Ink Master (2012–…): Season 13, Episode 4 - Battle Lines - full transcript

male announcer: On the last
episode of "Ink Master"....

- Today, we are moving directly
into a tattoo marathon.

- A marathon?
- Oh, shit.

announcer:
Safety was on the line

as teamwork was put
to the test.

- Just try and take some
deep breaths, all right?

- Gripping somebody like that
is not a strategy.

- Let me just do it.
Let me just do it.

- Are you sure?

- I want you guys
to leave me alone.

I really need them
to [bleep] off.



- It's like these moments
when you actually realize

that less on the team is better

'cause there's not
so many pains.

- S-some anatomical issues
over there.

- I mean, should I use
your boobs as reference?

- I mean, mine might be more
symmetrical than those boobs.

- Judges have decided.

Midwest and West...
- [sighs]

- You are safe
from elimination.

- That's awesome.

narrator:
The South and the East

had one last chance
for survival.

- Let's tat some fairies.

- It's getting ready
to get real.



- My bottom picks
all living in the South.

- Mike and Patrick,

that's the big battle
right there.

- Drawing for drawing,

I'd rather have Patrick's
girl on the moon.

- Looks too beat, man.

- Patrick, you do not
have what it takes

to be Ink Master.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

announcer: 16 artists remain,

but only one will earn

the $100,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Well, that was crazy.
- I'm very shocked.

Patrick is a great tattooer.

- This is a competition,
it's a lot of pressure.

It's not tattooing at home.

- It's that mental game.

- You can have one bad day
and you're out.

- Yep.
- Yeah, it's scary.

- None of us
can ever feel safe.

- Well, it was definitely
a blow for our team

going down
to only three members.

Now it's gonna--we're gonna
have to work even harder

just to keep up
with everybody else.

- Tell me about it.
Welcome to the jungle.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome.

To outlast your competitors,
you must be a strong artist,

and sometimes rely
on the strength of your region.

- We do that well.
- We do.

- We do that very well.

- Once again,
for this flash challenge,

you will win or lose as a team.

- This week, we are testing...

legibility.

- Legibility is being able
to read a design

and recognize immediately
what it is.

If you have a question mark,
then you don't have legibility.

- Today, you must
create a design

on an 8-foot by 12-foot canvas

one strand at a time.

both: What?

- Strands of what?

- In these buckets

are over 120 miles

of various colors of yarn.

- Oh, shit.

That's one hell of a scarf.

- How many grandmas
you round up

to get all this yarn?

- You must strategically
stretch and pull

each strand of colored yarn
from nail to nail,

bringing an impressive and
legible work of art to life.

- [bleep].
- Forget Ink Master.

With all this yarn, I could be
the next Knit Master.

Sweaters for everybody.

- Today's challenge
is legibility.

We have to know what it is
on the spot.

- You got a lot
of bright colors

on a black background,
lot of contrast.

Think smart.
Think creative.

- Oh, that's gonna be
painstaking.

- Win this challenge,

and your team
will have the power

to assign
all of the human canvases

in the elimination tattoo.

- We definitely need that now.

- You'll have six hours,

and your time starts...

now.

- Okay.
- All right.

- All right, let's see
what we got here.

- For this flash challenge,
we're judging legibility.

- Do you guys--have got ideas?

- I thought
of a big pair of sunglasses

and then something in them.

- Maybe the words "East"?

- Is that too simple?
- Could be.

- These artists have a lot
of different colors

of yarn to use,
so picking the right colors

that are gonna
bounce off this background

and make a legible image
is tough.

- Okay, [bleep].
- Bright colors.

I was thinking maybe
doing something

like a neon,
like, [bleep] flamingo.

Maybe, like, art deco-ish.

- I mean, we're short
two team members.

So whatever we do,
it's gotta be simple.

- If these strings
don't line up right,

it's gonna get messy.

- We could do a lantern
with a candle.

- [bleep], could actually
really [bleep] sell a lantern.

- We could.
- Do it!

- What came to mind
to me immediately

was to do, like, a big eyeball

with, like, radiating rays
coming off.

- If you present just that...

- But it's not
creativity day, man.

It's legibility day.
- That is way more basic.

- It's not, like,
complexity day--

- We're losing time.

- We could still do it
[bleep] big.

- Or a UFO.
- I like the UFO, yeah.

- I mean,
it's already got that shape.

- That tells a story.
Let's do the [bleep] UFO.

- I still don't like it,
but I like it better.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- [bleep].
I draw pictures for a living.

There's a reason
why I'm not a handyman.

♪ ♪

God, I wish I could hammer
like you.

- It's the only reason
I was born, was to hammer.

- Jerrel and this
[bleep] hammer, man.

♪ ♪

Doosh-doosh-doosh-doosh.

Mesmerizing.

- He's batting 100 right now.

- We're one of the biggest
teams in the competition,

and we wanna keep it that way.

To me, the main focus
is trying to beat the West.

So we gotta move.
We gotta get it done.

I'm the one moving constantly

picking up the slack
for everybody.

- Man, I'm not vibing
with anything.

- Everybody's getting down.

They're hammering
their nails in.

It sounds like a goddamn
construction site around here

and we're sitting here
doodling on paper.

Doodles don't win.

We gotta
get this thing rolling.

- Five hours left!

♪ ♪

- So you know what we could do?

We could take the white
and we could stretch it out

and we could double it up

and give us
a big, fat, white outline.

- Perfect.

- Team South is suffering
a big loss right now

with Patrick gone,
but if there's any team

in flash challenges
that makes us feel better

about ourselves,
it's definitely East.

The East design sucks.

Oh, lettering.

Nothing says "legible"
more than lettering.

- That's true.

Sometimes you gotta
spell it out for 'em, you know?

East is gonna take it home.

You just kind of write it out.

- Probably not.
- "East wins."

- Ugh.
- Three hours.

Three hours left, guys.
Halfway there.

♪ ♪

- See how this one goes
one to one,

one to one, one to one?

It's 'cause this one--
the spacing between these two

is a little bit different.

- It matters.

- Bob is Mr. Systematic.
He likes to take charge.

He likes to let everybody know
how he wants it done,

and once he has an idea
in his head, he commits.

Yeah, I think you're good now.

- No, this get us--
this is a smaller gap.

- I don't think so.
- It is.

It's a smaller gap by an inch.
I measured it.

I just measured it.

People might bust my balls
and call me a robot,

but, hey, this challenge
was meant for one.

- Are these right?
- No.

- No.
- This is 6 1/2.

If we don't have
precise measurements,

our design is gonna lack
in legibility.

Every last detail counts, guys.

- One final hour, guys.

This challenge
has one hour remaining.

♪ ♪

- Starting to get paranoid that
we're not gonna finish this.

- Positivity.

- It's true, Jess.

- We're all in this
situation together

and we're rolling through it.

I just wanna radiate beauty
and power

and [bleep], like, positivity.

- Thanks for the reminder.

- ♪ Positivity is key, queen ♪

- We can do it.

- I just need to
get up into the "A."

- Hurry, hurry it up.

- Five...

four, three...

- [grunts]
- Two, one.

That is it!

Challenge is officially over!

[upbeat rock music]

- It lines up...
both: Perfectly.

- Yeah,
the perspective is great.

- Your landscape is the
same color as your background.

- This little tiny planet
has more saturation

than your entire piece,

and you dare to come over here
to talk shit?

[all chattering, laughing]

♪ ♪

- Okay, artists,
time to critique your work.

Midwest, you're up.

- It's very legible.

What really,
really shines for me

is this very structured
pattern of the yarn

from nail to nail.

Just looks purposeful.

- What I like about this
is the way that you guys create

more depth in the darker side
by adding more yarn,

and the flying glass
is a nice added touch.

- Dope.

- I got nothing bad
to say about it.

- Damn.
- Yeah, [bleep].

- All right, South.

I really like the
white outline on this thing.

It really
brings the bird forward.

- Definitely stands out
as being legible

as what it's supposed to be.

I do wish
the green and the pink

were in a specific pattern

so that it looked more uniform.

- When is Jason gonna stop
throwing triangles in things

and calling it "creative"?

- That's what he does--
geometry.

- West, you're next up.

- The stark contrast

between the figure you have
in the foreground

with the white behind it
plays really well.

I like the color play.
I like the legibility.

The detail in the stars
where the yarn is

very meticulously put
in a pattern stands strong.

Came out super cool.

- Awesome.
I'm proud of us.

- Killed it, guys.
Killed it.

- I still think
we're gonna pull it out.

- East, you're next.

The yellow against the black
stands out loud and strong.

What doesn't stand out loud
and strong is the lettering.

- I'd love to see a lot more

attention to detail
in the letters.

I just feel like it's a little
bit of an incomplete thought.

- Honestly, I felt like
they just didn't play it smart.

- Yeah.

- Okay, judges, it is time

to determine the winner
of the flash challenge.

- For me, the two that shine
are the West and the Midwest.

- I think
our piece is more dynamic.

We bring perspective.

We bring saturation
in every single element.

- Yeah, but the coolest part
about your piece is the stars,

and your stars are
exactly what our lantern is.

- That grid that we did
on the bottom is just amazing.

That thing is just flawless.

- My favorite one is the West.

I love the grid.

I love the outline
of the mountains.

I vote for the West.
- All right.

- Awesome.

- For me, the creativity
that the Midwest brings

and the technical aspect
of it--

and actually showing
the broken glass

does create movement for me.

I'm gonna go Midwest.

- Thank you.
- Thanks, Chris.

- Based on coverage,
based on playing smart...

[dramatic music]

- My vote is for the West.

- Yes.

- Damn it.

- The judges have decided

the winner of this
flash challenge is the West.

- I'm so glad that we're here.
- Congratulations, West.

As a team,
you'll have the power

to assign
all the human canvases

in the elimination tattoo.

- Oh.
- Thank you.

- Team West and the Midwest
are the only two teams of five.

So they're pretty much
gonna have to fire us.

It's gonna suck.

- You can all head back
to the loft.

both: Thank you.
- Oh, my God, guys.

- Yeah, that's what
I'm talking about.

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

- They look
proud of themselves.

- They do.
- They're coming after Midwest.

- Frank.
- I'm ready.

- Oof.

- I thought
you guys were in good standing?

- Damn.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- It's a great time
to have the advantage.

- Midwest has been
kind of stealth the whole time.

all: Yeah.

- Trying to stay out of shit,

and I feel like
they've got it coming next.

- The target right now
is the Midwest.

- It's a win-win.

- I think that we should
expect to be tested today.

- We need to take every
advantage that we can get.

With the East, you have
an eight-person alliance.

There's always strength
in numbers.

- There's a pretty good chance
that in any scenario,

one team
that we are friendly with

could be in the jury of peers.

- Right.

- And we could use that
to our advantage.

- Right, 'cause I definitely
don't see the West

teaming up with the South, so--

- So bringing the East along,
helping them when they need it,

that's making us as strong
as we can be together.

- That's a solid plan.
- It is.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome to
the elimination tattoo.

This is your chance to prove
that you deserve $100,000,

feature in "Inked" magazine,
and the title of Ink Master.

- That's why I came.

- Today, you must create...

a schematic tattoo.

- "Schematic"?
- A what?

- What is that?

What the [bleep]
is a "schematic tattoo"?

Does this look like a guy
that went to college?

- I don't even know
what that means.

- I've done them before.

A schematic is just basically

breaking an object down
into its parts.

It's like a blueprint.
- Shit.

- When I think
of the word "schematic,"

I think of a diagram.

Make sure what fits together
and how it assembles

is true to the way
that it would fit together.

That's the test here.

- It will be a lot of linework,

and it needs to stay legible.

It needs to look like what
it's supposed to look like.

- I still don't understand.

- Remember, the team whose
artist wins tattoo of the day

will select one other team
to form the jury of peers.

Together,
both teams will deliberate

and put one artist up
for elimination.

- We gotta get that
tattoo of the day.

- Hmm.
- Let's meet your canvases.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

West, you won
the flash challenge.

You now have the power
to assign the human canvases.

- Ready guys?
- Yeah.

- Go for it.

Today, the main goal
is making sure

that we have tattoo of the day
and no one goes home.

- How you doing, man?
What do you want to get?

- Black-and-gray schematic
of a car motor.

- Oh.

We want to make
the Midwest uncomfortable

and let Jason know
that we still hate him.

- Black and yellow
schematic sport bike

with a city skyline.

- Oh.

First of all,
yellow's a terrible idea.

Second of all,
he wants way too many elements

in one tattoo.

- Schematic vintage globe
with watercolor continents.

- What?
- Wow.

- Watercolor doesn't go
with a schematic tattoo.

- I'm not tattooing continents.

Plain and [bleep] simple.

- A schematic hot-air balloon

with watercolor elements
on my thigh.

- Watercolor.
What is with watercolor?

- Black-and-gray schematic
of a tiger face on my sternum.

- What?

How do you do a schematic
of a tiger face?

- You want to put it
on your sternum?

No, not today.
Not here.

No way.

- A black-and-gray schematic
military knife on my--

- Ooh, that's a good one.

- A biological
and robotic spine on my spine.

- Oh, shit.
- What the hell?

- The spine is a tough spot
to tattoo.

It hurts a lot.
I don't want it.

- Do our--
- Do ours first, yeah.

- I'm so excited.
- Awesome.

- Let's do it.

- I know team West is gonna be
gunning for us today

because if we lose teammates
on the Midwest,

it makes the West stronger.

- The watercolor?
- Yes.

- And having so many bad ones
on the line,

they could probably shoot
at our entire team.

- They look proud
of themselves.

- Right?
- They do.

- Canvases, one by one,

please read the artist's name
on the bottom of your skull.

- Hiram.
- Let's do it, brother.

- Kelly.
- Perfect.

- Money.
- Whoo.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Jordan.
- That's me.

Bob, I didn't
do anything to you.

Why did you
give me the motorcycle?

That's just rude.

- I bet they give it to Arlene
'cause it's easy.

- Arlene.

- Hey, man.
- Smart play.

- Raul.

- Bob.
- Let's build a robot.

- It's gonna be
a self-portrait.

- Jessa.
- Hey.

- What is this one?

♪ ♪

- Jason.
- Yep. Sweet.

- [laughs]

She wants black and gray
with pops of color.

That's easy.

- Jake.
- 'Sup, dude.

[bleep].

I definitely got
thrown the grenade today.

- Damn.

- Angel.
- Right here.

- K.
- Hi.

- Jimmy.

- Jordi.
- Yes.

- Frank.
- I'm ready.

- Oof.

- I thought
you guys were in good standing?

- I knew it was gonna happen.

- It was the globe, wasn't it?

- Globe, yes,
with watercolor continents.

- Oh, yeah.

- Jerrel.
- Man.

- They're coming
at the Midwest.

- I definitely knew the West
was gonna come for us,

but Midwest, we don't give up.

We're here for the fight.

I'm not worried
about any of us.

[both laugh]

- You will have six hours
to demonstrate legibility

creating a schematic tattoo.

Good luck.

- I'm Jessa.
Nice to meet you.

- Let's go to my station.
It's right over here.

- Today,
in a schematic tattoo,

we're looking for the cleanest,
strongest outlines

with the best application

to show us the construction
or deconstruction of the item.

- So it's schematic day.
- Yes.

- So whatever we do,
the linework has to show.

- These tattoos
don't have anywhere to hide.

If you're doing something
that's a diagram,

then everything has to fit.

- I'd like a hot-air balloon...
- Okay.

- With some
nice watercolor through it.

- Cool.

Team West gave me
ten pounds of shit

in a five-pound bucket,

and that's just a nail
in the coffin.

I'm totally into it,
but, like, as far as size goes,

the more watercolor
we kind of do,

the smaller
it's gonna have to get.

That is,
it's not gonna be, like,

just, like,
watercolor everywhere.

But I feel like
team West underestimated

that Midwest charm.

- We're doing tiger head.
- On my sternum, yes.

- Okay, I'm not here
to talk you out of it,

but it is
a more difficult area...

- I know.
- To get tattooed.

Is it a solid idea,
or is there room--

- So if I change the placement,

I want to
change the subject as well.

- Okay.

- Okay, so this is
a sports bike.

- Yep.
- Okay.

It's like I have to
do a crash course

on how to put together
a sports bike.

- The side profile
would, like, work best.

Are you open to that?

- I'd rather do
a little bit of an angle.

- Okay.
- Now, the skyline--

- Oh, there's a skyline
in there too.

I forgot about that.

It's not gonna happen.

I'm freaking out right now.

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

- How you doing, Arlene?

- I'm just trying
to figure out--

how can I make this
look schematic?

- Huh.
- 'Cause it is just a knife.

- A knife is kind of one piece.

Are there any, like,

switchblade type stuff,
or is it--

- He wants this specific knife.

It's a Marine Corps
fighting knife.

I'm struggling with the design

because there aren't very many
parts of the knife.

I need to somehow
make this look

more complex
than it really is.

It doesn't fold.
Nothing--it's just knife.

- It's like one piece.
I didn't think of that.

- I didn't either.
I was like, "[bleep]."

Sometimes the most simple
tattoos are the hardest ones.

♪ ♪

- Artists, you have six hours

to create a schematic tattoo,

and your time starts...

now.

- Let's do this.

- All right, so I'm gonna
have you stand right here.

- Okay.

- The one thing about
these schematic drawings is:

there's no place to hide.

You're looking at
just the outline,

and it's a technical drawing.

If you don't do it perfect,
it's gonna fall apart.

[tattoo guns buzzing]

- I think I just noticed
it's facing the wrong way.

The blade should be
on this side.

- If we flip it, then it's not
true to the knife.

- Yeah, it is.
- I don't know about that.

- I know about that.
[laughs]

- No, I know you do,
but I'm saying, like,

there's also rules
to what we do.

- Yeah, but my left arm...
- Right.

- Is this way.
[laughs]

- I could just flip it around.

Your tattoo.
It's permanent.

[both laugh]
I'll just flip it.

Just give me like two minutes.
- Yep.

- All right, Amber,
you about ready?

- Do it.
- All right, here we go.

♪ ♪

- I think that West is trying
to shake me up

thinking that
it's gonna be hard

because it's a lot of circles.

This thing has some
pretty bold-ass lines on it.

So...
- Yeah, it looks really good.

- The circle has to be smooth.

It can't have any bumps

and it has to connect exactly
where it's supposed to connect.

I've been tattooing
for a while,

but it wasn't until
eight years ago

that I could just finally,
like--[bleep] everything else.

- Yeah.
- Just tattoo.

I really haven't been able
to shine here

and show off myself.

I'm a very strong tattooer,
and I'm gonna show that today.

What's funny is, like,
I make my own hours...

- Mm-hmm.

- But I work more hours
than most people still.

That's the best way to be.

It's like,
if you love something, do it.

♪ ♪

- Tattooing eight years

and I've only ever had
one other job,

and so tattooing is pretty much
all I know,

which is trippy to think about.

All I wanted to do
with this tattoo

is show off my linework,

and it is going the polar
opposite way.

All those tiny lines.

- Yeah, it's a lot
of detail there.

- I can feel how soft
this guy's skin is

and how easy it will be
to blow these lines out.

- My only option
is to try to pull this off.

This day sucks.

- Artists, four hours to go.

♪ ♪

- Ooh, that's a cool piece.
- Thank you.

When I saw everybody else's
I was like,

"Oh, I could have
done this a lot easier.

Damn it."
But that's not who I am.

I've been obsessed with robots
since I was a kid,

and I do a lot
of a biomechanical

that involves a lot of
robotic structures and stuff.

This is a total shoe-in for me.

Almost there with the lines.

Some dots and stuff left.

Son of a bitch.

Every three dots I do
blow out.

Every other line I do
blows out.

I don't understand
what's going on.

- Am I sitting okay for you?
Any issues?

- Oh, yeah,
you're sitting great.

It's just like,
I'm a [bleep] perfectionist.

This is a disaster.

I am scared shitless right now.

♪ ♪

- Your skin doesn't like this
stencil at all.

- No.
- It really [bleep] hates it.

It's trying to get rid of it
on me.

With all this skin,

you don't know
what you're gonna get into.

It's usually prone
to blowouts.

It could just split open
on you.

It's always thin.
So I'm playing it simple.

Your outline's
pretty much done.

I mean, yeah,
it doesn't need shading.

I guess I'm just not used to

having this much time
left over.

Should I order a pizza?

Maybe I'll mess around with it
on paper

and see if there's
anything else that makes sense.

I don't know if this thing
even reads

as a schematic tattoo.

My best chance is to zoom in

on some of the details
that I already have there.

Either way,
I'm taking a risk here.

If do add it in
and I don't pull it off,

I may not finish my tattoo.

- Well, I mean,
you nailed it.

[bleep], that's cool, though.

- Yeah.
- Very cool, dude.

- Thanks.

We got Frank's approval.

- Two hours to go.
You have two hours remaining.

♪ ♪

- Surprised you picked
that one.

- I'm kicking myself
for picking something

with all these gears.

In retrospect, I think

maybe the pocket watch
was a bad idea.

The schematics were
kind of an afterthought,

and it's probably gonna
come off that way.

I know I can
do a super clean watch,

and then I was like,
"Oh, yeah.

It has, like,
a ton of gears inside."

- Yeah, it's a schematic, man.

- I got to pick this tattoo,
and now I look like a fool

dropping the ball on something

that I thought
was gonna be simple.

♪ ♪

- No matter who has skull pick
and what they give me,

I'm going to
do a good tattoo, period.

They thought that I was gonna
change the placement,

but I was like, Nope."

- Well, that's good,

'cause I wasn't gonna
change the placement.

[laughs]
- Yeah.

I don't mind
tattooing the spine.

You know, the west,
they just panic easy.

There's like three people
on West side

I didn't feel like
did all that good.

Raul was hiding
some mistakes,

Bob had the blowouts...

- Yeah.

- And Arlene,
for having skull pick,

did do near as well
as they should have today.

♪ ♪

- With the redness
and the swelling,

I'll use witch hazel.

It helps.
- Nice.

- My canvas has skin tags
and moles

all throughout his forearm,

so my lines aren't as straight
as they usually are.

I got my first tattoo, like,
the day I turned 18.

- [chuckles]

- And my mom was like,
"What is that?"

I've come from a very strict
religious upbringing,

and tattoos are definitely
not something you want to do.

She's all, "That better be
a fake tattoo."

And I'm like, "Oh, yeah, yeah.

It's gonna--about to go
wash it off right now."

My late brother, he passed
less than a year ago.

He was really, like,
the only one

who was very supportive.

One of the last things
that he said to me--

he was like, "Arlene,
you should--you could win.

Like, you can totally do that."

I don't want to let him down.

I want to be an inspiration
and honor my brother.

♪ ♪

- Five, four,

three, two, one.

That's it.
Machines down.

Time is up.
No more ink.

- All-righty,
looks like we are all done.

- Awesome.
Looks dope.

- All right, man,
we're all set.

Thank you.
- Oh, thank you.

- We're all done.

- Bob drew his
completely by hand,

but there's, like,
a buttload of blowouts.

- Ugh.

- Don't stress nothing
you can't control now.

- I know.
- Yeah, it's done.

- The thing about it, just--
- You're going home, Bob.

- I know.
- Yep.

- It's not over
till it's over.

We don't know that yet.

Who knows?

Jason could have
not done a schematic at all.

♪ ♪

- What I don't see
is a schematic.

That is a mess.

- There isn't a single part
of the tattoo

that isn't challenged
with an outline.

- Oh, shit.

[suspenseful music]

- Was the, uh, West
trying to target my team?

You guys gave me
the hardest tattoo in the room.

- I felt like you still didn't

do the hardest tattoo
in the room.

- Well, I can't help it

if I know how
to manipulate the situation.

- Where's your schematic?

- Let me hear more
from Bobby Blowout.

- Those blowouts
were barely there.

- What?

There was
like 30 of them, dude.

- We will gladly
give you guys skull pick

each and every time.

- You guys targeted us

and you ended up
[bleep] yourselves over.

- I think we can all agree
that Wes gave Arlene the knife

because it was the easiest
in the room.

They just didn't know

she was gonna
cut her own throat with it.

- You know, the small dogs
are always the ones

with the loudest bark.

You're like a chihuahua.
A lot of this.

♪ ♪

- Today, you were being tested
on legibility

with schematic tattoos.

Let's see how you did.

Midwest, you're up first.

Jake.

♪ ♪

- I like the side of the skull
a lot.

The way that you shade this,
it has that older feel.

It has that journal feel.

I like your letterings,

and using the dashes
is also a good choice.

It breaks up the chances
of a wobble in there.

Overall, the quality
of your tattooing is very nice.

♪ ♪

- Frank.

- All right.

- You were able to create
an appealing tattoo

and then work the schematic
into it.

I love that concept.

Your lettering
that says "cool"

and your lettering
that says "heat,"

your arrows are very thin
but very consistent.

- Every time I do a line,

I think,
"Would Oliver like that"?

[all laugh]

- Good job, Frank.

- Jerome.

♪ ♪

- Now I know that you can line.

Your four circles
that go around the globe

are really nice at
the thickness that you do 'em,

and you keep them consistent.

This color is saturated,
the blending is nice,

and you made, literally,

a beautiful piece of art
out of it.

- Thanks.

- [exhales sharply]
- Kelly.

♪ ♪

- This is one of the most
legible tattoos of the day,

and I don't even really know

what part
of the engine this is.

- My canvas was a mechanic,

and he wanted
an exploded piston.

- Your use of light source
to show the dimension

and proportions
of these things

is a really, really nice touch.

I'm really
super impressed with it.

- Awesome, thank you.

- Jordan.

- There isn't a single part
of the tattoo

that isn't challenged
with an outline.

If we just look
at the bottom motorcycle,

a lot of trouble getting those
smooth, clean, round circles.

There's a section of the rim
where the line just...

[hisses] And you just missed
that connection completely.

Your linework has so many
inconsistencies here.

It is a problem.

- East, you're up.

Jessa.

- Hi, guys.

- Your whole typewriter
looks really nice.

Your keys look really nice.
I like that.

Your fonts match,

but the word
"typewriting machine" up top.

it's pretty wonky.

- Older typewriters,

none of the keys
go on the same plane.

- That's what we were
going for.

- I actually like that.

♪ ♪

- Good job, Jess.
- Good job.

- K.

♪ ♪

- It stands out very strong,
very clean, very legible,

but the line
down the middle of the nose

get thicker and thinner
as you go.

The reason that's happening
is because in some areas,

the needle's going deeper.

- In other areas,
it's not going as deep.

- You've gotta be able
to control that depth.

♪ ♪

- Jimmy.

♪ ♪

- What's up?

- I really like the addition
of the revolver cartridge,

and the "A" and "B"
really sells the point

of what this challenge is.

- I do like that
you went for it.

It definitely needed it,
'cause if you would have

just shown up with the tank,

that would have been
definitely not good.

♪ ♪

- South, you're up next.

Jason.

♪ ♪

- You leave
the vertebrae itself stark,

and all of the dark background

with the gears pushed forward.

So straight, so clean.

- We always harp on creativity.

This is it.

- You've got
the big field of black

and then you've got some pink.

I'm not dazzled.

- I mean, it's--
it's linework day,

and on linework day,
you don't want to crowd it--

- What we're looking for today
is a schematic,

and what I don't see
is a schematic.

- So he hates it, we love it.

- Money Mike.

♪ ♪

- What's happening, fellas?

- There's just a lot of
differences in that outline.

The end of the horn
where it gets thick

looks like you're going
in there to clean stuff up.

You should have one
consistent line weight

as opposed to
hiding a few bumps

and making the whole tattoo
look inconsistent.

♪ ♪

- Jordi.

♪ ♪

- The realistic shaded plane

and then this stripe
through the middle

with the schematic
is very cool,

but the call numbers
on the side of the plane,

that is a mess.

- When you start something

and you see
it's not going well,

don't continue on.

♪ ♪

- West, you're up next.

Hiram.

- Hello, guys.

- You're crazy doing all these
little lines everywhere.

This is one hell of a swing.

- I know this guitar,
I have this guitar,

and it looks like that.

This is a badass tattoo, man.

- Thank you.

- Good job, man.
- Thank you.

- Angel.

♪ ♪

- You do have challenges
in your linework.

If you go into the front
of the body of the camera

and you see where
the lens would go in,

it doesn't look like
it's really gonna function

because the shapes
are wavering so much.

But you do pull off

what looks like
a hand-drawn schematic.

♪ ♪

- Raul.

♪ ♪

- Fellas.

- This schematic's
just confusing.

It looks super cluttered.

- It's so hard
to see what's going on.

It looks like
the back of the watch is off

and the shit's
just spilling out.

♪ ♪

- Arlene.

♪ ♪

- You have a lot of problems
with the linework here.

The edge of the knife,

that linework
jumps around like crazy.

Then you have the 7-inch.

That line is out of control.

- His skin was
really difficult to deal with.

- There's a way to put tattoos
in all kinds of skin,

and you didn't get it
on this tattoo.

♪ ♪

- Bob.

♪ ♪

- This is the best drawing
of the day, man.

I love all the pieces
coming apart,

going different directions,
and showing different angles,

but I lost count of blowouts
on this thing.

Like, 40-something.

- I felt like I just had
no control over it

blowing out or not.

I could go, like,
less than a millimeter

in touching the skin

and it would just
blow out immediately.

- Blown out or not, I would
wear that [bleep] thing.

It's badass.

♪ ♪

- All right, guys,
it's time to determine

who had the best tattoo
of the day.

♪ ♪

- I liked Jason's tattoo a lot.

- It's clean, it's cool,
it's creative.

- For me, creativity,

legibility, and cleanliness--

my vote's for Jerrel.

Jerrel put on
a very strong outing.

Really showed
a lot of consistency.

♪ ♪

- Today, I also will be
with Jerrel.

- The judges have decided
the best tattoo of the day

goes to Jerrel.

- Thank you, guys.

- That means the Midwest
will form a jury of peers

with one other team.

- We're gonna choose the East.

- Cool.

- All right, Midwest and East

will form the jury of peers.

You must deliberate

and put one artist up
for elimination.

You can all head back
to the loft.

♪ ♪

- It sucks to be
on this chopping block.

- Yeah.

- That feeling like
I dropped the ball.

Even if I tried every scenario
that I could to mend it--

it just crushes me.

- I'm shaking in my boots.

I didn't think I'd be
feeling like this so early on.

- I know both of you.

You're better
than a lot of the people

that are sitting safe
right now.

- I never really
have blowouts like that.

You know,
I used all my knowledge

that I've gained
through the years,

and none of it worked.

- They flat-out told you

you had the best illustration
of the day.

- I just feel like--like I have
a higher set of standards

that I set for myself,

and I don't want
a single, like, blowout

to send me home.

♪ ♪

[heavy rock music]

♪ ♪

- We are here
as a jury of peers

to put one artist up
for elimination.

- How are you guys feeling
about Jordan?

If you're feeling like
you might be in the bottom--

- I will be in the bottom.

- Anybody that looks
at this tattoo--

immediately, schematics is
exactly what you see in it.

- You might have
a shake or two in here,

but you applied
a tattoo correctly.

Arlene's tattoo has thin lines

that have a lot of blowouts.

- And Arlene
overworked the blade,

and there's tons of trauma
and tons of redness.

- A lot of the shading
even goes over these lines

and these circles
that are in this tattoo.

- We need to use strategy here.

If we got our bottom three--
say it's you...

- Yeah.
- Arlene, and Bob.

I mean, do you guys agree?

You think Bob's gonna be
in the bottom regardless?

- I agree.

- I don't think
we need to even vote him.

How do we get you
out of there?

We put Raul down there.

- He's got a cool
black-and-gray tattoo,

but didn't completely
meet the schematic challenge.

- It's just a cluster of gears
behind a pocket watch.

- That's gonna keep you
out of the bottom.

It's gonna ensure
all three people in the bottom

are from the West.

I think that's your best play.

- And the West
is a powerful team.

So then losing someone,

it's definitely gonna be
to everybody else's benefit.

- That works for me.

- So today
we're testing legibility

with schematic tattoos.

There were some great ones.

- One of my favorite tattoos
of the day

and the best drawing--Bob's--

is in the bottom
just on technical.

- It is insane to me
that from the top

all the way to the bottom
of the tattoo,

you can find
a blowout anywhere.

- Who was worse?

- For me,
Jordan does terrible today.

There's not a line
in this tattoo anywhere

that is a clean line.

- Look at that front wheel.

This thing has been in a crash.

But some of the worst blowouts
are in Arlene's tattoo.

- But at least
that looks like what it is.

- Yeah.

- Raul, dude--
what was that about?

- It looks like this thing
is broken on the ground

as opposed
to looking like a schematic.

- You know,
the Midwest and the East

have now formed
a jury of peers.

They are gonna
choose one artist

to send to the bottom,

and that is definitely gonna
change the landscape.

- Yeah, it'll be
interesting to see.

♪ ♪

- I'm pretty sure
I'm at the bottom.

I royally [bleep]
that shit up.

- That's all it takes.

Just one mess-up,
one bad canvas.

♪ ♪

- Here it goes.

- Judgment time.

♪ ♪

- All right, jury of peers,

which artist are you sending
down for elimination?

♪ ♪

- We, the jury of peers,
have decided

to send to the bottom...

♪ ♪

Raul.

- In the bottom,
we'll see Raul.

- Well...

- Arlene...

♪ ♪

And Jordan.

- [exhales sharply]

- We'll see y'all and the jury
of peers downstairs.

- Damn, how you feeling, Bob?

- Oh, my God.

- I kind of thought the judges
might pull me down,

but I didn't see that shit
coming from you guys.

- You gotta think about it.
This is a strategy game.

- Thank God it's not
up to you, ultimately.

- Let's get this over with.

- Let's go.
- Good luck, Raul.

Good luck, Arlene.
- Good luck, guys.

♪ ♪

- Today, you were being tested
on legibility.

Based on your work,

one of you
will be packing your machines.

Jerrel...
- Yes.

- Why did the jury of peers
vote Raul to the bottom?

- We felt like out of the
tattoos that were the worst,

that Raul's
a strong competitor--

and as a strategy,
utilize it in a way

to hopefully save somebody
that we wanted to keep.

- We thought for sure
Bob was gonna be down here

and we thought for sure
Arlene was gonna be down here,

and so Raul was intended

to take place of Jordan.

- As far as Bob goes,
he had a lot of blowouts,

but I will say,
his tattoo was way cooler,

and in the end, overall,
a better tattoo

than these three tattoos
that are here.

- May I speak to that?

It's a blow to the gut

to, uh, be nominated down here
by your peers,

whatever the reason may be.

- I'm not surprised
you were voted down here.

Not only is it illegible,
it's not a schematic.

This is a bunch
of cluttered metal

on the side of her hip.

I don't know what it is, bro.

- Jordan and Arlene's tattoo
were more legible,

but Jordan's tattoo--
I mean, that front wheel

is the most
[bleep]-up thing here.

- Come on, Jordan.

- I don't know
what else to say.

I really messed up
for linework day,

and linework
is what I'm really known for.

- It just reads as a schematic.

- For an outline,
this quality of tattooing

at this stage
is very tough to handle.

- I would rather
have the knife.

- Every line
still has a problem.

You tried to save the outline
of the blade

by putting shading next to it,

but the line is still
really shaky

and the black is not solid
up to it.

- I had difficult [bleep] skin
to deal with.

You put a straight line
over a skin tag,

it's gonna wobble.

- I do have to say something.

There's an issue that wasn't
brought up about the knife.

The handle's actually
upside-down.

- It's not.

- That guard
where your finger goes

goes under the knife

so that way
you don't cut your hand.

- Mm, that's true.

- You're showing
an improper layout.

- But my canvas decided

to flip the direction
of the knife

at the last minute
because he wanted the wording

to read facing outward
as it should be,

not upside down,

which means the handle
is the other way.

- You should have turned
the handle the other way.

- I gave him what he wanted.
- It's incorrect.

- If you're gonna
flip the blade,

you also gotta flip the handle.

- It's [bleep] bullshit.

- Technically, Arlene's tattoo
just fell too short.

My vote is for Arlene.

- I want the thing to look like

what it's supposed
to look like.

My vote to go home is Raul.

- Just the inconsistency
in numerals,

consistency in application...

♪ ♪

My vote's for Arlene.

- The judges have decided.

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

- Getting a different canvas

could have meant
you stayed here today

and somebody else went home.

The game gets some people
quicker than it does others.

- And you shared
your story with us,

and I think it's inspirational.

Keep your head up and be proud.

- Please pack your machines
and close shop.

[dramatic music]

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- [sighs]
[bleep].

I don't regret anything.

I just learned that
I'm a lot stronger

than I thought I already was.

I'm pretty resilient.
It's just fueling the fire.

Life is what you make it,
so keep it coming.

♪ ♪

male announcer: On the next
episode of "Ink Master"...

- Your team must tattoo
the same canvas

at the same time.

- Oh, my God.

- [bleep].
- What?

- Straight into the mouth
of madness.

- You guys lived up
to your name:

Mediocre Midwest.

- You guys have always been
living up to your name:

the Suck-Ass South.

- We're feeling awful small
over here.

- They can get one smaller.

- Oh, you don't want to
push me in that corner.

- Artists, don't relax.

We're not done yet.
[all groan]

- Oh, man, right now?
- God damn it.

- [no audible dialogue]