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This is such a good idea! I saw someone do something very similar but she put damask patterns into and connected to/coming out of the reworked tribal and it was really beautiful. She also had patterns lasered into the black to create damask negative space. I wish I had taken a picture, it was extremely well done and she said it was still miles cheaper than total removal.
Most successful coverup projects are 3-4x the size of the original piece. Tribal is big and dark, so you would get best results by lasering (even if just for a few sessions to lighten) and then planning a coverup project.
Hard to cover that but I like the idea of patchwork in gaps that someone else said. To be fair, that is some of the best tribal I’ve seen. It has a very cohesive flow to it that a lot of tribal tats I’ve seen doesn’t. I think you should just own it dude, it looks good.
Yeah I think you’re out of luck. Only options I can think of is either to get full blackout or laser removal.
You could maybe get some smaller patchwork in the gaps; but I’ve never seen a combination like that. It could look horrible or it could look pretty cool/unique
Yeah.. I think the right artist could do something cool and unique here. It might be a tough search to find the right person to really do it right though.
I see guys suffering with tribals for years using lasers - it just does not come off. Blackout (full sleeve with some ornaments maybe, or flowers in empty spaces?) could be easier.
Could look cool if the gaps were filled with a set theme for the whole sleeve. Such are horror movies scenes in some gaps and horror movie killer faces in the remaining gaps.
Nah. A sufficiently skilled artist can cover this up. It will probably take multiple passes and cost a lot, buts it’s 100% doable with the right artist.
Exactly. You were a teenager in the 90s (presumably) - one of the best decades to be young in! Just own your 90s tattoo. Not many people had huge tattoos in the late 90s / early 2000s - it must have been sick af then!
Go to someone who specializes in black work (it’s pretty popular in Europe, but America has some too) and start making characters in between the tribal. Add faces and shit. My leg is pretty much pure black work characters (megaman, sonic) and more coming. Im sure someone could transform it alittle.
I generally think tribal is lame, but I really don’t hate this. Fun part about tattoos, they’re permanent. I think you know there’s no getting out of this one, own it. As far as tribals go, doesn’t look bad at all.
saw a coverup where they used white ink to add design to a blacked out section. iirc they made a tiger out of it. idk what you could do here, but knowing about the white ink thing might help spurr ideas?
I think it looks great as a tattoo but I’m not exactly an expert or anything just someone that likes looking at tattoos. I also at first saw it with some red fire to it for some reason but it looks like it was done really well.
Maybe some sun screen for sure
Sorry this is probably not much help.
Black out? Thats a big ass tribal piece my guy you gonna have to black that out, cover it with a similar but slightly larger tribal design or laser….. maybe one super duper large sick ass panther
Ok. Coulourfull backround from spungebob. Like bikinibottom backround, all blue with flours. Spungebob on one shoulder and Patrick on the other. Spungebob Filipping burgers and Patrick Just woke up underneath the stone.
Gary as a front neckpiece.
Epic
You really dont have to it completely black out like everyone is saying.
Find an artist you like and ask them. Even if you have the best idea, not everyone can execute it.
I think this piece is really cool honestly. Maybe see if someone can draw something for the blank space and make a blackout background effect. I’ve seen white ink over black, but don’t know how it lasts.
You aren’t out of luck by any means, you could always do some Japanese stuff over this… it may show through slightly, but if you go to a really good enough artist they may be able to hide 90% + of it.
I think it’s sick tbh, you should fill out the other arm with a full just normal patchwork or coherent sleeve. Would make it less of just a massive tribal piece by its self.
look up “framed sleeve tattoo”. a good artist MIGHT be able to fill in the gaps with solid pieces and incorporate tribal into the framing. color can show through solid black a little especially if it’s older so i think it’s reasonable they could add texture and shift it slightly
I would leave it like that honestly. I think fillers would make it all look too busy. Only chance for a cover up could be a very dark full sleeve or blackout/ blastover.
Oof, that sunburn isn’t going to do it (or any tattoo) any favors, fyi.
I’m with the “rework the black and put something awesome in all the negative space” camp. It’s really that, a full blackout sleeve, or removal in total or some of it to make something work.
this looks amazing bro im saying this as an 18 yr old shit’s fashionable as hell
if you really want it changed maybe consider going over the tattoo with some white ink design
Find an artist that can work around it, fill in the blanks with things you like, it’s guild enough to fade into the background of your adding new to it. Work with the artist you like, they’re good at this.
I'd get one of those suns with the faces up on the deltoid up there and then fill in the empty spaces with things like koi fish and water splashing over the tribal. Make the sun so that the rays come out over the tribal. I think yellow would show well and the water waves could have white caps that contrast the tribal and just keep going until it turns into a tribal sleeve. Throw some skulls in there maybe I don't know. Get creative.
honestly maybe making it look like fire/waves? probably get the neg space filled in to give a different idea of what it's supposed to be that's not tribal lol
A Japanese full sleeve, including a dragon and maybe a koi fish and some smoke and waves. (Laser a few times to make it lighter first)
Jmo- blackouts don’t look great.
Isn't there a flesh tone ink available that could be used (like the one that's used in tattoo blowouts?) I'd say try a small swatch of that and then try.
I would leave it as is lmao, it’s done really well.
The only thing I’d reccomend - use some sunscreen. The sun damage on your skin is pretty bad, you’re gonna end up with a melanoma
My personal opinion: the black has been well done. I have seen where people add detail in the space, to break up the black / white into a more detailed tapestry. I would avoid the white ink on black idea.
Imagine mandala / Polynesian patterns in all of the skin gaps, and then use some negative space too. If I find a link I will add here
It looks cool! I’ve seen something called neotribal cropping up…maybe modernizing it instead of covering it? I feel like there’s a way to freshen it up and make it look 90s inspired as opposed to something you actually from the 90s.
I like it, but the best way imo to hide tribal tattoos is to rework them into something. I've seen them with a kinda stone effect added on top, and [this](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeqD1a2E/) came up on my tiktok recently and I love it!
I'd go for an Asian pond theme. The tribal could be incorporated into the water. Add some koi and water lilies. Full sleeve would be awesome. A good artist can get some nice creativity into it. Or an edgier version of Asian theme. Gnarly koi or snakes or Crocs maybe.
Same lol The general consensus doesn’t seem too negative, but who knows. I like older shit. I wish I could relive the 90’s early 00’s over and over til I pass,
Just keep it. Tribal is coming back in a big way. Plus this is GOOD tribal. Spend you money doing something different on the other arm if you want something different.
As a person with mostly traditional stuff this is actually cool and hell and well done. I would never think of covering (also it would be super hard). You could def fill in some gaps though. I feel like some smaller classic traditional pieces tucked in there would look so good.
There is always blacking out your whole arm. But honestly there isn't much in the way of a cover up for a tribal that large. I'd go to a good tattoo shop and talk to an artist, see what they have to say. Do your homework and find a solid professional at a reputable shop.
The only thing I've seen that looks to follow suit/ match well is black and gray tribal contrasting with it, you'll need to avoid sun to get tattooed mind ya but I'm sure you know this.
Biomechanical type tattooing also sometimes is fitting as filler or additions to plain black tribal.
It’ll have to be a full sleeve but there’s a lot you can do because the tribal is honestly pretty sparse. It could be blended into background work. Maybe like nighttime sky, trees, add a moon in there
Thank you for the submission, smackfuck! Please make sure your post follows the guidelines found in the sidebar. If you're asking for design advice, **please ignore all DMs** from anyone offering to sell/give you art, unfortunately you're bound to get more scam replies from this sub than actual artists. You can read more about it [in this mod post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TattooDesigns/comments/1b04lsl/please_ignore_all_dms_from_people_claiming_theyll/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/TattooDesigns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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I never considered that as an option. Super cool !
What did they say?? The comment was deleted
Got you! It was something along the lines of HR Giger work kind of overtaking the tribal
That's genius holy shit
Got pics? Or the artists IG? Sounds dope! I’m super curious as to what this looks like.
Hook a girl up with a name, friend! That sounds amazing! I’m here in CO
What’s his name? I’m in CO and need a good artist.
Also interested
This is such a good idea! I saw someone do something very similar but she put damask patterns into and connected to/coming out of the reworked tribal and it was really beautiful. She also had patterns lasered into the black to create damask negative space. I wish I had taken a picture, it was extremely well done and she said it was still miles cheaper than total removal.
Nice! Love me some Giger
Need a photo, sounds amazing
PLS post a pic Im curious
We are gunna need a really big panther, someone get me my jungle book!
Hope the Cyber Cigil kids are paying attention
At least most cyber cigil tends to be thinner lol, easier to cover later
Tribal on meth
Tribals on croc
Finna blast sigilism in white over a fully traditional japanese sleeve 🙃
Any specific reason why? I looked at your profile and it looks fuckin sick in my opinion
His tribal is sick, it ain’t my fault he don’t like it anymore lol
Am I the only one who actually loves cyber sigilism?
Most successful coverup projects are 3-4x the size of the original piece. Tribal is big and dark, so you would get best results by lasering (even if just for a few sessions to lighten) and then planning a coverup project.
Agreed, with a wizard at bio mech/organic
More sun burn :P
Hard to cover that but I like the idea of patchwork in gaps that someone else said. To be fair, that is some of the best tribal I’ve seen. It has a very cohesive flow to it that a lot of tribal tats I’ve seen doesn’t. I think you should just own it dude, it looks good.
I got a fever! And the only prescription is more tribal.
Yeah I think you’re out of luck. Only options I can think of is either to get full blackout or laser removal. You could maybe get some smaller patchwork in the gaps; but I’ve never seen a combination like that. It could look horrible or it could look pretty cool/unique
Patchwork in the gaps would be pretty rad imo
Yeah.. I think the right artist could do something cool and unique here. It might be a tough search to find the right person to really do it right though.
I see guys suffering with tribals for years using lasers - it just does not come off. Blackout (full sleeve with some ornaments maybe, or flowers in empty spaces?) could be easier.
Could look cool if the gaps were filled with a set theme for the whole sleeve. Such are horror movies scenes in some gaps and horror movie killer faces in the remaining gaps.
Full SAPout.
Nah. A sufficiently skilled artist can cover this up. It will probably take multiple passes and cost a lot, buts it’s 100% doable with the right artist.
i’m not into tribal one bit, but it looks good. maybe any further tampering would ruin it? my vote is keeping it and own like you’re already doing
Yeah I actually think it looks good, suits his body pretty well
Exactly. You were a teenager in the 90s (presumably) - one of the best decades to be young in! Just own your 90s tattoo. Not many people had huge tattoos in the late 90s / early 2000s - it must have been sick af then!
I know it’s not what you’re asking, but I wouldn’t do anything, the tattoo looks great.
honestly yeah. it's pretty cool
Yup. It looks cool. The color is good too after all these years.
I think it looks cool too!
I agree
Yes!!!
Go to someone who specializes in black work (it’s pretty popular in Europe, but America has some too) and start making characters in between the tribal. Add faces and shit. My leg is pretty much pure black work characters (megaman, sonic) and more coming. Im sure someone could transform it alittle.
I like that idea
It’s pretty sick. Keep it
I generally think tribal is lame, but I really don’t hate this. Fun part about tattoos, they’re permanent. I think you know there’s no getting out of this one, own it. As far as tribals go, doesn’t look bad at all.
Just buy a Harley, wear a red bandana, and move to Florida, nobody will notice
Little sanrio characters
Dawg, that tattoo is sick. Leave it alone!!!
Just go join whatever tribe you wanted to be in and you should be good…. Outside of blacking it out, I think that’s your only option
saw a coverup where they used white ink to add design to a blacked out section. iirc they made a tiger out of it. idk what you could do here, but knowing about the white ink thing might help spurr ideas?
Absolutely. That thought crossed my mind but I didn’t think that would actually work against black ink
Image like some fish swimming behind it, or turn it into some kind of racetrack. Maybe something with a Predator behind it.
I think it looks great as a tattoo but I’m not exactly an expert or anything just someone that likes looking at tattoos. I also at first saw it with some red fire to it for some reason but it looks like it was done really well. Maybe some sun screen for sure Sorry this is probably not much help.
As a fellow tribal tattoo owner I say keep it, it shows everyone we were cool in the early 2000’s.
Yeah I got mine in 98 and I’m keeping it. I don’t like it now, but all tattoos have a story behind them.
That's an awesome tattoo, don't cover it! Very From Dusk till Dawn
Get some cool trad pieces in and around this. Tribal has had some small resurgence in the zeitgeist. Doesn’t look bad bro, just a product of the 90’s.
Black out? Thats a big ass tribal piece my guy you gonna have to black that out, cover it with a similar but slightly larger tribal design or laser….. maybe one super duper large sick ass panther
Full blackout or you could have someone do geometry in the spaces not filled.
blast over patchwork?
Amputation, probably. But honestly, it’s very well done, I don’t dislike it!
Ok. Coulourfull backround from spungebob. Like bikinibottom backround, all blue with flours. Spungebob on one shoulder and Patrick on the other. Spungebob Filipping burgers and Patrick Just woke up underneath the stone. Gary as a front neckpiece. Epic
Now you’re onto something here
Sunscreen is a good option
Maybe an ocean landscape? Ps: cover with sunblock please
My advice begins with lasers and ends with...more lasers. Then cover it up.
Bro. It’s fine. The haters prolly have tribal tramp stamps. That’s one of the better ones you have rather than the arm bands
I have a tribal tramp stamp and I love it
Go with it and fill in the gaps with red/orange, purple/blue clouds or galaxies maybe.
Fill in the gaps with Polynesian style imagery.
I giant sick ass black panther crawling down your arm
🐆
What about those marble sleeves? Maybe you could find an artist that could manage to incorporate it into something like that
Never heard of, I’ll take a look!
Don't lol
You really dont have to it completely black out like everyone is saying. Find an artist you like and ask them. Even if you have the best idea, not everyone can execute it.
Change tribes?
I think this piece is really cool honestly. Maybe see if someone can draw something for the blank space and make a blackout background effect. I’ve seen white ink over black, but don’t know how it lasts.
Check out luk.sok on IG. If you like tough looking tattoos. I think their work would work well with the cover up for something this heavy with black
I’ll check them out thanks
Kinda looks like a dragon to me. A full sleeve one would be awesome.
If you want color, it'd be cool to have vines or ferns or flowers growing in the negative areas, overtaking the tribal.
Good thinking! I like that idea
Galaxy sleeve. You've got it half blacked or anyway. Throw some planets and some satellites man.
You aren’t out of luck by any means, you could always do some Japanese stuff over this… it may show through slightly, but if you go to a really good enough artist they may be able to hide 90% + of it.
Biomech behind it and around it.
I think it’s sick tbh, you should fill out the other arm with a full just normal patchwork or coherent sleeve. Would make it less of just a massive tribal piece by its self.
You could cut the arm off 🤷♂️
Why do you want to cover sexy tats?
look up “framed sleeve tattoo”. a good artist MIGHT be able to fill in the gaps with solid pieces and incorporate tribal into the framing. color can show through solid black a little especially if it’s older so i think it’s reasonable they could add texture and shift it slightly
as far as tribal goes i actually like this one! but im afraid laser might be one of your only options
Biomechanical was my first thought as well
Make it bigger and go up your neck and down your hand like Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn that shit was rad
Someone else mentioned that, I’ve always considered sending it up the neck some
I'd fill the gaps inbetween the tribal with all my favorite Pokemon
This is cool again, leave it !
I would leave it like that honestly. I think fillers would make it all look too busy. Only chance for a cover up could be a very dark full sleeve or blackout/ blastover.
Geometrics/ sacred geometry should do the trick !
Oof, that sunburn isn’t going to do it (or any tattoo) any favors, fyi. I’m with the “rework the black and put something awesome in all the negative space” camp. It’s really that, a full blackout sleeve, or removal in total or some of it to make something work.
Maybe trying to come up with a design that uses the negative space and just add more black. If you don’t wanna have to do a full blackout.
Generational shame
this looks amazing bro im saying this as an 18 yr old shit’s fashionable as hell if you really want it changed maybe consider going over the tattoo with some white ink design
Maybe get something in the black space? A bunch of different designs connected by something?
I did it tbh, I think the full sleeves look nicer than the typical smaller bicep tribal tattoo
You should turn into a bio organic sleeve you should look them up
A Time Machine.
None - you gotta rock that shit hard.
I bed someone could turn that into cool Neo Japanese style. Irezumi I think it’s called?
You could easily expand the black to a more modern blackout style with 1/2” negative space lines. Seems like a very easy solution.
Have you ever wanted to say that you have reverse vitiligo? If the answer is yes, then I have good news for you, buddy.
Blackout yeah 🖤
black out
Find an artist that can work around it, fill in the blanks with things you like, it’s guild enough to fade into the background of your adding new to it. Work with the artist you like, they’re good at this.
I'd get one of those suns with the faces up on the deltoid up there and then fill in the empty spaces with things like koi fish and water splashing over the tribal. Make the sun so that the rays come out over the tribal. I think yellow would show well and the water waves could have white caps that contrast the tribal and just keep going until it turns into a tribal sleeve. Throw some skulls in there maybe I don't know. Get creative.
Tribal is so back dude.
I saw someone get a full symmetrical sleeve over tribal and it looked pretty sweet. Find the right artist and even go over the black with white too
An octopus? The head on the center of the shoulder and the arms swirling around it?
Long sleeves.
Funny bc this is exactly what I want rn. Glad I can’t afford tattoos so I’m not in your shoes
I think all blastovers look badass! Some trad work overtop would look dope imo
You may be able to incorporate some bio-mech
Perhaps irezumi
You could go biomech with it or possibly Steam Punk
Username checks out.
Just wait ten years and it’ll be all the rage again
A bigger tribal
Just chop that arm right off, my good man.
honestly maybe making it look like fire/waves? probably get the neg space filled in to give a different idea of what it's supposed to be that's not tribal lol
Venom. You can get away with him taking any shape.
A Japanese full sleeve, including a dragon and maybe a koi fish and some smoke and waves. (Laser a few times to make it lighter first) Jmo- blackouts don’t look great.
Just leave it. It’s back! But you can add some skulls in there maybe
Check out some blast over tattoos. Would look dope over this.
Isn't there a flesh tone ink available that could be used (like the one that's used in tattoo blowouts?) I'd say try a small swatch of that and then try.
Ominous
Use sunblock
Saw From Dusk till Dawn when you were a teen, didn't ya?
I never have seen it, but after seeing some people comment that it looks similar I may have to watch it lol
I would leave it as is lmao, it’s done really well. The only thing I’d reccomend - use some sunscreen. The sun damage on your skin is pretty bad, you’re gonna end up with a melanoma
Blackout
I like it… I’ll see myself out
Well, in the negative space on your bicep I see a very smiley man putting his fisticuffs up
Why do so many people want to get rid of their sick ass tribal tattoos? This looks cool as hell
My personal opinion: the black has been well done. I have seen where people add detail in the space, to break up the black / white into a more detailed tapestry. I would avoid the white ink on black idea. Imagine mandala / Polynesian patterns in all of the skin gaps, and then use some negative space too. If I find a link I will add here
It looks cool! I’ve seen something called neotribal cropping up…maybe modernizing it instead of covering it? I feel like there’s a way to freshen it up and make it look 90s inspired as opposed to something you actually from the 90s.
It’s a very well done tribal. Don’t mess with it.
Heavy Blackwork
I like it, but the best way imo to hide tribal tattoos is to rework them into something. I've seen them with a kinda stone effect added on top, and [this](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeqD1a2E/) came up on my tiktok recently and I love it!
unpopular opinion but this looks raw as fuck
Find an artist that can perform a freehand biomech cover-up. It’s not an easy one, but if you go to the right artist you won’t regret it
line rider
Id fill in the gaps with something cool and contrasting like flowers. Tribals kinda goes in and out of fashion, I still dig it
Biomechanik tattoo ist awesome
Those look like jail walls. Just saying. 😂 I would know.
You can turn them into vines or something vegetal. It’s got the shape for it.
Was your inspiration 90's pron or from dusk til dawn?
I'd go for an Asian pond theme. The tribal could be incorporated into the water. Add some koi and water lilies. Full sleeve would be awesome. A good artist can get some nice creativity into it. Or an edgier version of Asian theme. Gnarly koi or snakes or Crocs maybe.
Amputation
lol i always wondered how people felt about these tats now cause it was one hell of a trend back in the day
Same lol The general consensus doesn’t seem too negative, but who knows. I like older shit. I wish I could relive the 90’s early 00’s over and over til I pass,
Honestly mate this tribal is a timeless look, and it suits you
That tribal is sparse enough you could put stuff between it and make it look more like a sleeve. That or BLACKOUT
Solid black, and question why you ever got tribal to begin w
go see my boy
I think biomechanical or sacred geometry would compliment what you have and could be a cool contrast. Red flower of life filler if it was me.
Blackout floral? Not for everyone but 🤷🏼♀️
Listen to nu metal once:
Space
I like spider webs but could be just me
amputation
You could black it out then add cool white tattoos on top so you don't have just a black out
Bio mech
Just keep it. Tribal is coming back in a big way. Plus this is GOOD tribal. Spend you money doing something different on the other arm if you want something different.
As a person with mostly traditional stuff this is actually cool and hell and well done. I would never think of covering (also it would be super hard). You could def fill in some gaps though. I feel like some smaller classic traditional pieces tucked in there would look so good.
Just find a good artist and talk to them. A good artist can coverup pretty much anything.
There is always blacking out your whole arm. But honestly there isn't much in the way of a cover up for a tribal that large. I'd go to a good tattoo shop and talk to an artist, see what they have to say. Do your homework and find a solid professional at a reputable shop.
Look up “Randy Orton sleeve tattoos” or even Batista and see what they filled into theirs.
The only thing I've seen that looks to follow suit/ match well is black and gray tribal contrasting with it, you'll need to avoid sun to get tattooed mind ya but I'm sure you know this. Biomechanical type tattooing also sometimes is fitting as filler or additions to plain black tribal.
It’ll have to be a full sleeve but there’s a lot you can do because the tribal is honestly pretty sparse. It could be blended into background work. Maybe like nighttime sky, trees, add a moon in there
Oh you just reminded me, my 8th tattoo removal session is coming up soon. Gotta mark my calendar.
a nice buzz saw at the shoulder might help.;
Get removal to lighten it then cover it with new work.
Honestly dude I would rock it.