If you are a part of various social networks there’s a good chance that today you saw this crazy coverup by Tim Beck of Freedom Ink Tattoo Co in Peoria, IL as it went viral today. This isn’t surprising, because most people would assume that you couldn’t do a tattoo this bright — and this light — over solid black. There’s been some debate on how this is going to look healed, with some people saying it’s going to disappear completely, even though Tim swears he’s done others and although they do darken a little, overall he feels that he can successfully tattoo new art over solid black.
Steve Truitt of Ascension in Albuquerquer, who is no stranger to ModBlog had one of those typical “piercer arms” tattooed solid black. However, instead of scarring over it or leaving it all black like many do, he had Roman tattoo a bold biomech piece over the solid black, with no laser removal or other preparation in advance. Here is how it looked right after they tattooed it.
And here it is healed, a month later. As you can see, it did get a bit darker, but overall it is still bright and bold, and you’d never know that it was over black. Now, I should point out one important thing — tattooing over solid black is very different than tattooing over a tattoo image. When it’s solid black, you have a regular canvas — the way the inks combine across the tattoo is going to be consistent, rather than having to compensate for the variations below it. So the counter-intuitive truth may be that in some cases it’s actually easier to tattoo over solid black, rather than doing a “normal” coverup!
Comments
72 responses to “Tattooing colour over black tattoos”
maybe i’m wrong but looking at the biomechanical design, it looks like the lower arm was black and remained that way while the mid-forearm to shoulder had all the actual work completed. i obviously wasn’t there to see it but that’s how it appears. it really looks like nothing was actually covered.
maybe i’m wrong but looking at the biomechanical design, it looks like the lower arm was black and remained that way while the mid-forearm to shoulder had all the actual work completed. i obviously wasn’t there to see it but that’s how it appears. it really looks like nothing was actually covered.
yes i agree, i wasnt there either but it looks like it was solid black, indian ink probably from the elbow to wrist and the bio work done above then blended/faded into the remaining black? maybe it was just a whole messy arm with patchy talons ink tho like my arm. lol cool whatever! amazing what good pigments and machines aswell as technique can do.
yes i agree, i wasnt there either but it looks like it was solid black, indian ink probably from the elbow to wrist and the bio work done above then blended/faded into the remaining black? maybe it was just a whole messy arm with patchy talons ink tho like my arm. lol cool whatever! amazing what good pigments and machines aswell as technique can do.
Awesome…has opened my eyes to what can be possible to cover ups.
Awesome…has opened my eyes to what can be possible to cover ups.
This is awesome. I mean, anyone that understands contrast and color mixing could PROBABLY do this. But the respect factor, for me, comes from how clean and how saturated it is. Look at the Biomech piece, you can clearly see he’s making the colors stick out by really hammering the blacks in and forcing the eye to pick up on the blue tones. And the blue is relatively strong over black anyway, as most artists who do cover-ups probably know already…
This is some bad ass tattoo work, regardless of the wow factor, that client had to have taken a beating.
This is awesome. I mean, anyone that understands contrast and color mixing could PROBABLY do this. But the respect factor, for me, comes from how clean and how saturated it is. Look at the Biomech piece, you can clearly see he’s making the colors stick out by really hammering the blacks in and forcing the eye to pick up on the blue tones. And the blue is relatively strong over black anyway, as most artists who do cover-ups probably know already…
This is some bad ass tattoo work, regardless of the wow factor, that client had to have taken a beating.
can you do this with a white base on dark skin?
you know how colour tattoos don’t really show up well on dark skin, i was wondering if its possible to do this same concept with white under to make the colours pop more.
kind of like when you’re painting a room and need a white base coat first to get the true colour of the room.
can you do this with a white base on dark skin?
you know how colour tattoos don’t really show up well on dark skin, i was wondering if its possible to do this same concept with white under to make the colours pop more.
kind of like when you’re painting a room and need a white base coat first to get the true colour of the room.
Hi there, I have five black coloured stars travelling down my upper arm diagonally.. but I am wanting to get rosses and maybe scrolls over the top. is this possible?
Hi there, I have five black coloured stars travelling down my upper arm diagonally.. but I am wanting to get rosses and maybe scrolls over the top. is this possible?
I wound hope tat artist would share their experiences and techniques to help other artist incorporate style and methodology into their repertoire. It’s also good for the industry like open source is to software.
I wound hope tat artist would share their experiences and techniques to help other artist incorporate style and methodology into their repertoire. It’s also good for the industry like open source is to software.
absolutely fabulous!
absolutely fabulous!
I had no idea this was possible! I’ve been seeing tons of blacked out tattoos over the last year and am thinking this could explain an alternate as to why. I’m already brainstorming some options for my shoulder tattoo too, thanks BME!
I had no idea this was possible! I’ve been seeing tons of blacked out tattoos over the last year and am thinking this could explain an alternate as to why. I’m already brainstorming some options for my shoulder tattoo too, thanks BME!
Hi Guys can any one help i have had SMP done to my scalp and it has gone to dark is there anyway to fade it and make it not look like i am wearing a cap
Hi Guys can any one help i have had SMP done to my scalp and it has gone to dark is there anyway to fade it and make it not look like i am wearing a cap
hi I have a slight dark eagle tattoo on my arm and want it coloured in can this be done over my dark black tattoo
hi I have a slight dark eagle tattoo on my arm and want it coloured in can this be done over my dark black tattoo