S07.E12: Turning the Tables

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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The tables are turned on the veterans when the new artists call the shots in the elimination tattoo and finally get their revenge. The battle for a spot the live finale is more intense than ever before.

Edited May 11, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[toodywoody]

Omg, omg, omg, both Christian and Anthony made it to the final three. Cleens's arms on the woman were really misshapen. And James' wolf, I don't even know what to say about it. 

Super happy the two who began the whole season are in the final three.

[azshadowwalker]

Of course Cleen was kept. That was a seriously shitty snake, but there was no way he was going. They've made that obvious from the moment he showed up. 

On the other hand, at least Cleen had to fight longer than any other of the returnees. It wouldn't be cool for James to compete in just a few rounds and still win. 

Kind of coincidental to just happen to have two new guys who got to pick the tattoos vs two returnees. Yeah, right. 

That skeletal woman with breast implants that Cleen tattooed was horrible. He calls himself versatile, and that's what he does with the female form. Boring softcore bullshit. I hate dudes who draw the female form like that. I think it goes deeper than being a shitty artist. It shows something about who he is as a person. Fuck you, Cleen. 

Hate the voting to get into the final two. The skull picks are bad enough. A Survivor jury? Stupid. 

Cleen was delusional when Christian called out his snake. Reminded me of Sarah. He's got his own crazy going on. 

I think either Anthony or Cleen get the viewer vote next week, no matter what they do. Not sure about the peer jury. I think Christian will find it difficult to get into the final two, even though I like his work more than Cleen's. 

[niklj]

Did they even need to have this episode? We already knew that Cleen would stay, from a reality TV perspective, just because James just seemed...there.

And all the tattoos were pretty darn lame. "This is the strongest group we've ever had." "This is the best tattoo of my life."

If that's true, then yeesh.

[zxy556575]

The tattoos weren't stellar but I can't believe how much I'm enjoying this season, especially after a sour start with the whole premise of returning veterans. I've actually been watching the entire show (minus the stew room trash talk) instead of fast-forwarding, which I probably haven't done since season one. So happy for Anthony!! Christian as well, but mostly as another screw you to the veterans.

Is five years of experience really so little? It's not 20 years but the judges make it seem like artists aren't even expected to be good after that amount of time.

[Fallacy]

My favorite tattoo is Anthony's woman by a huge margin, but Christian deserved his spot too. As for James, he made the same mistake he made the first time around, overly complex Japanese tattoo. He should have known to dumb it down and make it super vivid for the judges. Clean's tattoo sucked but I knew he'd get the pass because it had that "sticker" look the judges love, the crisp, sharp, saturated look. 

[Rancide]

I turned off the show once Anthony and Christian made it and we were still only halfway through.  It was obvious at that point that they were going to do a James/Cleen face-off, and since there was no way the judges were going to send Cleen home, I figured I'd save myself 30 minutes and just check out pictures of the final tattoos in the morning.  

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish this show had more guest judges.  Guest judges are annoying on a lot of other shows, but I really feel like something needs to happen to break up the judges' obvious predetermined, lazy, favoritism-based voting and their inability to resist making decisions based on what they already think about the contestants rather than what they see in front of them.

[TattleTeeny]

Anthony's tattoo lady was really pretty but I just could not not notice the super-short arms even before it was mentioned. Now, I suppose there are people out there with short arms--I used to work with a guy who was actually quite cute with short arms--but I assume that was not the goal here. Which brings me to...

I sort of can't get my head around almost portrait-like tattoos of people who are imaginary. I can't articulate why it bugs me--just something about having a realistic image of a person with very specific characteristics...but who isn't anyone in particular. Are they going to have to answer, "Who is that?" for the rest of their lives? Assuming the canvases are single and straight, are their S.O.'s (present or future) going to find it weird, especially if they are small-busted, short-haired girls (I know it's petty, but I feel like I might not love it)? And, ahahhahhaaaa--someday he might run into someone he doesn't know and who looks just like that! 

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I never thought I'd say this, but I wish this show had more guest judges.

Yes. And let it be Rob Zombie again! 

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Clean's tattoo sucked but I knew he'd get the pass because it had that "sticker" look the judges love, the crisp, sharp, saturated look. 

I admit that I am a total sucker for bold saturation and color, along with bold dark outlines*, but I think I preferred Cleen's to James's, even though I also think it was an underwhelming piece of work--especially when one is trying to secure a place in the final three! The mushy, pudgy snake was too "cute" for the rest of the tattoo's vibe**, which while not full-on demonic seemed incongruous with the snake. Plus its head looked almost like a whole different style. James's tattoo looked beautiful...I think; it was like I couldn't see the forest for the trees (or whatever the saying is). There was so much so close together, and that fu dog was just lost in there! And, to me, the color looked a bit washed out.

* My tattooist is great at black and gray and at soft, watercolor styles. But when it's time to make a decision, I almost always go for bold color and solid outlines (and often in the American traditional style). It helps that my skin is super-pale; my tattoos always look pretty new, which is so nice!

** I just thought of something! What if I got a colorful old-school skull and dagger tattoo (I do like getting "cliched" stuff sometimes) but with a super-cute kitten--maybe even with a bow on its neck, haha! Probably not original in the least, but the picture of it in my head makes me so happy!

Edited May 18, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[SunshineSquid]

I got a little nervous when Anthony picked Cleen to go up against. We all know how much the judges like Cleen! It was sad seeing James go, he seems like such a sweet guy. I'm looking forward to the finale. I think it's safe to assume that the peer voting will be split between veteran and newcomer. Since there are 2 newbies in the finale, they split the votes, veteran wins. 

[thewhiteowl]

@SunshineSquid, seems reasonable but I would bet some of the vets are bitter enough to vote for one of the newbies. Sausage, for one. 

Cleen seems to choke at the first blush of real pressure. I guess it's just me but I look at Anthony's work and it seems amateur to me. Not to say he isn't a fine artist because he really is talented but his tattoos just scream inexperience, to me.  

I do think Cleen will choke and one of the newbies will take it.

[psychoticstate]

I am beyond thrilled that Anthony made it to the final three.  Very well deserved victory.  

Between Cleen and James, I really didn't care much for either tattoo.  The size of James' was too big for me although aesthetically I liked it better than Cleen's, even if the colors weren't as vivid and there was too much happening.

I think Christian might get the short end of the stick with the former inktestants voting on who stays.  Anthony didn't seem to rub anyone the wrong way and Cleen does seem to be a fairly well respected artist.  Christian is a newbie and he did get attitude with some.  We shall see.

And yes, Anthony - - he did show that you can be soft spoken and not have to be an asshole to make it to the finale!  

[qtpye]

10 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

That skeletal woman with breast implants that Cleen tattooed was horrible. He calls himself versatile, and that's what he does with the female form. Boring softcore bullshit. I hate dudes who draw the female form like that. I think it goes deeper than being a shitty artist. It shows something about who he is as a person. Fuck you, Cleen. 

Cleen is talented, but I was shocked at how badly he drew the female form.  I thought that art 101 was understanding how to correctly draw the human body.  The face of his tattoo kind of looks like the faces my six year old draws, except her drawings usually have more personality and sparkle.

When he first said he was going to do a beautiful pair of breasts, so no one would notice how bad the tattoo looked, I thought he was joking in a self deprecating type of way.  Then I saw the tattoo which was a giant pair of breasts attached to some skeletal ghost woman that did not even begin to follow the rules of human anatomy.  There was no way that was a good representation of realism.

It was wonderful to see Anthony so excited about his tattoo and showing of his newly learned skills.  I also loved at first he did not want to pick something that would be unfair to Cleen, until the judges told him he needs to be strategic to stay in the competition.  Truly, one of the nicest people to ever compete on this show.

I am actually looking forward to the finale and what these guys can do.  I really hope we see some beautiful tattoos.

Edited May 18, 2016 by qtpye

[TattleTeeny]

I always feel like the finale kind of contradicts what the judges say throughout the season. They harp about "this is an unfinished tattoo!" or "you have to give the client what s/he wants"--when they're not saying, "be true to your vision" that is, or "it's your job to figure out how to deal with difficult canvases." Yet, the finale shows just how important a reasonable amount of time is to creating a quality tattoo, along with being in a lower-pressure environment without competitors in your face. So, while the show-proper claims that tattooists need to be ready for anything--aaahhhhhhh, hurdles lurk around every corner!--the finale says otherwise.

Edited May 18, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Evagirl]

I've always thought the judges shouldn't know who tattooed what.  The only way to be truly fair is for the judges to NOT know who did which tattoo (bad grammar I'm sure, but you get what I'm saying).  Sure it would be easy to pinpoint who tattooed a female or a person of color, but even that could be screened somehow by zooming in on the tattoos for the judges to review.

The judges ALWAYS have a favorite and it has ALWAYS bugged me.  I thought Sausage was a pretty decent artist.  Yeah, he whined a lot, but the guy has talent.  When they had Hugh Jackman on the show and had to do tattoos of Wolverine, I thought Sausage knocked it out of the ballpark.  But he wasn't one of the judges' favorites.

I hate it when shows are rigged like this.  I figured Anthony would be in the final three, so when he picked Cleen, I knew it wasn't going to be a situation where one of them went home.  Showing favoritism takes most the joy out of watching these kinds of shows.  

I hope Anthony wins but even if he doesn't I just home Cleen doesn't win.  His smuggness and cockiness would be more than I can bear.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Evagirl

[Jenkins]

I would love to see the tattoos judged blindly, but doubt it will ever happen.

And once I saw Cleens tattoo, I KNEW he would lose (that tat looked like shit) and I KNEW him and James would be going head to head and Cleen would win (no way in hell they are sending Cleen home like that). Like a poster above I actually deleted the episode and didn't watch the rest at that point.

So no clue what Cleen and James did for their head to head tattoo, but looks like I was right, Cleen won.

I just don't know if Anthony has the experience to beat Cleen head to head when they are doing their own styles. So, unfortunately, I am pretty sure Cleen has this in the bag.

Should have just called the damn show Ink Master: Cleens Redemption.

So from what I am reading there is only going to be a final two? And that will be determined by votes? Well, if Anthony doesn't make it in, I will just shut the show off. He has earned it way more than the other two in my opinion. He has put out great tattoos week in and week out and didn't have to have the judges give him passes based on previous work...

[frogzapper]

4 hours ago, thewhiteowl said:

I guess it's just me but I look at Anthony's work and it seems amateur to me. Not to say he isn't a fine artist because he really is talented but his tattoos just scream inexperience, to me.

I'm not disputing you, but could you point out a couple of things that you find amateurish/inexperienced about Anthony's tattoos? - just for my education :). I'm asking because I've been very impressed with Anthony's tattoos, but I also have a very inexperienced eye for tattoos so I don't always notice the things the judges see. 

As for this week's episode, I thought Anthony's b/w female tattoo was beautiful but I too thought the arms looked a little too short. Cleen's female? Ugh. I'd be embarrassed to be the guy who has to wear that forever. 

I expected better from James and Cleen. I thought James' fu dog was quite pretty, but it was just so hard to see with everything else around it. And I thought the wolf he did against Christian was one of the worst tattoos this season. I agreed with all of the judges' comments on Cleen's snake/dagger/skull tattoo - I really didn't like the eye placement on the snake's head and the overly smooth body and boring small dagger. I was seriously underwhelmed if this was the best tattoo of his life. And overall I've been pretty impressed with Cleen this season, so this was really disappointing.

At any rate, Anthony for the win!

[candall]

I'm watching it now so I can't read the comments yet.

But I'm laughing at how quickly Anthony overcame his reluctance to specify the challenge parameters.  "We'll do this portion of this subject in this color scheme using this preparation."  And she has to look like her name is Judy.

[thewhiteowl]

@frogzapper, it is subjective so it is difficult to pinpoint but has to do with proportion and placement. When the elements are just stacked like the zombie graveyard thing he did, it looks amateurish to me. The proportion of the female he did made her look like a T-rex. Not saying he is any worse than than Cleen who should know better, just my opinion. 

[TattleTeeny]

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 And she has to look like her name is Judy.

I really, really wish that part had happened!

[candall]

Well.

That episode was essentially a primer on "Bad Decisions in Tattoo Design."

 

I guess I'll take Howling Wolf for fifty, Alex.

[Apatee]

I was a little disappointed this week. Glad to see two newcomers in the finale, but I was a little underwhelmed with Cleen and James' last tattoos, given that they had free reign over them. For a Japanese guy, I've never been a fan of James' compositions in the style. I know they're generally busy tattoos, but he just seems to throw stuff he likes randomly and hopes it comes together in the end. Cleen is usually very good in new school, but that snake was pretty damn bad.

Though the finale's are usually poorly produced, I always liked that they had a "master canvas" on a back piece to really show off. It seems like there may be a few stinkers this year with the stipulations. The contours of the chest and arms will be more difficult, as will the new "schedule" they will have to work under.  Also, letting eliminated artist have power over the potential winners? Who's genius idea was that?

[Charlesman]

I can't really disagree with any of the judging decisions. Anthony's woman was awesome despite some minor flaws, and James's wolf was awful. Christian's wolf was epic, it just looked fuzzy under the neck which was a cool trick. 

Then James's fu dog was just lost in a jungle of squiggles. Cleen's you could read from across the room. Can't fault the choices.

[candall]

6 minutes ago, Apatee said:

Though the finale's are usually poorly produced, I always liked that they had a "master canvas" on a back piece to really show off. It seems like there may be a few stinkers this year with the stipulations. The contours of the chest and arms will be more difficult, as will the new "schedule" they will have to work under.  Also, letting eliminated artist have power over the potential winners? Who's genius idea was that?

Agree.  Free rein on a full back tattoo made for a nice level playing field and a decent-sized canvas.  So rude to hobble them with styles they don't love and then throw some body contour limitations on top when these $100,000 finale pieces will represent these artists to most of the public.

 

But like the contestant pool, this show just can't keep its paws off the complicated maneuvers.  How can anyone even compare the apples and oranges from Category "You Suck At This"?  Most improved? 

 

Pfft.   These people worked hard, deserve better.

[psychoticstate]

2 hours ago, thewhiteowl said:

When the elements are just stacked like the zombie graveyard thing he did, it looks amateurish to me.

Are you talking about the cover up Anthony did?  I'm no expert but I thought he did a phenomenal job and got a well deserved "best tattoo."  

 

1 hour ago, Apatee said:

I was a little disappointed this week.

I was disappointed in the tattoos James and Cleen turned out when they were battling for the third and final spot.  Cleen has done some awesome work and that tattoo was most definitely NOT his best tattoo ever.  That said, he had been competing from the first week, unlike James who came in what?  Three weeks ago?  I really wish the competition had started from the get with all the vets.  It would be a much more level playing field that way.

2 hours ago, Apatee said:

Also, letting eliminated artist have power over the potential winners? Who's genius idea was that?

Yes, that could go very, very wrong.  If the eliminated artists want to vote Cleen out, will Nunez pitch a hissy fit and insist he stays?  And what if Cleen clearly has the best tattoo and is still voted out by the eliminated artists?   

I would much rather they have some guest judges come in - - even past Ink Masters - - to give critiques.  

This whole set up reminds me of last season when they had the final 3 do their master canvases and one inktestant was voted off without being judged on that canvas.  What was the point in that?  

If you're going to have all 3 do 2 separate tattoos, let all 3 get judged on both tattoos.  It's only fair.

I do like that the judges are having each of them do a tattoo in a style they had trouble with during the season.

[thewhiteowl]

@psychoticstate  not sure if it was a cover up, I thought James won that one. It had a headstone and a zombie face. 

[psychoticstate]

@thewhiteowl, do you mean this tattoo?

Edited May 18, 2016 by psychoticstate
Because a picture would actually help

[aussieinsydney]

5 hours ago, Jenkins said:

Should have just called the damn show Ink Master: Cleens Redemption.

 

    Ain't that the truth!

    I want Anthony to win the title, but I don't think the judges or peer jury will allow a guy that's only been tattooing for five years to have the title of Ink Master (though I hope I'm wrong.)

Cleen will probably win over Christian, just because Christian has been an arsehole to a lot of contestants. If however, they can put that aside, I hope Christian wipes the floor with Cleen if Anthony doesn't do it first.

[hjmugillecuty]

2 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

 

I was disappointed in the tattoos James and Cleen turned out when they were battling for the third and final spot.  Cleen has done some awesome work and that tattoo was most definitely NOT his best tattoo ever.  That said, he had been competing from the first week, unlike James who came in what?  Three weeks ago?  I really wish the competition had started from the get with all the vets.  It would be a much more level playing field that way.

Cleen hasn't been there since week 1, St Marq was first vet in. I think Cleen was third. He came in between Sausage and Matti. Just double-checked, Cleen was actually 2nd in, not 3rd.

Edited May 19, 2016 by hjmugillecuty
Double-checked

[thewhiteowl]

@psychoticstate, yes that is the one. I didn't like her chin on the headstone but I can see he did not have much room there or many other options. Still, it could have been different and I think just stacking like that shows inexperience. JMO. 

[zxy556575]

Although I got a laugh out of Cleen's "fuck my life" comment, the returning contestants were also beat out by Anthony and Christian. Aside from personality, they have no reason to resent Cleen any more than the other two. Although Sausage will probably refuse to choose because everyone ganged up on him, wah wah.

[AlliePK]

10 hours ago, thewhiteowl said:

@psychoticstate, yes that is the one. I didn't like her chin on the headstone but I can see he did not have much room there or many other options. Still, it could have been different and I think just stacking like that shows inexperience. JMO. 

Yeah, not a fan of the placement of the elements in that piece, although each of the elements was beautifully done.  I'm not sure how I would place those elements... maybe place the stone to the side and slightly angled... don't know.

This week:

• James:  So disappointed..  The wolf looked more like a badger and the fu dog was WAY too complicated and the colors way too muted.  I love James, but could not say the same about either piece this week, although I did like his flowers and his fu dog on the Japanese piece, just didn't like them together.
• Anthony:  His woman was attractive, even though she had arms like my great Aunt Martha and I didn't care for the forehead area.  Still, overall, it was a nice piece and well executed.
• Cleen:  His anatomy was ALL off on the woman.  Her arms were not shaped correctly, she was too skinny, her face was meh.  The only thing really well drawn were the breasts, but they were grossly out of proportion with the rest of the body, which was a weird proportionate mess in and of itself.  His snake looked like a blue intestine wrapped around a stick.
• Christian:  I am in love with his wolf.  It was stunning.

[psychoticstate]

I agree that Christian had the best tattoo of the evening.  His wolf was beautiful. (Picture below)

If you get the chance to check out his portfolio on Spike's Ink Master page, it's worth it.  His work is really stunning.  He does incredible black and grey tattoos (so says this wholly inexperienced viewer.) 

[candall]

I thought the breasts Cleen drew were okay--for appendages attached to the chest wall via some sort of suction-cup device.

[Evagirl]

Maybe it's me, but the background music is so loud I can hardly hear what the people are saying sometime.  It gets on my nerves so bad when any show cranks up the music so loud that you have to use cc to understand what folks are saying.

[akr]

Is he shorter than the other guys? Could be an ego thing, wanting to appear bigger on camera than he actually is.

[azshadowwalker]

Navarro is quite short. When he hosted Rockstar on CBS, we called him the Pocket Prince of Darkness (PPoD)  over on TWOP. 

[Muffyn]

He will always be the PPoD in my heart.