This Facebook Group ‘Inkshames’ Bad Tattoos, And Here Are 119 Of The Worst
Not all tattoos are inked equal. While some are stunning and wow people with their artistic merit, some others can force a double-take, making folks wonder what exactly happened there. Welcome to the ‘That’s It, I’m Inkshaming’ Facebook group, a community of nearly 243k members who poke fun at ‘Actually Bad Tattoos.’
The group is meant for posting “truly awful,” low-quality ink, all in the hope of making people laugh. It’s not meant to be mean and there’s no place for general jerkiness. We’ve collected some of the group’s most interesting features photos, the crème de la crème of bad tattoos, to share with you today, dear Pandas. Scroll down and enjoy.
Meanwhile, be sure to read on for Bored Panda’s in-depth interview with the owner of Glasgow-based Archangel 1608 Tattoo Studio, talented tattoo artist David McKinlay.
#1 Jesus Tapdancing Christ
Image credits: Stewart Anderson
#2 Sooooo Much To Unpack Here
Image credits: Jessica Snow
#3 Looks Like Katherine Ryan
Image credits: Reyna Givhan
Tattoo artist David, who runs the Archangel 1608 Tatoo Studio in Scotland, was kind enough to answer Bored Panda’s questions about tattoos.
We spoke about how tattoo artists hone their skills, whether or not customers are always right, and what happens if an artist makes a mistake while tattooing someone.
“Tattooists can practice on any number of things initially, to help them get the mechanics and techniques to tattoo properly,” David explained to Bored Panda.
#4 Found This On A Page For A Local Artist… Really Hope The Person Who Got This Atleast Wanted The 6 Fingers
Image credits: Jesse Blankenship
#5 What.. What Is Happening Here
Image credits: Shannon Ouray Robles
#6 No. No You Did Not Have To
Image credits: Jessica Marie
“You can buy synthetic skin, pig skin from a butcher’s, or even use fruit, such as oranges or lemons, bananas,” he told us.
However, the tattoo artist pointed out to Bored Panda that there is “no substitute for moving, breathing, sweating, bleeding human skin.” In short, nothing beats the real thing. And sooner or later you’ll have to switch to inking real live human beings. Though, later is best. Once you’ve got the fundamentals down and feel confident.
#7 Found On A Sketchy Sales Page Get Booked In Quick!
Image credits: Stacey Webb
#8 What Can I Say Except I’m Sorry
Image credits: Reyna Givhan
#9 They Look Like Industrial Era Coal Factory Workers
Image credits: Patrick Harrington
“The first 4 or 5 tattoos I ever did were on myself. It was a pretty severe learning curve, but I had to prove that I wanted the apprenticeship, and it let me see how the tattoos would heal up, and what I could do better,” David revealed to Bored Panda the dedication that he personally had for his craft when he was just starting out.
“You shouldn’t really be tattooing actual clients for a long time, but if you can persuade friends to let you once you’re ready, that’s great,” he said.
#10 From Tik Tok, They’re Supposed To Be Ballet Shoes
Image credits: Savannah Knowles
#11 I Don't Have Words
Image credits: Jenna Arr
#12 Local Shop, Poor Gal Only Wanted Linework Silhouette Of Dog Ears
Image credits: Sarah Thompson
David takes a lot of pride in what he does for a living. “Tattooing is a craft, a skill, and should be taught directly from one person to another,” he said that it is not something that should be learned “by a YouTube video or a bs tattoo ‘school’ that only care about your money.”
#13 Why Would You Put The Nose Over The Belly Button
Image credits: Katie Nash
#14 Found This In An Article I Came Across On Here, Can't Remember What It Was About, But How Tf Do You Manage To F*ck This Up That Bad?
Image credits: Heather Achterberg
#15 I Thought It Was Supposed To Be A Pile Of Wood Lmao
Image credits: Angel Burgemeir
Bored Panda was very interested to learn about the dynamic between artists and their customers. David explained that they have a rule that if they’re not 100 percent confident about the tattoo, they don’t do it.
“We’ll try to offer a compromise, but if the client is too rigid, we’ll point them in the direction of another artist. The client is only right in terms of what they like, not how the tattoo can actually be done or will end up looking,” he said.
#16 Sorry But.. The Hair!
Image credits: Ashleigh Bill
#17 Found Here On Facebook
Image credits: Carro Hagen
#18 You Guys Like Playing Hidden Picture Games? The First Hidden Item You See Is Your Next Bad Tattoo
Image credits: Eve Gray
What’s more, the tattoo artist and his staff also draw the line when it comes to certain tattoos. “We won’t do any hateful tattoos—racist, homophonic, sectarian, etc. Those tattoos are bad news, but unfortunately, there are those that will still do them,” he explained.
#19 It's... Lips?
Image credits: Mecca Oliver
#20 Ink Shaming Myself And My Best Bud While He Was Apprenticing. Ps If You Have An Issue With Body Hair On Women You Can Go Fys
Image credits: Ashley Murphy
#21 There Are No Words
Image credits: Erika Payne
Like any other artists and craftsmen out in the wide world, tattooists can make mistakes, too. There’s no such thing as perfection in any craft. It’s best to learn from any mistakes and, most importantly, to learn to control your fear.
“Sometimes, a client will sneeze, or move to answer their phone, meaning the tattoo has an extra line or detail,” David said.
#22 Seen On Ig
Image credits: Therese Enberg Thomes
#23 Ok, I'm Gonna Say This, Only A Real Man Would Rock This With Pride!
Image credits: Reyna Givhan
#24 Found In Another Group I’m In. Sorry If This Is Yours. I Can Never Get My Head Around How An Artist Can Make A Spelling Error In The Stencil And Not Catch It
Image credits: Caitlyn Reneé
“The important thing is not to panic (and not to panic the client). Take a few minutes and work out how to deal with the mistake—maybe add an extra detail, darken up some shading. Nine times out of ten, you can correct an issue. Stay cool and work it out!”
#25 I Finally Found One. Sorry If This Is Yours, But, Poor Michael Deserves Better
Image credits: Amy Elizabeth
#26 Found This In A Scorpio Astrology Group. All I Gotta Say Is The Lips Are One Of The Worst Parts
Image credits: Lexi Rolle
#27 It’s A Twilight Tattoo
Image credits: Ashley Huff
#28 Why?
Image credits: Sunshine Tibbs
#29 Can’t Hate On This One, It’s Such A Sweet Concept. But I’m Angry For This Person Who Didn’t Get Nicer Results
Image credits: Basil McCabe
#30 Is It A Gummy Bear Or A Ninja Turtle
Image credits: Davis Jason
#31 She Overpaid
Image credits: Dustin Roberts
#32 Found In The Wild. Kitchen Tattoos Are A Nope
Image credits: Debra Duncan
#33 Somebody On My Page Just Posted This, Yikes
Image credits: Ralphy Vega
#34 I Really Can’t… Saw On My Timeline
Image credits: Hannah Marie
#35 Saw This On A Cop Show Last Night And It Looks Like It Belongs Here
Image credits: Kassilia Elaine
#36 I Don’t Know What That Purple Blob Is, But An Iris It Is Not.
Image credits: Kaley Montgomery
#37 And They Say Australia Has No Culture
Image credits: Kailee Orr
#38 Found In Another Group
Image credits: Ximena AD
#39 Nailed It?
Image credits: Darren Yates
#40 I Feel Awful Because I Think It’s Supposed To Be A Memorial? But I Really Had To Triple Check To See If One Of My Facebook Friends Really Posted This Or If It Was This Group
Image credits: Amiah Michele Weitzel
#41 How Do We Feel? My Sister Did This One. Its Not Her Best. She Does Have Some Pretty Nice Ones Shes Done But This One, Well. This One
Image credits: Allison Williams
#42 Oh No
Image credits: Rosalie Fry
#43 Rembeber Me …..
Image credits: Heidi Anne
#44 I Was Told By The Artist He Could Do Watercolors Effect. This Is How That Turned Out
Image credits: Tiffany Hill
#45 Jesus Would've Wept
Image credits: Toby Poyser
#46 And This Was The Day I Had To Disown My Mother. It's Suppose To Be A "Gear" For Our Last Name
Image credits: Kerry Gears
#47 What Cover Up???
Image credits: Ashleigh Webb
#48 Absolutely Horrid
Image credits: Jas Stobbs
#49 Lisa Has Lost It!!
Image credits: Brian J. Snoderly
#50 I Found One. Posted By A Local Tattoo Artist. Original Ink Done By Someone Else, Final Product Was Their Cover Up Job
Image credits: Group member
#51 Saw This On A Fan Page
Image credits: Julie Barron
#52 Saw The Guy In The Bottom Pic The Other Day At Mcdonalds. I Thought It Was Vin Diesel
Image credits: Kimberly Fowler Vanderlick
#53 The Lil Girl Looks Like A Tube Of Toothpaste
Image credits: Naomi Searson
#54 It's A Light Bulb. Grateful LED
Image credits: Nicole Reis
#55 Oof
Image credits: William Henry York III
#56 Found This Beauty On My Timeline
Image credits: Harley Blackburn
#57 Found In The Wild. Thought It Was This Group At First. Very Unfortunate
Image credits: Bryenna Kump
#58 Apparently Its Taken 2 Sessions And She Has One More Scheduled
Image credits: Ashlea Cavalcante
#59 Posted In A Horror Collectibles Group I'm In
Image credits: Angela Mollé
#60 What In Heck Happened?
Image credits: Anirt Yarit Moquete
#61 I Suggest A Cover Up
Image credits: Leah Noelle
#62 He Killed It Alright
Image credits: Walter Hood
#63 Tattooing In Saudi Arabia Is Illegal And This Person Isn’t Doing Anyone Any Favors. I Have Lost My Mind To “Positive Vips”
Image credits: Hannah Madi
#64 The Hands "That's On Purpose, I Don't Like My Tattoos To Look Clean And Proper, So I Always Ask For Them To Be A Bit Ratty And Worn. Getting A Perfect Replica Or Symmetry Just Bugs Me"
Image credits: Evan Davis
#65 Found This While Scrolling Through A Dating Site!!!
Image credits: Kurtis Gray
#66 A Tattoo Of A Guy From My City, He Has Other Bad Tattoos But Unfortunately There Are No Pics Of Them On Fb
Image credits: Mary Jade
#67 Why…
Image credits: Meghann Daas
#68 Some Rando On Tinder
Image credits: Kasandra Velazquez
#69 Not My Tattoo: Saw This On A Group I’m In. Oh Hell No
Image credits: Shana Callaghan
#70 I Don’t Even Know Where To Start With This One..
Image credits: Logan Gross
#71 It’s Supposed To Be A Tornado. It Looks Like A Colon
Image credits: Garrette Reece
#72 This Guy's Page Is Loaded With Great Gems. Put Years Into His Craft And Does It Ever Show
Image credits: Ryan Harnish
#73 I’m Not Showing Their Face But This Was In A Nightmare Before Christmas Group I’m In And I Just Can’t….
Image credits: Stephanie Booker
#74 I Don't Know Where To Begin
Image credits: Ruth Howard
#75 Moon
Image credits: Jesse Carta
#76 My Friend Saw This On Tinder And Sent This To Me Thought I’d Share It Here And Hear Y’all’s Thoughts … Colors Look Beautiful But Oof. Hope He Loves It
Image credits: Payton Jacobs
#77 A Girl I Know Personally Got This Yesterday And Bragged. I’m Sorry But The Sign Alone Makes This A Bad Tat Imo
Image credits: Audrey Perdue
#78 Found On Twitter
Image credits: Steph Carilo
#79 He Looks More Like "Holy Foomanchu The Cloud God" Rather Than Jesus
Image credits: Marley Wasyluk
#80 The Eyelashes Hurt Me To Look At
Image credits: Flynn D'Arezzo
#81 Cover Up From A Local Spot. Jesus
Image credits: Luke Oldacre
#82 Tsle As Old Os Tine A Sponsored Instagram Post
Image credits: Rose Schlappi
#83 My Boyfriend's Foot Tattoo Of A Pokè Ball - Gotta Catch Em All!! It's Awful
Image credits: Jasmine Kiely Lloyd
#84 Pain
Image credits: Cecelia Rivera
#85 Found In The Wild On Instagram. The Caption Said “I Love My New Tattoo”. I Cant Tell If Theyre Being Real Or Not
Image credits: Dave McWhorter
#86 I'm Crying
Image credits: Dani Muchow
#87 Ool Idea, Bad Execution. I Figured By The Shape It Was A Snake, But I Had To Zoom In To The Head To Figure Out What It Was. Wth Is Up With Those Fangs And Tongue??
#88 It's A Red Hot Mess..found On Tik Tok
Image credits: Laila Sell
#89 Found This One From A Horror Movie Group. I'm Speechless. "Here's Johnynynyny!"
Image credits: Vilma Kortteisto
#90 I Normally Love This Artist…but What The Hell?
Image credits: Macey Shayn
#91 This Was A Pic On One Of My Wife’s Friend Page. She Was Happy As Hell With This
Image credits: Michael Bender
#92 At Least It Detracts From The Fact She Has No Eyebrows
Image credits: Teresa Roberson
#93 I Guess That’s The Cheaper Option To Gynecomastia Surgery. Definitely Takes The Eyes Away From Those Moobs
Image credits: Teresa Roberson
#94 The Hands Will Haunt Me Forever
Image credits: Beth Moles
#95 My Uncle's Jailhouse Tats.....smh
Image credits: Lexi Downing
#96 From A Shop Near Me. It Went Eeeeeeee
Image credits: Jane Lucero
#97 That Looks Embroidered
Image credits: Philip Tarn
#98 Saw This One In My Feed. Someone’s Grandma’s First Tattoo
Image credits: Mirade McGloin
#99 Found In A Bloody Mary Group
Image credits: Tori Anne
#100 Local “Artist” That Everyone Praises For Their Amazing Work Yet All Their Work Is Like This Or Worse. Got Wonder Woman Out Here Like “Take My Strong Hand”
Image credits: Stephanie Savage
#101 This One Made Me Cackle
Image credits: Silvia Mattei
#102 Found This Beauty On Instagram
Image credits: Angelica Madison Miller
#103 Stoppp Lol
Image credits: Stacy Tiffany
#104 Isn't This The Most Realistic Bird You Ever Did See
Image credits: Bex Johnstone-Spayne
#105 Yikes
Image credits: Kyleigh Tompkins
#106 Team Target At Riot Fest Chicago!
Image credits: Michelle Meyers
#107 That Poor Snoot
Image credits: Cassie Ahmann
#108 A Moth Wing Found In Another Group
Image credits: Wolfram Rochner
#109 Imagine Ruining Your Whole Body Like This The More You Look The Worse It Gets
Image credits: Izzy Colarossi
#110 Love Naruto But Wtfff
Image credits: Danielle Link
#111 Not Sure If This Has Been Posted Yet But
Image credits: Casey Smith
#112 Just Gunna Leave This Here Eta: Not My Tattoo
Image credits: Ashley Scott
#113 It Was 40 Dolla
Image credits: Erica Redmond
#114 Ion Kno Man…just Not A Fan…
Image credits: Doee Merino
#115 Local Artist
Image credits: Briahna Hope Rohrbough
#116 I Saw This In A Tattoo Sharing Group And I Just Can't Get Over How Inaccurate The Bones Are!
Image credits: Melissa Lee
#117 Dobbies Seen Some Things He Didn't Need To See
Image credits: Mark Morley
#118 No Words. Seen On Snapchat
Image credits: Natalie Teel
#119 Um. Idk What It Even Is
Image credits: Delaney Bateman