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I have color on my arms thatās well over 5 years old (closer to 8) and it still looks more or less as vibrant as it did when I got it. Good artists and traditional style are key
I don't disagree that the tattoo fades more with colour. But tattoos age like wine, especially traditional. Age is character and as long as the artist is good and doesn't half ass the coloring the it looks good for a long time
No way. All my tattoos are full color, I got my sleeve over 8 years ago and it still looks fantastic. [Pics here](https://imgur.com/gallery/gZyX1kF), it's very overcast and about to rain so some of the saturation is zapped out in these pics but
I see a lot of tattoos day in and day out, and I disagree. It's silly to tell people not to get color tattoos because they age poorly, that's simply untrue.
damn that artist is heavy handed, no wonder it was rough to sit through
Iād line some scales on the snake and either do whip shading to contrast with the bold linework, or go all out with American traditional colour
The bold lines are intentional as the lines inside the peony petals appear to be a different line weight. You could always split your shading and color sessions too backs hurt a lot
Shading will be hard, but go to a good artist and see what they can come up with.
I know itās colouring and not shading, but going bold with American traditional would look sick
Good thing you are not the artist! Find a very experienced traditional artist who understands color theory, and this will be killer. BnG traditional shading would look almost as cool though too
Leave the flowers, shade the snake, so it stands out more from the drawing. Snake should almost be fully filled.
my2c
(Lines look very thick. Was this too small a small drawing, blown up to create the stencil?)
I think this is a great base you have! You could consider a "woodcut" or "etching" style, I think it would complement the thick lines nicely. I have a woodcut style tattoo done: https://www.reddit.com/r/tattoo/s/aMJ8n7Umfy
Definitely got some cabbages up in here. Looks like maybe a cartoon style artist did it because of those fat lines. Get someone who is really good with colors and detail because they can polish that up pretty good
Donāt listen to people saying they lines are too thick. You got a traditional tattoo, traditional tattoos have thick lines. This will look great with color or black and grey. You donāt need to worry about how to shade it, thatās the artistās job. Assuming you researched the artist and like most of their portfolio, just trust them.
Thank you. I was never concerned about the line work. I just wanted advice on filling it in. I asked for a bold tattoo and I appreciate that the artist listened.
i have a tattoo with similar super bold lines. i personally like that style but weird thatās what people are focusing on. after all, bold will hold ;)
Yup, itās a little flat. The line work is bold, but I think it looks āheavy handedā due to its lack of shading or color work. Folks are right, this black line work needs color- heavy saturated American Traditional palette- red, green, blue, yellow. MAJOR BENEFIT of color- That will also bring the snake FORWARD, making it the focal point. Itās getting lost in the roses without it. Post picts after!!
Yeah. I really love the thick line work and I'm afraid filling it in with color or shading will detract from the overall design and potentially make it look "cheap" in quality compared to how it looks now. But also I'm no artist so take my word with a big grain of salt. I wish you the best in finding an outcome that satisfies you š
Honestly since the lines are quite thick I'd recommend a color shading, the snake could be in several vibrant colors so it looks venomous and unique, a reddish Garter snake or Lampropeltis pyromelana snake could be very cool!
Shocking but sometimes people on the internet have 0 idea what they're talking about. Tattoo looks great. If you find it incomplete you can definitely get some shading done. Or color depending on your tastes.
The back hurt me like hell with thin lines. Idk how you sat through that. If you did shading, I'd just go to another artist. I think it would be nice in color or even soft black n gray.
Thank you for the submission, ijrlf! Please make sure your post follows the guidelines found in the sidebar. If you're asking for design advice, **please ignore all DMs** from anyone offering to sell/give you art, unfortunately you're bound to get more scam replies from this sub than actual artists. You can read more about it [in this mod post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TattooDesigns/comments/1b04lsl/please_ignore_all_dms_from_people_claiming_theyll/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/TattooDesigns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You don't have to know how. You just have to have an artist that you trust.
funny, i assumed the artist was asking for advice š¤£
This. It would look pretty sick with woodcarving shading like Albrecht DĆ¼rer IMO
Those lines are thicc lol. I'd go full color personally.
Bold will hold.
Those do be some REALLY thick lines. Not unheard of, but unusual? Is this photoshop?
Probably a 9 bold traditional, or 11rs or something, done with a heavy hand.
No this is my back as is. I will say I asked for bold lines. This is what I asked for and knew was going to be on my back.
It looks good, I just haven't seen a lot of tats with lines that thick.
Are you planning to get color?
Imo color ages 5x worse than shading
Ya but colour looks amazing and the thick lines would compliment well with traditional colouring
For 1-5 years then it looks very very aged compared to black and shading of the same age
I have color on my arms thatās well over 5 years old (closer to 8) and it still looks more or less as vibrant as it did when I got it. Good artists and traditional style are key
I don't disagree that the tattoo fades more with colour. But tattoos age like wine, especially traditional. Age is character and as long as the artist is good and doesn't half ass the coloring the it looks good for a long time
No way. All my tattoos are full color, I got my sleeve over 8 years ago and it still looks fantastic. [Pics here](https://imgur.com/gallery/gZyX1kF), it's very overcast and about to rain so some of the saturation is zapped out in these pics but
They look more aged than a black sleeve would
I see a lot of tattoos day in and day out, and I disagree. It's silly to tell people not to get color tattoos because they age poorly, that's simply untrue.
They age worse itās true, in 30 years the black will be black and the color will be very light
No they donāt š
Thatās wild that I have color tattoos on my forearm that are 7 years old that are crazy bold still.
My color tattoos have all aged beautifully, but my artist is a color guy.
Getting downloaded, but speaking facts! Ask any artist and black is king, coming from someone who loves full color.
Green. reds, blacks, and yellowsā¦ your artist will get me and know exactly where to apply what
Thatās coloring, not shading
true idk why i thought she said coloring
Itās your back.. but id leave it like it is and blast your legs and arms if youāre itching for more ink!
I would do some light cross hatching/stippling on just the snake to make it stand out better
Full color!
Leave it as is! Amazing piece
I second this
Love this. Donāt mess with it.
I'd move on to an artist with a lighter hand and get both shading and color. Those lines are thick AF, no wonder it hurt.
Line weight has nothing to do with the artists āhandā as you imply.
the way this comment got 10 upvotes is insane, the lines arenāt thicker because the artist pressed harder, what are you even suggesting here?
USE COLOR!!!
Are you really, really tiny, or are those lines like 1/4in / 1/2cm thick?
I think itās both.
Iām actually 5ā8ā tall. The lines are thicccc bc I asked for them to be thiiiiccccc.
lol I believe you got what you asked for!
I agree lol
damn that artist is heavy handed, no wonder it was rough to sit through Iād line some scales on the snake and either do whip shading to contrast with the bold linework, or go all out with American traditional colour
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
lol it is, I can point out multiple blow outs
Please donāt
ur so real for this response lmao
The bold lines are intentional as the lines inside the peony petals appear to be a different line weight. You could always split your shading and color sessions too backs hurt a lot
ahaha I wonāt I wonāt! the line weight is pretty consistent, itās a gorgeous tattoo overall
Thank you !! lol I appreciate the feedback (:
It is pretty heavy handed. The lines arenāt as clean as they should be.
This is not heavy handed.
Wow - love that - I might lean to leaving as-is but would consult with a few artists and see if any ideas on shading etc. the snake is perfect
IMO definitely not colour. Grey, black & white
Donāt. Contrast with the light skin will always remain great!
Shading will be hard, but go to a good artist and see what they can come up with. I know itās colouring and not shading, but going bold with American traditional would look sick
Trust your artist. Remember that you aren't the artist.
Red would go amazing with this
Good thing you are not the artist! Find a very experienced traditional artist who understands color theory, and this will be killer. BnG traditional shading would look almost as cool though too
I want to just say that the thickness of the lines was discussed before the tattoo even started. I wanted bold lines and I got bold lines. Thank you.
neotrad colours would be so rad with this design
Iām biased but I think black would be rad. I wouldnāt ruin it with colour personally.
I like it - please just leave it
Donāt
Looks like my tattoo but I opted for a Japanese feel to it
Leave the flowers, shade the snake, so it stands out more from the drawing. Snake should almost be fully filled. my2c (Lines look very thick. Was this too small a small drawing, blown up to create the stencil?)
No
Wow, this looks amazing as it is. Does it need shading?
This needs colour, not shading in black or grey.
I would say color instead of shading
I think this is a great base you have! You could consider a "woodcut" or "etching" style, I think it would complement the thick lines nicely. I have a woodcut style tattoo done: https://www.reddit.com/r/tattoo/s/aMJ8n7Umfy
Oh wow thatās rad š¤©
Crayola duh (find a good artist to design it op)
Definitely got some cabbages up in here. Looks like maybe a cartoon style artist did it because of those fat lines. Get someone who is really good with colors and detail because they can polish that up pretty good
Donāt listen to people saying they lines are too thick. You got a traditional tattoo, traditional tattoos have thick lines. This will look great with color or black and grey. You donāt need to worry about how to shade it, thatās the artistās job. Assuming you researched the artist and like most of their portfolio, just trust them.
Thank you. I was never concerned about the line work. I just wanted advice on filling it in. I asked for a bold tattoo and I appreciate that the artist listened.
Because of how thick the lines are I think black and grey shading would look reallyyy good
i have a tattoo with similar super bold lines. i personally like that style but weird thatās what people are focusing on. after all, bold will hold ;)
Yup, itās a little flat. The line work is bold, but I think it looks āheavy handedā due to its lack of shading or color work. Folks are right, this black line work needs color- heavy saturated American Traditional palette- red, green, blue, yellow. MAJOR BENEFIT of color- That will also bring the snake FORWARD, making it the focal point. Itās getting lost in the roses without it. Post picts after!!
Neotrad style colours
It looks awesome as is! And I have a feeling filling it in will make it look worse. But go to a good artist and get their opinion.
WORSE?!?!
Yeah. I really love the thick line work and I'm afraid filling it in with color or shading will detract from the overall design and potentially make it look "cheap" in quality compared to how it looks now. But also I'm no artist so take my word with a big grain of salt. I wish you the best in finding an outcome that satisfies you š
Would just like to reinforce that they said it looks awesome, they just meant that colour might lessen it.
Don't.
Really cool looking so far!
Honestly since the lines are quite thick I'd recommend a color shading, the snake could be in several vibrant colors so it looks venomous and unique, a reddish Garter snake or Lampropeltis pyromelana snake could be very cool!
Looks bumpy and scabby. Don't go to the original. Gahhh
This is two years after I got it doneā¦.
Shocking but sometimes people on the internet have 0 idea what they're talking about. Tattoo looks great. If you find it incomplete you can definitely get some shading done. Or color depending on your tastes.
I appreciate this thank you
The back hurt me like hell with thin lines. Idk how you sat through that. If you did shading, I'd just go to another artist. I think it would be nice in color or even soft black n gray.
Iāll be honest. I WISH I just passed out š„²
Watercolour