It’s such an important distinction to note that no one is saying white artists didn’t work hard to perfect their craft, they were just given an opportunity to show what they’re capable of, something artists of colour don’t always have the luxury of 📣
You must not live in America, it's a free country! Literally ANYONE can make an Instagram account, regardless of race! Saying you don't have that opportunity because of race is a lie, and you are playing the reverse-racism card!
Go to a 'colour' country and say this to the people there where they will rarely, if ever, tattoo white people. I live in a country that is over 80% white, of course tattoo artists have little-no experience with black skin. Celle has never tattoo'd black people so idk why she's even making this video. Until she films herself regularly tattooing black people... avoid.
I've seen tattoo artists on Twitter offer free tattoos for people with darker skin to strengthen their skills and their portfolios. I think that's a great way to do it. Thanks for covering this topic. 📣
Such a great topic. I'm not a tattoo artist - and I don't know the details of what goes into art with skin as the medium. However, it feels strange to me that there seems to be an aversion to refining techniques to make colors appear more vivid and distinct on dark skin. Of course, a darker canvas will require a unique approach than a lighter canvas. Not quite the same, but I think a similar issue was pretty widespread in the make up community - with pigments not being formulated in a way that would let them stand out strongly on darker skin. But since then, techniques and formulations have changed - and many companies embrace this now. Why can't the same be done for tattoos? Thank you Celle!!!
I know it's been a while since you made this comment but I want to weigh in as an artist. A couple of things to consider: 1. Tattoo ink sits in the dermis beneath malinocytes and melanin. It's not like makeup which can be painted on top. 2. Colour is additive. Easy to put in, hard to take out. You know how hard it is to dye black hair colourful? You have to bleach the shit out of it first. It's the same with skin. 3. Contrast. Black on white is more visible than black on brown. What that means is that (maybe) the solution is just to embrace what's unique about dark skin. Will you be able to make vivid colours pop the same as white skin? Probably not. But you can rock super heavy dark lines that would overpower pasty white complexions like mine.
Ink goes beneath the layer of skin that holds melanin. So whatever color you use no matter how vibrant will always be beneath a darker pigment. Some colors do better than others but at the end of the day it just won’t show as well. Tattoos aren’t makeup, they’re not something that goes overtop of your pigment, it’s *in* your skin, and your pigment is going to affect the color of the ink. If that’s upsetting then I feel you but that’s just how it is. There is no “technique” as you say. There’s nothing more you can do aside from bleach your skin which is terrible. Historically speaking this is why a lot of cultures closer to the equator preferred branding and scarification, it creates a much more striking contrast on darker skin rather than black ink.
Thank you for talking about this. I ran into this a lot as a Black woman looking to get a color tattoo, and I live in a major city with no shortage of options in tattoo shops and artists. Fortunately I found an artist of color who was just as eager to show that color work is possible on dark skin and I got a gorgeous piece
As a dark skin tattoo enthusiast I've noticed that professionals who know what they're doing are able to achieve beautiful works of art. One thing that really makes me mad is people justifying an artists lack of expiernece when working with dark skin. Don't people understand how rude it is how demeaning it is to tell someone that their skin is "bad" for tattooing. Being darker skin causes alot of awkward moments in my life. I'm often told that I should just suck it up or get over the fact that the world treats me like second class sometimes. The fact that colored ink that reacts to melanin better hasn't been created yet is mind baffling I hope it is something I can see in my life. If a tattoo artist can't or won't work with darker skin people then they're not a real artist in my eyes :D
I have thought about starting tattoing in the past, part of me wonders if it would be a good idea to make the fake practice skins more accessible in a range of skin tones (since there are plenty that do come in ranges but the average bulk/affordable ones are white). That way they understand the difference in how ink pigments will look depending not just on how dark the skin is but also whether it is warm or cool undertone! I feel like important aspects of the craft like that should be part of the learning process from the start, so there’s no excuse to be ignorant later on
all they mean by not good for tattooing is usually when the skin is to dark it legit will not except color ink no matter how good a artist is . colored ink just works on lighter skin its a fact .as vibrant as ink is it just wont penetrate into super dark skin . you cant force something that wont work or imply anyone is racist because it wont work.
Well laid out, thoughtfully presented, great elocution, super tempo & diction. Just really, really well done all the way around. This should be required viewing for new artists (and experienced ones!). Congratulations on this video, Celeste! 📣
You did a great job digging into this topic. I was recently at a tattoo convention discussing lack of representation on Instagram. Some artists don't even realize it, some artists say they don't know how to fix it. Gonna have this video play on repeat for awhile for the adsense. 📣
I got tattooed a few days ago, I’m mixed with an olive skin tone and I spoke with the artist about how another artist that applied such light pigments that said if I was white, the tattoo would look better and that didn’t sit right with me 📣
As a dark-skinned tattoo enthusiast, this is the reason I have so few tattoos. There are numerous tattoo artists I love on IG and would love to get work from, but I feel like I need to put in the work to determine if their style would potentially work for me because they have nothing similar to my skin tone on their profiles. I only have one tattoo from an artist in London, and she also had no dark skin on her portfolio but she worked in a shop with a black artist so I felt more comfortable approaching her. I expressed my concerns and she said she'd tattooed dark skin before but never showed me any photos, and she also suggested I change one of the colours in my tattoo to a blue - which my research had told me did not heal well on black people. I got the tattoo (which I still love) but I wish I hadn't said yes to that blue as it just looks dark and murky now. She also told me she would post my tattoo on her profile which she never did (and while I understand she doesn't have to post my specific tattoo if she doesn't want to, it's a missed opportunity to post some dark-skinned representation which is so vital to other clients.) Now I live in Asia, I'm back at square one but I'm biting the bullet and going for a tattoo session in about 2 weeks, but I will be sticking to black and grey artists whose work has a lot of empty space so I know their style will at least be legible on my skin.
📣 This is such an important topic. As a fairly tattooed person, it's something that grinds my gears. We need more representation from tattooers to being a part of portfolios and more. Thank you for this content. 💛
I think its really awesoem you are talking about this stuff, as a brown skinned person I don't really worry that a tattooer will say no because of my dark skin, but trying to find if they have experience on darker skin since they never post it anywhere is very hard and a bit of a crap shoot and im always worried that they may not know what they are doing. Starting every request with im dark skinned is a bit tiresome but i know that i could be in trouble if I don't. This video means a lot!📣
I’m currently doing research on tattoos before I get my first and I’m so glad I came across your video. I always noticed this segregation but because I don’t have any tattoos and also haven’t heard enough people talk about it, I assumed I was overreacting. Clearly I’m not. I understand certain people learn a certain way but if this is what you claim you “love to do” then why not expand your talent? If black artist can do both why can’t you ? Either way I realized I don’t want to spend my money on anyone who doesn’t care enough to learn or at least be aware!
I've been enjoying all of your content but this is your best work yet. I hope you're seriously considering getting into tattoo-related journalism professionally because it's so rare to have someone actually dedicated enough to put in this level of research and critique. 📣
That’s what I don’t get about this video, wouldn’t you have in hindsight the artist told you he wasn’t experienced with darker skin and suggested you other artist who were? Forcing people to tattoo people for the sake of “inclusiveness” doesn’t make sense to me, that would be like forcing a American traditionalist specialist to do neo-Japanese or realism. Sure they can get ink on the skin but its not what their good at
I never understood the captain cook tattoo myth, like, there was documented tattoos in europe way before him, there are even tattoo shops open today that are older than him, so tattooing defintiely didn't come to europe from him , they already knew how to tattoo from finding the art form in tandem with other cultures. The lack of POC in those portfolios is a bit wild tbh, also the lack of POC on inkmaster in general is a bit telling about the state of TV. I think offering discounted rates for POC if they aren't confident they are going to do a good job is a great idea, more tattoo artists should do that :) .
This video is hitting some facts I've seen some of the best tattoo artist not being able to do same quality work on darker skin tones so they just avoid doing work on black people
I admire you for taking a stand in the matter of racial disparity in the tattoo industry. This is true in many areas. I follow quite a few artists that are of color and most of them are self-taught. As a tattoo enthusiast of color I also want to add in defense of the "white" tattoo community that the majority of POCs don’t have the affordability to access the majority of these artists. At the same time none of them pursue nor make themselves available to learn how to tattoo POC.
I absolutely love your output in this video, I am relieved that I haven’t experienced any tattoo discrimination. The few tattoo artists that I have worked with were very knowledgeable and were adaptable when discussing ink colors, font, size, & etc. my current artist is so understanding and for that, he’s gained a loyal customer
📣 i agree that there is a underlying racism with current day tattooing. You hit the hammer on the nail with the Ink Master reference and that’s coming as a fan of the show. I don’t think you should call yourself any type of tattoo artist if you refuse/can’t execute your artwork do to the hue of one’s skin. That’s a immediate red flag that you can’t do color and you can’t saturate worth a damn I’m just saying.
The tattoo and piercing work that I’ve wanted done but the simple fact of being Black and Brown Skinned, these places are extremely intimidating and they want you to know that !
I do agree with this topic. I have a good amount of tattoos and I have been tattooed by a filipino, a black, and three white men. Only one of the three white men that have tattooed me have not fuck up my skin. The other two I WOULD NEVER GOT TATTOOED BY THEM AGAIN! They over worked the skin and it took longer to heal from it. It’s sad because I enjoy having color tattoos. I gotten a lot of push back whenever I suggested color tattoos. I understand the colors that would work well my skin and my skin’s undertones. Great video.
Bravo Celeste! 👏👏👏 Great Video per usual. I only go to artist who showcase a variety of skin tones on their page or whom have made an intentional effort to work with people of color by offering free color swatch test tattoos.
This is very good. I live in LA and looked for MONTHS for a tattoo artist. No one puts Black skin in their instagram. Come on guys... How can I see if you can work with my skin color??? I'm looking for clean lines, minimal shading on Black skin, can you do that? I don't see it on your page.
I live on the border of Poland, Denmark and Sweden. You must be fortunate to find PoC here around. So seeing other than bright skin tones is very rare at my place.
I will def say that some tattoo artists will turn away anyone with skintone darker than a paper bag. They just say "tattoos aren't for you". That's why I had to choose a black tattoo artist that's had black clients before, it's a struggle. Also giving discounts to POC will backfire IMMENSELY, wouldn't recommend that as a solution. 📣
Honestly, where I live it's quite uncommon to think about tattoo diversity, since tattoo artist NEVER show work on dark skin, even if they in fact work on people with a diversity of skin shades, so this video was really interesting and educational for me, this problem in my country is never talked about. (Sorry if anywhere I used racism words or phrases, English is my second language)
Curious about your choice of Inkmasters. Why start at 10 and go back? The last season was 13. I'm not saying things would be different if you looked at more recent ones, only curious why you started there.
Great topic, thanks for bringing it up! I didnt even know about the Cook thing; the nerve! I think about the apprenticeship thing a lot... who can leave a job for an unpaid internship with hella upfront costs for a year??????????? lmao systematic racism cracks me up
I’m an award winning professional tattoo artist in Canada. I thought the video was excellent. I do need to point out the fact that apprentice tattooists are not “rich privileged class” . Just like myself when I apprenticed for three years and anyone that I have apprenticed as a tattoo artist, and anyone that I know that is apprenticed as a tattoo artist, to be able to afford to work for free for two years you end up getting a second job ? I don’t understand how that’s not easy to research when that is what everyone does to be able to afford to apprentice in a professional studio . I worked from Noon to 6 PM ( for free seven days a week at a professional tattoo studio , ) and after work I went to my second full time job (from 7pm to 3 AM at a pub) for three entire years to be able to learn what I now know. And if anybody came to my studio and wanted an apprenticeship and didn’t understand that they were going to have to have a second job to pay their bills. I wouldn’t even take them on as an apprentice. That’s like reverse racism right there. You’re being racist to the white people by thinking they’re privileged when they’re actually working like dogs.
Not to say, I didn’t enjoy the video. I thought it was really excellent .except for that part .which wouldn’t have taken much to research ? just ask almost anyone as a professional artist ,what they did to be able to work for free.
Wonderful video, thank you for this information. I used to watch L.A. Ink and Miami Ink, and I noticed the lack of people of color working in their shops, or getting tattooed.
📣 I'm so happy I found this video, I was just thinking abt if I'll ever learn how to tattoo all skin types bc I don't wanna tattoo just a select few, I wanna tattoo everyone!! I'm not a tattoo artist yet and I don't even have an apprenticeship but I'm drawing as much as possible to get there and this really opened my eyes, thankyou!!!
I do think that "mastery" encompasses all aspects of the craft, including canvas tones. They should've made dark canvases a challenge on Ink Master, although it's been cancelled now that would've been a cool talent showcase. Otherwise it's really "Ink Master of certain areas of expertise," not full spectrum mastery as the title implies.
I’m a Mexican from the Ghetto(Watts). Trust me, minorities and people from low income areas have access to education, we do not need handouts or a leg up from anyone. It’s a bit insulting honestly when people assume that minorities can’t be successful or pick themselves up by the bootstraps. (Not attacking you, just giving my thoughts as someone who is on the other side.) Thank you, I love your videos!
Great topic, excellent commentary. One of my work friends who was mixed race loved my (coloured traditional) tattoos and wanted to get some herself experienced alot of ignorant comments and misinformation when getting consultations. She was explicitly told by one artist that “because she was dark she couldn’t get coloured ink.” This is obviously not true, this artist clearly lacked experience and knowledge. I think artists have an obligation to understand basic colour theory and saturation if they’re going to tattoo professionally. Wouldn’t you want to maximize your reach and business by not excluding groups of people simply because you just don’t have the experience?
📣📣 A well thought out and informative video! I can't understand people who are complaining in the comments about this topic other than you have a very limited understanding of race and racism. Ignorant people always exist and all you can do is make an informative and educational video and hope they realize how they perpetuate racism in their daily lives and comments.
✊🏾🇭🇹appreciate it because if we said it some one going take it the wrong way then comment something like was was kangs honestly get tired of the racism on UA-cam sometimes but gotta roll with the punches but this video is amazing 🙏🏾thx
I am a brown skinned mexican man and my tattoo artist is white but he’s told me he loves to tattoo me since i let him have creative freedom as long as they’re in American traditional style
Who better to start work evolving the industry than artists that own the skin they can work with better to inform future generations. Every business should be about inclusivity and it’s just a better practice for business and humanity as a whole. I tried learning a bit about how tones work differently with different skin types but there wasn’t much information readily out there. I think as much as the industry grows in it’s forms it has stagnated around this one because no one is really putting in the effort to evolve. That does need to happen. It would be a beautiful thing for everyone literally and metaphorically. Hoping to see ideas that start in small places like this eventually build into a more rich and diverse artistic future. One thing most people believe around art is that it shouldn’t be suppressed. I’m willing to bet the people in the best positions to change things would agree. I only know one channel with a black tattoo artist at the moment on YT and that’s Xavier Price. People should check him out and promote other artists (and aspiring ones) they know. 📣
My tattoo artists Benny is Hispanic, I’m comfortable with him he’s also like I guess what you could consider more on the famous side. He’s done all my tattoos and a lot of them are almost 6 years old and still look brand new. Soooo if anybody live in SA,TX look up con Safos tattoo studio👌🏻👌🏻
Gr8 topic. My story is opposite to yours, I'm in india now, I have white skin. My friend is indian and I'm helping him set up his tattoo studio in exchange hor a tattoo. He did a blackout on my skin and damaged me because he's never done white skin. And another topic here in india he has hard time being apprentice since the environment is very exclusive and confrontational among tattooers...
Unpopular opinion: I think the 'Lack of Diversity' part is the artist's choice. If I were a tattoo artist it is my choice to choose who I want to tattoo and this choice can made on top of many conditions such as: I could be good in tattooing only lighter skin so I want to protect black folk from getting bad tattoos from me; or I since I'm good at tattooing lighter skin I may want to keep my work quality/results good ; I could just be plain racist and dislike other cultural people. You can't force someone into not being racist and you shouldn't - it's their 'choice'/preference. (p.s. I'm not racist, I'm just giving an example) and etc. Of course the top is a bad business model so I don't condone it. I'm just saying it's not something people should be force into. Let them be narrow minded if that is their choice. I don't think Ink Masters should be even mentioned - it's a reality show and the ink masters there are not real masters. The title ink master is given by the artist's clients. The lack of education is mainly the apprentice's responsibility. If you want to be good at what your doing you shouldn't expect to be fed all the knowledge with a spoon. It's your job to learn how to tattoo anyone and be good at it. If you don't like who's teaching you - find someone else or find a way to teach yourself. Vice versa - before you go to a tattoo artist it is your responsibility to find a person who is good at it. You can't be mad at someone for doing a bad job when you were the one who went to that person. Gatekeeping is bad - true. But again it's your choice to ignore ignorant people and their business die slowly from their poor choice. As long as they can't physical stop you from owning a machine and doing what you want to do their preference shouldn't bother you. Overall I can say that if I were a tattoo artist I would try my best to understand the craft as best as possible to be able to tattoo any skin color. Everyone should be able to tattoo. It's dumb to think a race or individual can't tattoo. That being said if someone is not doing this I think it's dumb to force them into doing something they don't want to - because in that case you become like that same person. Just find and pick a person who's not narrow minded like the artists mentioned in the video... The main part I can agree from your video is the desaturation part. For me digitally editing your images to make the tattoos look better is straight up false advertising which I hate. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk don't even dare talk back to me unless you have arguments which I can consider - buh bye :D 📣 tl;dr: people can chose to be dumb, evil and racist if they want to be. You should not force people to no be like that - instead just encourage better behavior when you see it.
📣 I'm not sure if this is the same emoji since I'm on an android and mine was red vs gold buuut.. thank you for the insight because I've never thought about this. I've only tattooed on 3 canvases, one of them being brown but still in the lighter side. As an aspiring tattoo artist and a minority, I'll be focusing on educating myself in order to be a more inclusive tattoo artist.
They’re from While Odin Sleeps! She’s an artist who is heavily tattooed and takes a lot of inspiration from traditional tattoo motifs when making her art. I was SO SO excited to see her work here :)
Indigenius people werent the only ones tatooing people. Ötzi who died 3300 bc in the alps was tattooed. Bog mummyes millenia old was tattooed. Vikings wore tattoes. It kinda died out in Europe when christianity gained popularity but cook certainly didnt discover it. Civilisations all over the world has practiced tatooing as an artform for thousands of years.
So it might be because of where I live, but in Detroit there is a pretty big amount of black owned and operated tattoo shops So this might just be prevalent with celebrities
I can see that refusing dark customers and refusing to learn skills to have dark customers could be considered racist but it’s not a shop’s fault if black peoples don’t live in their town or don’t walk through the door.
Tattooing was present in Europe way before Captain Cook. The Vikings had a lot of tattoos in the 9th century, even before that in the ancient world, greeks, celts and many other tribal people in the British Isles had tattoos. Early Christians where mentioned to have crosses tattooed on them to show their dedication to the religion. And this is just europe, there are a bunch of examples out there in Asia as well. Tattooing did not originate from Polynesian cultures, it had been present in nearly every culture all across the globe
@@SI-xj5tq googled it, yea there is, some Arabian dude documented trade with “Vikings” and commented about how they had markings from the finger tips to the necks
This comment section is comprised of people who have zero understanding of tattoos. Using inkmaster as any sort of understanding for the tattoo community is like judging all of America by watching Jersey shore. Get your information from an actual artist who's been through a genuine apprenticeship and not a UA-camr or a "Self Taught" Scratcher
im gonna go tell the cookie baker to start makin muffins , the jeep mechanic to learn how to fix an apache helicopter because he is a mechanic and i feel he needs to know how, the pope to renounce religion , spanish restaraunts to serve french food , black canvas painters to paint on white canvas , YESSSSSSSS I WIIIINNNNNN
PS i want my dentist to also be a vetrinarian , my dog feels excluded from the whole experience when he says he doesnt service k9's i mean wtf , my dog has teeth!!!
"[T]attooing did originate by communities of colour." We have absolutely no idea when this practice originated or who was the first group of people to have tattoos. The earliest evidence of tattoos was preserved on a man in the Ötztal Alps who was alive between 3370 and 3100. I'm sure in the future we will find mummies with tattoos far older than Ötzi. Tattoos have been present all around the world in many different cultures as observed on mummies. To go back to your statement, we simply do not know and to claim otherwise is misleading.
I don´t think that the inkmaster quote (I don´t want the dark collored canvases) was really about race. I think it rather was about his art peference and the contrast. It´s like drawing with black on a dark grey paper, there simply isn´t as much constrast as if you would draw on white paper.
There's still a person behind the canvass. Saying something like that is so rude and it only furthers the idea that tattooing darker skin people is "impossible" or "not worth it"
Well, as a latin self taught tattoo artist who started working without the industry 'influence' , I can't help disagreeing with the first part of this video 🤔 Skin is like a canvas, but it already comes with certain pigments you can't take away from it! If we work with darker 'canvases' certain inks will not work at all... Of course, you can and should work with both light and dark skin tones, but inks like pale ones, white, blue, yellow (and so on) will fade away in few months... Therefore, if you want a good lasting tattoo for your client, you can work almost exclusively with black. Which means most of modern tattoo styles are immediately ruled out!! Briefly, yeah, darker skins are not the favorite one of plenty of artists, but it's because unless you're a blackwork enthusiast, your work will disappear in less than a year.
I understand your point of views but let's be realistic. The way the human body works, darker canvases don't hold ink as good as lighter canvases and that's not me being racist at all, I am Arab at the end of the day so I am considered a minority, but it's universally known that no matter how talented the artist and how good the ink, darker skin will lose the vibrancy way faster than lighter skin and and the colors will pop off more on lighter skins due to the nature of the way darker skin breaks down the ink. I don't find artists posting only lighter skin work that insulting because at the end of the day you want to attract the clients when they see the saturation and colors pop off more, it's the way the business work. I hope no one gets insulted by my comment, I just wanted to shed my opinion because I am very interested in the world of tattooing and been studying its history for years.
Um did I just hear her say "give discounts for people of color"? So you want to punish white people for having white skin? Hmmm talk about racism. I probably wouldn't have put that in this video.
Not if you have the skills. just look at NBA players. Or hell, look at me if you like. I went to a real master, one who's tats look great on any skin tone. It's all about color theory and technique.
I’ve been tattooed by a skinhead artist before, and whilst he held a lot extreme views when we discussed politics, he could’ve refused my custom. Not defending or attacking someone who doesn’t share my outlook, it’s just an interesting point to me ‘cos I’m imagining a lot of the white tattooists who don’t accept black/brown clientele are probably stereotypically “woke”; ie - go to the George Floyd rally, listen to Jay-Z, vote Obama etc..
I’m not sure why you’d ever allow a skinhead to even touch you but ok. Also fairly confident skinheads as a whole are a bigger part of the problem than white liberals. Like I’m all for criticizing the way white liberals/progressives fall short on issues of race and racism. But it is so absurd to suggest that right-wing racists or conservatives aren’t a big part of this problem.
@@jabtrack123 : I didn’t seek him out due to him being a skinhead, I didn’t have many options at the time as to where I could get tatted. Also the liberal/conservative argument isn’t black and white, no pun intended. I’d rather watch Apocalypto, a great film about Indigenous communities, albeit made by a filmmaker with questionable views than something like Green Book, which purports to be uplifting to Black people, but is just another liberal white saviour film.
@@jabtrack123 : Also, I’m not suggesting right leaning folk aren’t problematic, if you read my original post I stated that I challenged this dude on a lot of topics, I just found it ironic that someone like him didn’t have a “no Blacks” policy, but the artists who turn down black/brown clients would generally be people who would likely regard themselves as progressives.
@@richbarrett6380 Ok I think you missed my point because you’re literally just making up the fact that the artists who mainly turn down poc are progressive. You literally don’t know that
It’s such an important distinction to note that no one is saying white artists didn’t work hard to perfect their craft, they were just given an opportunity to show what they’re capable of, something artists of colour don’t always have the luxury of 📣
You must not live in America, it's a free country! Literally ANYONE can make an Instagram account, regardless of race! Saying you don't have that opportunity because of race is a lie, and you are playing the reverse-racism card!
Go to a 'colour' country and say this to the people there where they will rarely, if ever, tattoo white people. I live in a country that is over 80% white, of course tattoo artists have little-no experience with black skin. Celle has never tattoo'd black people so idk why she's even making this video. Until she films herself regularly tattooing black people... avoid.
Yeah I’m leaving my mentor because she’s racist and it’s 2024 almost 25
I've seen tattoo artists on Twitter offer free tattoos for people with darker skin to strengthen their skills and their portfolios. I think that's a great way to do it. Thanks for covering this topic. 📣
Such a great topic. I'm not a tattoo artist - and I don't know the details of what goes into art with skin as the medium. However, it feels strange to me that there seems to be an aversion to refining techniques to make colors appear more vivid and distinct on dark skin. Of course, a darker canvas will require a unique approach than a lighter canvas.
Not quite the same, but I think a similar issue was pretty widespread in the make up community - with pigments not being formulated in a way that would let them stand out strongly on darker skin. But since then, techniques and formulations have changed - and many companies embrace this now. Why can't the same be done for tattoos?
Thank you Celle!!!
I know it's been a while since you made this comment but I want to weigh in as an artist. A couple of things to consider:
1. Tattoo ink sits in the dermis beneath malinocytes and melanin. It's not like makeup which can be painted on top.
2. Colour is additive. Easy to put in, hard to take out. You know how hard it is to dye black hair colourful? You have to bleach the shit out of it first. It's the same with skin.
3. Contrast. Black on white is more visible than black on brown.
What that means is that (maybe) the solution is just to embrace what's unique about dark skin. Will you be able to make vivid colours pop the same as white skin? Probably not. But you can rock super heavy dark lines that would overpower pasty white complexions like mine.
Oh, come to think of it, exactly like Anderson Luna from this video. They've found a style that works fucking b e a u t i f u l l y with black skin.
Ink goes beneath the layer of skin that holds melanin. So whatever color you use no matter how vibrant will always be beneath a darker pigment. Some colors do better than others but at the end of the day it just won’t show as well.
Tattoos aren’t makeup, they’re not something that goes overtop of your pigment, it’s *in* your skin, and your pigment is going to affect the color of the ink. If that’s upsetting then I feel you but that’s just how it is. There is no “technique” as you say.
There’s nothing more you can do aside from bleach your skin which is terrible.
Historically speaking this is why a lot of cultures closer to the equator preferred branding and scarification, it creates a much more striking contrast on darker skin rather than black ink.
Thank you for talking about this. I ran into this a lot as a Black woman looking to get a color tattoo, and I live in a major city with no shortage of options in tattoo shops and artists. Fortunately I found an artist of color who was just as eager to show that color work is possible on dark skin and I got a gorgeous piece
I love hearing this. Im looking for an artist of color who does color tattoos. May I ask what city the artist works out of and do they have an IG?
As a dark skin tattoo enthusiast I've noticed that professionals who know what they're doing are able to achieve beautiful works of art. One thing that really makes me mad is people justifying an artists lack of expiernece when working with dark skin. Don't people understand how rude it is how demeaning it is to tell someone that their skin is "bad" for tattooing. Being darker skin causes alot of awkward moments in my life. I'm often told that I should just suck it up or get over the fact that the world treats me like second class sometimes. The fact that colored ink that reacts to melanin better hasn't been created yet is mind baffling I hope it is something I can see in my life. If a tattoo artist can't or won't work with darker skin people then they're not a real artist in my eyes :D
I have thought about starting tattoing in the past, part of me wonders if it would be a good idea to make the fake practice skins more accessible in a range of skin tones (since there are plenty that do come in ranges but the average bulk/affordable ones are white). That way they understand the difference in how ink pigments will look depending not just on how dark the skin is but also whether it is warm or cool undertone! I feel like important aspects of the craft like that should be part of the learning process from the start, so there’s no excuse to be ignorant later on
Not only that ,but those tattoo artists admit they are not masters of the craft and willfully cripple themselves on not wanting to learn.
all they mean by not good for tattooing is usually when the skin is to dark it legit will not except color ink no matter how good a artist is . colored ink just works on lighter skin its a fact .as vibrant as ink is it just wont penetrate into super dark skin . you cant force something that wont work or imply anyone is racist because it wont work.
Well laid out, thoughtfully presented, great elocution, super tempo & diction. Just really, really well done all the way around. This should be required viewing for new artists (and experienced ones!). Congratulations on this video, Celeste! 📣
Thank you so much that’s really kind to say I appreciate that so much !! 🤗🤗
Polynesian tattoo artist here - you nailed this video. Thank you for amplifying this issue!
You did a great job digging into this topic. I was recently at a tattoo convention discussing lack of representation on Instagram. Some artists don't even realize it, some artists say they don't know how to fix it. Gonna have this video play on repeat for awhile for the adsense. 📣
Thank you !! 💛
I got tattooed a few days ago, I’m mixed with an olive skin tone and I spoke with the artist about how another artist that applied such light pigments that said if I was white, the tattoo would look better and that didn’t sit right with me 📣
As a dark-skinned tattoo enthusiast, this is the reason I have so few tattoos. There are numerous tattoo artists I love on IG and would love to get work from, but I feel like I need to put in the work to determine if their style would potentially work for me because they have nothing similar to my skin tone on their profiles. I only have one tattoo from an artist in London, and she also had no dark skin on her portfolio but she worked in a shop with a black artist so I felt more comfortable approaching her. I expressed my concerns and she said she'd tattooed dark skin before but never showed me any photos, and she also suggested I change one of the colours in my tattoo to a blue - which my research had told me did not heal well on black people. I got the tattoo (which I still love) but I wish I hadn't said yes to that blue as it just looks dark and murky now. She also told me she would post my tattoo on her profile which she never did (and while I understand she doesn't have to post my specific tattoo if she doesn't want to, it's a missed opportunity to post some dark-skinned representation which is so vital to other clients.) Now I live in Asia, I'm back at square one but I'm biting the bullet and going for a tattoo session in about 2 weeks, but I will be sticking to black and grey artists whose work has a lot of empty space so I know their style will at least be legible on my skin.
📣 This is such an important topic. As a fairly tattooed person, it's something that grinds my gears. We need more representation from tattooers to being a part of portfolios and more. Thank you for this content. 💛
I think its really awesoem you are talking about this stuff, as a brown skinned person I don't really worry that a tattooer will say no because of my dark skin, but trying to find if they have experience on darker skin since they never post it anywhere is very hard and a bit of a crap shoot and im always worried that they may not know what they are doing. Starting every request with im dark skinned is a bit tiresome but i know that i could be in trouble if I don't. This video means a lot!📣
I’m currently doing research on tattoos before I get my first and I’m so glad I came across your video. I always noticed this segregation but because I don’t have any tattoos and also haven’t heard enough people talk about it, I assumed I was overreacting. Clearly I’m not. I understand certain people learn a certain way but if this is what you claim you “love to do” then why not expand your talent? If black artist can do both why can’t you ? Either way I realized I don’t want to spend my money on anyone who doesn’t care enough to learn or at least be aware!
I've been enjoying all of your content but this is your best work yet. I hope you're seriously considering getting into tattoo-related journalism professionally because it's so rare to have someone actually dedicated enough to put in this level of research and critique. 📣
First person to tattoo me didnt know how to tattoo darker skin and scarred my arm, this topic should be talked about more often
Awful! I’m so sorry that happened to you :(
@@nickyodujirin its cool i learned a lot from that, i do my research now
That’s what I don’t get about this video, wouldn’t you have in hindsight the artist told you he wasn’t experienced with darker skin and suggested you other artist who were? Forcing people to tattoo people for the sake of “inclusiveness” doesn’t make sense to me, that would be like forcing a American traditionalist specialist to do neo-Japanese or realism. Sure they can get ink on the skin but its not what their good at
I never understood the captain cook tattoo myth, like, there was documented tattoos in europe way before him, there are even tattoo shops open today that are older than him, so tattooing defintiely didn't come to europe from him , they already knew how to tattoo from finding the art form in tandem with other cultures.
The lack of POC in those portfolios is a bit wild tbh, also the lack of POC on inkmaster in general is a bit telling about the state of TV. I think offering discounted rates for POC if they aren't confident they are going to do a good job is a great idea, more tattoo artists should do that :) .
Offering discounts to POC clients would backfire SO BAD 😂
As a tattoo artist of color I can go on and on about this subject
I have a question for you what would be the ratio or races that come into the shop?
This video is hitting some facts I've seen some of the best tattoo artist not being able to do same quality work on darker skin tones so they just avoid doing work on black people
I admire you for taking a stand in the matter of racial disparity in the tattoo industry. This is true in many areas. I follow quite a few artists that are of color and most of them are self-taught. As a tattoo enthusiast of color I also want to add in defense of the "white" tattoo community that the majority of POCs don’t have the affordability to access the majority of these artists. At the same time none of them pursue nor make themselves available to learn how to tattoo POC.
“Self taught”
You mean scratcher
@@negativezero8174 if you want to call it that... There are many exceptional professional artists that started out as ”scratchers”
lol
@@negativezero8174 shut up
I absolutely love your output in this video, I am relieved that I haven’t experienced any tattoo discrimination. The few tattoo artists that I have worked with were very knowledgeable and were adaptable when discussing ink colors, font, size, & etc. my current artist is so understanding and for that, he’s gained a loyal customer
📣 i agree that there is a underlying racism with current day tattooing. You hit the hammer on the nail with the Ink Master reference and that’s coming as a fan of the show. I don’t think you should call yourself any type of tattoo artist if you refuse/can’t execute your artwork do to the hue of one’s skin.
That’s a immediate red flag that you can’t do color and you can’t saturate worth a damn I’m just saying.
I honestly don’t see how it’s any different than specializing in certain styles of tattoos and not going out of your style type
You are so thoughtful for covering this topic! Dark skin should definitely be featured more by tattoo artists!
The tattoo and piercing work that I’ve wanted done but the simple fact of being Black and Brown Skinned, these places are extremely intimidating and they want you to know that !
I do agree with this topic. I have a good amount of tattoos and I have been tattooed by a filipino, a black, and three white men. Only one of the three white men that have tattooed me have not fuck up my skin. The other two I WOULD NEVER GOT TATTOOED BY THEM AGAIN! They over worked the skin and it took longer to heal from it. It’s sad because I enjoy having color tattoos. I gotten a lot of push back whenever I suggested color tattoos. I understand the colors that would work well my skin and my skin’s undertones. Great video.
Thank you sincerely for covering this. I just discovered you’re content and I’m subscribing.
I totally agree people of any color deserve a fair chance. artwork is why we are all here.
3:17 i love how you put on the music cause you knew it was gonna be a while 😂
Watched til the end!! Couldn’t find the emoji. This was sooooo good.
Bravo Celeste! 👏👏👏 Great Video per usual. I only go to artist who showcase a variety of skin tones on their page or whom have made an intentional effort to work with people of color by offering free color swatch test tattoos.
This is very good. I live in LA and looked for MONTHS for a tattoo artist. No one puts Black skin in their instagram. Come on guys... How can I see if you can work with my skin color??? I'm looking for clean lines, minimal shading on Black skin, can you do that? I don't see it on your page.
Literally took me 10 second on google to search “ black/Hispanic specialist tattoo artist in LA” came up with several options.
I'm so happy that you shared the black fluidity tattoo club, thank you!
So glad you made this video, this is such an important topic! 📣
I live on the border of Poland, Denmark and Sweden. You must be fortunate to find PoC here around. So seeing other than bright skin tones is very rare at my place.
I will def say that some tattoo artists will turn away anyone with skintone darker than a paper bag. They just say "tattoos aren't for you". That's why I had to choose a black tattoo artist that's had black clients before, it's a struggle. Also giving discounts to POC will backfire IMMENSELY, wouldn't recommend that as a solution. 📣
📣this is such an important topic. Thank you for making this video
Watching on three computers :) I honestly love how tattoos look on dark canvases. Check out the NBA for reference 😎
Great point ! Maybe I’ll do a video on NBA tattoos 🤗💛
Honestly, where I live it's quite uncommon to think about tattoo diversity, since tattoo artist NEVER show work on dark skin, even if they in fact work on people with a diversity of skin shades, so this video was really interesting and educational for me, this problem in my country is never talked about. (Sorry if anywhere I used racism words or phrases, English is my second language)
Curious about your choice of Inkmasters. Why start at 10 and go back? The last season was 13. I'm not saying things would be different if you looked at more recent ones, only curious why you started there.
Great topic, thanks for bringing it up! I didnt even know about the Cook thing; the nerve! I think about the apprenticeship thing a lot... who can leave a job for an unpaid internship with hella upfront costs for a year??????????? lmao systematic racism cracks me up
I’m an award winning professional tattoo artist in Canada. I thought the video was excellent. I do need to point out the fact that apprentice tattooists are not “rich privileged class” . Just like myself when I apprenticed for three years and anyone that I have apprenticed as a tattoo artist, and anyone that I know that is apprenticed as a tattoo artist, to be able to afford to work for free for two years you end up getting a second job ? I don’t understand how that’s not easy to research when that is what everyone does to be able to afford to apprentice in a professional studio .
I worked from Noon to 6 PM ( for free seven days a week at a professional tattoo studio , ) and after work I went to my second full time job (from 7pm to 3 AM at a pub) for three entire years to be able to learn what I now know.
And if anybody came to my studio and wanted an apprenticeship and didn’t understand that they were going to have to have a second job to pay their bills. I wouldn’t even take them on as an apprentice.
That’s like reverse racism right there. You’re being racist to the white people by thinking they’re privileged when they’re actually working like dogs.
Not to say, I didn’t enjoy the video. I thought it was really excellent .except for that part .which wouldn’t have taken much to research ? just ask almost anyone as a professional artist ,what they did to be able to work for free.
She's just so classy and beautiful, so so elegant. She's a true queen
Wonderful video, thank you for this information. I used to watch L.A. Ink and Miami Ink, and I noticed the lack of people of color working in their shops, or getting tattooed.
📣 I'm so happy I found this video, I was just thinking abt if I'll ever learn how to tattoo all skin types bc I don't wanna tattoo just a select few, I wanna tattoo everyone!! I'm not a tattoo artist yet and I don't even have an apprenticeship but I'm drawing as much as possible to get there and this really opened my eyes, thankyou!!!
This was such an interesting and informative video! Thank you for sharing your perspective on the issue and calling out the white fragility
To me doing good tattoos on dark skin show a high level of skill on a tattooer
I do think that "mastery" encompasses all aspects of the craft, including canvas tones.
They should've made dark canvases a challenge on Ink Master, although it's been cancelled now that would've been a cool talent showcase.
Otherwise it's really "Ink Master of certain areas of expertise," not full spectrum mastery as the title implies.
I’m a Mexican from the Ghetto(Watts). Trust me, minorities and people from low income areas have access to education, we do not need handouts or a leg up from anyone. It’s a bit insulting honestly when people assume that minorities can’t be successful or pick themselves up by the bootstraps.
(Not attacking you, just giving my thoughts as someone who is on the other side.)
Thank you, I love your videos!
the little smile after "huge lack of ability" 👀😂
Great topic, excellent commentary. One of my work friends who was mixed race loved my (coloured traditional) tattoos and wanted to get some herself experienced alot of ignorant comments and misinformation when getting consultations. She was explicitly told by one artist that “because she was dark she couldn’t get coloured ink.” This is obviously not true, this artist clearly lacked experience and knowledge. I think artists have an obligation to understand basic colour theory and saturation if they’re going to tattoo professionally. Wouldn’t you want to maximize your reach and business by not excluding groups of people simply because you just don’t have the experience?
I absolutely love this video. Thank you so much for this celle.
📣📣 A well thought out and informative video! I can't understand people who are complaining in the comments about this topic other than you have a very limited understanding of race and racism. Ignorant people always exist and all you can do is make an informative and educational video and hope they realize how they perpetuate racism in their daily lives and comments.
✊🏾🇭🇹appreciate it because if we said it some one going take it the wrong way then comment something like was was kangs honestly get tired of the racism on UA-cam sometimes but gotta roll with the punches but this video is amazing 🙏🏾thx
I am a brown skinned mexican man and my tattoo artist is white but he’s told me he loves to tattoo me since i let him have creative freedom as long as they’re in American traditional style
Who better to start work evolving the industry than artists that own the skin they can work with better to inform future generations. Every business should be about inclusivity and it’s just a better practice for business and humanity as a whole. I tried learning a bit about how tones work differently with different skin types but there wasn’t much information readily out there. I think as much as the industry grows in it’s forms it has stagnated around this one because no one is really putting in the effort to evolve. That does need to happen. It would be a beautiful thing for everyone literally and metaphorically. Hoping to see ideas that start in small places like this eventually build into a more rich and diverse artistic future. One thing most people believe around art is that it shouldn’t be suppressed. I’m willing to bet the people in the best positions to change things would agree.
I only know one channel with a black tattoo artist at the moment on YT and that’s Xavier Price. People should check him out and promote other artists (and aspiring ones) they know. 📣
I'm brown skin and you couldn't tell from the picture my artist took in my forearm.
You only have subscribers that agree with you 🤔
Awesome! Thank you for making this video, it's an important topic. Especially now a days
Very important topic, thank you for speaking out about it!
My tattoo artists Benny is Hispanic, I’m comfortable with him he’s also like I guess what you could consider more on the famous side. He’s done all my tattoos and a lot of them are almost 6 years old and still look brand new. Soooo if anybody live in SA,TX look up con Safos tattoo studio👌🏻👌🏻
This was good af. You ate
📯 This is very informative!!
💯
Gr8 topic. My story is opposite to yours, I'm in india now, I have white skin. My friend is indian and I'm helping him set up his tattoo studio in exchange hor a tattoo. He did a blackout on my skin and damaged me because he's never done white skin. And another topic here in india he has hard time being apprentice since the environment is very exclusive and confrontational among tattooers...
Unpopular opinion:
I think the 'Lack of Diversity' part is the artist's choice.
If I were a tattoo artist it is my choice to choose who I want to tattoo and this choice can made on top of many conditions such as: I could be good in tattooing only lighter skin so I want to protect black folk from getting bad tattoos from me; or I since I'm good at tattooing lighter skin I may want to keep my work quality/results good ; I could just be plain racist and dislike other cultural people. You can't force someone into not being racist and you shouldn't - it's their 'choice'/preference. (p.s. I'm not racist, I'm just giving an example) and etc.
Of course the top is a bad business model so I don't condone it. I'm just saying it's not something people should be force into. Let them be narrow minded if that is their choice.
I don't think Ink Masters should be even mentioned - it's a reality show and the ink masters there are not real masters.
The title ink master is given by the artist's clients.
The lack of education is mainly the apprentice's responsibility. If you want to be good at what your doing you shouldn't expect to be fed all the knowledge with a spoon. It's your job to learn how to tattoo anyone and be good at it. If you don't like who's teaching you - find someone else or find a way to teach yourself.
Vice versa - before you go to a tattoo artist it is your responsibility to find a person who is good at it. You can't be mad at someone for doing a bad job when you were the one who went to that person.
Gatekeeping is bad - true. But again it's your choice to ignore ignorant people and their business die slowly from their poor choice. As long as they can't physical stop you from owning a machine and doing what you want to do their preference shouldn't bother you.
Overall I can say that if I were a tattoo artist I would try my best to understand the craft as best as possible to be able to tattoo any skin color.
Everyone should be able to tattoo. It's dumb to think a race or individual can't tattoo.
That being said if someone is not doing this I think it's dumb to force them into doing something they don't want to - because in that case you become like that same person.
Just find and pick a person who's not narrow minded like the artists mentioned in the video...
The main part I can agree from your video is the desaturation part. For me digitally editing your images to make the tattoos look better is straight up false advertising which I hate.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk don't even dare talk back to me unless you have arguments which I can consider - buh bye :D 📣
tl;dr: people can chose to be dumb, evil and racist if they want to be. You should not force people to no be like that - instead just encourage better behavior when you see it.
Great video!!
guess we need to be more ink-lusive!
I appreciate you talking about this.
Can you please share the company you got your earrings from ❤️
📣 I'm not sure if this is the same emoji since I'm on an android and mine was red vs gold buuut.. thank you for the insight because I've never thought about this. I've only tattooed on 3 canvases, one of them being brown but still in the lighter side. As an aspiring tattoo artist and a minority, I'll be focusing on educating myself in order to be a more inclusive tattoo artist.
Thank you so much for talking about this
great video, celle! 🎺
📣great vid, artists who refuse to tattoo darker skins are just meh, enjoying their comfort zone
is this video old? ink master is way past season 10? but yes
your earrings are gorgeous btw 💞
They’re from While Odin Sleeps! She’s an artist who is heavily tattooed and takes a lot of inspiration from traditional tattoo motifs when making her art. I was SO SO excited to see her work here :)
@@GreenGreda dope!! thank u for letting me know ❤️❤️
Indigenius people werent the only ones tatooing people. Ötzi who died 3300 bc in the alps was tattooed. Bog mummyes millenia old was tattooed. Vikings wore tattoes. It kinda died out in Europe when christianity gained popularity but cook certainly didnt discover it. Civilisations all over the world has practiced tatooing as an artform for thousands of years.
So it might be because of where I live, but in Detroit there is a pretty big amount of black owned and operated tattoo shops
So this might just be prevalent with celebrities
I can see that refusing dark customers and refusing to learn skills to have dark customers could be considered racist but it’s not a shop’s fault if black peoples don’t live in their town or don’t walk through the door.
I’m in love with Ryan Ashley 😻
Tattooing was present in Europe way before Captain Cook. The Vikings had a lot of tattoos in the 9th century, even before that in the ancient world, greeks, celts and many other tribal people in the British Isles had tattoos. Early Christians where mentioned to have crosses tattooed on them to show their dedication to the religion. And this is just europe, there are a bunch of examples out there in Asia as well.
Tattooing did not originate from Polynesian cultures, it had been present in nearly every culture all across the globe
actually no evidence of Vikings ever having tattoo's.
I'm a big viking fan, not sure about the other cultures but just saying :P
@@SI-xj5tq googled it, yea there is, some Arabian dude documented trade with “Vikings” and commented about how they had markings from the finger tips to the necks
Since this video is important, is it possible to have it pinned or something, on your channels starting page? Much love :)
We should all make an effort to support artists of color.
Thank you !
Respect! 📣
As a black artist that went to art school , all I can say is my art wasn’t appreciated or accepted
There is an identical problem in the makeup industry.
This comment section is comprised of people who have zero understanding of tattoos. Using inkmaster as any sort of understanding for the tattoo community is like judging all of America by watching Jersey shore. Get your information from an actual artist who's been through a genuine apprenticeship and not a UA-camr or a "Self Taught" Scratcher
📣📣‼
im gonna go tell the cookie baker to start makin muffins , the jeep mechanic to learn how to fix an apache helicopter because he is a mechanic and i feel he needs to know how, the pope to renounce religion , spanish restaraunts to serve french food , black canvas painters to paint on white canvas , YESSSSSSSS I WIIIINNNNNN
PS i want my dentist to also be a vetrinarian , my dog feels excluded from the whole experience when he says he doesnt service k9's i mean wtf , my dog has teeth!!!
Are you.... are you really comparing black people wanting a tattoo to a dog wanting to be seen by a dentist.....
🎺📣
"[T]attooing did originate by communities of colour." We have absolutely no idea when this practice originated or who was the first group of people to have tattoos. The earliest evidence of tattoos was preserved on a man in the Ötztal Alps who was alive between 3370 and 3100. I'm sure in the future we will find mummies with tattoos far older than Ötzi. Tattoos have been present all around the world in many different cultures as observed on mummies. To go back to your statement, we simply do not know and to claim otherwise is misleading.
Exactly
I don´t think that the inkmaster quote (I don´t want the dark collored canvases) was really about race. I think it rather was about his art peference and the contrast. It´s like drawing with black on a dark grey paper, there simply isn´t as much constrast as if you would draw on white paper.
There's still a person behind the canvass. Saying something like that is so rude and it only furthers the idea that tattooing darker skin people is "impossible" or "not worth it"
The way that person said it, it’s like it’s the persons fault that they have a darker complexion
📣📣📣
Which is crazy knowing that tattoo came mostly from the southern sphere aka Asia, Africa and South America smh
📣
"Cook discovered tattoos" almost every single culture, INCLUDING HIS BEFORE CHRISTIANITY, had a history of tattoos. He didn't discover anything
Well, as a latin self taught tattoo artist who started working without the industry 'influence' , I can't help disagreeing with the first part of this video 🤔
Skin is like a canvas, but it already comes with certain pigments you can't take away from it! If we work with darker 'canvases' certain inks will not work at all... Of course, you can and should work with both light and dark skin tones, but inks like pale ones, white, blue, yellow (and so on) will fade away in few months... Therefore, if you want a good lasting tattoo for your client, you can work almost exclusively with black. Which means most of modern tattoo styles are immediately ruled out!!
Briefly, yeah, darker skins are not the favorite one of plenty of artists, but it's because unless you're a blackwork enthusiast, your work will disappear in less than a year.
Lmao even the scratcher understands what half the comment section doesn't
I understand your point of views but let's be realistic. The way the human body works, darker canvases don't hold ink as good as lighter canvases and that's not me being racist at all, I am Arab at the end of the day so I am considered a minority, but it's universally known that no matter how talented the artist and how good the ink, darker skin will lose the vibrancy way faster than lighter skin and and the colors will pop off more on lighter skins due to the nature of the way darker skin breaks down the ink. I don't find artists posting only lighter skin work that insulting because at the end of the day you want to attract the clients when they see the saturation and colors pop off more, it's the way the business work. I hope no one gets insulted by my comment, I just wanted to shed my opinion because I am very interested in the world of tattooing and been studying its history for years.
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📣📣📢📢
James Withee has a good video going to some depth about what challenges exist tattooing dark skin, and why: ua-cam.com/video/XIj0hfv0NbA/v-deo.html
Um did I just hear her say "give discounts for people of color"? So you want to punish white people for having white skin? Hmmm talk about racism. I probably wouldn't have put that in this video.
It just that black ink is harder to see on Dark Brown or black
Black and Gray always looks dark
Compared to white
Not if you have the skills. just look at NBA players. Or hell, look at me if you like. I went to a real master, one who's tats look great on any skin tone. It's all about color theory and technique.
I’ve been tattooed by a skinhead artist before, and whilst he held a lot extreme views when we discussed politics, he could’ve refused my custom. Not defending or attacking someone who doesn’t share my outlook, it’s just an interesting point to me ‘cos I’m imagining a lot of the white tattooists who don’t accept black/brown clientele are probably stereotypically “woke”; ie - go to the George Floyd rally, listen to Jay-Z, vote Obama etc..
I’m not sure why you’d ever allow a skinhead to even touch you but ok. Also fairly confident skinheads as a whole are a bigger part of the problem than white liberals. Like I’m all for criticizing the way white liberals/progressives fall short on issues of race and racism. But it is so absurd to suggest that right-wing racists or conservatives aren’t a big part of this problem.
@@jabtrack123 : I didn’t seek him out due to him being a skinhead, I didn’t have many options at the time as to where I could get tatted.
Also the liberal/conservative argument isn’t black and white, no pun intended. I’d rather watch Apocalypto, a great film about Indigenous communities, albeit made by a filmmaker with questionable views than something like Green Book, which purports to be uplifting to Black people, but is just another liberal white saviour film.
@@jabtrack123 : Also, I’m not suggesting right leaning folk aren’t problematic, if you read my original post I stated that I challenged this dude on a lot of topics, I just found it ironic that someone like him didn’t have a “no Blacks” policy, but the artists who turn down black/brown clients would generally be people who would likely regard themselves as progressives.
@@richbarrett6380 Ok I think you missed my point because you’re literally just making up the fact that the artists who mainly turn down poc are progressive. You literally don’t know that