(Summary:

Here tattoo artists share their disappointments, disgust and remorse while doing their job.)

Making a tattoo seems a rewarding and exciting job, but actually it is not. Being a tattoo artist, you know what it takes to live up to a client’s expectations. At every “stroke”, you have to be careful, be precise.

But they have their low times too. Sometimes they fail to deliver to the client’s expectations. Sometimes they are asked to ink private parts. Sometimes they are not paid. They get everything—from kudos to harsh criticism and even physical confrontation.

Here we have rounded up the stories of some tattoo artists to see the flip side of the profession.

Inking Private Part…. the Strangest Thing Ever

“When he took off his jeans, he was wearing a red satin thong that undid at the side. He then expressed that it wasn't just going on his thigh, but also on the side of the ass/hip region. During the session, there was a mild bumhole smell the whole time. He asked me how much I would charge to touch up the tattoo on his penis. I told him $1500. After he left I decided to check out his facebook page and as I went through his pictures, I saw one of his massive collection of anal beads and butt plugs. He may not have been the worst customer I've ever had, but definitely the strangest.”

• Tattoo Artist (cats_are_my_friend) at Reddit

When you’re Alone with a Fainted Client

“I've been tattooing for 3+ years now, and the one that really sticks out at me was a small blonde girl who was lovely and chatty, but as soon as we got a few minutes into lining, she went quiet, completely white and proceeded to faint. I work in my own private, licensed studio alone so I had to just hold her up in the chair til she woke up. Anyway she was fine after that and we managed to finish it, she praised how well I dealt with her and I had a few of her friends come in after that.

• Mylifeforhire at Reddit

Interference from Client’s Friends…

“I absolutely hate it when clients bring friends or partners who silently judge or interfere with the design or tattoo that I'm working on. One such acquaintance only spoke by whispering in the ear of my client with the changes they wanted me to make. Over and over until they had reduced a palm-sized tattoo to the size of a quarter. I had to redraw every time to make it a design that worked at a smaller size. I worked with the client to make the new design that they were excited about... until they showed it to their partner...

And then there was the hour-and-a-half of trying to place this dot of a design on their body... I almost cried at the end of that day.

I wouldn't allow this kind of thing now, but at that moment I was less practiced with wrangling clients and financially motivated to get through that hellscape of a design process.”

• fake_patois

Things Went Wrong Despite Triple Checking…

“Well I'm sitting here waiting for a lady to come in so I can fix a wrong date I put on her. She looked at the stencil before we started, had her triple check everything like I always do, had her boyfriend check it, the works. Got a text this morning saying the year was wrong.

So this has got to be right up there as far as worst experiences go.”

inked_for_life