A cover up tattoo is exactly what it sounds like - tattooing one design on top of another to help hide the existing tattoo.
In this article, we’ll cover a few important things to keep in mind when designing a cover up tattoo, including:
Whether you’re an artist or a client looking for inspiration, we’ve got you covered.
Note:
Cover up tattoos are very different from doing normal tattoos. Artists should have several years of experience under their belt before attempting them. If you’re a client, it’s recommended that you look for an artist who specializes in cover ups, especially if the original design is in a very visible area like the neck or wrist. The only tattoo harder than a cover up…is a cover up of a cover up.
Best Cover Up Techniques
Most tattoo clients don’t want to just blast over a name tattoo with a blackout tattoo. (Unless they ask for it, you don’t want the cover up to be obvious. You want to make it look like the cover up design was the original tattoo all along.)
Over the years, tattoo artists have come up with creative solutions to disguise old tattoos with a new design. The most-used techniques and elements include texture, flow, and bold shading.
Tattoos that have lots of texture make it easier to hide the original name on the skin. For example, feathers, scales, and fur have lots of depth and shading to them, making it easier to transform the name into darker areas of a larger design without calling attention to it.
You already know that the best tattoo designs are built to flow with the natural flow of the body. You’ll want to take this into account when deciding on a placement for the cover up.
While this will in part be decided by where the letters themselves are, follow the form of the body as closely as possible. Working with the flow and curvature of the muscles makes it look like the tattoo naturally belongs on the body, making it easier to conceal anything that might hint at the tattoo being a coverup.
You don’t want to over-clutter the design, but there should be plenty of elements and tones that make it hard to determine the original location of the name. All that additional information in the design will pull the eye away from the cover up.
This is why it’s recommended that a cover up take up 2-3x the space that the original tattoo took up.
Part of the beauty of tattoos is the contrast created between the skin and the artwork (this is how you create depth in a design and ensure it stays readable over time). You really need to pull on this aspect when designing a cover up tattoo.
For example, you wouldn’t opt for a watercolor tattoo for a coverup. There’s not enough dark ink to hide the original design. Even if it looks like yellow ink can cover up a dark tattoo when it’s fresh, once the tattoo heals and fades a little, the dark design will be visible through the lighter color.
Instead, you’ll want to pick something that you can put a lot of dark ink into to create depth. For example, with a floral theme, you could work in a lot of dark ink in areas where petals overlap. (Female clients often go for a sunflower because there’s a lot of dark ink right in the center of the design, making it a good coverup option).
Best Tattoo Designs for Cover Ups
Name cover ups are fairly common. Here are a few of the most popular body art designs for covering up an old tattoo.
Should You Erase the Original Tattoo? Name Tattoo Removal
Name tattoos are usually smaller tattoos with limited shading, which makes them a bit easier to cover up than a larger tattoo with lots of color.
However, any tattoo is easier to cover after a session of laser tattoo removal. In some cases, your artist might recommend laser services to get rid of some of the ink before getting a cover up done.
Caution:
Tattoo removal is very expensive and can be painful. If you’re covering up minimalist designs, lighter colors, or your cover up design has lots of dark ink, you might not need to go through the laser process before getting a new tattoo. If you’re not sure, talk to your tattoo artist in advance. They’ll help you put together a game plan.
Name Tattoo Cover Ups Gallery
Most tattoos come with a story. But if your name tattoo represents an ex, friends you’re no longer in contact with, or a family relationship that isn’t in the same place…you might want to leave that story in the past.
Pro Tip:
You can use a tattoo design app to see what a design will look like on your skin before getting it for life.
Tattoo Cover Up FAQs
The goal of a cover up is for the new tattoo to look like it was the original intention. These designs are all cover ups (and it’s hard to tell where the original design ever was)!
Tattoo cover ups with lots of shading and organic and abstract shapes are recommended. Flowers and animals generally work well. Depending on the size and shape of the name tattoo, tribal designs might also be a good option.
Sunflowers with their dark center, or animals with dark feathers or fur (like ravens or wolves) work well. That said, you always want to pick a design that you know you’re going to like long-term. Cover up tattoos are dark, which means covering it up again will be extremely difficult without laser removal.
With an experienced artist, tattoo cover ups can be a great way to get rid of tattoo designs you no longer feel connected to.
Tattoo cover ups that “go wrong” usually do not take into account how the new design will lighten up after healing. This is why it’s so important to go to an artist who either specializes in cover ups or has years of experience in the industry.
Become a Tattoo Artist With the Artist Accelerator Program
Having a career in tattooing is not only fulfilling, but it’s also the most stable way to make a living as an artist. However, for decades, the process to become a tattoo artist has been notoriously difficult.
The apprenticeship process requires aspiring tattoo artists to work 50-60 hours a week without pay for 2-4 years. That, combined with the toxic culture of abusing apprentices, makes getting into the industry almost impossible for newcomers.
That’s why we created the Artist Accelerator Program. Our online course provides a simple, structured way of learning to tattoo that has been proven to work by over 7500 successful students, with many of them having gone on to open their own shops all around the world.
Inside the program, we’ll take you through every step of the tattooing process in 9 clear, easy-to-follow modules and support you along the way within the Tattooing 101 Mastermind online community.
In the Mastermind group, you’ll collaborate with other students, get answers to your questions, and receive personalized video feedback on your artwork and tattoos from professional tattoo artists. With this friendly community of both new and experienced tattoo artists, you’ll never be stuck again.
When you join the Artist Accelerator Program, you’ll have instant access to the full course and the Mastermind community, as well as our 30-Day Flash Challenge and recorded interviews with tattoo artists from all over the world.
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