What Happens To The Bad Tattoos On Ink Master?
"Ink Master" is a reality TV competition series where several tattoo artists compete in a series of challenges. In each episode, an artist is eliminated until the finale where the remaining artists battle it out to see which one gets to bring home the $100,000 prize. Apart from tattoo artists, human canvases are also important for the show. Each season, there are plenty of people interested in becoming a human canvas on the show not because they are compensated (no, they aren't paid), but because of the experience.
Sure, getting a free tattoo and appearing on a TV show can be a thrilling experience, but it's not for everyone. Before becoming a human canvas, people go through a series of interviews. Some of the questions asked are about pain tolerance and whether or not you are agreeable to having a permanent tattoo on your body that you didn't pick yourself. "Ink Master" consists of a variety of challenges, and while there are some cases where canvases are able to choose the tattoo they want, there are other cases wherein they have no say — at all. Per Tuko, human canvases must be prepared for anything, and that includes ending up with an unfinished or bad tattoo.
Canvases go home with whatever they have
Although artists in "Ink Master" have experience, they might be thrown a challenge that isn't their expertise. There are also times when they run out of time and the canvas ends up with an unfinished tattoo. In those cases, the show doesn't do anything to remedy the situation; the human canvas goes home with whatever was done by the tattoo artist. In a Reddit AMA, a human canvas was asked whether or not unfinished tattoos are completed after the show, and she answered, "This was one of my concerns before I got there. I asked about it and they said what I walk out with is what I have. They were not responsible for any costs to fix/remove/cover up the tattoo."
The application to be a human canvas also clearly states that there will be no monetary compensation for being on the show. This is also true for travel and accommodation expenses for the human canvas (via Reality Blurred). For some, the conditions aren't worth it, but to those who find it thrilling, the experience of appearing on "Ink Master" doesn't deter them from the risk of ending up with a bad tattoo.