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“Seems A Tad Done To Death”: 30 Tattoo Designs That Scream “I Have No Creativity,” According To People Online
The subreddit r/AskReddit is a place full of interesting and thought-provoking discussions, and user u/PaLiaRoTH's post was no exception. Their question, "What tattoos scream 'I have no creativity?'" had Redditors sharing their opinions and experiences on the subject.
While some folks argued that tattoos are a personal choice and the only meaning that matters is that of the individual, others couldn't help but say that certain designs have become overdone and the lack of originality might backfire on the "wearers" in the form of regret.
Some of the top answers in the thread included pop culture references like Baby Yoda and Harley Quinn, as well as widely known phrases such as "live, laugh, love" and "only God can judge me." Overall, the post sparked a lively conversation and showcased people's diverse thoughts and tastes in body art.
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#1
I'm told mine has no creativity.
It's a fist-sized peach, between my upper shoulder blades. I got it for my 50th birthday, to honor the childhood nickname my Opa gave me. He's been gone 29 years, I still miss him every day.
I've been told the next one I'm getting is similarly boring. A pomegranate with 6 seeds missing and my granddaughter's name and date of birth. Her name is Korra, an epithet of Persephone meaning "Heart".
I'm OK with being "boring". My ink is for ME.
#2
I have a dolphin on my calf because I really wanted to be a marine biologist when I was 17. I'm in the medical field and it serves no porpoise now.
#3
Confederate flag. It also shows you have no tact, manners, or an education.
SCP Panda [REDACTED] 1 year ago
I was going to say "That could have been the flag of Norway" before I saw the stars.
#4
Tribal arm symbols. What f*****g tribe are you apart of Bradley?
Lord Tubbington 1 year ago
Unless you actually belong to a culture that has tribal tattoos. Otherwise don’t.
#5
An ex boss had his own name in Olde English script down the inside of his forearm. I'd been working with him for months before I saw it, the conversation went as such.
'What's that?'
'A tattoo.'
'Well yeah, but what does it say?'
'Darren.'
'Why have you got your own name tattooed on you?'
'I wanted a tattoo for years, so my wife bought me one for my 40th.'
'And that's what you came up with after 40 years?'
Needless to say, I was fired soon afterwards.
#6
The “Never Sink “ anchor. Anchors are supposed to sink!!!
#7
Anything copied from or inspired by the Joker and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
My experience taught me that any Joker symbolism on a person (tattoo, profile pic, shirt...) means that in 90% of cases, I'll be dealing with a human equivalent of stepping on LEGO in a wet sock.
#8
Probably the - - - - - - “cut here” on the neck. But I’m gonna get it anyway
#9
# 𝓛𝓲𝓿𝓮, 𝓛𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱, 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮
Usually on a foot, ankle, or side of the torso.
#10
I’m a tattoo artist, For me it’s three types of people.
1. The ones who are getting them only because it’s a current trend. They always come back wanting it covered or wanting it lasered off.
2. The ones who bring me something directly off Pinterest. And have 0 interest in letting me design it my way. I actually tell these people I’m not interested and direct them to another artist. That only happens every once in a while now.
3. Patriotic tattoos. Cornbread dudes walk in the shop wanting a battle flag and a 3% logo. I either try to talk them out of it or tell them I’m not doing it. Regardless of how much money it’d make me.
There is many more I could go on about but those 3 stick out the most. Everyone has opinions these are just mine
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Big kudos to this tattoo artist for having [testicles] and refusing to tattoo alt-right c**p.
#11
Bible verses
#12
My friend once told me got a tattoo. We live in Tennessee so I jokingly said “is it a skull with a rebel flag that says don’t tread on me somewhere?” He lifted his sleeve to show me and said “yes it is”
#13
Barbed wire
#14
While I am creative, the tattoos I chose were drawings from my daughter and my son, 1 each. I'll always carry a piece of my children with me. :)
#15
Ill-behaved fuckwits with Bible verse tattoos. Typically the most racist, self-absorbed, intolerant c***s on the planet
#16
The Council Cabbage. The owners always insist it’s meant to be a rose.
Did I say that out loud? 1 year ago
Love the description. Council Cabbage is far more accurate.
#17
Monster energy drink logo
Roan The Demon Kitty 1 year ago
what a sad life you must live if you decide that's what you want as a tattoo o.O
#18
I knew a girl who got “throw me to the wolfs and I will come back leading the pack” in massive writing on her thigh... wolfs.
#19
Anything in Hebrew. I know I'll get a lot of s**t for this but as a raised conservative Jew it makes no sense. Jews aren't supposed to get tattooed per biblical beliefs, then Hitler and the SS solidified that by branding and tattooing 6 million of us as identification.
It's kind of an insult to injury thing in my eyes. I'm not against peoples rights to tattooing, I just find Hebrew tattoos yelling "look at me" im either that Jewish or hey I really like this old testament looking s**t. Kind of like Sanskrit, can you actually read any of that Angelina Jolie?
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
one of my forebears was killed in the camps and I have a tattoo of his prisoner number to commemorate.
#20
The lion, clock or rose tattoo for UK boys half of the population has it. I’m all for your body body your rules but cmon man put at least an ounce of creativity into it
#21
Walk around the PNW for about 10 minutes and take a shot every time you see a pine tree on someone's forearm, you'll be dead by minute 9 I promise
Edit: Minute 2 if you walk by a college or one of the military bases
#22
Getting your own name tattooed on you
Did I say that out loud? 1 year ago
To be fair, that would come in useful when you get Alzeimhers.
#23
Remember the mustache tattoos that everyone was getting on the side of their fingers?
What happened to those people?
#24
No Regerts
#25
Elvish script tattoos are very very common in New Zealand...
We REALLY got into Lord of the Rings as a nation.
#26
I'm a tattoo artist and if I have to do an infinity tattoo one more time...... DX
#27
Star on the foot, names on your neck, chinese lettering that probably says "chicken noodle soup" even though you asked for "live laugh love" or some s**t.
DC 1 year ago
... I always get reminded of that dude that wanted "Asian Girl Lover" and got tattooed "Foreign Pervert" instead. Serves him right, very likely, and is just hilarious. Never got the reasoning behind having something written on me in a language I cannot read or write or speak or understand, and that isn't even extinct yet - that may be a different case, because nobody will read "pervertere peregrino" in the language they actually speak, but then again ... why even use a language, a thing meant to transmit thought, that I am not able to use, but could learn, and somehow decided not to? Why? What's the reason that this is better than just using english, german, french, ...?
#29
Every man from Essex that wears those dumb a*s tight tops and trousers has a sleeve that has a melting clock. So mysterious
#30
I have 2 flying birds on my ankle lol I feel like I belong to this category…
What do you think ?
TheDag 1 year ago
Spoiler guys...Just don't get tattoos...or do any hobbies you like...or enjoy things you do because somewhere someone is writing a list with your enjoyment on it and telling everyone its cringe AF XD
CatLady 1 year ago
I get really insulted when people blow off my semicolon tattoo as "random chubby yt chick following a trend." It happens uncomfortably often, even though everyone knows what the damn thing means and ought to have the tact to not mock it. It means I'm proud of surviving hell and making the choice to keep going even when everything in me begged to let it end. I got into it not too long ago with someone about how I just wanted to be on the "trauma bandwagon" so I could have something "special" about me so I could be more than a basic chubby yt chick. They shut up once I started describing details. TL;DR don't mock mental health tattoos. Glad they aren't on the list.
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 1 year ago
I agree! I want a semicolon tattoo but my dad helped me design it so it has even more meaning to me
Load More Replies...
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 1 year ago
Why does this article even exist? Just let other people get the tattoo/clothes/haircut /hobby/whatever they want and stop being the goddamn CooLNeSs police shaming other people! Let people have fun, let people live in peace if they don't hurt anybody! And some of the tattoos are really cool TLDR: get a life
CatLady 1 year ago
I like that it exists because I'm connecting with other people like me (my comment about semicolon). But I heartily agree with you regarding judging someone else's tattoo. The only time I think "oh that's a horrid person" if I see a tattoo is if it's a hate symbol.
Load More Replies... Jaya 1 year ago (edited)
Why does your tattoo need to show your creativity? If someone wants a very standard tattoo, because that's the thing that happens to make them happy, they should get that! Why do you need to change from choosing the tattoo you love, to choosing something that makes you look unique? Why on earth is that more important than what makes you happy?
CatLady 1 year ago
I really, really love this comment, @Jaya. I mean, I'm glad the article gave me a chance to connect with people similar to me, but now that I think about it, the whole thing harkens back to the 1980s and1990s fashion magazines where you HAD to follow the trends but not overdo it or look like you were trying too hard, etc. Those magazines messed up so many heads....
Load More Replies...
Cecilie 1 year ago
I don't think there is such thing as a bad tattoo - people should do as they want! I have never asked why someone got a tattoo, but I have often praised those I think is very good. For those who have racist tattoo it's even more amacing, because now I know I don't want to be your friend!
Amelia Jade 1 year ago
I was once sitting for a tattoo and a guy walked in for his appointment with the other artist. He was covered in random tattoos. He was in shorts, a tank top and flip flops. He walks in carrying a slurpee from the nearby 7-11. The artist says, so what are we doing today? I thought that was weird because my artist and I always have a plan worked before the appointment. The guy stands there moment, looks around, looks down at his splurpee, shrugs, and says, "How about this?" He had a slurpee tattoo put on his thigh. I thought it was flippin great. I think of that guy often and how he was just living life so carefree. Life is short, do what makes you happy. People who sit in judgment are probably miserable.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
Ok so next time im gonna get a tattoo Im going to ask a bunch of strangers for their aproval!
Travelling Stranger 1 year ago
some of those entries read like "stop having fun" or "what you like is cringe"
The Doom Song 1 year ago
I don't really care what other people think of my tattoos. They all mean something to me.
SCP Panda [REDACTED] 1 year ago
For years now, I have wanted to get "GAME OVER" tattooed on my knuckles. The only reason I have not done this yet is because (a) I'm not old enough, and (b) Knuckle tattoos f*cking HURT. I also have 3 dots on my right shoulder that make a perfect triangle, and I wanna get the lines connecting the dots tattooed on, and a paw print inside the triangle as a remembrance of my now dead dog, Bender. (Nov. 17, 2007 - Oct. 7, 2022)
oddly_informed_raven 1 year ago
I've heard people say that wings on the back are apparently cringe, which I don't get. I want that one for a very personal reason.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
All mine are original that I drew myself. Some are copies of well-known symbols etc., but let's just say Professor Langdon would have a wet dream if he saw me.
Timmy Pillinger 1 year ago
I'd be tempted by the pattern of one of my Morris teams figures, or the symbol of my other dance tradition, or an image of my musical instrument, or the first bar of a favourite tune.
Mystery Kitteh 3 months ago
People are so judgemental. Look to your own life if you want to criticize.
Elbert Jones 3 months ago
A lot of young people( 18-- 25) choose tattoo designs for shock effect( swastikas; devils, or skulls). many get words written in a foreign language like Chinese or Japanese. I once heard about a guy who got a chinese tattoo. He believed that it said great warrior. After he got it done; a girl who could read chinese asked him about it. He proudly said it meant great warrior. She laughed . then she told him that it meant STUPID WHITE A*****E.
Sherman 1 year ago
Listen.. I'm covered in tattoos. Are their styles or designs that I don't like or that I think are played out or lack creativity? Of course. That's why I don't have that design/style on my body. But what you get tattooed on your body is none of my business! My only pet peeve with other peoples tattoos is when they copy someone else's tattoo. It's okay to be inspired by someone else's work... but make it your own! I've had 3 of my tattoos stolen. Tattoos that i designed myself. 2 of which are tribute tattoos to my late father & pitbull. That's why I don't post photos of my tattoos on social media anymore. But other than that who fucken cares what you tattoo on your body. As long as you're happy with it & you didn't copy someone else.. then that's all that matters. Stop being pretentious, judgmental jerks about what other people do with their body.
Thenatural 1 year ago
People on here being the gatekeepers of Polynesian tribal tattoos...lol!
TheDag 1 year ago
Spoiler guys...Just don't get tattoos...or do any hobbies you like...or enjoy things you do because somewhere someone is writing a list with your enjoyment on it and telling everyone its cringe AF XD
CatLady 1 year ago
I get really insulted when people blow off my semicolon tattoo as "random chubby yt chick following a trend." It happens uncomfortably often, even though everyone knows what the damn thing means and ought to have the tact to not mock it. It means I'm proud of surviving hell and making the choice to keep going even when everything in me begged to let it end. I got into it not too long ago with someone about how I just wanted to be on the "trauma bandwagon" so I could have something "special" about me so I could be more than a basic chubby yt chick. They shut up once I started describing details. TL;DR don't mock mental health tattoos. Glad they aren't on the list.
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 1 year ago
I agree! I want a semicolon tattoo but my dad helped me design it so it has even more meaning to me
Load More Replies... Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 1 year ago
Why does this article even exist? Just let other people get the tattoo/clothes/haircut /hobby/whatever they want and stop being the goddamn CooLNeSs police shaming other people! Let people have fun, let people live in peace if they don't hurt anybody! And some of the tattoos are really cool TLDR: get a life
CatLady 1 year ago
I like that it exists because I'm connecting with other people like me (my comment about semicolon). But I heartily agree with you regarding judging someone else's tattoo. The only time I think "oh that's a horrid person" if I see a tattoo is if it's a hate symbol.
Load More Replies... Jaya 1 year ago (edited)
Why does your tattoo need to show your creativity? If someone wants a very standard tattoo, because that's the thing that happens to make them happy, they should get that! Why do you need to change from choosing the tattoo you love, to choosing something that makes you look unique? Why on earth is that more important than what makes you happy?
CatLady 1 year ago
I really, really love this comment, @Jaya. I mean, I'm glad the article gave me a chance to connect with people similar to me, but now that I think about it, the whole thing harkens back to the 1980s and1990s fashion magazines where you HAD to follow the trends but not overdo it or look like you were trying too hard, etc. Those magazines messed up so many heads....
Load More Replies... Cecilie 1 year ago
I don't think there is such thing as a bad tattoo - people should do as they want! I have never asked why someone got a tattoo, but I have often praised those I think is very good. For those who have racist tattoo it's even more amacing, because now I know I don't want to be your friend!
Amelia Jade 1 year ago
I was once sitting for a tattoo and a guy walked in for his appointment with the other artist. He was covered in random tattoos. He was in shorts, a tank top and flip flops. He walks in carrying a slurpee from the nearby 7-11. The artist says, so what are we doing today? I thought that was weird because my artist and I always have a plan worked before the appointment. The guy stands there moment, looks around, looks down at his splurpee, shrugs, and says, "How about this?" He had a slurpee tattoo put on his thigh. I thought it was flippin great. I think of that guy often and how he was just living life so carefree. Life is short, do what makes you happy. People who sit in judgment are probably miserable.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
Ok so next time im gonna get a tattoo Im going to ask a bunch of strangers for their aproval!
Travelling Stranger 1 year ago
some of those entries read like "stop having fun" or "what you like is cringe"
The Doom Song 1 year ago
I don't really care what other people think of my tattoos. They all mean something to me.
SCP Panda [REDACTED] 1 year ago
For years now, I have wanted to get "GAME OVER" tattooed on my knuckles. The only reason I have not done this yet is because (a) I'm not old enough, and (b) Knuckle tattoos f*cking HURT. I also have 3 dots on my right shoulder that make a perfect triangle, and I wanna get the lines connecting the dots tattooed on, and a paw print inside the triangle as a remembrance of my now dead dog, Bender. (Nov. 17, 2007 - Oct. 7, 2022)
oddly_informed_raven 1 year ago
I've heard people say that wings on the back are apparently cringe, which I don't get. I want that one for a very personal reason.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
All mine are original that I drew myself. Some are copies of well-known symbols etc., but let's just say Professor Langdon would have a wet dream if he saw me.
Timmy Pillinger 1 year ago
I'd be tempted by the pattern of one of my Morris teams figures, or the symbol of my other dance tradition, or an image of my musical instrument, or the first bar of a favourite tune.
Mystery Kitteh 3 months ago
People are so judgemental. Look to your own life if you want to criticize.
Elbert Jones 3 months ago
A lot of young people( 18-- 25) choose tattoo designs for shock effect( swastikas; devils, or skulls). many get words written in a foreign language like Chinese or Japanese. I once heard about a guy who got a chinese tattoo. He believed that it said great warrior. After he got it done; a girl who could read chinese asked him about it. He proudly said it meant great warrior. She laughed . then she told him that it meant STUPID WHITE A*****E.
Sherman 1 year ago
Listen.. I'm covered in tattoos. Are their styles or designs that I don't like or that I think are played out or lack creativity? Of course. That's why I don't have that design/style on my body. But what you get tattooed on your body is none of my business! My only pet peeve with other peoples tattoos is when they copy someone else's tattoo. It's okay to be inspired by someone else's work... but make it your own! I've had 3 of my tattoos stolen. Tattoos that i designed myself. 2 of which are tribute tattoos to my late father & pitbull. That's why I don't post photos of my tattoos on social media anymore. But other than that who fucken cares what you tattoo on your body. As long as you're happy with it & you didn't copy someone else.. then that's all that matters. Stop being pretentious, judgmental jerks about what other people do with their body.
Thenatural 1 year ago
People on here being the gatekeepers of Polynesian tribal tattoos...lol!
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