A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Awwwwwwww…. Tiger cubs!

Tattoo by Baldwin at Gate13 Tattoo Studio in Singapore.

Comments

64 responses to “Awwwwwwww…. Tiger cubs!”

  1. Eric Avatar
    Eric

    Now THAT is well done. I love the blue eyed tiger cub. It sticks out. 😀
    All the shading around the tattoo kinda makes her look dirty though.

  2. an0nymous_vamp1re Avatar

    That’s a tattoo?!?!?! It looks more like a skintight shirt!

    Amazing.

  3. Isis pt Avatar

    oh wow so lovely… altough i agree with #1 about the shading

  4. addayak Avatar

    they are really good tigers

  5. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    They’re pretty poorly exectured to be honest. Looks like the artist isn’t comfortable tattoing with large mags.

  6. gillian gamine Avatar

    i don’t like the shading very much. but i do like tiger cubs!

  7. eva Avatar
    eva

    ben, what makes you think the tattoo was poorly executed?

  8. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    Well you can see he’s tried to forget using lines and has attempted to utilise the values of the colours to achieve realism, insted it’s flat and blotchy.
    The tigers faces are off and it looks quite muddy to me.
    You can achieve great realism using large magnums, they can be used to great effect for a soft, washy look. I think the technique is called sfummato(smoke), anyway the artist has tried to employ it (by the looks of it) and has just left a flat muddy image.
    But hey, of course people might like this sort of look, whatever floats your boat.

  9. eva Avatar
    eva

    i do agree about the ”smoke”, it definitely looks muddy, but personally i do like the not-so-clean look of the tigers. but like you said, whatever floats you boat. i do see where you’re coming from though when i took a second look at it.

  10. LotN Avatar

    I like the tigers’ look, too. Looks like a painting…

  11. esmeray Avatar

    cute, def. beats the blue eyed cherry creek tiger cub..

  12. Kelsey Avatar
    Kelsey

    Thats a popular Tiger photo, infact I have the very same portrait hanging on my wall. 😉

  13. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    I like the watercolor look to this. It’s beautiful.

  14. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    I wonder if the cherry blossoms predated the tigers or if they were part of this tattoo?

  15. jess Avatar
    jess

    that’s beautiful.

  16. Smash Avatar
    Smash

    I like it, however i noticed the tiger on the left has a lazy eye… and i agree with the smoke thing, how ever i dont come here to pick apart tattoo’s. I like what they did with the painting and the style of the tattoo suits it and i really like how their is no outline around it, looks kick ass.

  17. iam:washuchan Avatar

    kawaii!!!

    (cute!!!)

  18. Pooey_Fingers Avatar
    Pooey_Fingers

    looks like a stencil painting

  19. ooElaineoo Avatar
    ooElaineoo

    Oh I think this is gorgeous! I love the no outline look, it really looks alive. Very beautiful work!

  20. Paul Avatar
  21. Joanne Avatar
    Joanne

    not my kind of thing at all, but it does look kinda cute now – however I hate to think what it’ll look like a couple years down the line when the ink started to fade and spread, or she put on or lost some weight…

  22. Ebony Avatar
    Ebony

    so cute

  23. chuck Avatar
    chuck

    casually glancing, i’d say this tattoo is decent at best… however with closer inspection, this tattoo is a classic example of a tattoo artist’s attempt at something way out of his capability. the cubs are out of proportion(especially the one on the left, check out its super long paw) and the totally unrequired shading around the focal image makes the piece looks patheticallly dirty. ben’s comments from above have already covered much of the artist’s failure at competency so i ain’t gonna go there. but hey, we all have ur own opinions and it’d be totally great if u dig the work/piece.

  24. xSOPHH Avatar
    xSOPHH

    That is so cute. And a really good tattoo! x]

  25. Baldwin Avatar

    Thanks for all your comments/pointers. I must add in that this is my first attempt at realistic colour stuff and it is definitely not my forte. Anyhow i had fun doing it and i will keep on improvising on my future realistic works. Cheers!

  26. kirstyjeffery Avatar

    I adore the style and the subject matter, what a gorgeous tattoo.

  27. Lilee Avatar
    Lilee

    the cherry blossoms are definitely part of the tattoo. They kind of fringe it. I don’t think they came first.

  28. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    well,you know what they say – Big Cats are Dangerous,but a little pussy won’t hurt anyone!

  29. sistinas Avatar
    sistinas

    i never make commments on modblog ..for fear of sounding like one of those shitty posts that makes the subject of the post feel bad..but this is a friend…i am continualy shocked at how critical (negatively) people are of others work here on modblog.#8,#22,#24…a post is made of an adorable piece made by a newish artist ..with links attached so you can all check their page …and if you had bothered to check the artist’s page and see what they had to say about it ..you would know the piece took a long time to finish..therefore probably not getting the “best” product…if we all judged our own mods with these critiques we would be a very ugly and poorly modded bunch …its cute ..if you want to pick it apart there is a certain tone you can take with it.. “artist’s failure at competency” is pretty harsh ….think before you write.

  30. antares Avatar
    antares

    sistinas, maybe the criticism should have been worded a little less harshly… But bmezine is about education, and I think it’s so important for the people who browse modblog to learn the difference between a good tattoo, and a tattoo that might look impressive from a distance but have lots of major flaws on closer inspection.

    A few years ago, before I started reading bmezine, I might have been floored by this tattoo. I’m very grateful to say that now, I can appreciate a good quality tat, and this tattoo isn’t one of them.

    I think of it this way – I have this tattoo on my body for the rest of my life. I know if there was even just ONE glaring mistake in it, it would bother me forever, and a good artist would do anything to avoid this result. Don’t give me any bullshit about how mistakes are part of art – that’s just what people with poorly executed tattoos say to make themselves feel better.

    A skilled, responsible tattoo artist would never freehand such a huge piece knowing that they’ll be using a difficult technique or style that they’ve never tried before. I’m even less impressed by the casual, careless tone of the artist’s response.

    I agree with Ben and chuck 100%, and the criticism isn’t undeserved. This is someone’s skin, and if you’re going to be leaving your mark on it you’d better know what you’re doing.

  31. antares Avatar
    antares

    Btw, a good artist doesn’t need to make excuses for their work either. Especially not poor excuses. Most large pieces take a while to finish, and many turn out beautifully.

  32. Siren Avatar
    Siren

    I think the tattoo could have been done a little better, I see evidence of shaky hand. However, this is still a beautiful piece and I have seen much worse.

  33. possessed Avatar

    I think it’s pretty cute; it reminds me of those painting-by-number kits you used to get. Which might kind of sound like an insult, but I don’t mean it as one. I like all the colours. 🙂

  34. chuck Avatar
    chuck

    sistinas, the tattoo is out in the open and available for critique/praise. i have chosen the former and i said it as it is and as i feel. i do not see the need to pacify nor placate anybody. if the artist does not wish to have opinions about his work then he shouldn’t have posted it online. but he did. and i give him credit for having the courage in placing his “masterpieces” up for the world’s scrutiny. and like antares said, bmezine is about education. and the comments should educate readers in aspect the artist would conveniently leave out. so what if an artist is ‘new-ish’(in ur words) or whether the tattoo took almost a year to get done… nobody can discredit a good tattoo and likewise, a bad tattoo is ultimately, and remains, bad. get outta the kitchen if u can’t take heat.

  35. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    I don’t think this is a bad tattoo!

  36. Baldwin Avatar

    antares: A skilled, responsible tattoo artist would never freehand such a huge piece knowing that they’ll be using a difficult technique or style that they’ve never tried before. And now when or where did that came from? I have never said that i freehanded this piece and if u like this piece, cool. If u don’t like it, u can just scroll up and look at other pictures instead. No one is forcing u to like it. The bottomline is that my customer is happy and proud with the tatt that i did for her and i think that’s what really matters. Thanks for your harsh replies.

  37. kyss Avatar
    kyss

    if you guys are so good, please appear in some tattoo burst with award and show it to us, we the singaporean artist might not be the greatest, or might not be great, but at least we put it all our effort in every piece we made. and at least we wont feel embarrassed to post every job we did, because thats the only way we can learn when we look back in the past and see how much we have improve. fuck you guys.

  38. kyss Avatar
    kyss

    real bme community people dont discourage each other, they help and encourage each and everybody in this industry, in bmezine. giving bad comment in front of screen doesnt bring you anywhere. if you dont like any tattoo picture, jolly well ignore it. or give some comment to guide and how to improve instead not harsh words. hes done his job by givig his effort and everything. i believe its enough. no art in this world is perfect. just like no one is perfect.

  39. Malice Alice Avatar

    The tattoo doesn’t look bad at all…

  40. WigBendy Avatar
    WigBendy

    I really enjoy the unusual and uncommon style of this tattoo, by design, little experience, or plan, it think it is lovely.

  41. Kelli Avatar
    Kelli

    You know, the only thing I don’t like about this is the grey mess in the background.. and I’m sure that was the request of the client. It just makes her skin look dirty.

    I love love love when people don’t use black outlines.. both in tattoos and other artwork. And I think this looks really nice.

  42. kipp Avatar
    kipp

    comment 39: please produce better english in ur comment. i have to disagree with what you said about singaporean tattoo artists. i do believe that one(as far as i know) is of exquisite standards! check out joseph from visual orgasm. PERFECT freehands, even on full back pieces and realism. check ur facts well, kyss. yout attempt at a comment was really pathetic… and hey, i googled ur name and checked out the tattoos u did up on ur friendster page. here’s my encouragement to you: you suck! hahaha and ur talking bout the right to comment… what an amateur wannabe.
    and to baldwin: ur right. customer satisfaction is what matters most!

  43. antares Avatar
    antares

    Sorry Baldwin, that was my mistake. I assumed it was freehanded due to some out-of-whack proportions and continuity issues. For example, the leftmost tiger’s grotesquely long front paw, and it looks like his left cheek was roughly chopped off – where there should be black/orange fur, there’s just a gap. The gap could easily be corrected, I dunno about the long paw. The middle tiger is my favorite one, and I wish the other two had turned out as nicely.

    kyss, I don’t see how there is any benefit to anybody in withholding criticism. Let’s get something straight – there’s a world of difference between a baseless insult and a criticism with good grounds. So far, everyone who has been critical has been very upfront with their reasoning. Go back to kindergarten if all you want to do is hold hands and pat yourself on the back.

    I don’t agree for one second that anyone should be showered with praise and encouragement simply because they’re “in the industry.” If you’re going to call yourself a professional, expect to be held to professional standards. If you love the industry so much, you should be far more concerned with the reputation of the art as a whole, and about the clients that keep it alive – especially those who are new to the scene and probably don’t know enough to protect themselves.

  44. Impified Avatar

    I think he’s done a great job for his first attempt.nobody’s born to do anything without any training.antares:i suppose u were already flying before you took your baby steps,is it?we aint mutants,even the best artists in the world are constantly learning,and even being the best doesnt mean that their work is flawless.

    “A skilled, responsible tattoo artist would never freehand such a huge piece knowing that they’ll be using a difficult technique or style that they’ve never tried before.”- you think that great artists start off with great tattoos?have they not tested and tried they wouldnt have come this far.

    “I’m even less impressed by the casual, careless tone of the artist’s response.”- how do you expect him to respond?should he sound completely demoralized and dampened by the negative comments?people who dwell on and get affected so easily shouldnt even be an artist.

    you guys should educate yourselves on humanity first before coming here to blabber about something that we dont even know if you’re GREAT at.

  45. chuck Avatar
    chuck

    impified: keep biasness out of this. although ur act of speaking up for ur boyfriend is admirable, we prefer objectivity.

  46. chuck Avatar
    chuck

    i completely agree with antares on the ignorant amatuer kyss. go back to kindergarten. ha-ha-ha.

  47. Gast Avatar
    Gast

    Chuck and Antares, could you post links to better examples of this style of work? I for one would love to be educated on this, and although this work has imperfections, I still don’t see many of the flaws you describe. Could we have some better examples?

    Of course, it would be much better still if these were from your own portfolio (that’s assuming you are artists rather than connaisseurs).

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