Original subtitles

On the last episode of Ink Master Shock Wars.

I feel like the alliance is more important than ever right now.

Unfortunately, we're the ones that are thinning out, and the veterans are staying.

We're getting smarter.

We need to do something.

with more incoming veterans.

Representing Black Spade Tattoo, King Ruck and E.S.

I came to flex.

The Alliance aim to take control in the Flash Challenge.

The judges have decided the winner of today's Flash Challenge is artistic skin design.

In the elimination tattoo, veteran shops struggle to survive.

Having control over everyone kind of makes you feel like a mastermind.

I'm into it.

Black spade tattoo.

Damn, we got hit hard.

Think before you wink.

You better think hard before you make this dumb ass tattoo.

What's up with the cosmic gladiators?

You ain't got to say about it, dude.

Bro, you had to etch and sketch wreck.

In the elimination.

Classic Trilogy Tattoo, Pins and Needles, and Think Before You Ink were the bottom three shops.

Classic Trilogy Tattoo.

You guys went nuts in this thing.

Drastically underfinished tattoo.

Pins and needles.

Those hands are jacked.

And you put that on somebody.

I would argue that it is not as bad as Think Before You Ink.

If I had to say which one of these three tattoos had the most technical problems, I got to

go with Think Before You Ink.

It's hard for me to let that slide.

Think before you ink.

You do not have what it takes to be Master Shop.

Eight shops remain to take on returning veteran shops, but only one will earn

a $200 prize and the title of Master Shop.

He's gone.

Ding dong, Rich is gone.

We've hit a groove with the alliance.

But what's our plan now that the lower tier is starting to get bumped off?

Don't help the veterans.

Yeah, we're really getting a chance to see everybody's weak points come out.

Picasso and Lalo, all you have to do is hit them with a big ass tattoo.

DJ and Bubba, split them up.

Split them up.

Keep rucking them.

Like, are they?

I mean, I don't think that they're a threat.

And I think they'll end up cutting themselves out.

The kinks is getting smoothed out.

We're still working it out, man.

You know how the saying goes, the tallest blade of grass gets cut first.

We're not trying to stand out and be too wild at first.

That's really more for some juvenile, little young mother .

That's not my mode.

That's right.

I'm an OG.

100.

I think right now, we keep observing.

Stay in the middle.

Cool, calm, and collected until the time is right.

And then we'll strike.

I'm with it.

You're good, man.

I'm with it.

You're here to fight for your shop, survive, and you'll earn $200,000, a feature in Inked

Magazine, and the title of Ink Master.

Plus, your shop will also earn the first ever title of Master Shop.

Standing between you and the title is the next returning veteran.

From Pensacola, Florida, he competed in season eight and is the owner of Boneface Inc.

Boneface and Hobo Inc.

For what my skill set was going into the competition, I made it really, really far.

But I felt like I didn't perform as well as I could.

You have tricks up your sleeve.

You're able to put in strong color.

You're able to put black where it needs to be to make the other colors vibrant.

But artistically, you have a lot of holes in the game.

My biggest issue is my design.

I can't get this water right, and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to hide this

old tattoo completely.

You're consistent with application.

It's just here you're really challenged artistically.

Foam face.

You do not have what it takes to be Ink Master.

Welcome back, Boneface.

Who'd you bring with you?

I brought Hobo Ink back with me.

Wait, isn't that the guy that got kicked off the first episode last season?

Oh, yeah.

A lot of good artists got eliminated prematurely last season.

Felt like he was one of them.

Figured I'd give him a shot at redemption.

The last time I was here, I went home super quick.

Nobody knew my name.

Traditional, traditional.

Does that say Wild Free Alive or Wild Tree Alive?

I think that he's only doing one tap today.

Hobo, that's the end of the line.

This guy came with a lot.

I have a lot to offer.

You put that together, you got beef stew.

You hear me?

Everybody going to eat.

Boneface and Hobo Inc, this week is designed to put your shop to the ultimate test.

Succeed and you'll stay, but fail and your shop goes home as fast as you return.

Hope you plan on getting blood on them Yeezy boots.

You going to put them on there?

Shots fired.

This week, we're testing artistry.

This is what I struggled with, but this time, I came prepared.

I want to admit it himself that he's not the best artist, but he snatched me up, and that's

what I'm here for.

Today, you must create a work of art using only powdered velvet.

First, you'll stencil your design onto an 8 foot by 4 foot black adhesive board.

Then, you'll apply colored velvet powder to create your masterpiece.

I hate velvet.

I don't even like touching the .

It's one of my, like, things I'm scared of.

The more limited your materials are, the more artistry it takes to make something incredible.

Wynn and your shop will have the power to assign all the human canvases for the elimination

tattoo.

What's coming ahead, you want to have the advantage.

Do not let this one slip out of your fingers.

It is going to be a mother .

You will have five hours, and your time begins now.

Let's do this.

This week, we're testing these artists on flocking.

This is an artistic technique where there's a big 4x8 board.

It's sticky, and they have to stencil off areas of it.

This will be the easiest one in the landscape.

Yeah.

Since the challenge is artistry, I think we should make, like, a nice cutout frame.

Okay.

And then add a colored powder to create an overall picture.

That looks chunky.

I'm looking to see somebody really show us that they can work with any medium.

It would be kind of cool, maybe, if we did, like, a big tarot card.

I am almost certain that nobody at home has a flocking device that they are playing with.

in their spare time. I am almost certain that nobody at home has a flocking device that they are playing with.

in their spare time.

Hand on the bottom, a lotus and a Buddha.

No tattoo stuff.

This is art.

Get tattoos out of your head.

DJ does art with literally every single thing he does.

I don't possess that same trait, and so I'm letting him take the lead 100%.

What were your thoughts?

You could even...

I'm thinking all kind of , dude.

How about a kid with a gas mask in a burning city or something?

If that's what you want to do, I'll do that.

Oh, I got it.

Let's do the hand of God touching paint brushes.

That way, he can play with the tip of the brushes.

See what I'm saying?

Yeah.

What makes Hobo and I so strong is that he's a great artist, and I'm a strong technician.

We up against the field, too, so it can't be ABC coloring book all the way.

We definitely have to swing for the fences on this one.

This is going to be crazy.

OK, so smoke into the red, and then his cloak is going to be red.

This is going great.

Eva knows exactly what she wants to do.

I know what I want to do.

Our ideas are coming together perfectly.

As long as I don't layer it too heavy, I can get some blends.

Go for it.

We can figure out anything.

This is artistry at its finest.

You have three more hours.

The pressure's definitely on, because we up last week.

Those hands are jacked.

And you put that on somebody, I would have quit too.

We need to show that we can create beautiful art and pull our heads out of our asses.

This is what I need right here.

I need a real dark, a medium.

We, we, man.

Ain't no I in team.

We, we need it.

Once again, our two alpha male minds are clashing.

Put the orange here.

You ain't got faith in the kid, man.

No, I got faith in you, man.

I just don't want it.

No, you don't, dog.

Keep it real, man.

That's all I got to say.

One hour left, guys.

Maybe do, like, a horizon line.

No horizon lines.

I can cut a glowing star, like, glowing between his horns.

Yeah.

This challenge is right up my alley.

They keep saying I'm an artist.

I'm going to show them.

This could be a chance for us to get back in the game.

This, like, doesn't work.

Ooh, that one's better.

Maybe.

I know nothing about flock.

I'm flocking oblivious.

This is literally impossible.

You freaking out yet?

Yeah.

Five.

Four, three, two, one.

That is it.

Time is up.

There's a couple spots here that's like, that just didn't work.

Ours is the worst.

Don't tell April I said that.

Hopefully, allegory and unkindness killed it.

We have to win skull picks.

Competition gets getting harder and harder, and the pressure keeps getting more and more.

Calling it.

All right, that's good.

Let's just go.

It's pretty bad.

All right, it is time to critique your work.

Let's start with Boneface, Inc.

How is it being back?

This right here, I give all y'all respect for this .

This was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life.

It's pretty clear it got away from you.

Your hand and your cup are the things that stick out as unfinished.

As far as the overall concept, I don't know if the most creative way to show artistry is just

to show an art utensil.

You're supposed to be a threat, and this is not threatening in any way, shape, or form.

Allegory arts.

Artistically, you did a very detailed drawing.

Strong imagery and a strong story to tell.

The fingers look great.

The details in the scythe look great.

The wood, the grain.

In those areas, it really shines.

Awesome.

Unkindness art.

I am a fan of tarot card art.

And trying to pull that off with a medium that you've never used is taking that artistic license

and that chance.

And to me, that speaks volumes.

Thank you guys so much.

Artistic skin design.

It looks very remedial.

You guys have been super hot, and now you're getting super cold.

You need to get back at least in mid-range to stay alive.

I just wanted to take my eyeballs out my head and just put them on the shelf somewhere.

I didn't want to see this piece.

This piece look like my daughter did it.

How's the monkey?

Overall, I think you definitely hit a graphic image.

It's definitely readable from across the room.

I feel like if the lights go off, this thing glows in the dark in different colors, and so

intense and graphic.

I just really like the simple, bold, classic contrast that you've got here.

I think it's a pretty impressive feat.

Thank you.

Classic trilogy tattoo.

It has a very simplistic feel to it.

Unfortunately, showing us a tool of artistry isn't showing us artistry.

Pins and needles.

This thing falls a little bit flat on creativity.

You guys are still stiff.

You know, it's not, I'm amazed at this beat scene, and at the same time, it's not the messiest

thing in the room.

But it's like, this next challenge, you guys got to go for it.

Black Spade.

Did y'all notice the difference between the left eye and the right eye?

The eye on the left looks round.

The eye on the right is far from round, with the pupil far from the center.

It's pretty wonky.

Old Town Ink.

Even though I do think it is one of the more messier ones in the room, it's very clear to

tell what's going on here.

This is one of the few pieces of the day that tells a story that stirs up emotion.

And that's more important than the application.

The subtle American flag coming out of that really deep black sends the message A for effort

in trying to put out a piece of artwork and not showing us tattoo imagery.

I don't understand what the judges are thinking.

Their picture looks like a mess.

It looks like a salad with a man standing next to it.

It's very confusing.

People are gunning for us hard.

Is this a cover-up?

Yes, sir.

This could send you to the bottom.

I'm just trying to make it simple.

Please don't screw this up for us.

I got it.

All right, guys, today we are testing artistry.

Creativity is the biggest thing.

Yeah.

And Allegory is the one in the room, to me, that looks like a plan.

a follow-through, and a finish.

And I like that imagery, and I like the story that it tells.

I do, too.

I do, too.

The crispness of the piece entirely is nice.

It was just when I saw something else in the room that stood out, that kind of fell to the

wayside.

Yeah.

Old Town was the one that I did not expect to see that.

It was certainly very creative.

It was messy.

It was sloppy.

But it was completely recognizable what was going on.

A lot of their messiness isn't their strategy.

It looks to me like their plan fell apart.

We don't always agree, but we do have a majority.

Let's let them know.

Today, some of you used artistry to create extraordinary images.

The judges have decided the winner of today's flash challenge is Old Town,

Inc.

Congratulations, DJ and Bubba.

Really had a creative approach to making this thing a piece of art in terms of telling a story,

evoking emotion.

And I think that you took it down for those reasons.

Are you ?

kidding me.

We should have won this damn challenge.

When stuff is convoluted and messy, doesn't mean it's artistic.

You'll have the power to assign all human canvases in the next elimination tattoo.

Once again, we win another flash challenge.

We're going to take them out one by one, line them up, take them down.

We can all head back to the walk.

What do you think about the new guys?

Let's just keep doing what we've been doing and giving the new guys the hardest one.

So you think Hellboy and Boneface should get the hardest?

Yeah.

You know, we still got all these beasts in the house.

This is crazy.

I haven't been this far so far, and I've never been on top in my history here.

So it feels weird, kind of.

Don't let it feel weird, man.

It should feel good.

You know, just stay on top.

Yep.

That's my plan, man.

Just stay on top.

At a certain point, people are going to gun for us hard, you know?

All this friend bull stop.

I'm so ready.

I feel like if we just stay steady and make good tattoos, we're good.

Yeah.

Do a badass tattoo and leave with a W again.

Make it to the end.

Get that money.

Yeah.

Welcome to the elimination tattoo.

This is your chance to show that your shop deserves $200,000 and the first ever title of

master shop, Boneface.

It's on your shop to prove that you deserve to be back in this competition by proving that

you have overcome your weaknesses.

And in Boneface's honor, you'll all be judged on artistry.

This week, you must freehand a tattoo.

Drawing directly on the skin without a stencil is the ultimate test of artistry.

Freehand here, this is something that has a lot of room for error.

If you don't have a chance to put it on paper first and work out all of the kinks, you're

going to have some problems.

In this competition, you win or lose as a shop.

And this tattoo is no exception.

But you each only have one tool.

One of you will use a pen, and the other, a tattoo machine.

It's up to you who draws and who tattoos.

But once you decide, there is no going back.

It's incredibly difficult for someone to draw it and then somebody else to tattoo it.

I'm not in his mind and he's not in my mind.

The first artist will have three hours to freehand the design on your canvas.

And the second artist will have six hours to tattoo it.

You guys have some tough .

to ask yourselves, who's the best artist on paper, but then who's the best technician to apply

the artwork?

Because it all counts.

This is where we put you guys to the test on, OK, let's see what you can whip up.

Let's meet your canvases.

Old Town Ink, your shop won the flash challenge.

That means you guys have the power to assign the canvases.

Use this advantage wisely.

Yes, sir.

Everybody here already knows that we're a huge threat in this competition.

Don't it up.

We're going to keep doing what we've been doing.

What is it you wanted to get today?

Colorful phoenix on my left thigh.

Black and gray raven mid-flight on my back.

I want colorful flowers on my right butt cheek.

Oh, that smells nice.

And bouquet of flowers, you can't show too much artistry doing it.

But I don't mind a nice piece of butt every now and then.

Bull carcass on my lower right arm.

Carcass.

What are you thinking for today?

Turntable and headphones on my left arm.

Holy !

That sounds so freaking hard.

Freehand perfect circles and turntables.

Don't give me that one.

I want a watercolor octopus on my neck.

Whoa.

What the ?

Neck's definitely where you want to get.

No budging on your neck.

Absolutely.

Pretty ballsy.

A watercolor tattoo in this competition is never good, especially not on somebody's neck,

especially not in a freehand challenge, and most especially not in an octopus shape.

Too much.

Do you want to give me a last neck?

Yes.

I'm 1,000% sure Old Town Ink is going to screw us over.

I can see it in their eyes.

I'm watching them.

I won't be surprised.

Just part of the don't bother me.

What?

I'm always cool with whatever .

That was a hard one, everybody.

Sorry.

Canvases, one by one, please read the artist's name on the bottom of your skull.

Black spade tattoo.

Pins and needles.

I want this one.

Bowl carcass.

House of Monkey.

Old Town Ink.

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-cheek.

Classic Trilogy tattoo.

You're welcome, Tom.

I'm just sick of Classic Trilogy's boring tattoos.

They're only capable of one thing, and it's showing.

You know, let's see what they got.

Allegory art.

Artistic skin design.

Cool.

Unkindness art.

That's what I want.

Boneface ink.

It's all good.

You go ham.

Old Town ink strategy is to give us the hardest canvas, but I know the game.

We're going to turn this thing around, and it's going to .

Come back to bite them.

All right, guys, you'll have three hours to freehand your designs and then six hours to tattoo.

Based on your work, one shop will be out.

And your drawing time starts now.

What's up, buddy?

Picasso, nice to meet you.

No stencils.

Everything has to be drawn directly onto the skin.

We're really pushing the limits of the artist's artistic skills.

Lalo, what's our strategy?

I'm very excited to tattoo.

OK.

I think you're amazing at drawing.

OK.

The big twist is one artist has to draw and then take a back seat while the other artist does

the tattoo.

So you're going to be the drawer and I'm going to be the tattooer?

Uh-huh.

OK.

I'm putting away my drawing stuff.

There's going to have to be a lot of teamwork.

If one artist just draws it and then leaves the room, the other guy is left in the dark with

just a scribble.

To give you the best tattoo, I'm going to design your piece and Ulyss will tattoo it.

There's an advantage to having a partner in this competition.

That demands back in light, baby.

Hobo is a pretty solid artist.

He's going to draw.

We can do a watercolor.

But if you don't want some that's just going to look like a blob on your neck, we got to do

some type of line work to hold it together.

Anything watercolor in this competition, we'll send you home.

Could you do, like, drips of paint, kind of?

Definitely.

So, like, it would be, like, all line work for the octopus, and then just, like, random drips.

Definitely.

Definitely.

I got to do the dopest drawing so I can rip all this to my man.

He can catch it and run off with it, baby.

You about to kill the .

tried to give us the hardest one.

Jokes on you, .

I am not going home.

You get me?

And the skulls and stuff, I'm definitely down with that, too.

If you like more dark imagery, that would be good.

Yeah, absolutely.

On my back where I want to get this, I have my first tattoo I got when I was 13.

I was looking to get a cover.

He wants a cover up.

I don't want to do the cover up, dude.

Pretend this isn't here.

You can't.

Yes, I can.

OK, but I can't with drawing it, then.

That's what I do.

I look at the dark spots.

When you draw this, you can't pretend that's not there.

I'm just saying, why are we doing that if I don't have to?

The skull's going to be all right here, and then this bird is going to be to, like, here,

like that.

So you want to go pretty big?

Nothing scares me, man.

There's so many things about this tattoo that I'm so uncomfortable with.

If I messed up the drawing, that could throw everything off.

I'm so stressed out right now.

How big is that tattoo?

To be fair, this is smaller than the last couple tattoos that we've done.

Remember how we've been doing these giant tattoos, and they're not getting done?

Yeah, no, I know.

I know.

I don't want to be pressed for time.

Clean, simple, not trying to move a whole bunch of craziness, you know what I'm saying?

We in this together.

Yeah.

Other than the background, I wouldn't go crazy.

We don't need to overcomplicate it.

Oh, Luke, he's talking about not overcomplicating.

I'm just trying to make it simple.

Me too.

My approach is to do something simple and very readable for Lalo to tattoo.

All he has to do is follow my lines and really make this amazing.

All right, guys, you have six hours to tattoo, and your time

Starts now.

Let's go.

Let's do it.

This week, the tattooers are being judged on artistry.

Freehanding is something that I want to know that an ink master is going to be able to do.

Drawing straight on the skin, going directly to your outline with your machine.

No stencils.

I'll be done when the time starts, I promise.

You shush.

Did you say that?

He's killing me right now.

The person who's drawing has to quarterback the tattoo throughout because they see the vision

and they have to translate that to the person that's inking it.

Anytime you do something I don't like, I'm going.

for this challenge.

We decided it's best if I just walk away and let Lalo do his thing.

Sometimes we don't work very good when we're sitting over each other's shoulder.

Do us proud, Lalo.

Don't worry, you're a pretty little head.

I got it.

Please don't screw this up for us.

You ready to do this?

Just tilt it a little.

Perfect.

All right, all right.

You called this one.

This is a cover-up?

Yes, sir.

When you chose this, did you know it was a cover-up?

I didn't know it was a cover-up, but, you know, we were talking about it first, and then I

was like, let's just cover it, you know?

Since you're doing a cover-up, you're still going to get judged on the ability to cover it.

This could send you to the bottom.

I know I can cover this.

I have nothing to worry about.

Not there, but on the tip, yes.

I have to work off Derek's free hand, but I'm only taking it as a loose interpretation.

I'm going to do my own thing.

I should probably be a little bit peeking out, because there's a shadow.

You know what I mean?

A little black there.

Not there.

That's all plumb.

What are you doing, Tom?

I give you a straightforward, traditional piece to follow.

But you're not following the game plan, and you're going right back to the style we're getting

called out for.

This one here is not black.

I went in and it'll be green.

Yeah, you're right.

You getting serious, bro.

We'll be all right, man.

We ain't going home today.

Hobo drew it on.

I get the tattoo.

I'm confident in my tattooing.

If you need me to rework anything, let me know.

You iced the drawing.

That's all I needed.

Yeah.

He gets to watch what the pressure of the competition is like before he has to ever tattoo.

That is a great advantage for us.

Four hours to go.

You see how it's like darker gray there, and then it fades out?

Oh, I see what you mean.

Yeah, it's a little bit lighter off that shoulder.

Wow.

Did you do this?

Mm-hmm.

Jessie drew the full rendering of this image.

It's like I'm working off a stencil.

I feel like we're going to bounce back from last week, so I'm ready to get it done.

It looks good, man.

You're killing it.

I told you we were going to make a realism artist out of you yet.

I'm like a proud mama right now.

This is a complete turnaround from last tattoo challenge, where everybody dropped the ball.

Today, everybody kind of holding on to it.

Who has the potential to win?

Maybe unkindness.

Nothing hardline.

Just fade it down a little bit to the corner.

I can do that.

I'm digging own face.

If he does his solid application, it could be the cleanest one in the room.

I'm a little disappointed in House of Monkey.

Only because I know Picasso's just a monster.

It's cool, but he's just so much better than that.

Picasso!

Yeah?

Gonna take a look?

He is going crazy.

That color palette makes no sense whatsoever.

Don't be nervous.

It's a good day at House of Monkey.

We were supposed to have a nice amount of black and a simple color palette.

We didn't need all this blue.

Lalo, you had one job.

The colors, man.

Remaining, guys.

One final hour.

Bring a little bit of purple up in here in these corners.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Smooth that blend out.

Oh, yes.

Just stop.

Tap it with water.

Just whip out.

Don't go circular.

I don't have time to finesse.

I'm the one doing the tattoo.

I got to move on this now.

I don't want to stick to the technique that I'm used to.

I know it starts from the drone.

If he had simplified it, I wouldn't even be in this situation.

Four, three, two.

One.

That's it.

Machines down.

Time is up.

No more ink.

Yay!

What do you think, Marvin?

You into it?

Yeah.

Looks awesome.

Like it?

Stump.

Yeah, man.

How did it feel for you?

Feeling good?

I did a big-ass tattoo, perfect lines.

What did you like?

No, no.

I wouldn't.

There's just a couple things I would've did different.

I mean, of course.

You know, you're in the driver's seat.

Start gunning for you right out the gate.

It was a smart strategy, though, because I would want to get you out of here before you develop

any rhythm, too.

Yeah, true.

But we on their ass now, though.

We can get DJ off that tattoo machine and get Bubba on it.

Yeah.

They cooked.

That's the first line of business.

Get rid of their ass.

Y'all took the easiest one, and it backfired.

That's ridiculous.

You yourself.

What does this have to do with art?

You can art your ass all you want.

I'm here to win.

You guys, you were trying to get bonus points by doing a cover up, and you .

I love my tattoo.

I'll stand behind it.

Your tattoo's looking like .

I respect you because you do good work.

Yes, but not this time.

You defending this tattoo is bull .

I think everybody's holding you to the flame because you guys had skull pick, and you picked

a cover up.

I hate skull pick.

When you gave skulls to everybody, you just were like, well, just give them this, that, give

them that.

Y'all didn't strategize at all?

We said, screw it.

Let's just give ourselves the hardest.

I felt like y'all took the easiest one, and it kind of backfired.

That's ridiculous.

Did you try to people, or did you not?

What does this have to do with art?

I'm not an artist.

I tattooed.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my whole life.

But understand, I tattooed for money in real life.

I don't give a about the art part of it.

Art is serious to me.

This is my whole life.

You can art your ass all you want, bro.

I'm here to win.

Today, you had to prove your artistry.

Boneface at Hobo Inc.

This challenge was designed to test your weaknesses.

Boneface Inc., you're up first.

Hobo, you drew.

Boneface, you tattooed.

Yeah, I went pretty crazy with this tattoo.

You didn't really show the whole octopus, but.

It still is very clear as to what it is.

The drawing itself has a nice movement and a nice flow.

That's a lot of tattooing in a really tough place, and it looks smoother than some of the

regular shoulders and stuff we've seen throughout the competition.

Overall, man, this is a tough challenge, and it came out strong.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Allegory Arts, Eva Drew and Ulyss Tattoo.

This design shows strong artistry.

What I do like is a lion head.

What I don't like are the roses.

The inside has a tulip shape.

It doesn't even have a rose shape to me.

As we whittle down now to the stronger artist, it's going to come down to that, like, oh,

they did a nicer rose than you.

You're out.

Well, it's an artistry challenge.

It's an artistry.

We wanted to get creative.

I heard the guy say I want a lion and a rose.

That's true.

The guy got a lion and this.

Black Speed tattooed.

ES Drew and Rocky tattooed.

The amount of phoenixes that we have seen that actually look like phoenixes are very few.

So I like the drawing a lot.

The drawing is very solid.

I like the idea of the negative flames coming up.

But if we zoom into the bottom, this right here is very rough.

You can still see your scratchy wash outlines.

The color blends between one color to the next.

It's not smooth.

This quality of work is not going to last.

I can tell you that right now.

Artistic skin design.

April drew and Dane tattooed.

I like the basic structure of the drawing.

Lots of detail.

You guys have a little bit of problem in the bridge of the nose.

There's a slight offness to the left eye.

And I think the lips are too high to the nose.

You went too big.

The headdress could have been a lot crisper.

It could have been a lot better.

I was intentionally going for a lighter kind of whip look for it.

But what you got is messy look.

Unkindness art.

Doom, you drew.

And Aaron, you tattooed.

The composition and the artistry here really works well.

The details in the headphones, very precise.

It looks like you literally just used his hand for the reference.

We told him to put his hand on my sketchbook and like he was, like he does.

And we just drew it from that.

It has that motion.

You can see it pressure onto the record.

Y'all came up with a great piece.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

House of Monkey.

Picasso did the drawing and Lalo tattooed.

I like the drawing a lot, but my only problem with the tattooing is the colors.

The problem with this tattoo is this big, scratchy baby blue bubble on the top, and this light

green that's not finished in these cactus.

It's not solid.

It's not smooth.

Just a lot of sloppiness.

Old Town Inc.

Bubba, you did the drawing, and DJ, you tattooed.

The drawing's just not the right drawing for a cover-up, and the artistry in this thing had

to be different to work more to your advantage.

You can see this cover-up.

I don't feel like there is any areas of just deep, rich, saturated, solid black.

It's all muted throughout the whole tattoo.

This tattoo came out poorly just because you got shook by the canvas.

Your downfall today is that pick.

Pins and needles.

Jesse drew and Allison tattooed.

It's a very clean, very deliberate, beautiful drawing.

I love the detail in the feet and the tree.

The face of the vulture, the soft, shaded background.

You guys did a great job here.

Welcome back.

Thank you, guys.

Classic trilogy tattoo.

Derek Drew, Tom tattoo.

The Black Dahlia flower really muddies up this whole piece.

I don't think it's her fault for choosing a Black Dahlia.

I think it's your fault for the way you colored it.

It's a lot of solid saturation, but you have basically paint-by-numbers feel to it.

You guys need to now break out and show off something, because everybody today did a good

tattoo, and somebody's going home.

All right, guys, it's now time to announce best tattoo of the day.

Favorite of the day are definitely pins and needles and unkindness.

I really like what unkindness art did.

This is the most well-drawn.

This is my winner of the day.

But the team in the room that has the most cohesive design would be pins and needles.

Everything on their piece, it all works.

That's why I lean with the girls.

I love this tattoo.

I got to go with pins and needles as well.

The judges have decided that the best tattoo of the day goes to pins and needles.

As the jury appears, you must now all deliberate and put one shop up for elimination.

Head on back to the lock.

First thing y'all said was there was no strategy in the skull pick.

I didn't say that.

Military tell their strategies is not the point of a strategy.

You're not owning .

My tattoo was not the best today.

Owning.

You wish you could have drew that yourself and applied it.

Of course.

We all do.

I know, because I trust my man.

I trust him to draw it.

You damn near wanted to throw him under the bus.

Oh, man.

You wanted to so bad.

We'll see that, though.

As the competition goes on, we'll see you throw him under the bus.

But me and my man, we're going to ride or die together.

You guys can come at us because you had a better critique, not a better tattoo.

You corny, bro.

I know you're not an artist, and you don't know what critique means, but I'm manning up to

admit that I don't draw every day.

You own up to something.

Bitches, you tripping.

Let's go.

I'm a man, G.

Big nuts.

We are here as the jury appears to determine which shop should be put up for elimination.

Is it safe to say that everybody is leaning towards Black Spade in House of Monkey?

We hit the artistry.

The color palette does blow, though.

That is my least favorite part of the tattoo.

I feel like it being an artistic challenge.

Picasso's drawing was a lot stronger than Black Spade.

In my defense, I took a little more risks than their design.

I'm going to have to challenge that.

You also have saturation issues.

I don't feel like it's as bad as this.

Your saturation is a scratchy like a cat did with the nails.

No, it's only choppy on the bottom because I didn't get to it.

I'm just frustrated.

You guys haven't seen me flex yet.

All right, guys, big day today, artistry.

I think it's fair to say that two roughest bottoms are Black Spade and House of Monkey.

A steer skull, we've been tattooing them since the beginning of time.

But this one's just really flat.

This light blue is just .

Next to this, Black Spade looks amazing.

Yeah, this tattoo, the colors are well chosen.

But if you look at the bottom, they can't stand on this technical application.

Let's talk about Old Town A.

They've been riding high a lot of this competition, and today was a big exception.

To me, they had the pick of the litter, and they stunk it up.

It's a cover-up, and it looks like a cover-up, and you can still see the cover-up.

Would you put Old Town at the bottom before Classic Trilogy?

I would.

The Classic Trilogy tattoo has a strong outline consistently throughout, and that's it.

But Old Town, it has tricks, and it's got a lot of going on.

Well, it's going to be interesting to see how the jury appears votes.

Let's see how this thing plays out.

I'm nervous.

I know we're at the bottom.

This has a place to be.

Always nervous to be in the bottom.

That's the worst part about this whole thing.

All right, jury appears.

Who are you sending down for elimination?

As the jury appears, we have decided to send Black Spade down for elimination.

All right, we're going to see Black Spade tattoo, House of Monkey tattoo, and Classic

Trilogy tattoo.

We'll see you and everybody else downstairs.

I knew that was coming.

I feel like we're the underdogs.

All right, let's get down there.

All right.

Today, you had to freehand directly onto the skin with no stencils.

Based on your work, one shop will be packing their machines.

Let's hear from the jury of peers.

Why did you vote Black Spade tattooed at the bottom?

A lot of the fundamental technical issues were called out.

And we felt that House of Monkey had a stronger overall design than Black Spade did.

All we needed was a few more things to make this crispy and complete.

I think that what they made might have been more of a mess than what you're seeing here.

It's a tough debate.

I feel like House of Monkeys, it's a strong line drawing.

But there's just a lot of peach, a lot of baby blue, none of which is really applied very

well.

Was Classic Trilogy in the vote?

We didn't even talk about Classic Trilogy's tattoo, actually.

These guys are doing the same static thing.

We wanted to make a complete tattoo, but time-wise and all that, this definitely could have

been more dynamic.

The one word y'all need to add is versatility.

Either or get off the pot, because what's coming over the next few weeks is going to knock

you guys out of the box.

So basically, we're between Black Spade and House of Monkey.

100%.

When I see the Phoenix from a distance, it's very clear what it is, and the color theory is

nice.

But when I look at the cow skull, the color theory is all over the place.

Color theory can be fixed.

But you have blue behind the tattoo, and it's not solid.

That's easily fixed.

How is that going to be fixed?

To fix that blue background, you've got to make it bigger.

The challenge is artistry, and we're damn near closer to it than they are.

They can see our tattoo from far away.

If you put a whole thing of orange on someone, you're going to see it.

That's why vest and road signs are that color, dude.

You're out of control.

I mean, it is true, dude.

That's the sexiest part of a woman, and you ruined it.

She loved it.

What was that?

I'm sorry.

Bless you, you sneezed.

All right, it is time to determine who is going home.

All problems aside, I got to go with which one just looks the worst.

My vote's for House of Monkey.

You know, it's tricky.

I admire the artistry in House of Monkey, but the color play within Black Spade is more pleasing.

My vote is for House of Monkey as well.

House of Monkey.

The judges have decided, House of Monkey, you do not have what it takes to be master shop.

I respect you coming back trying to make it.

But for you guys, as artistic and free as you are, this place is too restrictive.

Please pack your machines and move out.

I don't think we deserve to go home right away.

It was our first time at the bottom.

I felt like Black Spade could have went home before us.

That tattoo is not even good in the 80s.

man.

I feel like we got robbed.

We didn't even get to flex, bro.

Yeah, we didn't get to flex.

We got judged on artistry, and both of those artists did not do anything artistic.

Picasso and me were stronger on our own right, but together we just couldn't work.

Let's get the out of here.

On the next episode of Ink Master.

I'm tired of being middle of the road.

We're going to break this little cool kids club up.

I want that money.

Standing in your way is the next returning veteran.

He made it all the way to the finale in season seven.

This is a $200,000 tattoo, and if you can't do it, get the out.

I think that background's too much.

Dane is losing his mind.

I feel very insulted.

You can be as insulted as you want.

Scratchy lines, scribbly everywhere.

We ain't proud of this beast.

You didn't pull through.

My gut is to send this tattoo home.