S12.E16: Battle of the Sexes, Finale

[thewhiteowl]

The three finalists reveal their masterpieces and a winner is chosen.

[Inkmaster0345]

Really nice tattoos by the coaches. I do admit that I especially liked Ashley's. IMO you could have put those in just about any order and I would have believed you. Impressive stuff. 

As for the finalists--If we're judging based soley on likability then my rankings would have been 1) Jason 2) Dani 3) Laura.

I thought Jason's badass female pirate was stunning. So many cool details and as the judges love to say, you could "read it from a mile away".

I was also impressed with Dani. I was afraid that with biomech as her style she never really had a chance. Biomech takes away the ability to do something recognizable. However, what she did was really, really cool. The overlapping light sources were impressive and I thought it had a very appealing shape overall. Sometimes biomech verges on bizarre, but her's made a lot of sense. It had a bit of a reactor/generator/energy vibe to it that worked. 

Something about Laura's doesn't sit right with me. Someone got close to how I feel when they said it felt "compact". I get that surrounding your image with those black clouds is sort of the correct Japanese style, but it just wasn't vibing with me. 

With that being said, I acknowledge that Jason's really wasn't realism at all. It was blatantly illustrative style and the judges correctly nailed him for it. Because of that, all things taken into consideration I would have gone 1) Dani 2) Laura 3) Jason. 

Looking ahead: grudge match is gimmicky, and quite frankly overplayed at this point. However, season 13 "Turf War" actually sounds pretty promising. Crossing my fingers it's an individual competition (4 separate teams seems like too many anyways, I hope). 

Overall I thought it was a strong season. The best one we've had in awhile. See you all in January! 

[Wandering Snark]

Before any other thoughts: it was just coincidence that the two Inkmasters were the final two in the coaches battle and it just so happened to come down to a male vs female coach right? And that a female won both that and the season title? Again, just a coincidence?

Anyhow, I do get that they dinged Jason for doing a pirate pinup as a "realism" tattoo. Fair enough.

I have to kind of bow out of the final judgement knowing so little about BioMech.

However,  I loved seeing all the coaches back and any time I get to see Kelly rock that shit I'm down. She's awesome.

And while I really loved the quality of work in the Coaches tats; would I have taken some of that time and, I don't know, talked more to the current contestants? Yeah, probably. That element being mostly missing, like the shirts on the judges, was odd to me.

[2727]

1 hour ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

As for the finalists--If we're judging based soley on likability then my rankings would have been 1) Jason 2) Dani 3) Laura.

Those were my rankings as well. I thought the detail on Jason's was awesome and l always go for legibility over a murky image with packed color. To me, Laura's needed a lot more open skin.

It was the best finale in a while although too much time was spent on the coaches' tattoos at the expense of the three finalists. The coaches all turned out great work, though, and I wouldn't have liked being forced to rank them. I might have given the edge to Bubba's surreallism, tbh. Nikki's was beautiful as well.

I felt like in the end, Peck wanted to give the win to Dani but couldn't bring himself to reward someone with so little experience. Or he just went with report card for the season.

Two new spin-offs a'coming!

Edited September 25, 2019 by 2727

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Jason's tattoo had an anatomical issue that really stood out to me.  Based on the position of the hand holding the sword, the pirate would be stabbing herself in the head so I had no issue with him being out first.

[dstann]

4 hours ago, 2727 said:

Those were my rankings as well. I thought the detail on Jason's was awesome and l always go for legibility over a murky image with packed color. To me, Laura's needed a lot more open skin.

It was the best finale in a while although too much time was spent on the coaches' tattoos at the expense of the three finalists. The coaches all turned out great work, though, and I wouldn't have liked being forced to rank them. I might have given the edge to Bubba's surreallism, tbh. Nikki's was beautiful as well.

 As soon as a saw Jason's tattoo I knew Nunez would criticize it for being tonal, but at least you could read it.  Laura's was so hard to read with all the packed in color.  And Dani's was hard to read because it was a made up thing that makes no sense but hey that is biomech.  I understand Jason missed the mark with realism but I thought his was easily the best of the 3.

It was a decent finale with minimal teams yelling at each other about fake drama, but the bit where the eliminated coaches were throwing to each other about what the other coaches were tattooing was just so cringey.

I thought the coaches tattoos were some of the best we have seen.  I thought Duffy should have been last and my top 4 was nearly the same as theirs except I had Jime in there instead of DJ.  I couldn't believe Jime came 6th.

5 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

Before any other thoughts: it was just coincidence that the two Inkmasters were the final two in the coaches battle and it just so happened to come down to a male vs female coach right? And that a female won both that and the season title? Again, just a coincidence?

I think they could tell for the most part who did what tattoo in the blind judging.  Jime, Ryan and DJ all played to their strengths and I am sure that is why even with "blind judging" they managed to get Ryan and DJ as the final 2.

[2727]

Someone on social media said Dani's tattoo was bio-organic instead of mechanical, which I couldn't unsee once it was pointed out. Peck (I think?) said it was the best example of biomech that had ever been on the show, but there were no mechanical components at all.

The light source on it was amazing, though, and of the three, I'd choose hers to be on me.

Even though I thought Jason's was the most appealing overall back piece, I personally wouldn't want to wear it because I have zero affinity for huge-breasted pirates bursting out of their tops.

Jason is so danged cute the way he removes his hat for judging and stands at parade rest. He also has surprisingly luxurious hair, which is usually not the case for inveterate male hat-wearers.

This was generally a nice season for me, becoming more so as the numbers, and conflict, dwindled.

[psychoticstate]

7 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

Before any other thoughts: it was just coincidence that the two Inkmasters were the final two in the coaches battle and it just so happened to come down to a male vs female coach right? And that a female won both that and the season title? Again, just a coincidence?

And while I really loved the quality of work in the Coaches tats; would I have taken some of that time and, I don't know, talked more to the current contestants? Yeah, probably. That element being mostly missing, like the shirts on the judges, was odd to me.

You're not alone - - I was thinking too it was quite a coinky-dink that the final two coaches were a male and a female and both hosts of the upcoming spinoff.   OT - but I really don't like Ryan's overly bleachy blonde hair.  

Jime should NOT have been 6th and Bubba should NOT have been 4th.  No way.  

As I've said before, I do like the blind judging.  And I actually like the "reveal" of who came in what place. 

Agree that the eliminated inktestants should have been spoken to.  What was the point of having them up there on the stage?  

I'm not surprised they gave the win to Laura.  She was pretty much edited all season to be the winner.  I would have put her in 3rd though.  For me, her tattoo was hard to read and I'm not a big fan of a lot of red (actually nor am I a fan of big back pieces.)  I preferred Dani's and Jason's to hers.

I wish the finale piece didn't have to be a full back.  Sure, give the final 3 x-number of hours but maybe let them do two pieces instead of just one and judge all three on all of their work.  (It still annoys me that last season, or in previous seasons, there were 2 tattoos and one person was immediately eliminated before both pieces could be judged.) 

[palmaire]

Jason's summary on IG:

I fucking lost. Losing with dignity though; a lesson I try to instill in my kiddo as I hear him yelling at the tv while gaming. Much easier said than done, especially when what you’re losing at is the most passionate thing you do. I hide my true competitive nature under humor but know for sure, when I was defeated, I was devastated. I put my heart and soul into what I do so when I’m told it wasn’t good enough I wanted to curl up and die, which isn’t much of an option when you’re on a stage in front of a few hundred fans yelling your stupid made for tv name.

It’s one of those things I can’t argue with though. Laura is an amazing tattooer and so is Dani. I can’t fault either of them for just being great at what they do or even myself. Tattooing against them made me a better tattooer and for that I’m thankful.

Ray, my master canvas, you are a fucking boss, you earned that back tatt. You sat great, you healed great, you showed up.

Thanks to my family and friends I dragged to Vegas to watch me lose while having to stand in that theater for hours just watch it all go down in flames like the fucking Hindenburg. Dave made my mom cry. Just throwing that out there

I owe so much thanks to @inkmaster The whole production crew; from the big boss lady Andrea, who I have so much respect for down to the lowly cast PAs that we fuck with and treat like dogs daily.

Dave, Chris and Ollie, cheers to you dudes, thanks for not tearing into me as much as you could have throughout the season. Thanks to all you fans for your support these past few months. You made all the hard work worth it.

Thanks to team🍆. I had to beat off a lot of you guys to get where I was at, sometimes beating off two at a time. Which wasn’t easy. You guys are tough and it was hard, so fucking hard. I still sometimes lay in bed and just think about all you dudes in the loft and how much work it was to beat you all off daily. With that said motherfuckers....I’ll be back.

Putting his piece here just because of the canvas' other tattoos. The guy must be absolutely thrilled with the upgrade in quality!

[Keekski]

The boobs are just way too much in that back tat from Jason. Some cleavage, OK, but it's just excessive. I also hate the BLACK ship in the background. It should have been a little lighter. 

I DVR'd the episode, but spoiled myself because that's what I do. I can't wait to see the episode though. It's been a LONG time since I've watched an Ink Master season from beginning to end, but I needed to watch because of the local (CT) representation. 

[Omeletsmom]

4 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

You're not alone - - I was thinking too it was quite a coinky-dink that the final two coaches were a male and a female and both hosts of the upcoming spinoff.   OT - but I really don't like Ryan's overly bleachy blonde hair.  

Jime should NOT have been 6th and Bubba should NOT have been 4th.  No way.  

As I've said before, I do like the blind judging.  And I actually like the "reveal" of who came in what place. 

Agree that the eliminated inktestants should have been spoken to.  What was the point of having them up there on the stage?  

I'm not surprised they gave the win to Laura.  She was pretty much edited all season to be the winner.  I would have put her in 3rd though.  For me, her tattoo was hard to read and I'm not a big fan of a lot of red (actually nor am I a fan of big back pieces.)  I preferred Dani's and Jason's to hers.

I wish the finale piece didn't have to be a full back.  Sure, give the final 3 x-number of hours but maybe let them do two pieces instead of just one and judge all three on all of their work.  (It still annoys me that last season, or in previous seasons, there were 2 tattoos and one person was immediately eliminated before both pieces could be judged.) 

The coincidence that pinged my BS meter is that the coaches tats alternated female-male-female-male-female-male-female.  Really?? While not statistically impossible, it's very unlikely they would alternate by sexes that neatly.

I would have picked Jason/Dani/Laura.  Laura's was probably the most stylistically accurate, but it was just unreadable.  When they were talking about the feet, I had to search really hard to find them.  Jason's was the most pleasing to look at (flotation device boobs aside), but it was not realistic, and there was no mech in Dani's biomech, so I can see why the judging went the way it did.

Honestly, once Cam was gone, I was happy with anybody winning.

[azshadowwalker]

4 hours ago, Keekski said:

The boobs are just way too much in that back tat from Jason. Some cleavage, OK, but it's just excessive. I also hate the BLACK ship in the background. It should have been a little lighter. 

I DVR'd the episode, but spoiled myself because that's what I do. I can't wait to see the episode though. It's been a LONG time since I've watched an Ink Master season from beginning to end, but I needed to watch because of the local (CT) representation. 

I am so over huge-tit tattoos that it's enough for me to eliminate it from contention. It reminds me of fucking Cleen throwing in huge tits because he couldn't do decent work on one of his tattoos. For years, I have wanted to get a tattoo with female figures, but I don't trust most tattooists, especially dudes, to do anything but put in ridiculously-sized breasts, so I am still waiting. 

[psychoticstate]

1 hour ago, Omeletsmom said:

The coincidence that pinged my BS meter is that the coaches tats alternated female-male-female-male-female-male-female.  Really?? While not statistically impossible, it's very unlikely they would alternate by sexes that neatly.

I would have picked Jason/Dani/Laura.  Laura's was probably the most stylistically accurate, but it was just unreadable.  When they were talking about the feet, I had to search really hard to find them.  Jason's was the most pleasing to look at (flotation device boobs aside), but it was not realistic, and there was no mech in Dani's biomech, so I can see why the judging went the way it did.

Honestly, once Cam was gone, I was happy with anybody winning.

There were feet?  

Looking at the photo of Jason's tattoo above, the only criticism I have (other than the flotation devices) is that the sword on the right side is thinner than the sword on the left.   But otherwise a solid tattoo.  

Frankly, it's difficult to judge different style tattoos against each other.  It would be easier if they all had to tattoo the same style, if not the same thing.  

[RoadFullOfPromise]

I swear, had they found some way to give the allegedly blind-judged coaches’ piece win to DJ I was going to lose my mind. I thought Bubba truly deserved that win, and some of that is because I think he’s great (and generally low-drama - YAY) but also because it really was amazing. The depth alone made it so unique and cool.

I’d have given the win to Dani, but I was fine with the result. Laura and Jason were generally really great throughout the whole season (and he is so weirdly creative that it’s awesome to see someone like that do well and break the mold), but I cannot get down with new school AT ALL, so that colors my view somewhat. 

I liked Laura’s back piece a lot, despite the claustrophobia of it, and I didn’t like Dani’s too much but absolutely appreciate that it was well done. That light source was amazing. I didn’t like Jason’s, but again, that is mostly a taste issue because I am WAY OVER women depicted like that. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

8 hours ago, palmaire said:

I had to beat off a lot of you guys to get where I was at, sometimes beating off two at a time. Which wasn’t easy. You guys are tough and it was hard, so fucking hard. I still sometimes lay in bed and just think about all you dudes in the loft and how much work it was to beat you all off daily.

The above quote from Jason brought out the inner 12 year old in me.  What was going on in that loft?!?!??!

[Sile]

13 hours ago, 2727 said:

Jason is so danged cute the way he removes his hat for judging and stands at parade rest. He also has surprisingly luxurious hair, which is usually not the case for inveterate male hat-wearers.

This was generally a nice season for me, becoming more so as the numbers, and conflict, dwindled.

I'm glad that somebody pointed that out, because that's something that I have LOVED all season.  Somebody with some class!  Normally, it wouldn't even phase me if somebody kept on a ballcap, my favorite last season was Silent Bob and he never without his hat (yeah, my favorite and I still can't remember his name) but Jake always seemed so disrespectful going after Jason with his doffed lid.

Also, Jason's steampunk finale wear was everything!  So many people try steampunk and so few can pull it off.

This is the first season in in a while that I really liked all three finalists.  I wanted Dani to win, Jason's was my favorite backpiece and I figured Laura would win.  If I had all the contestants to choose from to tattoo me, I'd pick Dani.

I was shocked that Bubba was so low in the rankings.  I had him or Ryan pegged for the win.  My personal favorite was Nikki.  Say what you will about her personality, she does the most beautiful faces I've ever seen.  The gypsy girl that she was ELIMINATED with was one of my top Ink Master tattoos ever.

It looks like Kelly has been losing weight.  Not sure whether it was that or her makeup, but she looked so delicate and pretty.

[belligerent]

13 hours ago, palmaire said:

Putting his piece here just because of the canvas' other tattoos. The guy must be absolutely thrilled with the upgrade in quality!

The anatomy is so incredibly weird on this. Yeah, there's a lot of details but it's a bunch of well-rendered parts that don't add up to a cohesive image. Probably the thing that throws me off the most is the jacket on the viewer's right/pirate's left is drawn in such a way that it creates the illusion that her left bazoom is disproportionately larger than the right. It's also up higher on her chest, which doesn't help.

I'm fine with the Laura win because she seems pretty good but I liked Dani's tattoo better.

[TVbitch]

Glad the finale moved along and focused on tattoos instead of shit stirring and Dave hanging from meat hooks. 

For me, the coaches tats outshined the finalists. Many of them were spectacular but Ryan's did grab me immediately. Just so gorgeous in every detail. Hope they continue with the blind judging. 

Laura is very talented, but I could not tell what the hell was going on in her back piece. I saw a mish mash of colors with a head I could pick out, and that was about it. I thought it was too unreadable to win. 

I do not like the style, but I thought Dani's was better. And so was Jason's. I think the judges calling Jason out on it not being realism was a bit much after a whole season of placing technical application and readability over meeting the challenge. Hope he gets another shot.

All in all, lots of great tats this season, so I shall not complain!

Edited September 26, 2019 by TVbitch

[Charlesman]

In my mind, Laura won the season. But Dani beat her with the final tattoo. I think there was more report card in the winner decision than was let on.

[aussieinsydney]

23 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

Before any other thoughts: it was just coincidence that the two Inkmasters were the final two in the coaches battle and it just so happened to come down to a male vs female coach right? And that a female won both that and the season title? Again, just a coincidence?

I completely get where you're coming from. SURELY the coaches new Ryan's style with the soft black and grey and her almost trademark feathers??? That stood out like a sore thumb to me.

7 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

The above quote from Jason brought out the inner 12 year old in me.  What was going on in that loft?!?!??!

Hahaha, not just you who read that like a 12 year old. I'm sure he meant it to be read like that when he wrote it. Otherwise his lack of awareness is astounding! LOL.

On the contestants/winner -  I agree with Jason's tattoo being more like an illustration than realism, that's definite. But a nice one nevertheless. I would have picked Dani's tattoo over Laura's as it was more breathable and not so as someone put it, claustrophobic. However, Laura packed some really, really good colour in that big piece, so kudos to her for that.

Ink Master Grudge Whateverit'scalled?? Sigh... I know I'm going to watch but when the fuck will Cleen not appear on any form of Ink Master for good. Please dude, next time they offer you something, turn it down and go off into the sunset with what's left of your dignity intact. Same goes for you too Christian.

[Eliza422]

I think the only reason I know they judged the coaches blind is because I refuse to believe they would have let Jimi and DJ lose if they had the chance to give it to one of them.

I thought Duffy's should have been last place - they didn't even mention the weird flat paw that seemed detached from everything else, and the whole image seemed super flat. Otherwise all the other coaches tats were actually pretty amazing, I think any one of them could have won.

I'm not surprised Laura won, but I just can't ever get over the giant Japanese tattoos. Even when experts are doing them they are just so damn busy and crazy looking, I never can tell what's going on. Her original color drawing was actually a bit clearer then the end result, I wish she had just done that. Maybe it was missing all the background crap?

Personally I would have had Jason win just because his was the clearest image of the three. OTOH, he lost for the same reason Kleen lost in his first season - they didn't do photorealism / realism. Can't really blame the judges for enforcing that.

I think this was one of the best finales they've done since there was so much actual tattooing to enjoy.

[PerfectlyObvious]

14 hours ago, belligerent said:

The anatomy is so incredibly weird on this. Yeah, there's a lot of details but it's a bunch of well-rendered parts that don't add up to a cohesive image. Probably the thing that throws me off the most is the jacket on the viewer's right/pirate's left is drawn in such a way that it creates the illusion that her left bazoom is disproportionately larger than the right. It's also up higher on her chest, which doesn't help.

I'm fine with the Laura win because she seems pretty good but I liked Dani's tattoo better.

Serendipitous.  I just happened to be at a restaurant in old town Niles (CA) this past weekend where they had a "nautical" pirate theme, and, well... just dropping this little pix here... 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I just see too many anatomical issues in Jason's tattoo. As a person with large breasts, unless those are skin covered cantaloupes, they would not be in that position given that the corset falls so low on the body thereby giving the breasts no support.  They are covered by soft material. 

Also, the base of the neck does not match the position of the neck above the choker. The hand position is wrong on the sword.  Based on the position of her head, the right eye and cheekbone are pushed back.  She would be odd looking straight on. The shadowing on the eye is excessive.  And her arms have odd proportions between the upper and lower parts. 

I think it is a well applied tattoo but a poor drawing.  

I need to see a photo of Laura's tattoo.  I couldn't get a great look at it on TV.  I wish they would really show the tattoos in detail. 

[Princess Sparkle]

This is the first time in awhile I've actually liked all three finale contestants and thought each had an equal shot of winning. I'm happy for Laura, but I was really rooting for Dani, especially after she had so many good tattoos during the season that were never recognized. 

[cpcathy]

I disliked all three back pieces, but Laura is very deserving of the win.

Bubba's tattoo was GORGEOUS. I would wear it and I don't need any tattoos on my pale body.

Finally, a finale that was tight and well-done. They got it right! And Peck wore something under his jacket, yay!

[hookedontv]

I liked this finale more than previous ones. The 3 finalists were all pretty cool (unpopular opinion, but Dani's personality bugged me throughout the season (can't put my finger on it, nothing crazy) but she's got really good skills. I'm OK with Laura winning but holy heck, I couldn't figure out what was going on in that back piece. Come to think of it, I actually wish they showed more critiques or more feedback on the back pieces. I felt that while I liked the miminal audience shouting to the point where I couldn't hear what was going on (prior finales), there was actually more time spent discussing and showing the coach tattoos (they were good too.) 

I think I'm the only person bummed that the new full season has a regional spin to it. As I've mentioned before, I'd just like it to go back to the original format of individual artists, nobody knows one another, and there's no team aspect to it. Just individual artists trying to make a name for themselves, do great tattoos, and win some cash.

[2727]

Forum started for the Grudge Match season. I know I'll be grudgingly watching.

[dstann]

2 hours ago, PerfectlyObvious said:

Serendipitous.  I just happened to be at a restaurant in old town Niles (CA) this past weekend where they had a "nautical" pirate theme, and, well... just dropping this little pix here... 

I like the use of deep rich black to give it contrast but I find it a bit tonal showing a lack of texture and  the color palette is a bit muted😛

[Wandering Snark]

2 hours ago, cpcathy said:

And Peck wore something under his jacket, yay!

I was shocked as well but then realized he was wearing a vest and still didn'd have a shirt on under that. Baby steps I guess...

Am I the only one who thinks that swashboobling pirate looks like Megan Jean?

Edited September 26, 2019 by Wandering Snark

[Ham On Wry]

I didn't know the technical definition of "biomech" but I can deconstruct a word with the best of 'em, and bio (life) + mech (mechanical) caused me to expect something in the manner of a Borg character like Hugh (Three of Five), or the Bionic Woman, or the Terminator where you can see flesh fused with mechanical engineering. Not that which Dani did with her tattoo...it had me wondering, Is biomech a representation of anatomy from the inside out? Her skills were solid but the image was nonsensical.

I thought Laura's design looked way stronger on paper, those disks stood out more boldly in the background, than her actual execution of the tat on the canvas.

I agree that Jason's was the most legible/readable of the three.

My main complaint--mind you, I watched IM perhaps in seasons 2 and 3, not sure--Tatu Baby was in one of them and WTF did Dave bang her or not? excuse me--and then just happened to find a hole in my TV lineup that IM filled with this season. And after 13 seasons, they STILL give this hasty, rushed don't-look-too-close-now presentation of the season finale tats.

[TresGatos]

On 9/25/2019 at 7:59 AM, 2727 said:

Someone on social media said Dani's tattoo was bio-organic instead of mechanical,

Watching the show I thought there wasn't any "mech" to her bio-mech. This explains it.

I thought Jason's pirate read as a cowgirl from far away until I saw the eye patch. 

[dstann]

5 hours ago, TresGatos said:

Watching the show I thought there wasn't any "mech" to her bio-mech. This explains it.

I guess you could argue the light source is some form of battery or reactor which would be mech in biomech. 

[Psychobunny]

I would wear any of the coaches’ tattoos except DJ’s and that is only because of the subject matter and not the quality. However, if shown them blind, I could have picked out Ryan’s as being by her in a second. She has a very recognizable style, although nobody does filigree like she does. That tattoo was gorgeous but no way could the judges not know it was hers. With regards to the regular contestants, I liked all of the finalists. I find all traditional Japanese tattoos hard to read and I thought that for this style Laura’s was very good. I don’t mind her winning since she is so talented overall. Finally, I still can’t get over Nikki’s new face and the fact that she basically tattooed a portrait of herself on her canvas.