All language subtitles for Ink.Master.S16E06.en

* MTV

[Male Narrator] Previously on
Ink Master...

Tough going up against the
composition fucking gods

over there.

[Narrator] A massive flash
challenge have the artists

fighting for control.

It looks like it's going right
into his mouth.

It's too hard to see
from where we're at.

I have no idea how they look.

Please stop talking.

Your voice makes me want
to vomit.

Respect your elders.

They've both got great movement
and great readability.

The winner of the flash
challenge is Team OG.

They get the skull pick again.

[Narrator] In the elimination
tattoo...

Sharpen your blades
and take out these opponents.

[Narrator] The artists
battled it out

with Japanese samurai.

What I see is you utilizing your
second chance.

To the maximum.

I'm sort of like the
Puerto Rican samurai right now.

My tattoo is literally a
reflection of all the work I do.

It's always a risk taking a big
idea and going for it.

You might as well have
put a foot there.

[Narrator] In the elimination,
Trevor, Joseph, and Jorell

were in the bottom three.

That is a backwards hand.
Is that not a sin in tattooing?

Having a backwards hand
is a major mistake.

And yet, I still like it better.

The only problem that I have
with Trevor's tattoo

is the backwards hand.

But with Jorell's tattoo, I have
a problem with the cleanliness.

I have a problem
with the composition.

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

[Narrator] Nine artists remain,
but only one will earn

a $250,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

[music]

I'm just bummed one
of the OGs went home.

It blows my fucking mind.

I'm pissed off, actually.
I'm pissed off.

We have to gun for Trevor.
We need to wipe out the rest

of these Young Guns and just
have the OGs take it home.

We're gonna win as a team, okay,
on everything.

And we're not individuals yet,
and it might come eventually.

But we have to treat it
as a team right now.

-It's us to the final five.
-The big game's starting now.

[music]

Oh, boy.
We're in a new spot.

[James] Well, this is different.

I'm nervous.

Something is happening here.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Each week the battle
for $250,000

and the title of Ink Master
gets more intense.

The numbers are dwindling.

Today,
there is no flash challenge.

[Lucy] What does that mean?

We are moving directly into
the next elimination tattoo.

Oh, fuck.

Right on the chopping block
again.

This week we're testing
precision with

portrait tattoos.

-No.
-Yes.

But, not just any
portrait tattoos.

Always a twist.

Today, you must
create a portrait

of a service dog.

Yes.

Puppy portraits.

Pet portraits
are a little different

than regular portraits.

You gotta know how to do a lot
of different textures, fur.

There's glossy eyes.
There's whiskers.

You gotta be precise putting
those together to make this

animal look just like they look.

Whether the service dog is
trained to help their handlers

with visible
or non-visible disabilities,

service dogs play more than just
a vital role in the day-to-day

lives of their partners.

They become a part
of the family.

-100%.
-Oh, I'm so excited.

There is one more thing
you should know.

There's always one more thing.

Your precision needs
to speak for itself

because these tattoos will be
judged without the judges

knowing which artist tattooed
which portrait.

All right, cool.

[Pony] When it comes
to portrait tattoos,

this is literally what I do
every single day back home.

So, whether the judges know
that it's mine or not,

I don't really care.

I'm just gonna make
a solid tattoo

and hopefully, they love it.

Safety from elimination is
on the line.

Let's bring in your canvases.

Bring on the pups.

He's so pretty.

Aw.

[Trevor] Yeah, buddies.

It's puppy town.
We're going to it.

I'm so excited right now.

Look at all you guys.

It's gonna be a fun day today.

[Joel] Canvases, please tell us
a little bit about yourselves

and what tattoo
you'd like to get.

I'm looking for a color portrait
tattoo of my service dog,

Whiskey.

I suffer from seizures
as a result of PTSD.

Whiskey is an expert
in seizure detection,

nightmare alerts,
and medication retrieval.

How do they do that?

I'm looking to get a portrait
of my mobility service dog, Kai

on my left arm.

He helps me with opening
and closing automatic doors.

Pressing buttons on elevators,
and pretty much just gives me

a reason to get out
of bed every morning.

That's great.

I would love a color portrait
of my guide dog, Starling

on my calf.

She helps me get around
because I have blindness

from optic nerve displasia.

And she is the reason why I'm
able to excel in my day-to-day.

I'm looking for a black and gray
portrait tattoo

of my service dog, Buttons
on my upper arm.

And she supports me with medical
alert and um, mobility,

so picking things up off
the floor and closing doors.

[Woman] Button's really shiny.

[Trevor] Yeah, he's got a lot
of cool textures.

This is my service dog, Andy.

I'm looking for a color portrait
on my upper arm.

Buddy.

I have PTSD,
depression and anxiety,

and so Andy wakes me up
from my night terrors.

And Andy is from Afghanistan,
so he's actually a rescue.

He has experienced
trauma as well,

so we're working together
to heal together.

This is Vespa.

I'm looking for a color portrait
on my upper arm.

I have a progressive
neurological condition.

She helps with mobility
and alerts.

That's beautiful.

I am looking for a
black and gray portrait

of my guide dog, Maggie.

I lost my vision due to a stroke

and she has made me independent.

I love golden retrievers.

I'm here because I have space
on my upper arm

for a color portrait
of my service dog, Nipper.

Cute.

I'm a breast cancer survivor,
and I'm also a person

with a lived experience
of schizophrenia.

He gives me back my independence
by letting me know when a

real person approaches me,

letting me know when there
aren't real people present.

And helping me find my phone
because I hallucinate that, too.

I am here for a black and gray
portrait of my service dog, JJ.

I was diagnosed with PTSD when
I was 18 from a car accident.

And we also live
with chronic pain,

so he alerts me when
I need to take a moment.

-Any one.
-Any one of them.

[music]

Judges, since these tattoos
will be judged without knowing

which artist did which portrait,
it's time for the three of you

to leave.
I'll take it from here.

We have to leave on dog day
to the dog house.

Brutal.

Now that they're gone,
artists, one by one,

please choose a skull.

The name on the bottom
of your skull

will determine your canvas.

-Oh.
-Okay.

[Joel] The picking order has
been randomly assigned.

Stephanie, you're up first.

Have fun picking a good one.

Connor and Vespa.

[Joel] Cat, you're up next.

Georgia and Maggie.

Oh, my God.
I'm so excited.

[Joel] Anthony.

Bernie and Kai.

[Joel] James.7

Alexandra and Nipper.

-That's me.
-Yes!

Pony.

I can't pick all of them,
correct?

-Danielle and Starling.
-Hi.

[Pony] Pleasure.
I'm stoked.

Joseph.

Briana and Andy.

-Hi.
-Hi.

[Joel] Trevor.

April and Buttons.

-That's me.
-Cool.

[Joel] Lucy.

Angel and JJ.

-That's us.
-Yeah.

And, finally, Jade,
please reveal your skull.

Mike and Whiskey.

-That's us.
-I'm so excited.

This is super special because
these dogs aren't just dogs

to these people.

They make so much in life
possible for them.

It's an honor to be able
to do this.

My soul needs this.

I know.

Artists, you will have six hours
to prove your precision

with a portrait tattoo.

Nice.

Good luck.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

-I'm Cat.
-I'm Georgia.

Nice to meet you.

So how good is your vision?

Uh, I see vague shape and color.
I have optic nerve displasia,

so it means all the information
doesn't go from my eyes

-to my brain.
-Got you. Okay.

It'd be cool if we could
get his like, whole body.

Clarity and precision is
what we're gonna try to do,

so the whole body
would be too much.

[Alexandra] Too much.

This one's too far away.
Although, it's super cute.

-And then there's this one.
-I love that one.

[James] It's different.
It's pretty cool.

He is adorable in it.

[Pony] If I were to make up a
reference, would you be able

-to see it?
-No, I would not.

Picking out a reference
is challenging

because Danielle can't really
help with that process,

so she has to count on me to
make the best judgement here.

Okay, the one that seems
to pop out to me,

she's wearing this little jacket
and kind of looking off

to the side.

She's standing on the ground
with a lake behind her.

In that kind of situation,
you really have to have trust

with your artist.

And it's just something I've
never really thought of before.

Tattoos are actually a really
accessible form of art

for people who are low vision
or blind because

every piece I've had,
I've felt every detail of it,

so I have an understanding
of what it looks like.

[Pony] Got ya.
That's beautiful.

I'm loving today.
It's such a good day.

[music]

I was like, starting to do the
outlines on the color,

I realized that I'm not gonna--
I wanna be honest with you.

And I wanna give you the best
tattoo you can possibly get.

-Can we color his eyes?
-Yes.

Black and gray, color his eyes.

Artists, you have six hours
to tattoo a portrait

of your canvas's service dog.
And your time starts now.

So go ahead and just swivel
this way. Perfect.

Dog portraits are a great test
of precision.

A lot of dogs, they look alike,
but to the pet owner,

their dog is one of a kind.

[Man] I think that's
pretty good.

You have to figure out what
little traits this dog has

or markings on the fur,
and really hit that.

It's getting compared
to a photo.

I like challenges like this
because it means a lot.

[Alexandra] Yeah.

[DJ] If you're getting your
dog's portrait tattooed on you,

that better look like your dog,
not the neighbor's dog.

It's gotta be Fido,
not Sprinkles.

Whenever you need a break or Kai
needs a break, just let me know.

-Ready?
-[Bernie] Ready.

Let's do this.

[music]

That's so cool that she's here
for this tattoo.

That's amazing.
That was my first question.

Wait, are they gonna be in here?

I do like dogs a lot.
There's so pure and genuine.

[April] What made you get
into tattooing to start with?

I was getting tattooed and kind
of one thing led to another.

I've always been like,
a heavier guy.

There's been times in my life
where I've gotten bullied.

Being tattooed always made me
feel a lot more comfortable

in my own skin.

And I think it's really cool
that I can help other people

feel comfortable
in their skin, too.

[music]

[Georgia] You're lucky that
I'm getting the tattoo for you,

Maggie.

[Cat] If she could speak,
she would thank you.

She would also say,
"Do you have any snacks?"

I love doing dog portraits.

When I was younger, I would
start with just a pencil,

and I was able to create images,
and that's where I kind of got

into black and gray realism.

How long have you had her now,
again?

[Georgia] Three years.

So I lost my vision
because of a stroke.

It's almost like looking
through a straw.

That's where Maggie comes in.

She catches all the stuff
on the periphery.

[Cat] That's amazing.

You know, people with
disabilities, we're all human.

And, service dogs
in general just,

they increase
people's independence.

I'm gonna do a good tattoo.
I feel good today.

I needed this.
I need this for my soul.

[music]

[music]

Artists,
there are four hours left.

I didn't even fully understand
what service dogs were capable

of doing for people, so this has
opened up my eyes a lot.

Vespa has been life changing.

Because of her, I can continue
living the independent life

I have been living.

I'm just really honored to be
able to do this tattoo for you.

[music]

Animals really like me.
I go to mentor's house.

He has English Bulldog.

Okay.

Everytime, he sit on my feet.

My mentor's like, "That shows
you have good energy, stupid."

I was like, "Okay, I guess."

I have worked very hard
for the past 21 years

with my traditional
Japanese mentor.

[Angela] Girl,
that is some fine lines.

[Lucy] It was hard for my mentor

to think of women
as a tattoo artist.

And, I asked him like, "How
about you teach me tattoo, too?"

I don't take no as an answer.

So, I do double of the work
and he change his mind.

I wanna win Ink Master
because I wanna shine his name.

I don't wanna let him down.

I wanna do your tattoo,
so he can recognize himself.

Does he look in the mirror?

He just starts barking
at my leg.

[Alexandra] Good boy.
Settle place. Good.

[James] I feel less confident
'cause I don't do portraits

really at all.

It's just not what
I enjoy doing.

The photo that I'm drawn to
is the one with the bubble

in front of the eye.

It seems more playful and fun,
and not so static.

If I'm gonna tackle a portrait,
I'm gonna have fun with it.

And try to enjoy it.

How long ago did you go through
breast cancer?

I got diagnosed at age 34.

I went through five months
of chemo,

36 treatments of radiation,
and then a double mastectomy.

And I had to get my ovaries out,
but so far, so good.

[James] That's awesome,
so is my wife.

She's a breast cancer survivor,
too.

[Alexandra] So what was your
wife's experience like?

It's such a blur to me.
That's how I do pain.

I bear down.

I just went to work
and continued on,

and made sure family was good.

And the kids,
I didn't beat around the bush.

We told them what's up.

Because I don't like
sugarcoating life.

But seeing my wife go through
something like that,

and still have a smile on her
face was pretty crazy, man.

[Alexandra] Yeah.

You have two hours, everybody.

Down.

Stay.

[Bernie] Your dad looks young.

I've never done a portrait,
but I know how to

replicate something,
so this is no different.

[Bernie] What's gonna happen
when you beat your dad?

[Anthony] Thanksgivings might be
a little weird, but you know.

In this competition, I don't
wanna show a lack of confidence.

I'm confident that I can put
in a solid tattoo

regardless of the style.

So going to let this tattoo
stand tall.

Watching my dad for so long
and finding out

what he's capable of, and his
strengths and weaknesses,

and everything.

I didn't come here to lose.

I didn't come here
to get second.

[Bernie] That's when a mentor
knows they've done a good job is

when their padawan graduates
and moves on to the next level,

-right?
-[Anthony] Exactly.

[music]

Is it quite difficult to do
realistic things like eyes?

I'm kind of like
a laser printer,

so it just takes time
and patience.

There are 30 minutes remaining.

[music]

These subtle shapes?
And how these come down?

-[Jade] Add them?
-Yeah.

-And you'll be fine.
-Thank you.

Just keep trying to sit still,
please, I know it sucks.

Five, four, three, two, one.

That's it.
Time's up.

No more ink.

All right.
I'll stop torturing you now.

-You like it?
-Yeah, I love it.

Oh my God, that's amazing.

Buddy, look, that's you.
Yeah.

[barks]

-Can I hug you?
-Yeah, of course.

[Briana] Thank you so much.

Wow.
He's absolutely beautiful, Lucy.

[Lucy] You're gonna make me cry,
too.

Thank you.

Aw.

[music]

[music]

Today was fun
because we're all riding high,

but reality's gonna hit us
in the face here real quick.

I feel like you never know
what's gonna happen here.

There's always some kind of
curve ball, right?

Always.

Hey, here we go.

Let's go.

[Joel] Today the artists had
six hours to tattoo a portrait

of a service dog.

They are fighting for safety
from elimination.

What does that mean?
What does it mean?

Now, you guys don't know which
artist did which portrait.

The artists are watching the
critique from the design room.

Now, I'm scared.

[Joel] Bring out the
first tattoo.

Hey, that's mine.

[Ryan] Such a cool,
little tattoo.

The super, super curly,
puff afro on the top

was rendered beautifully.

I mean, that's the exact texture
of that poodle's fur.

And that's a hard thing to do.

And as that really curly texture
comes down to the ear,

it gets a little more straggly.
And the way this artist rendered

that fur is precisely how it is
in the reference.

Everything they said is right.
I'm amazing.

Too precise really.

[Joel] Moving on.
Let's see the next tattoo.

That's mine.

[Nikko] When you first glance at
the reference versus the tattoo,

you see that dog's personality,
which is really cool.

-I love the shiny eyes.
-[Ryan] Absolutely.

I think they likeness is there.
They nailed the tongue.

Those little spots
on the tongue where

they push against the teeth.

This is a great tattoo.

Overall, I'm really happy
and proud of it.

[Joel] Let's see the
next tattoo.

That's mine.

[Ryan] This tattoo is
really well done.

It's elegant.
It's soft.

It's buttery.
It's beautiful.

[Nikko] I might be splitting
dog hairs here,

but when you compare the gray
in the bottom

to the white background,
the value is definitely off.

It just needs to be punched up
one step.

I feel like you're being pretty
doggone hard on this tattoo.

I see a wet, shiny nose.
The eyes are great.

It feels like the dog.

It looks like a photocopy.
I mean, your skills are crazy.

[Joel] Let's bring up
the next tattoo.

That's mine.

[Nikko] I like the overall shape
of the design and how it fits

with the diamond,
but doing colored eyes

on black and gray tattoos,
sometimes it becomes too bright.

The golden eyes would have been
more balanced if they rendered a

larger dog tag in gold as well,
so there would've been a balance

to connect the eyes
to the dog tag.

But I really like the lighting
of those heavy, really open,

negative areas at the top left.
Catch that light.

It's a great dog portrait.

I'm pretty happy with it.

It did show a little more
finesse and I like that.

[Joel] Let's look
at the next tattoo.

That's me.

[DJ] My favorite part of this
tattoo is the nose.

That thing looks heavy.

It looks like you can
squeeze it.

The same depth that,
that nose has,

I would like to see
in the whole portrait.

Those flowers definitely
aren't done.

They absolutely hit precision
in the expression,

but everything looks almost
like line work on skin.

The focus is on the dog.

That's why I didn't want to put
so much detail on the flower.

But you have the best nose.

[Joel] Let's see the next one.

Hey, that's mine.

[Ryan] You can imagine feeling
with your fingers,

the soft ripples of the head
and the eyebrows.

It's so soft and delicate
how it's put in there.

[Nikko] It shows a lot
of precision.

It shows confidence in punching
in those blacks.

I love to see people in the
mouth just go for the black.

It really will read well
when it heals.

It's like, an amazing attempt
at a first portrait.

[Joel] Let's see the
next tattoo.

Woof, woof, baby.

[DJ] I really like that rapt
focus to where there's a lot

of detail up front in the nose
and it gets a little blurrier

at the ears.

It very like, comes out
at you kind of 3D.

The tattoo is so big that it
wraps around the arm,

but it doesn't skew the
perspective of the dog.

It exaggerates the angle
that the photo really had.

You definitely proved to us that
you can do larger tattoos.

I just really wanted
to fit the body.

[Joel] Let's see the
next tattoo.

That is mine.

I am excited to see a first
color portrait.

It's really well
packed and solid,

but the bubble kind of
gets a little confusing.

If you look at the reference
where the eye is,

the pink highlight, it almost
covers that tear duct area,

but when you go to the tattoo,
the tear duct area kind of

overpowers that highlight,
and so it creates the illusion

that the eye is closer
than the bubble.

They did get the shape
of the dog right,

but they missed the color
of the dog which is like

this dark chocolate.

And the portrait looks
like a black dog.

I hate to burst the bubble,
but I'd like to on this one.

I took liberty
on lightening it up,

but yeah, I should've kept
more brown in that.

That was a little bit rough
compared to your last critiques.

It was.
It was hard, okay?

We hide our pain till now.

[Joel] Let's see the
next tattoo.

That's me.

[Nikko] Wow,
that's a great portrait.

It is really striking.

This artist really captured the
natural of this dog's fur.

It feels fluffy.
It feels alive.

It has a lot of character.
It's very strong.

From the wispy ears
to the speckled texture

right on the front
of the muzzle,

there's so many subtle details
that make this not only precise,

but truly expert level.

If I could howl right now,
I would.

[Joel] Well,
I'm shaking my tail.

Killed it.

Honestly, after the first
challenge here when I thought

I was going home,
I never thought I'd get a chance

to show off my portrait skills.

It feels kind of good
and validating.

-[James] Good job.
-[Trevor] Yeah, that is awesome.

It's amazing.

That's it.
Nine tattoos.

It's time to rank
these portraits.

My stomach just turned.

It's getting to the point
where we're gonna start to see

-good tattoos go home.
-The tides have turned.

The tides have turned.

[music]

[music]

Today you were being tested
on precision.

Based on your work,
each of your tattoos

have been ranked by the judges.

The artist with the highest
ranked tattoo will be safe

from elimination.

Please reveal the highest ranked
tattoo.

[music]

Makes sense.

Cat, congratulations.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much.

Sorry, I can't talk right now,
but I'm so grateful.

This blew us away.

I literally had chills.

This tattoo,
it was close to perfect, Cat.

Thank you, guys.

[Joel] Congratulations, Cat.
You are safe from elimination.

The rest of you are not.

It's time to reveal the two
lowest ranked tattoos.

Please reveal the lowest ranked
tattoo.

[music]

Whoa.

Lucy, you have the lowest ranked
tattoo.

Lucy, there's tons of precision
in this tattoo.

It just didn't have
that contrast

and that oomph that it needed.

I could've add more background,
but I didn't want to make

the dog too dark.

It's just splitting hairs
at this point.

You guys are all great.

Have a seat please.

[music]

Please reveal the second lowest
ranked tattoo.

[music]

No. [gasps]

Holy shit.

What?

I'm surprised.

I mean, this is my second dog
portrait in my whole career

in 26 years.
That's not bad.

I think it was the bubble that
kind of threw me off.

I thought it was a fun one.

I'm just shocked that you have
an Achilles heel.

Same.

[music]

Lucy and James,

you had the two
lowest ranked tattoos.

What you don't know is this is
a double elimination.

Oh.

[music]

However, both of you will have
a chance to redeem yourself.

You are moving directly
into a face-off.

But not against each other.

You must each challenge another
artist in the competition

to face-off in a direct
head-to-head battle

tattooing the same style
and subject.

[music]

I thought I was safe.

Fuck.

In this competition,
if you don't win,

you are never really safe.

Yeah...

You can choose anyone you want,
except Cat

who had the
highest ranked tattoo.

She is safe from elimination.

I'm feeling the relief
of the thing now.

The two artists who lose
each head-to-head face-off

will be eliminated.

Before you make your decision,

there is one more thing
you should know.

Of course.

[Joel] The artist you challenge
will have the power to decide

the style and subject that you
both must tattoo

for your head-to-head face-off.

Chaos.

Lucy, who do you challenge
to a head-to-head face-off?

[music]

Joseph.

Bring on the challenge.

Joseph, what style and subject
do you choose?

Black and gray, realistic panda
with graffiti.

I love panda.
I mean, I am Chinese.

They're very hard to tattoo.

The first face-off is set.

James, who do you challenge
to a head-to-head face-off?

[music]

Let's do this, Trevor.

[music]

-Here I am again.
-And again.

Trevor, what style and subject
do you pick for this face-off?

Black and gray, realistic
skull and rose.

I know James is an amazing
illustrator.

I obviously do my own thing
with the neo stuff.

I feel like this kind of
levels the playing field

a little bit more.

I'm fucking stoked.

I'll do this right now
if you want.

The head-to-head face-offs
are set.

This shit's wild.

Tomorrow you will have six hours
to tattoo.

There is no room for error.
Lose your head-to-head face-off,

and you will be packing
your machines.

[music]

It's all good.

[music]

I would really like to see us
make it to the end together.

And I think we can help
each other.

Yeah.
I mean, I'm absolutely down.

James and Anthony are
strong competitors.

I just want to see them
taken out.

That would make it easier.

The further we get along,
the fewer we are,

the bigger threat they become.

Maybe this is our
perfect opportunity

to accidentally sabotage.

-Damn, you're an assassin.
-Yeah.

-We will be together.
-Yeah, I'm down.

[music]

[music]

-I'm your human canvas.
-Oh, hey.

I would shake your hand, but...

We're doing this today.

It's a realistic panda, a little
bit of graffiti on top of it.

I'm not doing a small tattoo.
I'm doing a big one.

Yeah? Okay.

-Can you handle that?
-Yeah.

The entire competition,
I've been intimidated by

the potential
of going head-to-head

with fucking James Tex.

And now he calls me out,
out of everybody.

And here we are.

The challenge is a
skull and rose.

We're doing a wolf skull.
I'm stoked on it.

It's gonna be really fun, dude.

This is it or I go home.

This is a new school challenge,
right?

Illustrative.

You should actually use
some color in it maybe.

I know you don't like doing the
black and grays that often.

Well, you know, you can get away
with a lot in this competition.

As you know, you can put left
hands on people.

I do know that, buddy.
I do know that.

James and Trevor,
Lucy and Joseph,

you must face-off
in a head-to-head battle

to save yourself
from elimination.

You have six hours.

And your time starts now.

Stand up for me, please.

Lucy and Joseph are tattooing
black and gray realistic pandas

with a graffiti element.

Who doesn't like red pandas?

A panda has a lot of textures.
you have to make that thing

look fuzzy and fluffy
like you just wanna pet it.

-Is that not perfect or what?
-You nailed it.

You've got six hours
of black and gray.

Your shorts are gone, okay?

James and Trevor are facing off
with the realistic

black and gray skull and rose.

That looks fuckin' sick.

Black and gray realism is
an illusion.

Creating the idea you're looking
at something three dimensional

when it's extremely flat
on the body.

What do you say Jimbo?

Jimbo says it's good to go.

These artists have one more
shot.

If they miss the mark
on precision,

this is gonna be the
last tattoo they do

in this competition.

Here we go.

[music]

If I can send home James Tex,
I'm gonna feel like a

fuckin' superhero.

What made you call this style?

Let's be honest.

We both know James is one of the
best illustrators in the room.

I thought black and gray
was one of the only ways

to level the playing field
a little bit.

Seeing him trip up in this
dog portrait challenge,

James does have some
sort of kryptonite.

And know that he really likes
doing color, like, fuck it.

Let's do black and gray, dude.

It's crazy,
you didn't do a human skull.

Yeah, I knew that,
that's what he thought, too.

-And I just said skull.
-He just said skull.

He didn't say what kind.

[Trevor] I think it's smart
to do something a little

bit different, so like,
I thought, immediately like,

OG leader of the pack,
let's do a wolf skull.

-It's a gamer move.
-It is.

Now is the time to try
and do the best thing possible

to fuckin' take out James Tex.

-What's up, James?
-My blood pressure.

-Done a few skulls before?
-Not too many.

[James] Trevor had the option
to do something that

he's good at and he chickened
out and did something that

he thought I couldn't handle.

It's definitely a big one.

Sometimes you have to point
and shoot, bang, bang.

[James] I came into this
competition wanting to prove

that I could be an Ink Master.
So it means I have to crush him.

You have three hours.

[music]

I'm not at the bottom this week
and here I am

tattooing again for my life.

I don't deserve to be down here.

This is your...
Your tattoo style?

Yeah. Honestly, I just have fun
with it, you know?

I really wanna nail these fur
textures and out tattoo Lucy.

That's cool.

I love red panda.

Joseph make a big mistake
and call graffiti style.

I was a rebel kid.

When I was teenage,
I draw my whole building,

graffiti everywhere.

[Anthony] What does that
say below it?

This is the first time
I'm at the bottom.

I've got one more chance.
I've gotta make it work.

There are two hours left.

Coming together.

[Anthony] He has a lot more
midtones to exaggerate

those big, bold values.

James's design is fuckin'
powerful, but he needs

to put in those blacks just to
help his tattoo be more powerful

and show that James Tex
isn't someone

just to fuck around with.

Make sure that this little
crease right here is

the darker gray wash.

Trevor is stepping up and so far
his rose is looking phenomenal

compared to James.

Hey Cat,
can I talk to you for a minute?

Yeah, of course.

I know that I'm not
on the Young Guns' team,

but obviously,
I want to see James go home.

Make sure that you're giving
Trevor the best advice possible.

I'm worried he's gonna start
rushing towards the end.

I just want that
softness in the skull.

And it's very weird for me
to say that to him.

Even Steph's coming up, like,
"Can we take out James?"

This is our chance
to send him home.

Leave extra open skin
on what on your reference

because you can always blend out
or add a little bit of that

light shading at the very end.

[Trevor] For sure, for sure.

I'm trying not to like over
render it.

There is one hour left.

[music]

Just the right amount of texture
in the face.

you didn't overdo it.

Are you sure?

[music]

Five, four, three, two, one.

That's it.
Time's up.

No more ink.

Yay.

Very stoked on it, dude.
Either this is good enough

to send James home
or I'm going home.

Jesus.

[James] Skully wully.

That looks awesome, man.
I love it.

That's outstanding.

I've got a red beard,
a red t-shirt,

now, I've got a red panda.

Yay. Perfect.

I feel shitty that I gotta
send you home, James.

We both did sick tattoos.

I mean, it's apples and oranges,
a little bit.

You know what I mean?

I like oranges better.

It's gonna be a hard critique.

[music]

[music]

I think this is
gonna be very close.

Closer than comfortable,

but I think Trevor really does
have a chance to take James out.

Like, they're neck and neck.

It will be a tough elimination
because we can't necessarily

have Trevor's back.

Otherwise,
we're gonna expose ourselves.

We have to make sure that
we're playing it strategically

and we don't really speak up
for James.

Yeah, we gotta stay quiet
on this one.

Maybe this will take him down.

We'll see.

[music]

[music]

Today you had to face-off

tattooing in a head-to-head
battle against another artist.

Based on your work, two of you
will be packing your machines.

This is a double elimination.

First up, the face-off
between Lucy and Joseph.

Joseph, you called black
and gray realistic panda

with graffiti.

Let's start with you.

I do like that you called the
mashup combination

of tattoo styles.

I do like the spray can paint
drips on the bottom.

I wish you would've let it kind
of be softer and not lined it.

I really like how you have
the drop shadow underneath

that graffiti word because it
encapsulates the big, negative

space of the panda and allows it
to read really light

and really bright white.

A lot of areas of the white fur
do read as soft and fluffy,

and beautiful.

But that eye should've been
bright green.

That should've been
the connection

between the graffiti
and the panda.

[music]

Lucy.

[DJ] A lot of your texture
in the fur of the red panda

looks fluffy.
It looks soft.

I like the nose, how dark and
round it looks

with just that little shine
on the top.

I love the way the
little claws are

because it's so soft around it
and then you have these like,

nice little claws
that are really sharp.

And you put red panda under it
in Chinese in red.

You brought the two
tattoos together.

This tattoo is a banger.
It's badass.

Judges, it's time
to make a decision.

Lucy's looks like a very drastic
mix of styles, and it pops.

Joseph's, it's muted.
It doesn't grab me like Lucy's.

Lucy's panda is interacting
with the graffiti.

Joseph's is two separate tattoos
that don't interact

and that's why my vote is
for Joseph to go home.

My vote is for Joseph
to go home.

Lucy just came out
swinging today.

Yeah, she killed it.
It's awesome.

My vote is for Joseph.

The judges have decided.

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

Lucy fuckin' killed it.
I would wear that red panda.

What I admire about you is
that you're five years in

and you're still always
willing to learn,

and know that you can go
that much further.

Keep going, bro.

Maybe I'll come back
when I'm an OG.

Who knows?

Please pack your machines
and close shop.

I'm sorry.
Give me a hug.

Being here tattooing
with all these OGs,

I've learned so much.

And I know I'm gonna be
a different artist

when I go back home.
I hope I made my mom proud.

My mom sacrificed a lot to teach
me how to keep moving forward.

Being in this competition
was really to show her that

everything is all worth it.

I did it for you, Mommy.

[music]

Next up, the face-off
between James and Trevor.

Trevor, you called black and
gray, realistic skull and rose.

You're up first.

This rose is stunning.

[Nikko] The grays are very
delicate, but very heavy.

I love how dark their
bottom petals are rendered,

but you can still see the shadow

and where the separation of
light is.

But the top of that nasal cavity
is over textured, kind of

just throwaway gray texture
to create texture where

it really doesn't belong.

When you add too much,
it takes away

from the realistic aspect of it.

James, you're up next.

[Nikko] This skull is awesome.
It's really readable.

I really love the confidence you
had in just putting solid black

in a lot of areas where you
really didn't need any details.

I like the direction
of the lighting.

You have drastic lighting
at the top,

and then these nice shadows
on the right side of the skull.

I wish you would have repeated
that lighting on the rose bud.

The center of the rose
flattens out.

The shadows aren't there.

[music]

This is gonna be
a tough decision.

Trevor, that's one of
the best roses I've seen.

I really love that rose.

Not to say that James's rose
isn't successful, though,

because when I look at it,
I really like it.

It's successful,
but I don't think it's as

successful next to Trevor's.

When it comes to the skulls,
James pulled off a skull

that's readable.

The challenge was realism.
James's tattoo is awesome,

but it's still
more illustrative.

Mine has a lot more realistic
qualities to it.

The rose is good,
really good, actually,

but your skull
looks pretty flat.

I gotta say,
James crushed that shit.

James's tattoo reads
as a whole piece

a lot better than Trevor's does.

When I look at Trevor's tattoo,
I see 40% successful in realism

with a rose.

When I look at James's tattoo,

I see 60% success in the skull.

My vote is for Trevor
to go home.

Trevor's rose is like,
expert level.

That's really good
black and gray realism

tattooing right there.

So my vote is for James
to go home.

That's one vote for Trevor
and one vote for James.

I love that rose.
I love that skull.

My vote is for Trevor
to go home.

So that's two votes for Trevor,
one vote for James.

The problems in James's
were to add a few things.

A lot of the problems
in Trevor's

were to take away things,
which is very hard to do.

My vote is for Trevor
to go home.

The judges have decided.

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

I mean, I'm proud of everything
I did here.

It's definitely way tougher
than you think.

I've seen some amazing tattoos
from you.

And to be honest with you, bro,
you went out on a badass tattoo.

Thanks, bro.
That means a lot.

Please pack your machines
and close shop.

[Trevor] If I'm gonna get sent
home by anybody in

this competition, that's the guy
I want to be sent home by.

He's a legend.

Going face-to-face with him
and almost sending him home,

that feels pretty good.

It's pretty crazy to know that,
you know, my art does stack up

against the best in the world.

I'm proud of myself just
for that.

[Narrator] On the next episode
of Ink Master...

Where's all the Young Guns?

There's only two
of you guys now.

That's all you need.

They're trying to look out
for you, Pony.

These girls are
playing the game.

Well, here's my worst
nightmare come true.

She's dead to me.

I fucking knew it.

I didn't speak against
your tattoo.

I think most people are ready
to throw me under the bus.

I don't think my team
had my back.

Fuck. That puts the crosshair
right on me.

[music]

[music]