Original subtitles

On the last episode of Ink Master Shop Wars.

We have to disband this alliance.

The last thing I want to let is these other veterans come in and take us out.

Yeah.

That ain't going to happen, dude.

It was a fight to the death.

Let's get to work.

As the artists battle for immunity.

The shop that wins best tattoo of the day will be safe from elimination.

Yeah.

Let's get it.

He wants more than anything a portrait of himself.

See you in the bottom.

It's not at all what I want.

This girl is setting us up for failure.

The guy wanted so much stuff.

We should have simplified it.

I know we're in trouble.

DJ and Bubba's at Tigerhead is way in the back.

Oh, it's backwards.

The best tattoo of the day goes to Basilica Tattoo.

And best tattoo of the day goes to Unkindness Art.

To avoid elimination, the rest of you must tattoo against each other in a tag team face-off.

It looked like you had to really rush to finish it.

What didn't look finished?

We aren't going anywhere.

That's because Cleen takes the wheel.

Judges, it is time to determine who is going home.

Black Cobra's the one that really gets the style.

And Golden Skull, same.

Old Town didn't come out as legible.

But Empire State, the direction of the belly scales, it's a bigger boo-boo.

I'd like to say that Marvin and I, we work on these together.

No one's carrying the load for either of us.

He does 50-50 all the time.

The judges have decided Empire State Studio.

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

Five shops remain, but only one will earn a $200,000 prize and

the title of Master Shop.

I want

to see you in the finale just as bad as you want to see me there.

Oh, absolutely.

I don't feel that the other guys have the passion that I have.

I need this.

Well, I think we both do, man.

The big threats artistically in the house are DJ and Aaron.

I don't see their shops.

as a threat as a team.

So, you know, if.

Well, I think that, uh, I think we just got to keep the eye on the prize.

Oh, I agree.

I mean, I know the judges love Aaron's work, but at the same time.

Take Aaron out of the equation, and what do you got?

A guy who should have been gone home five weeks ago.

There you go.

They have all been gunning for us from the second they walked in.

With big ass guns.

Are you going to let someone that comes in midway take the from you?

No.

Hell no.

We have to take down two more people.

That's it.

Eventually.

All of these vets are going to slip up.

They obviously slipped up once before and lost.

Twice.

All they need to do is slip up one more time.

Welcome.

You are the top five shops.

You've defeated 13 other shops to make it to this point.

But only one shop will earn $200,000 feature in Inked Magazine and the title of Ink Master.

And for the first time ever, the title of Master Shop.

This week, we're testing cohesion.

Cohesion is two things working well together.

It boils down to design.

It boils down to composition.

To be a tattoo artist, you need to utilize cohesion every day.

For this splash challenge, you must create a cohesive design that blends together a two-dimensional

canvas and a three-dimensional canvas.

What does that even mean?

Two-dimensional, three-dimensional?

I'm so lost right now.

Let's meet your three-dimensional canvases.

Just looking in the eye, bro.

Just looking in the eye.

Is that a dong?

I see a dong.

There are naked people right over there, and that's the three-dimensional canvas.

So we have to paint the naked people against the other thing.

So there's things, and they're all naked.

Like, they're all naked.

Your models have been randomly assigned.

Using various types of paint, you'll need to blend your model into your two-dimensional canvas

with a cohesive design that comes together seamlessly.

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

tattoo.

Not only do we have to paint this naked model, but we also have to integrate the 2D canvas

with the 3D canvas.

This is going to be really difficult.

You have to paint the background and the foreground, and you have to create one image that

looks seamless throughout.

It's going to look like a painting when it's all done.

Two of you are going home.

Three of you are staying.

You have six hours, and your time begins now.

Come on over.

Ready for this?

Today, I'm just looking for great art.

I'm looking for these guys to paint something interesting to look at and to make their actual

human canvas disappear into their backdrop.

I would rather spend a little bit more time really nailing the idea.

What if he's, like, ducking down behind a ?

and there's one of the sandbags.

Yeah.

Stew, I'm gonna get it.

I was just thinking like Borderlands and robots where it's like the assembling of a girl.

All right.

Graffiti in the background like bricks.

Start painting some brick, dude.

Let's get this ball rolling.

Two-dimensional with a 3D.

Our biggest stress right now is trying to figure out what we're going to do with a naked person

just standing there watching us, waiting for us to come up with an idea.

What if we turned it into a gargoyle?

Never mind.

That idea sucks.

More construction?

Like, what would you be doing?

No, I don't know.

If we don't start now, we're going to run out of time.

What if we just erased him?

Five hours left.

Carnival idea is excellent.

So good.

We're going to do carnival-type theme, as if you're looking into a circus tent and seeing

this amazing bird lady.

I'm going to lean towards purple because of her hair.

I love the idea of you drawing more hair.

Yeah, totally.

I feel like the judges are expecting the teams to hide the human figure within their 2D canvas,

but we don't want to hide the human figure.

We want to embellish it.

That looks great.

You're killing it.

Three hours remaining.

Yeah, so we're getting there.

Slowly but surely, man.

With only five teams left, the pressure is just mounting day by day.

Right now is not the time to take big chances.

It doesn't make our canvas disappear like everybody else's.

We went a very different route.

But I think it's a powerful image, and it says a lot.

Do I need to do that other arm?

I don't want to do this whole body, right?

I mean, I would.

OK.

I'll do it.

Whatever.

That's fine.

I completely disagree with Christian on this one.

Make this happen.

For me, it's important to actually stand out.

And that's what's going to separate us from the losers to the winner's circle.

He's looking all right?

Yeah.

I think we'll be all right, you know?

One way or the other, we'll at least have something done, that's for sure.

Jim?

What?

Does this work with what you're thinking?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's fine.

Aaron and I proved in the past that we know how to paint, and so we're just going to keep

moving forward with confidence.

How long do you think it'll take you to tighten the lid up?

Maybe another 45 minutes to an hour.

OK, because we get a whole ass.

We are the last original team.

We fought all this way here.

We have to bring it home.

Oh, yeah.

That works out.

That works out pretty cool.

Final hour, guys.

Final hour.

Damn, this is going to be tough.

Me and Bubba always like to go above and beyond.

But today, we might have made a stupid choice.

You got to do it from back there, so tell me where.

Down, right side up a little bit, and then scoot it all the way down.

It's really hard to get our bricks lined up correctly on the canvas.

We have to keep stepping back and making sure they're all lined up.

Well, we're looking from above, right?

Yeah, right where you are.

Go up then, way up.

Right side up, right there.

We've been through so much more than any of these other teams to get here.

We really need this skull pig.

Just needs to be a little bit thicker on the bottom.

3, 2, 1.

That is it.

Time is up.

No more painting.

You love pushing that down to the very last second.

It drives me totally crazy.

I think we got it, Aaron.

We're good?

Yeah, yeah, we're done.

OK.

Crush that .

Look how dope it looks real, and it's not even cheesy.

Woo!

Awesome.

Dude, look at that.

Our painting is so amazing.

Our dude disappears, and the painting is just beautiful.

That is so crazy.

Where'd our dude go?

He totally disappeared.

We got this in the bag.

Our canvas left.

I can't believe our canvas left.

Where'd he go?

All right, it is time to critique your work.

Let's start with unkindness art.

It really tells a story right off the bat exactly what's going on here, having her missing

some body parts.

helps your 3D canvas blend into the background.

For me, I'm missing a little bit of that in the girl.

They look very distant from each other, your two-dimensional to your three-dimensional objects.

If you would have brought those hoses and connected them into her shoulder, then I'd believe

you.

Basilica tattoo.

You do a nice job individually painting your 3D portion of the challenge, and you guys have

some shining moments for sure in the 2D portion, in the sky and those sandbags.

It definitely tells the tale of war.

Having something on the wall that he interacted with would have been the connection

to make him a part of the background and vice versa, as opposed to this guy that looks good,

and then the background looks good, and then they're just separate thoughts.

Of course.

I told you we were just playing it too safe.

We need to step it up.

Golden skull tattoo.

In combining 3D and the 2D elements, I think you guys kill it.

The just stark black road coming directly through the middle looks so believable.

And then the job that you did creating that same look directly onto your 3D portion of the

canvas, specifically around the shoreline on his neck, and the way the waves break up on his

cheek and the top of his head, great job here.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Old Town ink.

This really does look cohesive.

I like the fact that you incorporated the pipe.

All the brick lines line up directly with her body.

The floor that crosses over her ankles and then the gray of the actual floor she's standing

on really does show cohesion between the 3D figure and the 2D figure.

The details really look nice.

The cracked window glass, the little lever where the window closes, the lights up top with

the light shining.

I think you've created this realistic environment.

Camouflaging your canvas in there really worked out well.

Black Cobra is a bold move to play with these different planes.

It really requires standing in a very specific place.

But when you are standing in the exact right place, it is really cohesive, and the whole thing

comes together.

Not having her completely flat plastered on the board and having her arm connecting to the

wing in the background does show cohesion in the way that you guys painted the piece.

I think it's very creative.

I love the little subtle things like the foot behind the curtain, the wing that's coming across

her body and then onto the board.

I think it came out really nice.

Thank you.

I feel like we hit the nail on the head.

Matt and I did the best job at incorporating our human figure with the 2D canvas.

We didn't just hide her and take the easy way out.

Yeah.

All right, guys, testing cohesion, five shops remaining.

Everybody came to play, but there can only be one, and we're at the chopping block.

Basilica did a nice job creating a cohesive scene, but to take a naked model and paint clothes

on it, not the most creative approach.

Definitely my least favorite of the day.

They just don't have the wow factor.

Black Cobra did more than what Basilica did.

The foreground and the background interacted.

I think it was a real creative take.

Old Town Ink went with more of a blended scenery and hid their model within the scene.

I think where Old Town really shines is the details, the little things, the pipe, the shadows,

the dripping ooze, the little pigeon.

They used all those elements to tie their canvas into it.

Their model disappeared on a single plane, whereas Golden Skull Tattoo made their model disappear

a variety of depths.

For the quality of painting and their thought process, I think they were cohesive all the

way around.

Well, three of these shops are for sure going to the live finale.

Yeah.

Two of these shops are out.

So this advantage is vital.

Time to let them know.

Let's do it.

All right, man.

All right, guys.

Today, you were being tested on cohesion.

The judges have decided the winner of today's flash challenge is golden skull

tattoo.

You guys definitely pulled out all the bells and whistles, the water, the land.

The street, everything really plays well into your 3D and 2D canvases.

You guys just want to step above.

Boom, we totally won the flash challenge.

What's up now, house?

Me and Aaron need to go over this skull pick, because there's no way we're going to screw

it up.

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

I'm super disappointed.

I don't think that their idea was nearly as clever as ours.

They just stuck their canvas in there and painted right over it.

Head back to the loft.

It's going to be totally your design, but my concept.

Our canvas is pretty impossible.

I think we should try to include this.

I don't know, man.

We go home if that's not finished.

That clock never stops ticking.

If this doesn't work, it's on him.

We slayed that flash out.

But these jackasses, they need to know we didn't come here to around.

There's only two more teams going home, and I don't want it to be us.

It won't be.

Believe me, I'm not going to do nothing that's going to shoot my foot.

Let's just set our sights on getting ourselves a good canvas and giving everybody else the

stick.

You know, me and Christian got a thing.

We want to see each other in a finale.

At this point, whatever.

If Christian goes home, so be it.

Honestly, I want them all gone.

I want Black Cobra gone.

I want Old Town gone.

I want Unkindness gone.

We need to make sure we keep each other focused.

Because if we're ourselves, that's even worse.

Exactly.

You better be on your A game today.

I'm on it.

Welcome to your next elimination tattoo.

Your cohesion as a shop has gotten you this far, but only one shop will earn $200,000 and

the first ever title of master shop.

Yes.

This week, we're judging cohesion.

Today, you must tattoo an Asian deity.

What is that?

Oh, shit.

Hi.

This is Nunez's big thing.

He comes in with this big gleam in his eye.

You sit there the whole day clenched up, thinking Nunez is going to come rip your ass.

Deities hold tremendous cultural significance.

Not only do these images have strict symbolism attached to each element, they feature complex

backgrounds and tiny details.

You'll need cohesion to make all of these parts work together, or your tattoo will be a chaotic

mess.

One of the biggest problems with doing anything Asian inspired is that they are very strict

with their rules and guidelines.

If we make any mistake, we could be sending ourselves home.

For this tattoo, you'll be tag teaming.

Your shop will create one tattoo on the same canvas.

Only one of you can tattoo at a time, and you'll switch artists every hour.

And as always, after every elimination tattoo, all of you will form the jury of peers.

You'll deliberate and put one shop up for elimination.

I'm looking for you guys to create perfectly done, really strong imagery of what the deity

is.

I want that representation.

You guys all have to outthink each other on the drawing, because today it's going to come

down to who puts this together the best on paper.

Don't put what's not there, but make what's there perfect.

Let's meet your canvases.

Golden Skull Tattoo, your shop won the last flash challenge.

That means you have the power to assign the canvases.

It's getting down to the wire, so every choice counts.

I do not specialize in Asian tattooing.

I don't even know what a deity is, man.

Tell us what you want to get.

I'd like to get Hachiman, the god of war.

He's usually depicted as a samurai and black and gray on my shin.

Play for me.

We're going to make sure that we get the easiest canvas.

And everybody else can kiss my ass.

I'm getting Bishop Mountain.

Yeah.

One of the seven lucky gods.

Oh, my God, are you right calf?

I love the second lucky gods.

Do you know what it is?

No.

No, do I?

Emma Terasu, she's the goddess of the sun and universe in black and gray, standing in front

of the rising sun.

This totally sucks.

Usually I hate Japanese day, but at least I know what a dragon is.

I can't even say these gods' names, much less know what the hell they are.

A bold, colorful Hoti, who's the happy Buddha.

First three are colored, and second two are black.

Right.

Hopefully Cleen's strategy for the skull pick is to keep us alive so that me and him can face

off on stage.

Can you read these?

You guys should have put pictures on here.

But I don't know.

The old knucklehead has never been all that great with skull picks.

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

Old Town Ink.

Black cobra tattoos.

Unkindness art.

Golden skull tattoo.

There's only one recognizable deity up there, and that's the Buddha, obviously the one we're

going to take.

Basilica tattoo.

We got Hochi Booner Flanger, whatever.

I don't know what this guy's name is.

This is going to be an absolute show.

You'll have six hours to tattoo an Asian deity.

And based on your work, one shop will be out.

Good luck.

Hello.

I'm Katie.

Today, these artists are going to show us their version of Asian deities.

Or style.

Traditional Japanese?

Yeah, I do want to keep it traditional.

The biggest challenge of doing these deities is going to be having the story translate through

the artwork.

It's simple.

You know, style-wise, it has to match.

And you don't want to look cartoony.

It is a tricky thing to pull off if you don't know what you're doing or you don't have the

right reference.

Give us a description.

What is this guy?

He's Hashiman, the god of war.

He's usually depicted as a samurai.

This obviously isn't the straight arm, but as far as, like, the armor work and stuff, you

know?

As far as, like, the texturing in the metal and everything?

No, no, no, no, no.

Bro, there's no texturing in traditional Japanese.

We got to keep it traditional.

Once again, Christian's just playing it a little safe, and I'm not sure if that's the right

way to go.

And I think it's super smart if we just do the mask with the blossoms.

I think that'll look rad.

This late in the game, we didn't come out here just to play it safe.

We came out here to compete with the best.

Tell us again what your idea is.

She's a goddess of the sun and the universe.

I had to connect to this goddess, and I want her to represent purity.

Have the sun rising behind her in some kind of earth element.

I'm thinking possibly water beneath, so you see the reflection.

And I'm loving the whole tree thing.

Our canvas wants a million elements in her tattoo.

She's got, like, trees.

She's got a sun behind her face, some rocks or something.

So we could definitely take your concept of what you're wanting as far as subject matter and

then translate it into what the judges want.

Yeah.

It's going to be totally your design.

OK.

but my concept.

There are so many fine details that it's going to be pretty impossible.

I need to figure out this background.

I have this only soup from this side.

I mean, that's too much, and I could bring that here.

We'll make a bunch more stencils.

Why are his thumbs on the inside?

Yeah, thumbs on top.

That's how it goes.

OK, OK.

That works.

I have to look at myself in the mirror really quick.

OK.

I'm not trying to be super obvious about it right now, but the way that Queen and Erin drew

their Buddha, the hands are lifted up inwards, but their thumbs are on the backs of the hands.

Yeah?

That's impossible.

That's impossible.

It means a win for us.

Let's not repeat it.

Let's not say anything.

I want him to get that outline in before he realizes it.

For sure.

But they totally themselves doing backwards thumbs.

All right, guys, you have six hours to tattoo an Asian deity.

And your time starts now.

All right, let's go.

Let's do this.

Hit it.

In this challenge, everybody has to tattoo an Asian deity.

It's going to be so badass, man.

Look at it.

Oh, it's so dope.

When you're tattooing subject matter like this, there's a lot of details that go with each

deity that tell their story.

Those details have to be right, or the tattoo will not be recognizable.

I'd say it's great.

It's getting down to the wire.

We only have five shops left.

At this point, it's anybody's game.

All right, man.

You ready?

Let's go.

I'm trying to figure out, coloring-wise, are we going to go more traditional?

Yeah, for sure.

I'm cool with it.

Going into this tattoo, I feel confident I'm super familiar with a lot of Asian deities.

Agyo is awesome, but there is no reference outside of a few statues of him in Japan.

When I looked up pictures, he had kind of brownish red.

Mm-hmm.

We're having to draw from scratch, just hoping that we're hitting all these points.

I feel really nervous.

There was very few competitors left.

What was happening?

Looks like a mask on this one.

Yeah.

Whose idea was it to switch from god to mask?

When we looked it up, they said he was just represented as a samurai.

It's tricky to do a mask on a day where you need a whole god.

I mean, I agree, it needs more.

Once again, we're playing it way too safe, and we need to be able to show them who this is.

Look up those banners again.

Just leave it, bro.

This means it's a dope tattoo.

Three hours left.

Switch it up.

I think we should try to include this somehow.

This deity's name literally translates to eight banners, and this tattoo needs to look like

the deity, so it has to have these banners.

I still think it's an afterthought, but we have time.

I don't know, man.

I still think it's super risky.

We go home if that's not finished.

Well, we might go home if it's not in there at all.

Whatever you want to do, because I don't.

We end up doing that anyway.

That clock never stops ticking.

And now, Nolan wants to double the size of the tattoo.

If this doesn't work, it's on him.

I think this is great.

Yeah.

The layout is beautiful.

It's simple.

I use the same.

Goofy anatomy as far as the drawing goes, but that's his deity.

He's supposed to be pleasant and jolly.

I love that.

I know.

The pressure of the competition is so high, and it's definitely getting to some people.

Basilica's doing a samurai warrior.

I just learned what a deity is, and 100% the definition is not just a samurai warrior.

Traditional Japanese?

Yeah.

Black cobra needs to worry about going home.

For a sun goddess, this black moon in the background definitely isn't hitting the challenge.

If backwards hands don't get you sent home, I don't know what will send you home.

How's it going?

It's going good.

There's a pretty hilarious thing in one of the tattoos.

Let's see if you spot it.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

You tell me what you think.

I'm going to do a pose really quick.

This.

You'll see it.

What's going on over here?

This is a scary one.

Scary?

We discovered the challenges of this piece as we were looking for reference.

There's only statues.

That's the reference.

Oh.

What's going on?

Uh-oh, the judges are here to judge.

Oh.

Oh, boy.

Holy crap.

It is definitely the wrong hands, 100%, no doubt.

Does that make you the worst one of the day?

It's crazy.

Oh, that poor campus.

Too late now.

Make sure it lines down on his ankle, too.

Yeah.

What you guys doing?

He's the god of eight banners, so we're adding his banners.

Oh, gotcha.

Yeah, it's cool.

I came in this competition to be able to show the world what I can do.

Growing up, I was kind of always the outcast.

Drawing was kind of my escape.

It might not be too bad, because they are super simple.

Yeah, we'll definitely win the competition.

It's just a matter of how we're going to win this competition.

If we pull it off, it'll be all right.

Yeah, you're doing great, bud.

Sometimes it's like involuntary, you know?

You, like, hit a nerve or something.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

As long as you know, as long as you're like, no matter what, I'll get there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's tough when there's a lot on the line.

We've been here a long ass time, dude.

And it's coming to an end.

We are exhausted from this competition.

We've been through ups and downs.

But I'm actually kind of used to it.

I've had so many problems in life that I've overcome.

I started smoking cigarettes when I was nine years old.

That just progressed into pills, to heroin, to crack cocaine, got thrown in jail.

Jail was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Sobered me up.

I changed my life for the better.

And it's been uphill climb ever since.

You want to get 10 seconds left anyway.

Crazy.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Time is up.

Machines down.

No more ink.

Killed it.

That's awesome.

That's so awesome.

Yeah.

He's super cool.

I feel strongly like this is a winner.

Cool.

Dare I say bulletproof?

I think bulletproof is appropriate.

That thing is badass.

Hey, guys.

How do y'all feel like y'all did?

Awesome.

Good.

Yeah?

What are y'all going to do about those backwards thumbs?

That's how he holds his hands.

Every single depiction, he's palms in.

Yeah, did you see how yours are in the front?

They're goofy-ass hands.

Intentionally goofy.

Yeah, it's a goofy-ass fat dude.

With thumbs on the wrong side of his hands.

That was intentional?

It's an illustration of a fictional character.

Cleen, I know that you're very charming, and I hope you can charm the judges into believing

why your hand is backwards.

All right, bye, y'all.

Bye.

Look at this asshole.

Bye.

You did it right.

You totally, we should have just used you as reference.

See y'all later.

I can't stand it.

That looks like .

This is a tough break for you guys.

You need to be 100% certain about what you're doing in this competition.

Do y'all really think you will not be sent home for doing backwards thumbs?

I don't think the thumbs are backwards.

Are you insane?

If you think they're not going to hit you on that looking like a cover up, then you're insane.

What exactly did you guys cover up?

We didn't do a cover-up.

That's not a cover-up?

Come on.

Man, I was thumbing through your references, and there was clearly ones that didn't have the

thumbs backwards.

Do you hold stuff like this now?

Are we like, are we monkeys?

Put some balls in your hands.

Yeah, put some balls in your hands, and let me see how your thumbs.

I'm confused by the skull picks.

Did y'all even know what y'all were doing?

You don't know why we did what we did.

I don't think y'all know why you did what you did.

Oh, I do.

I just haven't said it, because I'm not stupid.

Yeah.

It's over.

Why wouldn't you tell us the strategy?

Because if we get something next time, we have an advantage.

You should have had a plan B, because you guys got cursed with that skull.

you had to show cohesion by tattooing a complex image, an Asian deity.

Let's see how you did.

Black Cobra tattoos.

Let's start with you.

All right, guys, what did your canvas ask for?

Amaterasu.

She is the goddess of the sun.

I really like the tattoo.

I like the design.

The elements within it work cohesively together.

The little details you have in the kimono are really beautifully, meticulously put in there.

My only worry is the background.

And then the rocks in the foreground seem to be very, very close in tone.

We did want to put heavier shading in the background, because she is classically depicted

coming out of a cave with the sun behind her head.

Wait, so she's emerging from a cave?

I thought it was the moon, because it looked like night.

Right.

Everything is just set pure black, so you lose the interpretation of the story of the design.

Right now, for all practical purpose, she's dancing in the moonlight.

That makes no sense.

Old Town Ink.

Well, guys, I think that it came out as a great design.

I like the attention to all the meticulous little details.

Just in the folds of the clothes and the overlaying colors, it shows y'all both work together

very cohesively.

But the top sphere and the flames looks like you didn't get to finish that whole portion.

Did you guys actually finish?

There's a couple little tiny spots that we could have colored.

Here's where you could have got your time back.

Not executing a background because you didn't need it.

Your outline, it's so perfect and meticulous that it stands alone.

If you don't have time, just do the subject matter.

But by no means do I dislike what you guys did here.

Right on the money.

Thanks, dude.

Unkindness art.

Guys, I really like this design.

The drawing came out really strong.

The outline of the tattoo, very clean, very deliberate.

Details in the face, details in the hands are very, very nice, very easily legible.

I love the color in the skin.

I think it looks nice.

But I hate the blue in the robe.

That color looks like .

It looks a little scratchy.

I don't know if it was just a bad choice of blue that you chose or what.

I just, I showed Erin.

I was like, is this the blue that we're going to go for?

And she's all, yeah.

Have I used it?

No, but I trust her.

Like, that particular kind of blue, maybe I would have lightened up.

And Erin, you're making a face like you don't know what he's talking about.

He pulled out a blue, and I just, he said, do you like this color?

I was like, yeah.

Trial and error right now is not the time.

You need to be 100% certain about what you're doing in this competition.

Golden skull tattoo.

All right, guys.

First issue, you know what it is?

No.

What is it?

The hands.

Good.

Good.

So you do know?

We couldn't not with these guys.

Obviously, you got the left hand on the right arm and the right hand on the left arm.

I mean, we weren't trying to do a portrait.

Nobody does this anyways.

So we just kind of accepted that they were awkward.

But when you do do that, your thumbs were on the right side of your hand.

We're trying to do a funny, happy-go-lucky, goofy character.

You get that everywhere.

Minus in the hands, you definitely capture the look of this particular rendition of Hote.

Aside from that, the black cloud, I can't stand it.

It's just very haphazardly done, and that negative line that goes through there kills the

bottom of this design.

This is a tough break for you guys.

Basilica tattoos.

Technically, it's a clean tattoo.

You've got a lot of clean line work on the shin.

Utterly disliked that you guys did not do as full body.

You guys should have done a full body, just to be on par with everybody.

Midway through, we were kind of concerned that it wasn't showing enough of the aspects of

the gods.

So Nolan came up with an idea I almost killed him for.

And with just a couple hours left, we added the banners.

The flags are not finished.

They don't have the black in there.

The cherry blossoms are missing the actual green foliage where they grow off.

Just things like that.

I feel like I'm looking out of a page of a sketchbook.

All right, guys.

Time to determine who had the best tattoo of the day.

Five examples of cohesion.

Oliver, who stands out to you?

For detail and the design and cohesiveness, the two top teams for me are Old Town and Unkindness.

I'm going to go with Unkindness art.

I like the drawing.

I like how vibrant the body of this character is.

And I like the contrast in it.

Chris, this is your world.

One choice only, Old Town.

Just for all the work that went into the character, that's the standout for me.

They didn't cut any corners.

They went in and really went for it.

Oliver?

Final decision?

I'm going to go with the more authentic look, so Old Town gets it.

The judges have decided the best tattoo of the day goes to Old Town, Inc.

All right, guys.

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

Head back to the loft.

We got a face of music today, and that's bottom three.

Yep.

And truth is, one of us is probably going home.

We all have to go vote.

You know, that's the thing is, down in the jury of peers, we get to at least make a statement

as artists.

Unkindness got hit so hard on technical application, but they were still considered for tattoo

of the day.

So would you say you're going to vote for them?

I might just actually, because $200,000 on the line, I'll tell you right now.

Yeah, that's serious.

That's a lot of money.

We've all been at the finale and had that .

jerked right out from under us.

Oh, yeah.

When you're on that stage and you don't win, I remember seeing the disappointment on my mother's

face.

Oh, when you're standing up there on the stage and you look down at all those people that

you know, it kicks your ass, man.

My kids live it every day.

Oh, your dad's the dude that got robbed.

I'm ready to go down there and fight for my life.

Yeah, absolutely.

No, I think this is going to be bare knuckle and dirty today, man.

Yeah.

If I go home on that tattoo, I'm breaking on the way out.

So we're here as the jury appears to determine which shop we should put up for elimination.

What are you guys thinking?

The sun got us in front of the moon.

It's just driving me nuts.

It's a black and gray tattoo.

No, I know.

But is she in a cave or is she outside?

Is it nighttime or is it daytime?

I don't know what the going on with that tattoo.

Look at that forearm.

Yeah, it's like a foot and a half long.

But it doesn't stick out as badly as the design flaws in Golden Skulls.

It's just the hands.

It's ridiculous.

It's not a real person's hands.

Nobody holds their hands to carry like this.

So you're telling me if you had to do this over again, you would do it exactly the same way?

Maybe lighten up the color.

Are you ?

Are you kidding me?

You wouldn't change the hands?

I think they look perfect.

It's not just the thumbs.

Where's the rest of that club?

Because you don't know.

Why does it matter where the clouds go?

Where do they come from?

It looks to me like it should have continued, and y'all just that up right there.

Honestly, unkindness.

I was a little bit surprised that you guys got considered for top, because I feel like the

application might be the worst one of the day.

I like this one just because it reminds me of a deity.

Right, but take away the drawing style and look at the tattoo for what it is.

I see some spottiness in the bottom drapery.

The skirt just looks chewed up.

It's definitely not chewed up.

Well, here's the thing.

You can finish yours.

You can't shrink her arm, and you can't put his thumbs forward.

We were also considered for top two, and it was close.

Today we're testing cohesion with Asian deities.

This is nobody's comfort zone this week.

Basilica, I hate it.

They didn't do the full deity like they were asked.

They lawyered their way out of having to do small little details.

Who else?

Golden skull.

I mean, obviously, the hands are a big, big problem here.

Right.

Aside from the hands, that negative swoosh in that cloud is the worst.

But iconically, this stands out to me than a little.

standing in the moonlight.

Black Cobra, if I saw this, I wouldn't get the sense this was any kind of deity.

Deity is gone.

What are the pieces we're missing here?

She would be standing inside the type of a cave, not standing in the moonlight in a mountaintop.

I don't know the story.

I'm not familiar with the character.

But I think that it's a smooth, very well-applied tattoo.

It'll be interesting to see how the jury appears votes.

Yep.

They do surprise us all the time.

Yeah.

This is going to be a pit fight down there today.

I can guarantee that.

Say that again.

I know that if we get sent down to the bottom, we're super ready to defend our peace.

I think it's anybody's game.

All right, jury appears.

Which shop are you sending down for elimination?

Jury appears has chosen Golden Skull.

All right, we'll see Golden Skull, Black Cobra, and Basilica.

I'll see everybody else downstairs.

I'm a little nervous.

I don't think it's going to be that easy.

I think there's going to be a lot more of a fight than people realize.

Well, we're ready to put up a fight, so call it as you will, man.

All right.

Let's go.

Let's do it.

Today, you had to prove your cohesion as a shop.

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

Let's hear from the jury of peers.

Why did you vote Golden Skull to the bottom?

It was almost 50-50, so everybody had different opinions on all of them.

Like, I voted for Black Cobra.

My question is, why did Golden Skull get voted to the bottom?

It's just a backwards hand thing, I think, is a general consensus that nobody can get past

that.

I think the outcome of this day potentially would have been different if the thumbs were placed

in a different spot.

Nobody noticed until people that were hating pointed it out.

It is up.

But I do think that people will look at this and be like, it's Buddha.

Basilica did not do what the challenge asked for in that sense.

It met the parameters of the challenge and gave him what he wanted.

No, no, no.

You had to do a deity.

That was the deal.

A mask is not a deity.

But if I do a portrait of Jesus, I don't need his whole body.

He's still a deity.

But you'll see that it's Jesus.

Until you put that samurai's ghost in the shell, a samurai's a samurai, not a deity.

To me, that's not a tattoo that goes home.

That's a badass tattoo.

Black Cobra also, without a doubt, did not show the deity.

I don't know the story, but I love the technical application of it.

She is the goddess of the light, but they definitely cast night into the depiction.

Also, her forearm goes from her chin down past the bottom of the sword.

Your forearm doesn't do that.

It was very obvious.

When I first saw their hands on their Buddha, I knew immediately that they were backwards.

Oh, yeah.

You were the first one to tell me.

But the point is that I just don't see the story coming through as well as anatomical connections

and issues, random longer body parts.

Those are all things that still come into play in the normal tattoo that we judge.

All right, judges, time to determine who's going home.

Somebody that works for me does a tattoo with the hands on backwards.

I don't think it's a small mistake.

I got to go for Golden Skull.

Chris.

Looking at report cards, how many wins do you guys have?

Two.

I shot one on our bidet and portrait day.

I heard a lot of wins on Golden Skull.

I didn't hear any wins on Black Cobra.

Two and two.

None.

And you're going to send them home.

Black Cobra, based on these report cards.

Based on the report cards?

Yeah.

Also based on the tattoos?

There's equal problems.

I'm the guy who comes in and gets tattooed.

I would be bummed out on these hands.

My vote is for Golden Skull.

The judges have decided Golden Skull Tattoo.

You do not have what it takes to be master shop.

Sucks.

Maybe you're just on an olive pallet and didn't pay that really close attention to all the

little details, and it cost you today.

For the record, I think you guys are one of the better bunches, and your report card proves

it.

Please pack your machines and move out.

What a crock of .

There's no way in hell that our tattoo wasn't better than Black Hobbit's.

Did you know goddamn well that Matt and Katie aren't going that ?

We've out-tattooed them over and over and over again.

I've never been eliminated, man.

I don't know how to feel right now.

I might have to help you out.

Where were you on those hands?

We'll get through it.

Where were you on those hands?

Last time I left, I was upset.

Now I'm just angry.

This really sucks.

We got to walk out the door on a bull note.

Let's get out of here.

No sense in beating a dead horse.

On the next episode of Ink Master, you are the last four shops standing.

Get ready for a fight to the finish line.

We've absolutely proved that we deserve to be in the finale.

We've had our eyes on the prize the whole time.

That spot in the finale is ours.

This competition is brutal.

That stage is so close.

Both of you guys drew into those outlons that were up on purpose.

You're so unique with your own.

Oh, I'm so hard.

you.

This thing just doesn't have any kick to it.

A lot of line work problems that knock you down a notch.

Bad day to have this turnout.