To say I hate ChatGPT or AI would be an over exaggeration.
I use it. I use it to help proofread my writing. I miss words, flip-flop words, leave them out entirely, or somehow convince myself I wrote something that isn’t actually there.
No matter how many papers I’ve written, essays, book reports, or general emails, I still struggle to see my own mistakes. ChatGPT has been hugely helpful. It’s a huge relief to have an editor in my pocket.
The ideas are mine. The words are mine. The content is mine. It just helps me with this particular fault that no amount of red pen marks or reading my writing out loud has ever been able to fix.
Why AI Tattoo Designs Can Be a Problem
I know not everyone is able to verbalize what they want or need from a custom tattoo design, illustration, cartoon character, or whatever creative project they’re working on.
Clients might feel at the mercy of a tattoo artist—and maybe at the mercy of what they think is their own limited ability to communicate their idea.
( don’t touch the red button…)
But here’s the thing.
There is something really cool when a client comes to me and hands me a drawing with stick figures or a wonky lump that might be a cat… or a rock… who can really say?
Then they tell me,
“I’m not really an artist, but this is kinda what I’m thinking.”
GREAT!
Literally, perfect.
I can be your artist. I can draw, and I am happy to do it. I’m also excited that you’re trusting me to bring your wonky, lumpy cat-rock to life.
When you bring me your ideas, you’re also bringing your story and your creative energy. All of that helps me understand what you’re looking for far better than a polished AI-generated image ever could.
Before You Ask AI to Design Your Tattoo
I know it’s tempting.
Take your wonky cat rock, feed your story and creative energy into a little text box for ChatGPT to gobble up and regurgitate into an image.
But…
Then I—or any tattoo artist—doesn’t get to hear those initial thoughts.
It skips a crucial step in the creative and collaborative process while also deeply influencing the overall outcome of your tattoo design.
It’s like reading the back of a book to find out how it ends, but having no idea how the story got there.
How I Create a Custom Tattoo Design – No AI needed
Every tattoo artist is different.
But one thing is the same: every artist is making thousands of decisions about size, shape, placement, contrast, balance, color, flow, and more every single time their pencil or pen touches the paper.
After each sketch, re-sketch, adjustment, coloring, and final drawing, all of those little decisions slowly come together into a tattoo design that is uniquely yours.
ChatGPT is making choices too.
But those choices are an aggregate of what it thinks you want to see.
It’s not listening to your ideas while looking at your arm bent at a 90-degree angle, twisting it back and forth with indecision.
Your tattoo artist is.
That step is incredibly important.
I often use Press’n Seal to get a rough idea of the shape and flow of the body before I even start designing. The body matters. The way a tattoo wraps, bends, stretches, and moves matters.
That is something an AI-generated tattoo simply can’t account for.
ChatGPT isn’t doing any of that.
That little robot is sitting in its empty hall of data making Maxwell House coffee with your design.
There’s no cream and sugar.
No steamed milk.
Just the same black coffee everyone else is getting.
Trust Your Tattoo Artist—and Trust Yourself
In this long-winded rant—that may or may not have a few Terminator-style warnings running through my mind…
Trust your tattoo artist.
More importantly, trust yourself.
You know what you want!
You just have to open your mouth, say the words, hand over the wobbly cat drawing, and tell your tattoo artist your ideas.
Those imperfect sketches and awkward explanations are often the most valuable part of the design process.
Hopefully you’ve also done your research and chosen a tattoo artist because you’ve seen their work and connected with it.
If you’ve skipped that step…
Go do some research.
Use ChatGPT for that.
Ask it to help you find tattoo artists in your area, explain different tattoo styles, or point you toward portfolios you might like.
I happen to know one or two artists I like over at Wildwood Tattoos in Manchester, CT…
But I might be a little partial.
Still Don’t know where to start?
Here's another blog that might help
Tattoo Inquiry vs. Consultation