Image: _winkt / Tattoo by dustycramer
Artificial intelligence has made its way into nearly every creative field and tattooing is no exception. But while tech enthusiasts hail AI as a revolutionary design tool, tattoo artists themselves have a more nuanced, grounded perspective.
Here, three tattoo artists — Sean Colgrave, Don Richards, and Arvey "Apz" Perez — share their thoughts on AI's place in tattooing, its pitfalls, and its potential.
Sean Colgrave - "AI goes for the middle ground and the generic — that isn’t where true art lies"
Image: seancolgrave
Sean Colgrave is a a tattoo artist, educator and curator from Nottingham.
"My initial gut reaction when it comes to AI is actually ‘meh’. Maybe it’s my age but I remember when the internet didn’t exist and I actually had to use books. The internet changed a lot of things but really didn’t at the same time, so I just see it as a tool. It’s not a villain but it can be used incorrectly (and it’s the users fault).
I’m going to steal something from another artist I admire; Allesandro Penella. I remember him telling me that the way the internet is, nothing is mine once I put it out there. As an artist my passion is in the creation, if someone wants to replicate that then I feel honoured.
"Being a human will become a unique selling point across lots of creative industries.”
At the end of the day, AI’s an aggregate system. I could ask for a novel in the style of Stephen King about a caretaker of a hotel who goes slowly insane and it’s not going to give me The Shining.
It’s often joked that being a tattoo artist is also being a therapist and it’s kinda true. AI will never replace that human element and I think this is an industry that needs it. Being a human will become a unique selling point across lots of creative industries.
AI goes for the middle ground and the generic, that isn’t where true art lies, it’s in the fringes. There is a piece of the artist in great art, some emotion or feeling that a machine could never feel. The value of tattoos is in the storytelling."
Don Richards - "I don’t think it has any place in tattooing at all"
Image: don.rza.tattoos
Don Richards is the owner of Kids Love Ink in South London.
"Gut reaction to AI is revulsion! Don’t really like it in any context. I could see how it could have practical applications in science or technology, but I hate it being used in any creative industry. I don’t think it has any place in tattooing at all.
Sometimes people bring in designs that AI has made and ask to have them tattooed. The images are almost always un-tattooable, with levels of detail that are impossible on real skin, and bits in the design that don’t look right or make sense etc.
Annoyingly AI can make images that look like they’re real photos of tattoos on skin. Most tattooists can spot them a mile off, but to your average customer they can look really convincing. Some of these images are giving people unrealistic expectations of what’s possible in real life.
"The whole experience of getting a tattoo is just as important as the end result"
I suppose as AI learns and improves it may become able to make better designs, and sadly some people would rather do that than actually speak to an artist and get them to design it. But when it comes to actually applying a tattoo, it’s always gonna be a human’s job.
Even if a robot was dexterous and skilled enough to do a tattoo, who wants to have a robot tattoo them instead of a human? The whole experience of getting a tattoo is just as important as the end result. I think most people want the care, empathy, humour and interest that a human tattoo artist will give them. Could be wrong. Hope not!"
Avery 'Apz' Perez - "These tools facilitate faster collaboration between tattoo enthusiasts and artists"
Image: apztattoo
Tattoo artist Apz, known for his signature Classic Realism style, is based in Manhattan, NYC and has created his own AI tattoo design tool - AI Tattoo Designer Apz.
"My thoughts about AI tools are very positive. The AI tools are revolutionizing tattoo references, tattoo ideas, tattoo concepts, and are helping in the translation of a new cultural language. Not only tattoo artists or artists can create, nowadays collectors and tattoo enthusiasts can use them to self-express and co-create their own references within seconds. That says a lot about this present. These tools facilitate faster collaboration between tattoo enthusiasts and artists during the tattoo process.
I created AI Tattoo Designer Apz while I was searching for tools that could help my tattoo collectors in the process of gathering inspiration, helping, and clarifying their ideas. We were at the right time, in the right moment, and Meta notified me that I could make use of its AI studio, and I thought, BINGO, this is the right tool to translate the ideas into a visual form.
"The most valuable art will be the most authentic, and you only find authenticity in humans and nature"
Just in the past 90 days, the AI Tattoo Designer Apz has had over one hundred fifty thousand interactions, and one of them was Jiana, who co-created her idea, which was a blend of her zodiac sign. She interacted with the AI by herself until she found the right reference and felt sure about her ideas in a visual form. Then she decided to take the next step and use it as a reference for her tattoo. The AI Tattoo Designer Apz is not making the tattoo, but it is helping to co-create images, ideas, and concepts, and enhance photographs.
In my opinion, the most valuable art will always be the most authentic one, and you will only find authenticity in humans and nature, and that is where I find uniqueness and value."