Original subtitles

Male announcer: On the last episode of "Ink Master,"

eight new and veteran artists

were battling it out to prove they're the best.

In the flash challenge, rival alliances vied for power.

- How come you shaped it like a heart?

- I've started an alliance with two of the strongest players.

If I can't get this skull pick, hopefully, one of them will.

- The winner of the flash challenge is Cleen Rock One.

[together] Oh.

- Now it's payback.

- So if you have your eyes on anybody,

who would you choose?

- I'd say Christian.

- If you take out the heart of the lion...

- Cut off the head, and they'll fall.

- I think it's time we take some of these rookies out.

announcer: In the elimination tattoo, Matti Hixson returned.

- Ooh! - I thought I smelled sausage.

announcer: And the veterans were determined

to turn the tables on the new artists.

- I got the guy who wanted a redwood tree,

a mask, and a flower.

I hate this challenge.

Detail, detail.

I hope I put enough in.

- Alex just bitches and bitches.

I can't take it anymore.

I just want this little dick to go home tonight.

- Shut the [bleep] up, you douchebag.

- A lack of disrespect. - A lack of [bleep].

I'll [bleep] knock your fat ass out, bitch.

- A lack of disrespect. - What's up, mother[bleep]?

announcer: In the elimination, Alex, Megan,

Anthony, and Picasso were the bottom four.

- Megan Jean.

- Nobody can tell what the [bleep] is going on

with this tattoo.

- Alex.

- What this lacks is artistic flow.

It's very cut and paste.

- Anthony.

- Realistically, your tattoo is one of the ones

that has the least amount of detail.

- Picasso.

- Whether we like the artwork or we don't,

it's got to have that smooth execution.

See that left hook of the horn on the top?

There's, like, a thousand pickups.

- I feel like this is the best one I've done.

- Picasso, you do not have what it takes to be an Ink Master.

announcer: Eight artists remain to take on returning veterans,

but only one will earn a $100,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

[rock music]

♪♪

- We were on top the whole beginning

of this thing, and now it's slipping.

It's just gonna get harder.

We need to help each other out if we're gonna stay on top.

I'm concerned about what you and Cleen have going on.

- Whoa, dude, first of all...

- And that's fine, but... you know what I mean?

- I'm not dating Cleen.

- No, but there's an obvious relationship building there.

- What's happening over here? - Oh, boy.

- I came over to make fun of you.

- We need to keep an eye on you.

- What am I gonna do by hanging out with Cleen?

- It could affect your judgment.

- Affect my judgment how?

- If we're gonna be an alliance,

I need to know that you're with us and us first.

- This alliance is what's first for me.

- If you say you're not gonna be distracted,

then I'm taking you at your word,

but I would be very careful if I were you.

[tense music]

♪♪

- Yes!

- For today's flash challenge

we return to the legendary Coney Island.

Since the Coney Island Freak Show opened in 1880,

contortionists have been one of the most popular acts,

and this week they'll also be your canvases.

Let's meet them.

- They're ripped as [bleep].

Any challenge with half-naked women

is an awesome challenge with me.

- Contortionists combine art and science

by bending their bodies

into creative and sometimes shocking shapes.

Today you must once again work in teams of two.

Each team will be randomly assigned

a pair of contortionists.

You must first pose your canvases,

and then use body paint

to transform them into something else completely.

This week you are being judged on color theory.

- Color theory is taking different colors

and making them complement each other

so that in the end they look great.

- You must use a dynamic color palette

to distract and direct the eye,

creating a mind-blowing illusion.

Cleen, you won the last elimination tattoo.

That means you get to assign the teams.

Advantages are few and far between,

so make the most of this one.

- The only one I'm trying to help right now is myself.

I'm gonna try and screw over as many of these guys

as I possibly can, 'cause I need

all the advantage I can get.

- Cleen's headstrong, man, and I know he's here to win.

- Every single one of those skulls

got a bullet in it.

- Okay, guys, please read the number

on the bottom of your skull to determine your team.

- One.

- Four.

- One.

- Cleen chose me because he wants to win,

and I'm a winner.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

- Team three. - Three.

- I'm pairing up Megan with Sausage,

because I'm trying to help her out today.

He's a good artist.

If I paired Megan up with Alex, she would kill me.

- Four.

- Alex, really, Cleen?

This guy has checked out of the building.

- Number two. - Two.

- This could be an absolute disaster.

Anthony and I both primarily do black and gray,

and this challenge is all about color theory.

It's one of the first smart moves Cleen's made.

- The winners of the flash challenge

will have the power to assign all human canvases

in the elimination tattoo as a team.

You have four hours

to use color theory to create a jaw-dropping illusion,

and your time starts now.

♪

- Hey, how's it going?

- This is a hard, creative challenge.

- That would be freaking awesome if I knew what to do with it.

- First of all, you have to figure out

how to position these contortionists.

- We need something that's gonna be stable too.

- Stable.

- Second of all, they have to disguise

these human figures by using the right colors

to make it something amazing.

- Maybe put your two legs together there.

- Not only are we dealing with weird-ass contortionists...

- That's a little better. - What could it be?

But I've never, ever airbrushed before in my life.

- Yeah, I can see a face right there.

What do you think about the idea of a snake?

What about an Adam and Eve theme?

Oh, dude, her boobs as an eye?

Is that a ship?

- As an eye?

We are talking way too much and losing valuable time.

- That's an awful little head for a great big swan, brother.

- If we don't win this challenge and get a skull pick,

I don't see us turning the tide at all in our favor.

- I'm just at a [bleep] loss here on this one.

- We can do, like, an alligator head.

I was thinking, like, a swan.

- Every idea falling out of Alex's mouth right now

is absolutely horse [bleep].

We should try to do like a macaw.

- I have no idea what that bird looks like.

- Oh, it's fine. I got it.

- Okay. - Don't worry about it.

I have to take the lead in this challenge

because Alex doesn't have anything to bring.

This is the one, dude. This is the winner.

If we get that skull pick, we could [bleep]

totally take over.

I've got 99 problems, and they're all Alex.

- I'm imagining it's like some body styles,

like, say, like, she's bent over.

- Yeah, yeah. - Her head's here.

I started to get some sort of, like, a clown face.

- The clown idea is [bleep] killer.

- We're at Coney Island.

A laughing clown seems perfect subject matter.

- We're gonna have our contortionist actually twerk,

so it's gonna make the clown laugh.

This is gonna be awesome.

- I think, like,

a spider would be, like, a really badass...

- Or what I'm thinking is, like, one arch this way

and one arch this way.

Would that not give you kind of a scorpion shape?

- I need to see them in their positions again.

- That was a scorpion.

- Yes.

- Because then now it's the body.

- Yeah, look at the legs, dude.

We should sketch out

where they are real quick, take them apart,

and then figure out where we're painting them.

♪♪

- Two more hours.

Two more hours.

- If we put her in front of him,

maybe the legs out,

then we've got some kind of, like, facial structure

where it's... you know what I'm saying?

Something with horns.

- Like a [bleep, murmurs] or something?

- Do a demon, like an Oni.

Yes, yes. - Nice. All right.

We wasted a lot of time trying to figure out

what the hell we're gonna do.

Now that we got it, it's gonna be a sprint

to the finish line.

- We've got two airbrushes.

Let's start painting, dude.

♪♪

- Yours can be really light on the back.

It doesn't have to be really solid.

- Sausage seems like a really sweet,

little, jolly dude,

but he's starting to act like a dick.

- What do you think, white highlights?

- I don't know if it needs white highlights.

They have, like, yellow pops here and there.

That's what we should use for a highlight color.

- I'm just trying to do something that's gonna pop out,

because if this is gonna be the front of him,

then it's gonna be the main focus of it.

- He won't listen to my ideas.

- I had a bottle of white.

I think that I have a stronger stake

in this challenge than she does.

I especially need to do well,

because I need to get control of this game

and show my presence as a fierce competitor.

- How you feeling?

- This is not exactly how I would have used color theory,

but it's a cool subject matter we got.

- We got to win this one, Marq.

This one's for the veterans.

- It's the badasses versus the non-badasses.

- Cleen and St. Marq are painting buttholes

all day long, and they're laughing their ass off.

- [laughs]

- I'm taking the [bleep] serious.

If this ass clown wins the challenge,

I will punch everybody in the face right now.

♪

- Five, four, three,

two, one.

That's it. Machines down.

Time is up.

- It is [bleep] dope, dude.

Sausage and Megan Jean's piece is absolutely ridiculous.

I have no idea what they're doing.

There is no rainbow scorpion.

It's rainbow colored,

it doesn't have the right amount of legs,

and it looks like garbage.

- All right, guys, time to critique your work.

And we are gonna begin with St. Marq and Cleen.

♪♪

- The color theory in this is great.

I like the way that you did the white teeth really strong.

You have the symmetrical red mouth

coming around cradling that.

Then you have the actual hair

that plays off the red and the white.

So as far as your color theory goes, the palette's very nice.

- Very simple pose.

Very creative idea to come up with to make a clown.

- Alex and Matti.

- The colors are very bright,

but the details are weak

for it to really be a strong, stand-out image.

- The overall idea is a strong one.

It's just the final execution.

It's sloppy.

- Who knew that color theory

meant put the whole rainbow on somebody?

Anybody that's paired with Alex is bound to fail.

- Sausage and Megan Jean.

♪♪

Obviously, you guys went with a scorpion design.

- We went with warm temperatures

to show that the animal's dangerous.

And then we put cool colors into the legs,

making all of the extremities read together.

- The creativity on this is really over-the-top.

Contorting them in this position,

the four limbs of the scorpion,

that tail flip up together with reds and bright yellows,

it all pops off the black backdrop.

It shows for a stronger art piece.

- Anthony and Christian.

♪♪

The majority of your detail and imagery is on the flat back.

It's not the most creative use of the two figures.

- She said she was really comfortable in the splits.

We just decided to go for it.

- What you've done I don't really think

is anything more than you could accomplish with one model.

You also didn't do anything to really play one color

off the other.

- All Christian and Anthony did was just paint this dude's back

and told him to lay down.

How creative is that?

Me and Marq killed it.

There's no way we're not gonna win.

- I'm not the only one who thought it was a little wack.

- Well, can you listen to me, dude?

- [bleep] the team.

Megan is more of a liability than an asset.

- Whoo.

- This guy will not sit through what I have to give him.

This is bull[bleep] yet again. - [groans]

- Today we're testing color theory.

They painted on contortionists.

Matti and Alex weren't so effective

in creating a really nice, clean image,

yet they use all these colors.

- There's a lot of light colors in that color palette.

Without a clean black outline separating them,

we don't get any definition.

- I think the color is not their problem.

They put their models next to each other,

and that kind of intertwined too much.

The interesting pose that Sausage and Megan

came up with makes a better visual art piece.

It used all the appendages.

- Adding purple, green, and yellow

in the claws of the scorpion was really the big offset,

because everything else was primarily red.

They separated themselves from the pack.

- But Cleen and St. Marq had a lot stronger details.

They hit a broader spectrum of color

that really plays well together.

- All right, you want to let them know?

- Let's go.

♪♪

- Today you had to use color theory

to transform your canvases into something else completely.

The judges have decided the winners of the flash challenge

are Sausage and Megan Jean.

- When the canvases contorted,

it immediately jumped out, creating that dynamic shape.

It was just that extra step.

- You'll have the power to assign all human canvases

for the elimination tattoo as a team.

- In my season, nice guy took me to second place.

This time around, I'm not gonna be nice

about who I give the skull picks to.

Screw everybody.

- You can all head back to the loft

and prepare to find out

which veteran artist you must battle next.

- Obviously, you guys got the win,

and I do congratulate you for that,

but I [bleep] hated it.

- You can hate it all you want.

We really set the bar high.

- And literally it was so beautiful,

I don't know how you could say you hated it.

- A rainbow scorpion is a very weird idea.

I didn't care for the concept.

You told me that as well when I came down and talked to you.

And you said, "I don't like the subject matter."

- No. - Yes, you did.

- I didn't say subject matter, dude; I [bleep] said colors.

- Bull[bleep]. You said subject matter.

- Okay, maybe I [bleep] said subject matter...

- So apparently, I'm not the only one

who thought it was a little wack.

- Well, can you [bleep]ing listen to me, dude?

- You had a four-legged scorpion that lasted for 30 seconds.

- Think if it could walk.

Ours laughed. We had a laughing clown.

- Well, it was really good, but ours was better.

♪♪

- Welcome to the elimination tattoo.

- We're down to four newbies and four veterans.

And you know what? We're gonna keep it going.

We're gonna knock all these rookies out.

- One more Ink Master veteran is back for revenge.

- Another one.

- And you must prove that you can hold your own against him,

because only one of you will win $100,000,

a feature in "Inked" magazine, and the title of Ink Master.

He's one of the top new-school artists in the country

and helped pioneer the style.

- What?

♪♪

- Jime Litwalk.

♪♪

- I [bleep]ing knew it.

- Mr. Litwalk.

- The best tattoo of the day goes to Jime.

- You came out, and you showed how versatile you are.

This position, very, very hard to pull off.

The application is just clean, solid, tight tattooing.

- You really did a good job on this.

- He's no joke.

This competition just elevated tenfold.

Jime is a badass,

and I am absolutely nervous to face him.

- Looking back on the live finale,

I thought the judges wanted to see versatility.

So it's something that wasn't really my norm.

- You did Jime the entire competition,

but you abandoned your style in this particular piece.

- This thing doesn't have the punch

that you normally have.

- Joey, you do have what it takes to be Ink Master.

[cheers and applause]

- I was livid. I'm not gonna repeat that.

I'm here to win the title of Ink Master.

- As a veteran, you fought through the competition

once before, so you now have the power

to choose the next elimination tattoo.

What's the next elimination tattoo?

- New-school dinosaurs.

- Dino tats.

- Jime is the pioneer of new school.

He's going for the win right out of the gate.

- I want to test these guys' drawing abilities.

I think it's gonna be pretty epic

to see these artists get pushed to their artistic limit today.

We'll see what they got.

I can't put into words how bad I want to win.

I want to prove to myself

I have what it takes to be the next Ink Master.

- Jime, have a seat, man.

- I'm shocked to see this many veterans.

Where the hell are all the new guys?

- Remember, you are being judged on color theory.

Let's meet your canvases.

♪♪

Sausage and Megan Jean, you won the flash challenge.

You now have the power to assign the canvases.

Be strategic.

- This is a very delicate juggle.

I don't want to make an enemy out of Cleen,

but I can't have my alliance shaft me

because I'm being nice to Cleen.

I'll be amazed if I can pull this off.

- What are you hoping to get?

- A T. Rex kind of shredding on a mountain bike.

- I'm open to what dinosaur I'm getting,

but I would like it on the back of my right calf.

- I don't want that one.

She wants it on the back of her leg,

which means that she has to sit facedown.

All her weight is laying on her lungs.

You're basically gonna suffocate yourself.

- I want a T. Rex on a surfboard.

- I would like to get a new-school Saurolophus

jamming on some drums or whatever.

- A new-school Stegosaurus

in a varsity jacket playing video games...

- Jeez. - With a stone TV in the back.

- These canvases are dealing out some crazy-ass ideas.

- I'd like to get a triceratops,

an asteroid crashing in the background

and then exploding around it.

- Finally a cool idea.

Megan Jean better hook me up.

- If you were gonna hand Jime...

- I have no idea.

- Because this is his skill.

He can pretty much can knock everything out of the park.

- Yeah.

- Jime's gonna get a hard canvas,

because he's new in the house.

I've got Matti to shoot for, because on our season,

he came after me tooth and nail.

As much as Megan Jean thinks that she's part

of this skull pick, this is my skull pick.

- Canvases, one-by-one read the artist's name

on the bottom of your skull.

- Christian.

- St. Marq.

- Megan Jean.

- What does he want, a stone TV?

- A stone TV.

♪♪

- Matti.

- Doing a stegosaurus playing video games

in front of a stone TV is a difficult image.

I want to run up and grab every one of those skulls

and just start chucking them at Sausage.

- Sausage.

- Anthony.

♪♪

- Jime.

I walk in, I sit down,

and I'm already getting handed the bad canvas.

And I know Sausage; He's kind of like the little kid on the block

who likes to poke the bear

but then blame it when it bites him.

- Alex. - Figured.

- Cleen.

- Yeah.

- Megan Jean clearly hooked Cleen up.

It's obvious her loyalties have shifted.

- All right, guys, remember, after the elimination tattoo,

the human canvas jury will vote on the tattoo

that they think is the worst

and put one artist up for elimination.

You will have six hours

to tattoo a new-school dinosaur.

Based on your work, one of you will close shop.

Good luck.

- New school is based and predicated on big,

bold, bright colors.

- T. Rex? - Yes.

- Unicorn horn? - Yes.

- Cape? - You're with me.

- I like that.

- Without a successful color palette,

these tattoos are gonna go to [bleep].

- Stegosaurus in a varsity jacket.

- Playing video games on the stone TV?

- Yes. - Okay.

What the [bleep] am I gonna do with this?

How are you supposed to put a TV into this tattoo

without blocking half of it?

- And some red Converse with a date on the bottom

to be like a tribute to my father.

- Holy crap.

This guy wants, like, a dozen elements

packed into one tattoo.

Sausage came out swinging at me right now.

You're petty, dude. You're a petty son of a bitch.

- It's got to fit in this area right here?

- Yeah.

- She wants it on the back of her leg.

She's gonna have to sit on her face for six hours.

It can make her squirm.

She's gonna have to sit up a lot.

She might have to take a lot of breaks.

It's one of those things that could hinder

my artistic ability.

T. Rex? - Mm-hmm.

It has to be on the tattoo machine.

- Hey, Jime. - Yes, sir?

- Welcome back, bro.

- It's way more intense now than the first time I came on.

- Oh, just wait.

- I walked into this thinking I had the upper hand.

I don't.

♪♪

- Let me see yours.

- That's my chickie.

- Mm-hmm. It's cute.

- Thank you.

- Megan's just not the same person

that she was when she started.

- Yeah, I'm starting to see Megan

as more of a liability than an asset.

- Yeah.

- As far as a competitor at this point,

I think she's our weak link, dude.

- Yeah.

- And she's letting personal [bleep]

cloud her view of the competition.

- I think so too.

- It is time to make the move, you know,

[bleep] team bull[bleep].

This is you and me to the end,

and we'll do what we got to do to get there.

- All right, guys, Jime Litwalk

challenged you to show color theory

by tattooing his specialty, new school.

And your time starts now.

- All right, let's do this.

- Let's kick some ass and take names.

- This week we're testing the artists on color theory.

- Hell, yeah.

- Without using the right colors

to make the tattoo dynamic, it can just fall flat.

In this competition, there's no room for mistakes.

Somebody else is gonna shine. You're gonna go home.

- All right, you ready?

[intense music]

♪

- You're doing great, man.

- Today we're doing color theory and new school.

That's what I'm known for.

I'm like a pig in [bleep] right now.

I wonder if they're gonna judge us on an apples

to apples comparison to mine and Jime's?

- All right.

- This is the royal rumble of new-school challenges

right now, me and Jime Litwalk...

Boom! Head-to-head.

- Nothing like jumping right into it.

- You got to me on your toes, man, right out the gate.

- Who was gunning for you since you been here?

- Everybody. - Oh, really?

- As soon as I walked in the door.

- Instant target on you, huh?

- Yeah, oh, yeah.

- That's got to be a kick in the nuts.

- Coming back into this competition,

the caliber of artists have definitely raised.

We can call them newbies or whatever you want,

but they're not new to tattooing.

They're just new to this competition.

You have a lot of great artists competing,

so you have to be great every single time.

- [groans]

- I'm not your favorite person at the moment, am I?

Right from the get-go, my canvas is in pain.

- Whoo.

- And I just hope she doesn't stop

in the middle of this and just [bleep] me over.

- Five hours to go.

♪♪

- I like that you caught that. - [laughs]

- I'm really bummed that there are more veterans

than us right now.

The plan was to knock them off as quick as we could,

and it's just not working.

Now it's just time for a strategy change.

This is still just a chess game, and everybody is a pawn.

- What's happening over here?

- I have an auntie triceratops with her three nephews,

and one of her nephews is special to her,

so he's the one hatching out of the egg.

- Megan Jean is doing a very strange tattoo.

It's hard to read.

So far, the way this is looking, I am not a fan.

- I think Cleen deserves to go to the finale.

This competition is really mentally exhausting.

I am trying not to make enemies with strong artists.

I'm gonna play both sides.

How's the meteor shower?

- I haven't got to that yet.

- I have my alliance,

and yet I sort of have my friend, Cleen.

Heh-heh, he's so cute.

- What are [bleep] you doing?

If Megan doesn't pull her head out of Cleen's ass,

she's definitely not going to the finale.

- We're supposed to hate the veteran artists coming in,

but it's really awesome to have you here.

- Three hours, guys, three more hours.

♪♪

- Whoo.

[groans]

- Hold on tight.

I'm trying to make a winner here.

I have to tattoo a new-school Triceratops playing video games

on Jack Skellington.

He only has, like, this much fat between his skin and bone.

- [groans]

- And it really hurts to get tattooed

when you're that skinny.

Let's keep getting it over with.

This guy will not sit through what I have to give him,

and this is bull[bleep] yet again.

- For me, I just wanted to have a fun day.

That's why I chose this particular piece.

- [bleep] Sausage. Little slippery assed wiener

gets the best canvas pick,

and I really hope he biffs it like he usually does.

- Brakes on there, huh?

The chain doesn't have any links,

but you got some brake lines.

That's more ammo to just pick on you.

- Right. - [laughs]

- I know I'm not known for new school,

but he can't underestimate me.

- You kicking ass and taking names, or what?

- Trying go. - I'm here to get you $100,000.

- Matti's got a vendetta,

so I'm gonna have my sights on you,

and I'm gonna be firing so that you can get a taste

of what it was like to be me.

- How you doing over here, buddy?

- Pretty good; I'm gonna be racing to the finish.

- Dude, what, are you getting slower in your old age?

Holy [bleep]. - Right.

New school is definitely not an area that I live in.

- I don't want you to rush through it, man.

- No. - I want you to take your time.

- I'm trying to think of what eye color to go with.

At this point in the competition,

I have yet to really be able to plant my feet

and pull off a St. Marq tattoo.

It's very frustrating.

Oh, yeah, red.

All I know is, I can't go home on this stupid dinosaur tattoo.

- Uh-oh, this kid's getting close.

Nice, dude. Nice fades.

- It's kind of what I do, this style.

- That's what I'm talking about. That looks clean.

- I know I'm gonna do a better tattoo than St. Marq.

I'm known for full-color tattoos,

new-school designs.

St. Marq is a black-and-gray artist.

It's time for St. Marq to go home.

Pack your bags, buddy.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

That's it. Time's up. Machine's down.

No more ink.

- Let's have a look in the mirror.

- Wow.

Dude, I'm actually in love with this tattoo right now.

- As usual, I'm completely unimpressed

with St. Marq's work.

This thing has no color theory at all.

The background is busted.

He's gonna be the first veteran out the door.

- Yeah, dude, you really are a tattoo God.

[laughs]

- I'm gonna laugh when your ass goes out that door.

- Your performance has been sucking.

- You don't have a hope of winning this thing.

- Hell, yes, I wanna be here.

- It's not about surviving; it's about winning.

♪♪

- So are you packed up?

- [laughs] No.

- I did a much better tattoo.

- Yours, I thought it was one of the worst.

- Are you kidding me? Yours [bleep] was terrible.

And you know it was terrible.

- I [bleep] belong here, and you need to question

whether or not you belong here at all.

- Look, dude, I didn't do your terrible tattoo, you did.

- Do you think this hurts my feelings at all, man?

- I think it does bug you,

because your performance has been sucking.

- It's... it's been mediocre at best, and I'm pissed about it.

- So then does mediocre deserve to be here?

- Yeah, it [bleep] does.

- Then you are the biggest [bleep] hypocrite of all.

Mediocre deserves to be here if you're St. Marq.

Bull[bleep].

- I'm gonna laugh when your ass goes out that door.

- Pack your [bleep], dude. It's going down today.

- We'll [bleep]ing see about that.

♪♪

- Today Jime challenged you to tattoo his specialty,

new school, and we're judging color theory.

Jime, you're up first.

♪♪

- It's a wonderful drawing.

The line weights are awesome throughout this tattoo,

the dynamics, but it's pretty dark.

The trick with that heavy black

is to let the bright colors show.

- Well, if I was at home, this would have been a tattoo

that would have been done in, like, a three-part session.

I don't have that luxury. - And here in this competition,

you need to play smart for six hours.

We've seen so many examples of picture-book perfect

new-school colors here from you,

and this one falls short of what we've seen you do

in the past.

- Cleen.

- This thing's dynamic.

The balance that you have here between hot and cold,

the little green that you have underneath set off

with the turquoises and aqua colors,

and even the white that pops off the backside of the head,

all great color theory, all great color use.

- One thing that you can do

that a lot of your competitors cannot do

is put this much color into this large of an area

and have it be this saturated

with this little trauma to the skin.

You're putting up the bar for these guys to catch up with.

- Matti.

What exactly did your canvas ask you for?

- He wanted a little dinosaur kid playing video games

in front of a stone TV.

- Why is the TV not plugged in?

- Where would I plug it in, you know?

It just has no place to go.

- The front of the TV, there's an awkward black line

that comes out.

- It wasn't a mistake line, if that's what you're asking.

- It looks like an unfinished line.

- I was making that little cord for the controller.

- The TV itself, I'm not a fan of it.

It's just not as striking, as powerful of an image.

- Sausage.

- It's a top-notch tattoo, man.

The color saturation is perfect.

All these little details you have in the teeth

with the different color highlights...

even the front fork in the bicycle

has those little recessed notches

for the axel plates to go through it.

All tattoos are far from perfect,

but this one is pretty close.

- The little blue outline

that you put around this character,

it just pops off the skin really well.

In a color theory challenge, it's little details

like that that really makes this thing awesome.

Christian.

- Your color theory in this,

using that purplish and blue,

and then coming off with that hot yellow,

and then going back to the green, it's a nice blend.

You have the red which then balances everything out.

Aesthetically it's pleasing.

It just doesn't knock new school out of the park.

- Megan Jean.

- This tattoo's definitely weird.

It's solid, it's bright, but it's hard to read exactly

what's going on, especially from a distance.

The perspective you chose is weird,

because you don't see enough of the body

to see what's going on.

It's just hard to read.

- I wanted that perspective.

I think it's tough but interesting.

- But if you look at depth,

and the richness, and the punch

that some of the other tattoos in the room have,

you really missed it.

- Anthony.

I like this tattoo.

It's a weird thing that she asked for,

purple dinosaur that's a unicorn blowing bubbles,

yet I know what it is.

This is legible and readable, and it's a solid job, man.

- Because you stuck to doing one thickness of an outline,

the tattoo looks very clean,

and in the end it's a really nicely wearable tattoo.

- Alex.

- What's going on with the color

that you kind of split this guy in half?

- Just a hard light source on the back side of it.

- It's a little bit weird. Huge head. Weird little body.

Oh, is that a surfboard down there; Maybe it is.

- There's a lot of missed opportunity

in the water and the background.

You fall flat on drawing.

For a guy who was at the bottom last week,

you need to be drawing a lot harder and stronger.

Do you still want to keep pushing in this place or what?

- Hell, yes, I wanna be here.

This is it, man. I want to be here.

- That drawing's got to reflect it.

It's not about surviving. It's about winning.

- St. Marq.

- The color theory on this tattoo,

there's not a lot of wow factor.

There's some areas of transition

from one color to the next

where it's just not really super smooth and blendy.

- You just didn't capitalize on the color theory of the day.

It is pretty weak and patchy in a lot of areas

where you really needed to ramp up,

and you could have used black.

It would have been your friend in this.

- I definitely did take it a little easy on the black,

because I was worried that I was gonna muddy my color up,

and maybe that was a gamble I lost.

- Compared to the rest of the room, a lot of people

either know new school

and really hit the new school part of the challenge

or did a lot of really bright color saturation

and showed a good color theory.

I feel like you kind of missed a little bit of both marks here.

- All right, judges, time to determine

who had the best tattoo of the day.

- Just judging on the challenge today,

drawing, detail, new school, color theory, everything,

the best final product is Sausage.

- No, my vote's for Cleen. It's just massive.

It has everything to it.

It's what Sausage did and more.

- I like them both. I like both applications.

I think Sausage had a little bit more breathability,

which appeals to me, so I vote for Sausage.

The judges have decided.

The best tattoo of the day goes to Sausage.

The human canvas jury is deliberating right now,

and their vote will put one artist up for elimination.

Head back to the loft.

One of you is about to pack your machines.

- I'm gonna fight to stay here.

- You screwed the pooch today, buddy.

- I've been faced with eight guys

who have a singular vision to [bleep] me.

- Well, that's everybody. I've gotten [bleep] canvases.

- I mean, if the new artists are able to take out a veteran,

that'll be a feather in their cap for sure.

- And you're letting down the veteran artists right now.

- I definitely dropped the ball.

- Yeah, I don't think you dropped the ball.

I don't think you ever picked it up.

- I don't want to let you guys down.

- If there's ever a time to inflate your balls,

like, you better stand on the pump, buddy.

♪♪

- All right, guys, today we're testing color theory

with new-school dinosaurs.

Alex did a very new-school design

with great color theory here, but very little detail.

It almost looks like a salamander.

- It's all just very flat.

- His drawing and St. Marq's drawing

are two of the worst drawings of the day.

- There's tons of discrepancies in just the dark purple,

and this is the weakest color palette.

That belly is just not doing it.

- I think that Megan Jean hit the challenge

better than St. Marq.

- It's really muted, really dull.

Some of the details in the dinosaur

are hard to see, because the color theory

is just so bland.

I'm not a fan of her tattoo at all.

- No.

- Well, we never know which way the human canvas jury

is gonna go.

They tend to shake this thing up.

- We're here to determine who has the worst tattoo of the day.

- This is my tattoo, and Alex was my artist.

- I'm like, pregnant belly, wham.

- I mean, he's even got the little lines in there

like it's got stretch marks.

- The shading goes from, like, yellow to green pretty hard.

- I like all the different colors in there.

- It looks like he's split in half.

It could almost pass for a snake

if you look at it quickly.

It's a snake that just ate a rat.

- This is my tattoo, and my artist was St. Marq.

- What are the dots up behind him supposed to be?

- Gels for stage lighting.

- To me, it looks like it's brass knuckles up there.

- I don't like the way he's doing the peace sign.

- That's not a peace sign. That's a devil horns.

You got to think, man, they don't have five fingers like us.

- And that orb throws me off too.

- That's supposed to be a power button.

- It doesn't seem like it fits in at all.

- That's my tattoo. My artist was Christian.

- I don't like the stance.

I see a dinosaur hunchback like it has scoliosis.

- He's in position to get ready to swing.

- Well, I feel sorry for you,

because that green background is disgusting.

It looks like your artist can't even do any vibrant colors.

St. Marq at least attempted it.

- Mine looks totally way better.

- Come on, man, it's all just stiff and rigid.

Mine at least has chill bone under the crown.

- Oh, man. I don't know, Marq.

I'd be pretty worried if I were you.

- I'm ready.

- I'd pretty much say I'm going down as well.

So I'm, you know...

- I think it's gonna come down to the person

who convinces them that you deserve to be here.

If you went down there and you had a great speech,

you could sway them.

I've seen it happen.

♪♪

- Here we go.

- All right, the judges want to see Alex...

St. Marq...

and Megan Jean.

See y'all downstairs.

- Y'all ready? - Let's go face the music.

♪♪

- Today you are being judged on color theory.

Based on your work,

one of you will be packing your machines.

It's time to find out who the human canvas jury chose.

♪♪

Alex, you're here because the human canvas jury

determined that you had the worst tattoo of the day.

Jen, why did the jury vote Alex to the bottom?

- They told me my dinosaur looked pregnant.

- And is there anything about the tattoo

that you don't like?

- Maybe if we could have just shaded

his belly a little bit different

just so it doesn't have that complete roundness effect.

- It's a new-school challenge,

and I love the tattoo that I did.

- Jen, who did you want to see as the bottom of the day?

- St. Marq's tattoo.

There was supposed to be, like, a power button

that you couldn't tell was a power button,

lights up top that look like brass knuckles.

- It sounds like that was her opinion down there

in order to save her own tattoo.

- I think myself and Megan Jean's tattoos

clearly beat Marq's tattoo.

- You did a great job.

- Thanks, Jen.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

- Your tattoo, Alex, it is solid.

It is vibrant.

But if you can't produce a more dynamic drawing,

you don't have a hope of winning this thing.

- I believe that it is a better drawing than St. Marq's.

- This is the third time he's been down here.

You were self-described as this being your jam,

like, new school is your thing.

- And I think it clearly shows

that it's more mine than it is yours.

He did, like, "Puff the Magic Dragon" on some kid's leg.

- It's your [bleep] thing.

- He's probably gonna get it lasered off.

- Marq, fundamentally, yours looks patchy.

Your line work looks sketchy.

Your background doesn't look finished.

The whole thing was about color, and purple, and orange,

and gray is not aesthetically pleasing.

- St. Marq, not hitting the new-school thing,

that's kind of the expected miss.

Color theory also weak.

But your application in this, Marq,

is where you fall the shortest.

I think the basic fundamental of the way Megan's tattoo

is laid out is a bad idea.

It's not a well-constructed drawing.

- I was wrong in assuming

that with new school I had a lot more wiggle room.

- You have wiggle room to do whatever.

You can play with proportions and make it unrealistic,

but it always wants to look appealing.

- It's misshapen, so all that blue just

makes it look like a big blue circle.

- Still a much more solid tattoo than you did.

- You have your opinions, man, but I mean,

that's what we're talking about.

- It is factually more solid.

As far as ink application to the skin,

on a technical side, Marq, yours is the weakest.

But, Megan, your drawing today

is the one that is the most troubling.

The head versus the body, it's not matching.

They're just completely different pieces,

which gives me a sense that you just

pieced it together as you went.

♪♪

- All right, final decision, guys.

- My least favorite tattoo is Megan Jean's.

- Megan's got clean technical application, bad drawing.

Alex has got a questionable drawing,

very good application.

Marq's got questionable drawing and weak application.

Today I got to pick St. Marq.

- I don't want to go home on this stupid tattoo, man.

- Marq, your colors are least attractive of the three.

You're locked in, St. Marq.

- I'm locked in.

- Are you locked in on Megan Jean?

- I am.

♪♪

- I'm locked in on St. Marq.

The judges have decided.

St. Marq, you do not have what it takes to be Ink Master.

- You're a great tattooer.

Just a weird challenge for you, but this competition

is designed to take you out of your comfort zone.

That's the way it went, man. I know you love the game.

- I love it. - You're sadistic.

- Please pack your machines and close shop.

- Thanks.

I had a huge target on my back from the minute

I stepped into the room.

I could just never get running. and if I would have,

they would have had hell to pay,

because I'm still St. Marq,

tattoo [bleep]ing God.

♪♪

announcer: On the next episode of "Ink Master"...

- What are we doing here?

[horn honks]

- Go quick. Don't be so precision with it.

Otherwise, we're gonna be here all day.

- I got into tattooing specifically

to not do manual labor.

- Mentally this [bleep] is totally nuts.

There's no way I knew what I was coming in to.

- I got to tell you, I'm going after Sausage.

- You guys got unfinished business.

- I'm gonna put that Sausage in the microwave

until he bursts.

- My first note on this tattoo is W-T-F?

- It's surreal. - It's surreally [bleep]ed up.

- If you don't want to be here, we can take out the worst tattoo

of the day and send you home.

- You make some poor choices and do your tattoo too big

and it's not solid, you're out.

[rock music]

♪

- ♪ Original