Inkmaster0345

Guests in general made the show great. Remember flash challenges when they gave tattoos to prisoners and when they designed tattoos for an NFL player with the winner actually giving him the tattoo? Those are such great ideas and gave the show an element its been missing for a while now.

Did then send everyone home in the correct order? I don't think so. Did they get the top 3 in the finale? I'd say yeah. I'll go Tiffer, Teej, Tony. Cleen over Christian. Tiffer seems to have been the anointed one this season. Good edit and high praise from the judges throughout. About 3/4 of the way through the season Christian and the show tried to press the "Tiffer is struggling" story. I never really bought it and always felt he was the best (and felt like the judges thought so too). Teej can do some great work but so much of his greatness comes from his portraiture. He would be a deserving winner, but I think he comes up short. Tony is solid and I actually think he would have a great chance of making it deep in just about any season of Ink Master. I can't think of a single tattoo outside the leopard that was bad. However, he doesn't have the same ceiling that Tiffer or Teej do in my opinion. He'll do something great, I just don't think it will be good enough. Cleen should beat Christian. I would be absolutely shocked if Ink Master sent their de facto mascot home (for the 4th time) without a title. Part of me has always felt that this setup was an excuse to parade Cleen around on stage and finally give him the win Ink Master clearly believes he deserves. We'll see. Assuming Ink Master carries on (I think they should be able to squeeze out another 2-3 seasons at least) I hope we've seen the last of the coach seasons. It's a format that results in fewer tattoos for the viewer and arguably biased judging to keep the teams even.

Can't help but feel like this win was Tim's shining moment before they send him packing next week.

For Amanda to not even get a single elimination vote was pretty shocking. One of the worst tattoos to skate by in quite some time. The reflection wasn't clear, the orb wasn't a circle, the demon wasn't good, and the hand was jacked up. Final 6 and you can't draw a hand correctly? Christian is really annoying I think I've decided that one thing I really dislike about "coach" seasons is that we get so much less of the judges' commentary during the episode prior to the judging. Chris, Oliver, and Dave are a key ingredient to the show and they're losing already limited screen time in exchange for Cleen and Christian's douchey ramblings. In earlier seasons the judges were key characters in the show (Dave getting tattooed, contestants inking Jagermeister logos against Oliver, Japanese day with Chris as a judge) but now they really only pop up to announce the challenge and judge at the end with nothing in between.

Liked Kyle's tattoo more than Amanda's. Give me something dark and bold over something light any day. I thought the "crooked" comments on Kyle's tattoo were overblown as well. Surprised Dave didn't vote for Tim. He's usually consistent in voting for the contestant who least meets the challenge and that was definitely Tim this week. It was a nice tattoo but one branch and one temple don't have anything to do with composition.

The idea of having a jury on a show in which the judges will send home whoever they want anyways has always been hilarious

Turk really annoyed me this episode. Acting like a complete jackass to Christian while he was tattooing only to turn around and tearfully beg Cleen for help during the elimination challenge. Yeah, real tough guy. Also, I don't think he should get a free pass for skipping out on doing a face. You could argue it was "strategic" but to me, it felt more like a struggling artist who desperately wanted to avoid doing the hardest part of the tattoo. It worked out, so good for him I suppose. I wonder how frustrating it is for the network that Cleen keeps protecting Tiffer week after week--depriving the audience of what would probably be the best tattoos. The show seems to be continuing with their shift from style to subject matter for the elimination challenges. Long gone are the days of Japanese, American Traditional, and portrait day challenges. It seems like every week is now " you have to tattoo ________(insert whacky object)". I've also noticed that guest judges are basically non-existent now--used to be a staple of the show so I wonder what caused the change.

What was Christian thinking allowing one of his best artists to create a tattoo that didn't have a background on "nature-scape" day? Is it not standard procedure to at least glance over everyone's tattoo design to make sure there are no glaring flaws? As someone mentioned, besides the octopus color being rushed, it was actually a nice looking tattoo, but in no way did it show any sort of nature. Someone joked that in every season of ink master there is at least one "old guy who's been tattooing 20 years yet still sucks". Turk is mediocre in every way. We're almost halfway through the season and yet I haven't seen a single thing from him that I genuinely enjoyed. Tiffer is killing it. I daresay this is starting to reach Scott Marshall level of domination. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he rips off 3 or 4 more wins before the finale.

it was a gorgeous portrait. And a rare example of when someone in the middle of the pack actually does a great job at what they claim to be good at.

Agreed. I wouldn't risk Tiffer though. If I were Cleen I would have protected Turk, Austin, and Tiffer. Turk and Austin because there's a high chance they'd find the bottom if they tattooed and Tiffer because he's the golden goose of the team. Tony is Cleen's 2nd best player but like you said he's probably good enough to save himself. If Cleen had done that, there's a real chance that Angel (who actually has somewhat of a chance to make the final) would have gone home, thus severely weakening Christian. Tiffer, Tony, Amanda finale? Probably what I'm leaning towards

Not to mention we're 6 episodes in and I legitimately can't remember a single tattoo from half of the cast. When you do flash challenges/team tattoos with only the losing team or members of the losing team doing the elimination tattoo, it seriously cuts down on the overall amount of work we get to see. I don't put any stock in the teamwork argument. I just liked Stacey's tattoo more. Maybe I don't appreciate the biomechanical style but to my eye Stacey's tattoo had a much cleaner look than Austins. How on earth do they get volunteers for these head to head tattoos? What's the sales pitch? A free tattoo by artists voted the worst on their team?

You're correct. I allow myself the right to mess up names until all the cannon fodder has been eliminated ;)

Tiffer is so much better than everyone else right now it's just silly. He did a cleaner piece on someone's foot than half the field could do on someone's back during their best day. JP is that loose tooth that just won't fall out. Every round he advances from this point on should be considered an act of God. Can we get a flash challenge that involves the contestants doing tattoos? Please?

That's one of the points I've been making--this season isn't about crowning a new (and worthy) inkmaster. This season is an excuse to trot Cleen and Christian around one more time and finally give one of them the crown the producers so clearly believe they deserve. You don't need a field of new high-quality artists when the whole season is based on two vets. This is all just an amusing sideshow until Paramount can drop confetti on Cleen and declare him king of tattooing.

My general thought is that the top competitors will navigate pretty much any tattoo and that the bad competitors will screw up just about anything regardless. The skull picks are massively important for the middle tier, IMO.

Dominos...they actually made them do a challenge out of dominos LMAO Anything Christian says the remainder of the season about strategy is null and void after he let one of his own team members do the snake made out of eyes. The judges don't even like it when you do snakes made out of scales. Would've like to see the musical lion tattoo win. A flower made out of gems is infinitely easier by comparison. Pretty sure any artsy kid of the planet could make that design.

Meh. I much prefer style challenges as opposed to subject matter challenges. Looking at 18 clocks gets pretty old really fast. Still hate this format in which past contestants come back to be "coaches". I hated it back when Survivor did it years ago and I hate it now with Ink Master. It's actually worse here because the veterans are in no danger of ever being sent home throughout the season no matter how badly they perform. Cleen or Christian were guaranteed a 50/50 shot at $100k the second they signed up--what kind of urgency is that supposed to create? Actually found some of the tattoos to be pretty good. Makes me excited for when they tattoo objects that I don't find so uninteresting.

Things Ink Master does that make no sense 1) starting with more contestants than will actually qualify for the show--why start with 22 and immediately cut it down to 18? What purpose did those 4 artists serve? We haven't had any time to get to know them so the showdowns don't even provide any drama. 2) ranking the artists on their tattoos and then letting them pick their teams--why not a schoolyard pick by the captains? That's what captains do. This method lends itself to more potential for unbalanced teams. 3) token annoying guy--Austin is an absolute nightmare. Austin, Cleen, and Christian arguing with the kicker of the brothers fighting each other on the couches. Yeah, looks fun 4) offering a 100k cash prize to the winning "coach" who is in no danger of being eliminated at any point during the season. Christian could show up every week, take a dump on the floor and tattoo blindfolded, and at the end he would still get a head to head battle with Cleen for the prize. Sure, they'll come up with some "advantage" for the coach who gets more team members to the finale, but that doesn't change the fact that for the coaches only one tattoo all season truly matters. Cleen is probably the single biggest Ink Master figure on social media and likely pushes ratings better than any other previous contestant. That's why they keep bringing him back again and again. This season feels less like a legitimate competition and more like one last excuse to dip into the Cleen cash cow while paying him back with an Ink Master title. I don't think Christian stands a chance. They aren't going to deny Cleen a 4th time

Despite the fact that I don't care for the season concept, I am super excited (as always) to have IM back. More than anything I'm hoping for more of the classic challenges (traditional, portrait, Japanese, new school, etc.) Would also like to see them bring back more tattoo based flash challenges (not really interested in who the best ice carver is). Looking forward to another fun season. Let the elimination of the cannon fodder commence!

The dragon is definitely rocking the underbite of the century I still can't get over how unreadable that tattoo is. The top and bottom of the tattoo is a complete mess of twists and turns, the dragon claw poking out at the very bottom looks hilariously bad, and even with a close-up, I'm still struggling to find any of that "breathing room" the judges spoke of--that tattoo is wall to wall packed. The ONLY part of the tattoo that I think is cool is how Josh matched the color palette of the guy's right arm tattoos. Gives his body a very cohesive look.

Where do we think Josh ranks on the list of Ink Master Champions? I think it's fair to say that he's behind: DJ, Joey, Scott, and Steve and ahead of: Bubba, Kruseman, and Jason That leaves him somewhere around Anthony and Ryan. I'm not sure where to rank Shane since he won a very different season 1 and hasn't been back So I suppose I would personally have Josh ranked as the 6-7 best Ink Master out of the 11.

Ah good catch. Actually had it at 4 and then changed it to 3. Couldn't remember his team up with Aaron clearly. How could I ever forget the backward thumbs buddha! Cleen and Christian are both really good. However, I agree with what some have said about being fed up with the douchey macho personalities. We're sure to get way too much chest puffing and yelling with those two around for the whole season. When Dave first started to intro a grudge match between rivals my mind actually went to Sausage and Matti. That would be a wayyyyyy more interesting combination for the season and would give them a chance to settle their tie (Sausage edging out Matti for 2nd in season 4 finale, Matti knocking out Sausage in a head to head in season 7). But hey, Cleen V4 will be fun too, right?!

I thought Josh's chest tattoo was an absolute mess. Stand 20 feet away from that thing in person and tell me you can spot and follow all of those animals no problem. Meh. Of the coach's snakes, I really liked DJ's and Steve's. I really wasn't impressed by Anthony's snake at all--looking too thin and weak imo Out of the head tattoos, I preferred Steve's and DJ's. Steve's was really breathable and cool, DJ's was massive and had so many interesting features. Overall I thought that the judges made the correct call in awarding DJ the winner, I would have ranked them 1) DJ 2) Steve 3) Anthony I was more feeling Juan's tattoo compared to the others'. Wish that the contestants had done 2 tattoos rather than the coaches. Of course the show is bringing back Cleen for another season. ROUND 3?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This show will not quit until Cleen finally wins something. I'm not sure what the format is going to be but I already feel bad for Christian because there is no way that the show will deny Cleen again.

As a secondary thought: the competition set itself up for this from the very beginning. Letting the artists "choose" which team they wanted to be on inherently caused a serious misbalance in the distribution of talent this season. It was pretty clear about halfway through the competition that Team Steve didn't have anyone capable of winning--and likely didn't have anybody good enough to reach the finale in a legitimate way. Thus, the only way for each coach to get a competitor in the finale was to look the other way and send Deanna and Jason packing despite the fact that Roly's tattoos were just as bad (if not worse) each time. In hindsight, the coaches should have done a coaches' challenge and then conducted a full schoolyard pick for the teams based on the outcome. Sure the teams would still be a little unbalanced, but at least each coach would be guaranteed one of the top 3 initial artists. Team Steve was doomed from the beginning when the top artists all flocked to Anthony and DJ. Lastly, I see absolutely nothing wrong with Steve not having an artist in the finale. So what, all of Steve's artists were eliminated and therefore Steve doesn't get to call a shot for the finale. He still gets to compete and has a shot at winning regardless. He knew the rules when he signed up. To send an undeserving artist to the finale because you somehow believe that each coach needs a finalist is absurd. If you're going to be afraid of your own rules, then don't make them in the first place.

Rigged elimination. Don't care for the battle royale idea. I assume they were going for something that would provide a more apples to apples comparison instead of doing master canvases again. Meh. Less variety for the audience is always a loss imo. Speaking of variety, shoutout to DJ for making this finale a snakapalooza. 3 battle royales + 3 master tattoos for a total of 6 snakes...no thanks Roly can't win this (not that he should be there anyways)--I don't see him being able to come up with a dynamic and creative enough design to compete with Juan and Josh, no matter how well he applies it. Juan and Josh are pretty close but as mentioned this episode I find Josh to be a more creative artist which I believe lends itself well to a chaotic battle type tattoo.