11 Played Out Tattoos That Tattoo Artists Are Sick Of Drawing

Ah, the kiss of death. Getting a tattoo of your partner’s name has long been considered bad juju for the relationship, and many people wind up paying more money to remove it or cover it up with a new tattoo.

“People getting their significant other’s name on them is the one thing I really don’t like doing,” says Amy Pruss of the Showroom Tattoo Parlour in Las Vegas, Nevada. “I’ve had several people cover up a name and ask to get another name at the same time. I even had one where I covered up a name, she added a new name, and came back a year later to get that covered. When that was covered, [she] asked to add another name. I refused to do it because there would have been no more room to cover that one.”

Similarly, cover-ups of name tattoos are super common. Some artists don’t love tattooing cover-ups because the designs have to be darker than they normally would be in order to hide what’s underneath.

“[It] always amazes me how many names of ex-wives, husbands, girlfriends, and boyfriends need to be covered,” says Howie Abrams, a former manager at Brooklyn Made Tattoo in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. “Those clients tend to be pretty desperate, and want you to help erase a less than positive period in their life. You need to be more sure when etching a mate’s name into your skin, because the regret can be tremendous.”

“I do a lot of the same style, like watercolor tattoos,” Pruss says. She suggests looking into new images and color combos to keep this concept fresh for your artist.

“Anyone and everyone gets these,” says Savannah Leslie of Needful Things, Inc. in Fort Myers, Florida. “But most commonly you’ll find older teens and young 20-somethings with the font lines under their bra or on their hip.”

Infinity symbols also come up often on Reddit posts asking tattoo artists what designs they’re tired of replicating.

“I’m definitely sick of infinity symbols,” says Nicolle LaRhette of Capital City Tattoo in Concord, New Hampshire. “I have currently done over 200 thus far in my career, so just imagine how many other people have that same exact typical Pinterest tattoo.”

Flowers and plants have always been a popular tattoo subject, and probably always will be. They’re beautiful and symbolic of so many things. Just be sure you’re not asking your artist to replicate a viral flower design. For example, tattoo artists on Reddit agree they’re very much over tattooing dandelions transforming into birds.

“I would have to say the most common tattoos that women get would definitely be dandelions with the seeds flying off turning into feathers and feathers turning into little birds flying off,” LaRhette says.

“I do a lot of flower tattoos,” Pruss says. “But they can be done so many different ways and there’s so many different flowers I never really get tired of it.”

Speaking of birds, feathers come up often online as a design tattoo artists are sick of drawing for their clients. They’re especially over the image of a feather turning into little birds flying away.

Quotes, words, and Bible verses are popular tattoo subjects, sure, but there are plenty of artists who hate doing them. It’s very hard to get each letter the same size, and perfectly lined up, when you’re drawing them on the human body.

“The body isn’t a piece of paper [and] I’m not a typewriter,” Leslie says. “Your body has beautiful curves, edges, bends, and structure — all the things a piece of paper is lacking. You can have the most beautiful script on a piece of paper and it is your eye’s main focus. With a tattoo, you’re stamping type font onto a less than flat, less than straight canvas.”

“As trends change, you’ll see women getting the daintiest, tiniest, most feminine ideas possible at the time,” Leslie says. “Younger girls love simple, minuscule flowers and very whimsical, single-line phrases and words of empowerment.”

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting more delicate line work in your tattoo, remember that small and dainty tattoos are less likely to hold up over time. As you age and your ink is exposed to the sun it’s going to fade with time, and images with thin lines and minimal shading will be the first to deteriorate.

According to Abrams, these are some of the most common tattoos that both men and women ask for.

“As artists we sometimes joke that we are ‘sold out’ of these designs, simply because they are all too common, leaving the client with an unoriginal design that eight million other people already have,” LaRhette says. “It can definitely be disappointing to see people pulling a tattoo directly off Pinterest and insisting on getting that exact tattoo done.”