ARTIST SUBMISSIONS | Cover Up Tattoo Critiques by Mr. Reyes

How's everybody doing? Welcome back to my channel. On this video, I'm going to be reacting to cover-ups from artists that follow me on Instagram. My name is Mr. Reyes, and I specialize in doing impossible cover-ups. >> [music] [music] >> The first cover-up that I'm going to be reacting to and critiquing it is this one right here. As we can see, the client had the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. And >> [music] >> based on what I'm seeing here, the [clears throat] tattoo itself is already very faded. >> [music] >> So, it is it is a cover-up that's definitely possible. The concept that the artist and the client chose was Dragon Ball Z. The cover-up was successfully done. I really like the concept. I really like how it was placed on the inner calf. As far as what I would have done, I would have first started off by creating a frame around the numbers. Cuz as far as right now, it does feel like something's missing. Then I would have shaded around it just to start creating that look. Um [music] maybe like a drop shadow. >> [music] [music] >> And just a couple more areas, adding a little bit more contrast to separate so I can be able to read where the face is and where the body begins and [music] ends. So, just a little bit of a contrast here. >> [music] >> And I think there's definitely need to be a background just to enhance [music] the body of the dragon a little bit more. And you can just give it a little something, you know what I mean? Just to >> [music] >> just to give it some flow. You can even add like something related to Dragon Ball Z, of course, like a negative effect or something. >> [music] >> Um just to kind of make the piece look more full and completed >> [music] >> and set it up for future projects as well cuz now he can just, you know, add something on the top to um to connect it and stuff like that. But if I really And And this is me just working with what he already tattooed. If I was to suggest a different concept, I would have done something like this. >> [music] >> Where maybe adding the dragon taking over the whole entire calf. >> [music] >> And just so you can kind of see where it lands. [music] If I really If I talked to the client and I we had a consultation, I would have suggested, "Hey, you know what? We got to cover up the skulls >> [music] >> and the numbers got to go as well. You can put the numbers somewhere else and make them better and more fashionable. For now, let's just get it out the way and just make the whole thing look very full, start a sleeve, and just making everything look very cohesive right [music] there." And this is what it will look like. And as far as the top, if you really want to get creative, you can even add, you know, some sort [music] of background to it just to really make everything look very nice, very fashionable, and, you know, the client's going to be very happy with it. As far as the contrast, I would start adding some black in some areas that that's needed just to make the face stand out a little bit more. But [music] this is something that I would have suggested, but still amazing cover-up. >> [music] >> Next cover-up is this one right here. It's an amazing cover-up, looks very beautiful. It fits the placement very nicely. Right amount of texture. I like everything about it. Uh looking at this, the only concerning parts >> [music] >> uh it would be the red and the green just because usually they show through black and gray. But based on looking at the middle here is very faded, so it's really going to help with the cover-up, which in this situation it definitely did. It really allows the tattoo to breathe. Something I would suggest to really make this cover-up look a little bit more three-dimensional cuz yeah it yeah really looks beautiful. >> [music] >> It's just a little bit of a tweak in the tones of the helmet. So, first thing I do notice is the same tone in the back and in the front. So, [music] sometimes what I like to do in my cover-ups, I like to push uh a lot of contrast to see how far I can take it before it starts looking extremely dark. [music] So, because I been doing cover-up for so long, I'm able to just see it sometimes. In this situation, I would have [music] like to see a little bit more contrast here in the back. Here. And just kind of [music] fade it in. Same thing here in the back of the helmet. I do feel like it's the same tone [music] here, here, here, here, and here. So, to separate that, I would have added a little bit more contrast here in the back >> [music] >> and fade it in. Just enough. Also a little bit more contrast underneath this little area of the helmet. >> [music] >> Tiny little detail that would make the helmet a little bit more three-dimensional. And really make these little designs cuz I really like them. I thought but don't make them too noticeable. Just enough where that I can read it and say, "Oh, there's something in the back." Which it would make sense that since the light source is coming from this side. >> [music] >> So, that is why I would want to make this back of the helmet a little bit more >> [music] >> contrasted. I would also fix the nose a little bit more. I feel like I I bigger drop shadow would make the nose look more aggressive >> [music] >> and help with the cover-up. And then probably I would have grabbed my 7 bar liner and start adding a little bit of texture overlapping some of the >> [music] >> some of the grays here just to make it a little bit brighter using my scribble technique. >> [music] >> And so, you can see the before and after. Here's what a little bit of uh shading can do to your tattoo. This, you know, it's insane. [music] It's just a little bit extra just to make a little bit more of a three-dimensional feel. You can see the nose getting a little bit more aggressive. The contrast here on this side of the helmet really changes the perspective of it. >> [music] >> A little bit more conscious behind the the the helmet. >> [music] >> And the last suggestion I would want to make is I would have probably made the >> [music] >> Spartan a little bit bigger just to take out so much of that background in the front there. The more background you have, the more that it looks like a cover-up. So, [music] we have to be able to trick the eye. So, if I if you would have made the mask a a bit bigger or the helmet, I'm sorry. It would [music] have taken this to a whole 'nother level. Um Let me show the other one. Cuz there is a lot of background here. Because there is a lot of background here, it can probably cause a little bit of problems later on in the future connecting it to [music] another tattoo. And you don't want to have so much black because it can definitely scream cover-up. [music] >> [music] >> Yeah, just that little adjustment would have made a huge difference. But other than that, amazing cover-up. Loved it. Next cover-up is this one here. Honestly, beautiful cover-up. Love every part of this tattoo. The concept is extremely huge. It [music] fits the placement. There's no need for a background. It is the perfect setup for a cover-up. My favorite part definitely got to be the contrast. A little bit of that scribble technique here on some corners. Love that. You can see the cracks here, the way [music] it fades into the next tattoo. It just feels like a three-dimensional piece. I I loved it. Um >> [music] >> definitely the teeth missing adds so much such a dramatic feel to this concept. >> [music] >> And yeah, some artists might look at this and say, "Oh yeah, that's an easy cover-up, of course. Cover it up [music] with the skull. Easy, just because it looks faded." Yes, it is faded, >> [music] >> but the execution, it is very flawless. Like if I saw this on the street, I wouldn't think this is a cover-up. So, and honestly for this cover-up, I got nothing [music] to say but good things. Amazing tattoo, amazing execution, beautiful cover-up. Keep killing it, man. >> [music] >> Next cover-up we have is this beautiful concept here that fits very nicely on the inner calf. I really love the decision that you made putting [music] this around the nose area. >> [music] >> The reason why it is because we all know that red is such a strong color that no matter how much grace you add on that red, [music] it's going to keep showing through. So, I I love it. I mean, [music] it might need another touch-up after it heals, maybe. Uh just because red is such a strong color, like I said, it might show through. I can kind of see a little bit of that red peeking here, but it doesn't really matter because at the end of the day the concept is so strong that it really allows someone to look at it and say, "You know what? I didn't even think that was [music] a cover-up." Of course, you can see a little bit of those tones here changing on the teeth. Uh the only thing I would have suggested is continuing those same gradients all the way through, so that way it is not so noticeable. Once he heals, it might everything might even up, >> [music] >> so that is the positive thing. Um but he added those grays here. It's [music] beautiful contrast on this on this tooth here coming out. >> [music] >> I love everything about it, especially the way you finished it here. It's a really smooth blend out, which is going to allow you to connect it in the future to another project and and continue that sleeve. Beautiful concept, beautiful cover-up. Congratulations, brother. Keep killing it. And the last cover-up that I'm going to be reacting to today is this one here. Um definitely the number one thing I notice when it comes down to this cover-up is >> [music] >> um it definitely needs a little bit more contrast to it. It has a lot of gray tones, and I do feel like there's a lot going on on the same [music] pec. I feel like this could have been separated and been and customize it into a full chest [music] tattoo. Now, I don't know how the consultation went, but I'm just assuming that the client probably wanted the eagle and he wanted the pocket watch to represent somebody's date of birth or maybe somebody passed away or maybe a specific [music] date that means a lot to him and maybe the hourglass is, you know, time or >> [music] >> um life is short, things like that, right? So, I'm assuming he wanted to just incorporate a lot of things into the same [music] tattoo. I personally feel like this could have been separated and make it into [music] a full chest piece and give it more meaning to it. Now, what I would have suggested with this cover-up is maybe have a long conversation with my client and say, "You know what? I do like your ideas, but because there is a lot going on on your chest, we got to make sure that it looks legible, that it's able to look fashionable on your on your chest, and to be able to start creating a bigger project rather than a one-and-done." So, [music] what I've seen here, it is a very faded tattoo. I don't see a problem trying to cover this up. Uh honestly, it looks very old. Um it doesn't look scarred, [music] so that's a really good thing. Based on looking at this, I do see that they use an eagle that has like a skull-looking >> [music] >> texture on the on the head. Everything has texture. I could definitely see a little bit of that scribble technique here on the on the head uh just to distract the eye from it. >> [music] >> So, following the same style that he has here, this is what I would have customized for the client. So, first, I would have added an eagle, something similar to this. Love the contrast, love the texture. >> [music] >> Um it's away from the cover-up, as you can see. The top of the head is lens where my highlight is, so that's going to allow the the eagle head to really stand out. >> [music] >> As far as the feathers, they land where everything else is dark, so that's really going to help out. As far as this area here, >> [music] >> there's two options you can approach it. You can either add a background, very simple, not too much going on. You can just add maybe taking the simple route, adding clouds, [music] maybe some mountains, maybe some trees, you know what I mean? Just to give it like a scenery to it. But if we're going based off the concept that the client asked for, which was the pocket watch, I would have definitely added a pocket watch as a background >> [music] >> and give it a more a more of a look to it. Uh and like I said, this is just me customizing very quickly, just something that came into my mind. And [music] then I could just add a little bit of highlights on the feathers. Just to kind of separate the just to kind of separate the pocket watch from [music] the eagle and be able to be more legible and make it a little bit more aggressive. Of course, the height that the light source is coming from this side, so that gives me room to really play around a little bit more with with the beak, [music] with the hair, you know what I mean? And just have fun with it. Definitely not easy to execute cover-ups, but once you get the hang of them, >> [music] >> you can definitely get easier and stuff like that. Uh but this is just one suggestion. This can go so many ways. And that concludes today's video. Thank you so much to all the artists that allowed me to critique your tattoo. >> [music] >> And if you want to be a part of the next video, send me a DM on my Instagram, send me a picture of the cover-up that you have done, and I'll be more than happy to uh I guess just give my honest opinion, and hopefully I can help out. So with that being said, if you're a tattoo artist, I hope you learned something from this video. And if you're a tattoo enthusiast, I hope you were entertained. Thank you so much for watching. I'll see you guys in the next video. Peace. >> [music] [music]