In carpentry they say to measure twice and cut once. In tattooing it’s “choose your tattoo artist carefully, and bring a dictionary.” These mistakes will haunt their owners, and everyone who has to look at them, for a lifetime.

Portraits are difficult no matter what medium one is working with. This is why it’s very important to check out the previous work of any tattoo artist before letting them memorialize a loved one…

(Images via photobasement, flickriver, mark72, eurotattoo)

Doodles are fun to draw as a distraction while one is on the phone, or bored. They are not necessarily meant to be tattooed across large sections of one’s body, however. Something scribbled on a pad of paper does not look as great across an entire back.

Double check the spelling before letting the needle hit skin. Do not assume the tattoo artist is a spelling bee champion, or there may be hilariously awful consequences.

(Images via guidespot, patrishka, freshpics, cityrag)

Head tattoos can be hilarious, but they don’t have to be permanent. Let me introduce everyone to the permanent marker; a great substitute to a life-long commitment to a dumb joke.

(Images via mypointless, mogoel, madmadtattoos, sassystreak)

Some people take the concept of a “third eye” literally, with creepy results. Hiding a mid-class nap with tattooed eyelids is a stroke of genius, however.

(Images via yourdailychum, cooltattoosdesigns, slipperybrick, geekgirlonthestreet)

We all appreciate gamers who get nostalgic, videogame-themed tats. Everyone wants to like your art, so please make it easy to do so. These examples make it very hard.

(Images via bitrebels, bypassfanpages, thesharebears, getbig, datehookup)

Content is king. Do not follow the example of this group and be sure to pick a tattoo that holds some meaning beyond covering every available surface… or that next tattoo might show up in a post like this one.