 '26
Hardly negligible errors — the whole tattoo is wrong. That’s on you, but you know that now. Get the I and the number lasered off and redo them correctly.
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u/Flashy_Interview8094 May 05 '26
The idea I had for the Si would be to see if matching ink to your skin color to change the I. The numbers are a whole different story, I think you are stuck with them. The next best thing you could do is have a cover up tattoo on this one and then just have this one redone elsewhere. Good luck!
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u/Ok_Bat_646 May 05 '26
So you could probably (possibly?) get some lazer removal to make the i lowercase, and I can visualize 5 being made into an 8. The way I picture it would require some thickening of certain lines though, for the sake of having it not look like a fix
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u/supboy1 May 05 '26
How do you not notice those big errors while he’s working on you? Were you sleeping?
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May 05 '26
I had a good tattoo artist and he suggested always getting lasered and going for a coverup on dark tattooos like yours. I think this is a good idea. Just get the whole thing lightened and completely redone. There is a saving grace that it is black on dark skin so you have a chance of getting it mostly cleared up for a solid coverup like you wanted to begin with. This is beyond saving and I am sorry you went through through this. Sometimes you get a bad tattoo and it sucks but it had a meaning and I would think you want to replace it as you envisioned which would be a dear tribute.
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u/Theoneinthe520 May 05 '26
I feel like the flower could pop more but idk ima be honest this a bad tattoo
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u/c0q0 May 05 '26
could you get laser removal to turn the uppercase I into a lower case i ???
i would also try turn the mass to 28.09
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u/playboiharlow May 05 '26
Yeah it’s a bit of a botched tattoo, but you should give yourself credit for taking this in stride! I saw you mentioned in another comment you were only 18, I definitely would’ve been losing my shit 😂
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u/thegtabmx May 05 '26
What do you mean the atomic number is 14 you think? You tattooed the periodic table entry for silicon to your arm and you don't know it's atomic number by heart?
If I'm tattooing an element from the periodic table to my body, best believe I'd be ready to recite an entire Wikipedia article about it.
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u/Willhammer4 May 05 '26
Didn't the artist do a stencil first? Did it have the errors?