A tattoo can be a beautiful way to immortalize an important person, place, or memory. But sometimes, just as it is in life, the best of intentions can sometimes go awry.
Below are 10+ tattoos that desperately needed a cover-up. Have a look and see how these people were able to turn their less than favorable tattoos into something truly remarkable.
A truly transformative cover-up.
This is one of those moments where I wish I’d paid more attention in history class. I can only guess that the image on the left has some kind of cultural or perhaps religious significance?
I don’t have much to say about the giant skull cover-up — I think it speaks for itself.
The moment you realize that you’re in over your head.
I wish I could say that I knew what the image on the left is or at least what it was meant to be.
Clearly, it’s some type of angel but it looks as if whoever began the tattoo quickly realized that they had no idea what they were doing.
Sometimes, all you need is a little touch up.
This is the tattoo equivalent of the first draft versus a final product.
The artist on the right was able to use much of the original, all they had to do was tweak it ever so slightly and expand upon the idea.
A dreadfully disheveled feather gets a much needed makeover.
The feather on the “before side” of the image looks like it belongs to a bird who just flew through a tornado.
How this artist was able to completely tidy everything up and reshape it is beyond me.
What began as an owl is now a cobra.
I have to presume that the image on the left was done in several sittings, with no real purpose or direction in mind — other than to make a sleeve collage.
When that idea went awry, they settled on this truly intimidating and slightly terrifying king cobra.
The tangled webs we weave.
What began as a pegasus trapped in a spider’s web is now a hauntingly beautiful (and gigantic) skull.
Just looking at all of that black shading makes me want to wince as I reach for the bottle of Advil.
An under the sea scene fully restored.
According to Buzzfeed Community member lilladylili, the “Original was supposed to be a[sic] underwater type scene in watercolor and the dude just completely botched it. Had it covered up about 2 months the original.”
Finding your spirit animal.
Taking a look at the original, you can tell that there wasn’t much for the artist to expand upon.
The image of the woman’s face coming out of the mouth of the jaguar is both fierce and symbolic.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
If I had to take a guess as to the symbolism of this cover-up, I’d say that this is a father’s way of telling his daughter that he will be walking with her, hand-in-hand, until the end of time.
What do you think?
Birds of a feather flock together.
This bouquet of flowers is absolutely gorgeous. Aside from the four blue lines, you’d never be able to tell that this was a cover-up job. The color selection really adds an extra layer of life to the entire presentation, too.
Wakanda Forever.
I’m still trying to figure out just exactly what it is that’s at the top of the panther’s head.
Are those supposed to be mountains, and does anyone else see the impression of a face; am I just seeing things?
A true metamorphosis.
I mean this in the nicest way possible, but the original tattoo kind of reminds me of the movie The Silence of the Lambs .
I much prefer the moth to be colored, it’s far less sinister looking.
Thank your lucky stars you found a talented tattoo artist.
I’m no expert but I would have to presume that people with star tattoos, such as this one, keep cover-up artists plenty busy.
The final product is breathtaking and is beyond comparison from the original.
Death becomes him.
The original tattoo design looks as if it was lifted from a children’s horror story.
Whereas the final copy almost possesses a kind of M.C. Esher quality that draws your eye in, closer and closer. It almost looks as if it’s moving.
Go big or go home.
This isn’t just a cover-up — it’s an all-out expansion!
The hummingbird is a nice touch and I love how this artist was able to turn the original flaming sun into the pistil of the flower.
