When you put your skin in the hands of a tattoo artist, you hope their creative genius will pour forth with intricate designs and vibrant colours.
However, as the collection of images below shows, there really isn’t any guarantee that you’ll walk out with a work of art etched into your chosen canvas.
Indeed, some of the excuses for tattoos below might serve as a warning to those considering their own inking.
This fiery-coloured llama – sitting pretty above a hairy nipple – emits a confusing sound: a cat’s meow
There’s the red-hued llama that ‘meows’ and a Halloween-worthy koala whose has a bloodied rib-cage on display.
Elsewhere, some have given 100 per cent commitment to having their skin transformed by tattoos, with two full-back tattoos showing exactly why less can be more.
There’s a Native American scene played out on one man’s spine – and while the traditional characters aren’t a disaster, the choice of red around the teepee means this artwork just looks, well, a bit sore.
For your own education on how NOT to get a tattoo, simply peruse the etchings below:
Horror show, literally! This slogan comes across as fearless…but just looks like the macabre handiwork of a teenager
Cute and fluffy, except when its innards are hanging out: This blue eyed antipodean favourite belongs in a horror movie
This Native American scene might just be passable, if it didn’t look so sore – red ink fail!
Ocean colour scene: Is it a dolphin, is it a whale? Whatever this marine creature is, it doesn’t look happy
King of the jungle… but not in this example: This cartoon tiger makes good use of the space but doesn’t look as regal as his real-life equivalent
This looks beautiful enough…but is a little underwhelming when you find out it’s actually words lifted from a takeaway box
Dipping a paw into…a back…is never going to be a body art winner, especially when said etching is next to a spider tattoo
A lovely pair of coconuts? Or some breasts emerging from a cannabis leaf?
The sentiment is nice – but the penis feather spoils the mood somewhat
She’ll never get lost! And there’s clearly some big engineering works going on in mid-town
Ah, so cute! A family of four badly-drawn dolphins flatten a sunshine
Seattle fans abound in Seattle…but these home-city tributes don’t exactly hit the mark
Mine, all mine! This ham-fisted piece of tattoo art just looks messy
If you love make up and you love urban scenes – marry the two and you get lipstick buildings
Did somebody nudge them? It was all going so well until the s and the t went awry
What is that? This ink-heavy tattoo tree sprawls across an arm and shoulder…and gives people looking at it a headache