Ink Master (2012–…): Season 13, Episode 5 - Out of Your Element - full transcript
Just as the teams think they've figured out the turf war, a twist sets the competition ablaze and burns it down to its very core.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Together, we took out
one of their key players.
- And it was
a visible maneuver.
- The West isn't gonna forget
that for either of us.
So I feel like it's in our
best interest collectively
to continue working together.
- You scratch our backs,
we'll scratch yours.
- I mean, I trust you guys,
and I think we do
work well together.
As a group, we can definitely
focus on the West,
'cause they're gonna
be gunning for us.
- I really hope that the West
feels humbled.
- Yeah.
- The West, they're not gonna
humble themselves.
So I think it's up to us eight
to humble them.
♪ ♪
- Welcome.
15 artists remain.
Four in the West,
five in the Midwest,
three in the South,
and three in the East.
- Way to rub it in.
- Only one of you
will earn $100,000,
a feature in "Inked" magazine,
and the title of Ink Master.
- That's what we're here for.
- Today, there will be
no flash challenge.
- Oh, no.
- We are going straight into
the next elimination tattoo.
- [groans]
- Oh, God.
- This week, you are being
tested on consistency.
- Aw, man.
- Consistency in tattooing
is making sure
that throughout
your whole tattoo,
nothing is irregular.
Nobody wants a wonky tattoo.
Consistency is key.
- There is no better test
of consistency
than collaborating
with other artists
to create a series
of tattoos.
- A series?
- Each artist on your team
must create one tattoo,
and every member of your team
must tattoo the same canvas
at the same time.
- Oh, my God.
- [bleep], what?
- All of us?
- All four at once?
- That is just insane.
We're gonna be
in each other's face.
I'm working here, and I have
somebody working next to me,
stretching, moving the skin,
it's just a crazy environment.
- I mean,
maybe that's a good thing
'cause we only have three.
- Better for us.
Three is a lot easier
than doing five.
- Someone's getting five
tattoos today.
- [groans]
- How?
- Good luck, Midwest.
- Five tattoos
at the same time?
Buckle up.
- Just as your four regions
make up the United States,
Ancient Greeks believed
that there are four elements
that make up all matter.
- Okay.
- Earth, wind, water, and fire.
♪ ♪
You can tattoo any style,
but each of your tattoos
must consistently incorporate
your team's element.
- On the bottom of each skull
is an element.
The skull you draw
will determine the element
your entire team must tattoo.
- Hopefully, we get water.
- You've been randomly assigned
a picking order.
- West, you're up first.
- No pressure, right?
- Hoo, I just hope we get
a good element.
Fire or water.
- Fire.
- Yeah.
- Fire, all right.
- East.
- Pick a good one.
- Do it, Jimmy.
- You're next.
♪ ♪
- Earth.
- South.
- Which one?
♪ ♪
- Money Mike, you got one job,
and it is not to pick wind.
Got a fifty-fifty chance.
- Bitch.
Wind.
- Damn.
- Whew.
- And finally, Midwest,
you get the last skull.
- Water.
- The Midwest is landlocked.
We don't do a lot
of water tattoos.
We don't see a lot of water
in our daily lives.
I can't even swim.
- Five people on a team,
don't have to tattoo
the same style,
but be sure that something
about your design
or the way you tattoo it
or your color palette
goes together.
- Your human canvases
have been randomly assigned,
and you will have six hours
to tattoo.
Fail to get in your element,
and not only will
your entire team be at risk,
but you just might
be packing your machines.
- [sighs]
- Good luck.
- The word they have to
remember is "consistency,"
'cause that's
what we're testing.
- I think we should do four
different fire holders.
Like a lantern, a torch--
- A candle.
- A candle.
- That's pretty good.
- Yeah, I like that.
- If everybody does
their own thing,
then that's not consistent.
- They would definitely
be uniform
if they all had
tornados in 'em.
- Or we can do three different
phases of it.
Like comic strip type.
- Yeah, like a comic strip.
Maybe, like,
there's three boxes.
- Yeah, I'm cool with
the comic strip idea.
I like it being boxed in
like that.
- We are looking
for consistency
throughout the team,
not just in the element
but also in application.
- Okay, what if we did things
that were seashell-themed?
Like, if we did a seashell,
a starfish, coral.
- I feel like
a seashell is, like,
something that we could all
nail in our own styles
so nothing falls short.
- Right.
- Because I feel like if we
were to pick the same style,
like if we're all doing color,
like, I'm gonna fall short
compared to you two.
- Yeah.
- I'm cool with that.
- Yeah.
- Right.
- If one person falls short,
they're gonna bring
the whole team down.
- When I think of Earth,
I think of things going
back to the Earth.
Like, dead things--
with flowers bloomin' out.
- Live things, juxtaposition?
I'm into that.
- Believe it or not,
I'm a pretty versatile artist,
and as far as adapting
to my team, I can do that.
Playing to one style
could be more consistent.
It looks like one team did it.
- Yeah.
- What if we each did, like,
a blackwork skeleton
With different elements
growing out of it.
- Yeah, that'd make
a cool tattoo.
- K is primarily
a blackwork artist.
So if we can all work together
with her strength,
we'll be able to pull
this challenge off.
- You're putting color
in yours, right?
- Nah.
- So, I'm gonna have to do
black and gray
is what you're saying?
- No, you should absolute--
- Yeah, you should do
full color.
- There's no reason
you shouldn't do color.
- But then three are doing
black and gray,
and only one is doing color?
That wouldn't make sense.
That would look weird.
- Do your thing, Bob.
Blast that bitch with color.
- [laughing]
- Doesn't have to be
the same style.
We all containing the element.
- It's not gonna look cohesive
with the group
if there's one that stands out.
- I'm stubborn,
and Hiram's stubborn,
so it's hard to get
the idea we both agree on.
We can't turn in
one color tattoo
and three black and gray
tattoos.
That is not consistency.
That's three and one.
That's not four.
- I mean, like--
But that's a definite
disconsistency.
- Maybe I should do it
without this box.
- You can take out the box.
- So now I'll just do it
the size of the calf just so
that part fits in there.
- Yeah.
So it'll blend out softly,
yeah.
- I like that idea better.
- Do you think you should
maybe tell Money Mike
to take the box out then?
- Well, I don't have a box
on mine,
so I think one of 'em
havin' a box would be fine.
- All right.
All of our containers
are gonna be black and gray,
and the light--
the fire is gonna be colored.
I know you don't like it, but
it's gonna be more cohesive.
And that's the name
of the challenge.
- I don't think that looks
better with that colored.
- But it will if all
four of 'em have it.
[suspenseful music]
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Artists, you have six hours
to show consistency
by tattooing the elements.
And your time starts now.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- All right,
go and hop up here.
- Get some stencils on.
- Today can be really tricky,
because first off,
God bless the canvases,
either three, four,
or five tattooers
will be tattooing them
at the same time.
- You're gonna try your
hardest to go to sleep.
- [laughs] Yeah.
- Just let it happen.
- These tattoos
have to be cohesive.
We're looking for these
tattoos to almost look like
one person did them all.
That makes this
extremely difficult
for anybody who's a weak link.
- You doing the box
around yours?
- Nah, took it out.
So I don't know if you wanna
take it out or leave it on.
- Mm...
I designed mine for the box.
- So then keep the box then.
I don't think
it makes a difference
'cause we all have
the same elements.
- Man, what the [bleep]?
Jordan and Jason scrapped
the whole square idea
and just enlarged the piece,
but for me
to change designs now
may be a setback for me.
So I'm sticking
to the original plan,
and hopefully
that don't sink me.
Should I bring this angle in?
- Let's see.
- No, 'cause if you get down,
it's straight.
- All right, we cool.
- Yeah.
- Let's do it.
- Here we go.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[intense percussive music]
♪ ♪
- How are they treating you
so far?
What's difficult about it?
- Positioning.
Light.
I'm, like, 90 degrees to how
I would like to be tattooing.
- Oh, shit, sorry.
Let me know if I need
to get out of your way at all.
- This is going very poorly.
The inked side of the starfish
has a lot of circles.
It's very difficult
to cleanly tattoo.
I'm not gonna be able
to do these small lines
with someone right next to me.
I'm gonna finish the designs
up here and then cycle out.
- We're not little people,
and we're inside
of this 4-foot area,
but Kelly's the only one
that's in between two people.
I mean, what if Jerrel flexes?
- Hey, wait, hey--
hold on.
Let me just finish these two
lines then I'll jump up, okay?
I hate collaboration tattoos.
I can't get my own space.
- Like, Kelly,
just pull it together.
♪ ♪
- Good boy, Bob.
- No blowouts?
- No.
- Holding up my name, you know?
- Today, all eyes are on me.
They saw a weakness
in me last week.
- This is the best drawing
of the day, man,
but I lost count
of the blowouts on this thing.
Like, 40-something.
- I cannot have any blowouts.
I have to show that last week
was a fluke.
That shit doesn't happen.
- Three hours to go, teams.
Three hours to go.
♪ ♪
[tattoo machine buzzing]
I only ask,
'cause I heard you, like,
run your machine way down.
- Yeah, I've never done this
before, so--
- The way I do it is the
slowest that I can run it
without it getting snagged
in the skin.
You should be able to get,
like, a line of dots, dude.
- Me, K, and Jimmy,
as we get closer,
we're only getting stronger.
It's only up from here.
- Like that?
- Yeah.
- This is so much fun.
Why haven't I been doing this?
- [laughs]
We're consistently consistent,
queen.
♪ ♪
- Y'all seen everybody else's?
- Everybody else did
the same thing
and threw the element in it.
Ours is the only one
that actually connects.
- We're doing three different
versions of the tornado.
Money Mike's is gonna be
from a distance.
My tattoo is going to be
right before the impact.
Jason's gonna be the impact
tearing up the house.
Of all the groups,
ours has the most consistency
with the story.
- They don't like this piece,
I don't know what to tell 'em.
- In Louisiana, man,
we get hurricanes;
we don't get tornados--
never seen one,
never tattooed one.
So it's all around
a new experience for me.
Mine is simple, yet effective.
- Yeah.
- We just trying to get to it,
make sure we get this safety.
Make sure nobody in team South
gets eliminated.
♪ ♪
- Yours have a similar feel,
only, like, you know,
his is in color.
- Yeah.
And then it's, like, same with
them, but it's, like, you know.
- Yeah.
All of the other teams'
approach to this
looks way more consistent
than ours.
Their tattoos actually look
like they're in a series.
Ours, not so much.
It looks like we have five
different tattoos,
by five different people,
with five different ideas.
- Kind of fun
tattooing this close
'cause I get to see
how you guys tattoo.
- I know, right?
♪ ♪
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That is it, machines down.
Time is up.
No more ink.
- Think it's solid?
- It's [bleep] solid, dude.
- Bah!
- Ah!
- It looks killer.
- Fishin' for a win today!
- You guys feelin' good?
- Yeah.
We kept everything
the same size.
- You think those 25 circles
Kelly did are circles?
- Yeah.
- I don't know.
I definitely think the team
of five is about to become...
both: The team of four.
- It's not
the most creative move.
- These tattoos
are a bummer for me.
- Damn.
- In this competition,
you never know what's coming.
Now you gotta pay the piper.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Out of all the groups,
you guys just sucked, really.
- We had five [bleep] people
on our team.
- Yeah.
- Five.
- Yes, and between five people,
you couldn't put
one good tattoo out.
- No, no, our team
is still intact,
and you guys
are barely holdin' on.
- By default, man.
Come on, man.
- And what happened to you,
Frank?
- I did all right, man.
- Was that the best tattoo
that you could've put out?
- That was the best tattoo
I could put out
with my entire team in mind--
that's what you guys didn't do.
- We did three
dope-ass tattoos.
- No.
- You guys live up
to your name:
Mediocre Midwest.
- You guys have always been
livin' up to your name:
Suck-Ass South.
♪ ♪
- Today, you had to prove
your consistency
by creating multiple tattoos
on the same canvas as a team.
- [sighs]
- Let's see how you did.
East.
You tattooed the Earth.
You're up.
K.
- The way this thing is very
simply shaded is cool.
Very clean,
very solid outline.
The vine with the color in it,
weaving in and out,
pretty dynamic.
I really like the tattoo.
- It's pretty good overall.
- Jessa.
- It has what it takes to make
the eye move around
and see a harmony
and a balance.
Your color in this
is really rich.
You do have a nice solid
distribution of color
and black and gray
in the tattoo,
so I think it reads prettier.
- Still pretty good overall.
- Jimmy.
- I really like
the open skin--
the little highlight
that you leave in the cheek
and then you have those areas
of stippling around it.
I like the black whip
that you bring off
the back of the skull,
and it gives it weight.
- The outline is solid,
and the stipple shading
is super smooth.
- It's pretty badass.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- So, how'd they do overall?
- I like the concept
of the decaying of life
and then new life springing up.
I see the similar
color palette,
which also plays
harmonious together.
- As far as three tattoos
that go together
and show consistency,
I feel like it's a smart move.
- South, you tattooed wind.
You're up next.
Money Mike.
- What's going on, fellas?
- Just a straight
square picture--
it's not the most
creative move.
- You gave yourself
a challenge
just by giving that square.
'Cause a perfect square,
you do not have.
You have a lot
of application problems.
You can see the brushstrokes
coming through.
- If you're doing
a lot of this...
It's never gonna be as black
as when it comes out
of the bottle.
- Jordi.
- I love the way
the building looks like
it's about to be pulled away,
but if you just look
at the twister,
it's a tube with a few lines.
It could be a ventricle,
it could be anything.
Every part of the tattoo
has to be understood
as to what it is.
- Tough crowd.
- Jason.
- Very graphically designed
style that you have
with the house broken in half,
but you definitely see
what's going on,
and see the pieces of
the house getting lifted away.
Definitely looks
really smooth,
definitely a very legible
depiction of the wind here.
- Thanks.
- Overall, as a team, as far as
consistency, how do you see it?
- The application from one
to the next isn't consistent.
The only thing consistent
in this team
is that they did
three tornado tattoos.
- Everybody did
their own thing, kind of,
instead of stepping together
as a unit.
They got three
different windows.
So it doesn't tell it
strong enough.
- Midwest, you tattooed water.
You're up next.
Jake.
- Cute little crab drawing,
bold outline,
but the water on this thing
is a bummer.
You know,
water can't just wiggle
in whatever way it wants to,
and it has a flow to it.
- Water is really fluid,
so it can do pretty much
whatever it wants to.
- The thing is,
it doesn't have a will,
so it doesn't do what it wants,
it does what it's forced to do.
♪ ♪
- Frank.
- I like the shell.
The water, I don't know
if it makes a lot of sense.
I don't know what's going on.
- The water itself is so HD
and so over-the-top
that it doesn't match
the shell.
These are two
separate thoughts,
so now the shell
looks not finished.
- Jordan.
- I like your helmet.
You hit some nice details
in the cage in the front,
but the water on the bottom,
it almost looks like a bottom
jaw of a skull
with rotted-out teeth.
It looks like a million
different things to me.
It's not just
"boom, it's water."
- Jerrel.
- It's camouflage, man,
it is hard to read.
The pearl's supposed to be
white and shiny,
and it's as dark as the shell.
It's just too much craziness
going on in a small thing.
- The flow of this water
looks like a splash,
but the problem is,
water's clear.
Water's not black.
It should be light,
light, light-shaded.
- Kelly.
- Kind of crazy on the design.
It's mist, it's smoke,
because it's blue
doesn't make it water.
- You see a lot
of inconsistencies
in those circle outlines,
so the overall piece
turns inconsistent.
- How'd they do
overall as a team?
- Two went different
directions,
three went
in the same direction.
- Yeah, it's almost like,
"Everybody do your own thing,
but make sure
it's got terrible water."
- Most of these tattoos
are a bummer for me.
That's consistent.
- We made a choice.
I stuck to it.
- West, you had fire.
You're up.
- Angel.
- Hey, guys.
- How straight, square,
and how crisp
that line work is
is very, very nice.
- I like the burst you have
around the flame,
and the color in the flame
is solid.
On a day like today,
it is shining bright.
- Thank you.
- Great job, girl.
- Thank you. [chuckles]
- Bob.
- It's definitely a cool take,
it's something
we haven't seen
in the competition before,
and the contrast between
your black and gray element
and your color element
stands strong.
- Thank you.
- You killed it, man.
- Thanks.
- Hiram.
- The illustration of the
torch and the ornate details
are cool, but the black is not
the same color as the outline.
It's not saturated.
The red: not saturated.
It's great from a distance,
not so good up close.
- Raul.
- I like the dark shading that
you put into the candle holder,
but the saturation
in the flames
and the blends
are a little bit off.
- Your red: not vibrant.
No two points on these flames
is the same anywhere.
- How did the West do
in terms of consistency?
- These pieces do all seem
to go together,
but as far as, like,
application,
the consistency is
all over the place here.
- Time to determine which team
showed the most consistency
of the day.
- I do see the craftiness
in the East.
From the drawing board,
to the execution,
to the follow-through,
those three tattoos
are pretty consistent.
♪ ♪
My vote is for the East.
- Yes.
- My vote is for the East.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- That means the East is safe
from elimination.
- Good job, guys.
- We finally got a win.
- Yeah.
- Please, have a seat.
- Sweet.
♪ ♪
- Is there a second team
that showed consistency?
- Speaking to quality
and theme,
the West does some
really slick tattoos.
- On paper,
they had a consistent theme.
For me, it's the second closest
team in consistency.
- My vote is for the West.
- Voting for the West.
- Congratulations.
That means the West
is also safe from elimination.
- Good job, guys.
Good job.
- Please have a seat.
- Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Midwest and South,
based on your work,
one of you will be packing
your machines.
[sighs and groans]
- Oh, man, right now?
- God damn it.
- It's bullshit.
- [mouths words]
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Midwest and South,
based on your work,
one of you will be packing
your machines.
[sighs and groans]
- Oh, man, right now?
- It's bullshit.
- [bleep].
- I feel like they should
get another chance.
They should battle it out.
- That's not the way it works.
Somebody's going home.
- Every single tattoo
you do in here,
you never know
when this day's coming.
- [sighs]
- All right, guys.
Who had the worst tattoo
of the day?
- Jake's is the one
that sticks out like a sore
thumb just based on drawing.
- Let me just take another stab
where I can focus
on my tattoos.
Put me back in the shop.
- Well, it misses the look
of water artistically,
but then technically, if we
look at Money Mike's tattoo,
look at the line work
anywhere on Mike's.
Look at the solid black
anywhere on Mike's.
- It's not smooth, they're not
even, they're not solid.
- With another shot, I can
show you what I'm made of.
- If you look at that,
you're like, "that's wind."
Can you look at the other one
and say "that's water"?
- The other one is not water.
It's just not what
it needs to be,
and that's the problem.
You took a chance,
and, this competition,
you never know what's coming,
and here it is:
now you gotta pay the piper.
Today, for the drawing,
I am going with Jake.
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
- My vote's for Mike.
- Jake strayed really far
from the whole day really,
but I see the technical
problems in Mike's.
Yes, he's got a tornado in it,
but it's boxed in,
this weird shape,
and it's, like,
of all these elements,
that's the one that has air.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
My vote's for Money Mike.
The judges have decided.
Money Mike,
you do not have what it takes
to be Ink Master.
- [sighs]
- Today was the day
to work with your team
and get that team's safety,
and it slipped
through your fingers,
but, you know, you got a long
way to go in this business.
Wish you all the best, man.
- Please pack your machines
and close shop.
♪ ♪
- Money Mike signing out, baby.
- I'ma miss you man.
- Aw, man.
I ain't trip.
- [bleep].
We're down to two.
♪ ♪
- In this competition,
you gotta be 100%
every time
you pick up those machines.
You know, it just took me
a little longer to settle in,
and it bit me in my ass.
♪ ♪
- [bleep].
- That was rough.
- What the [bleep] happens now?
- We're not done yet.
Another artist is going home.
- Oh, [bleep].
Jesus Christ.
♪ ♪
- In a battle this fierce,
one weak link puts
your entire team at risk.
- Ooh, shit.
Midwest and South,
your teams failed
to secure safety,
but each of you will have one
last chance to save yourself
from elimination by facing off
against each other.
- Thought so.
- Oh, shit.
- West and East,
because your teams
proved your consistency
and are safe from elimination,
you will choose the style
and subject they must tattoo.
♪ ♪
- Let's give 'em a fair fight.
- Yes.
- I can only imagine
what they're coming up with.
- Gonna find out
how they feel about us.
- I like it.
Yeah.
- We all agree?
- Yeah, we all agree.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- All right, Jimmy,
what subject and style
must these artists tattoo?
- Illustrative insects.
- You can do it your style,
you can do it color,
you can do it black and gray,
you can go simple,
you can go wild.
- Okay.
- Insects are awesome.
There's so many different
things you can do.
You wanted a chance to go
and do something on your own?
This is it.
Come out swinging.
- All right.
- The face-off is set.
Your canvases
are completely open,
and tomorrow,
you will have six hours
to tattoo.
And based on your work,
one of you will also
be packing your machines.
- Oh, man.
- Head back to the loft
and get ready for the face-off.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- The game got
really serious tonight.
- No one saw that coming.
- Things are starting to move
a lot faster.
- It really sucks
that we're down to two.
- I mean, that sucks.
I didn't--I didn't know Mike
was going home, so...
♪ ♪
I just didn't think
it was Mike.
- It was almost me, and, like,
now I'm really, like, shaken up
that, you know,
I gotta [bleep] perform
like I've never performed,
because I wanna be here.
That's some scary shit
to be down there, and like,
'cause you know you have more,
but when somebody's saying
you had your chance,
and then you're like,
"Well, I [bleep]"--
'cause, like, I had a chance,
and I wanted to do it.
I wanna be the best,
I wanna show that I can do it,
I wanna have everybody be wowed
by the [bleep] art I make.
- I'd definitely say tomorrow
we all tattoo the best tattoos
we [bleep] can.
- Yeah.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- I did not sleep at all
last night.
- That's kind of
how it goes, man.
You get a night to draw,
and you're like,
"Oh, I got drawing time."
And then you're like,
"Oh, I don't have sleep time."
- Yeah.
- That's greed.
- Yup, you gotta pick
one or the other.
- I don't wanna go home.
- And we won't.
♪ ♪
- Artists,
this is your last chance
to save yourself
from elimination.
You have six hours to tattoo
an illustrative insect.
And your time starts now.
♪ ♪
- First things first,
I'm gonna get your leg marked.
- Let me get this stencil on.
- These artists' lives in this
competition are on the line.
They have to do something
dynamic
with these insect tattoos.
They can't just do something
simple, and small, and boring.
- That's a cool
[bleep] drawing.
- Thank you.
- They have to push the limits
of what they can draw
to stay in this competition.
- Yeah, it's like dead center.
Perfect.
- There's a lot of pressure
on the South.
The last thing they wanna do
is lose another player
the same week.
- All right, well,
we're gonna start, man.
- You do it.
♪ ♪
- For me, when I think
of a praying mantis,
I think of a nun.
And any time I see a nun,
I think of bondage.
[laughs]
It's just how it works.
- I was wondering
where the nun thing came from.
- "Praying" mantis.
- "Praying" mantis.
- Yeah, I mean, think about
nuns, think about the kink.
- Yeah.
Hmm.
- I've hit that point now,
where I'm like,
you know what, I'm gonna do me.
I'm gonna have fun
with what I do.
So if I were to go out,
at least it's something
that was fun.
- The kinky tattoo artist.
- That's right.
My canvas is excited
about her new bondage tattoo.
So I'll have a fun time
explaining to her boyfriend.
For sure.
- The judges are gonna have
a hard time.
- I really like Kelly's,
the only thing--
I don't feel like it needs
those extra mushrooms
at the top.
- He's really swinging
for the fences.
- Yeah, he is.
- This is my first time
in the bottom
in the competition so far.
- Oh, yeah.
- I don't wanna seem
overly confident,
but I feel good
about doing insects.
I wanna take all the chances,
I wanna take all the risks.
I have an arsenal of wizardry
ready to impress.
- Kelly, man, that shit rules.
- Tattoo up
some magic shit, man.
- There's a little bit
of magic in the air,
telling me
I'll be here for a while.
- Four hours left, guys.
Four hours left.
♪ ♪
- You gonna align
the whole thing,
or are you gonna do
more of like, uh--
- Nah, I'ma align
the whole thing,
but I'm gonna do some
variance in line weights.
It's a lot of pressure,
because if I go home,
there's no more South,
there's just Jason.
Keep the small parts so I don't
lose any detail in 'em.
Going to college,
I joined a fraternity,
and teamwork is crucial to me.
I wouldn't want to leave my
brother stranded by himself.
And I don't wanna go home.
I'm not ready to go home yet.
♪ ♪
- You gonna color it
like this one?
- Uh-huh, yeah, but I'm
punching it in there, though.
- Yeah.
- Money Mike, he's barely left
the building.
Nobody knew that this double
elimination was coming.
We can't risk losing anymore
players in this competition.
- You know they don't like
white like that.
- Mm-hmm.
I know.
- [laughing]
- He's aware.
- They don't like that color
palette either.
- They don't.
I... [bleep].
I mean, here's the thing:
If my line work is clean
and my color's in there solid,
who gives a [bleep]
if they like it or not.
- I don't--
- I don't give a shit.
- You're playing
a whole different game.
- South is the smallest team,
but we are not giving up.
- You're just a giant walking
middle finger.
- Oh, yeah.
- I definitely have a lot
to prove today.
Starting my career
in the tattoo industry,
being so young,
there's a lot of people that
didn't take me seriously.
So I always had
to constantly prove myself.
It's the same thing here.
Yeah, I'm not
[bleep] around today.
Proving people wrong is fun.
The last couple critiques
I've gotten have not been good.
I have a fire lit under me.
I gotta nail this tattoo.
There he goes again.
Oh, my gosh,
he's moving everywhere.
♪ ♪
- Sorry.
- All good.
♪ ♪
- Yeah, go for it.
- Sure?
All right.
- My canvas
has not stopped moving
since I started tattooing.
- When you're home,
you have all the time you need
to make sure
they're comfortable,
but when there is a clock
and all this pressure on you,
and you have a chance
of going home?
Everything that
that canvas does
just adds to the pressure.
- Frank might not finish,
and yeah.
He's already taken,
like, three breaks.
Is he taking another one?
- No way.
- [whistles]
I have to finish this tattoo.
Not gonna freak out yet.
- This is your final hour.
One hour remains.
- I don't like Jake's.
The crown is a gray mute cool.
You have to have dimension,
and second,
it has to be [bleep] vibrant.
- How long you been tattooing?
- This upcoming August,
it'll be 14 years.
- Wow.
- There have been times where
I've gone grocery shopping
at, like, the dollar store
because I wasn't
making hardly any money.
Anything that's worth doing
is really hard.
And it's really important
to me that I portray that
to my son,
because he's just starting out,
his whole life ahead of him.
You want something bad enough,
you just work hard,
you persevere,
things get really shitty
but you come out
the other side much happier.
This is our hell.
It's, like, we have to
appease three people,
and it drives us insane.
I barely made it through
the first elimination.
So the stakes
are much higher now.
I need to put everything that I
have, every trick that I know,
into this tattoo.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it.
Machines down.
Time is up and no more ink.
- We're done now, man.
- Yeah, it's awesome, man.
It's on point.
- You know, it's like,
I'm glad you got through it.
That was
the most important part.
- That looks sick.
- Everything the judges
don't like about tattoos:
I put it in there.
- Except perfect application.
- Exactly.
- I was worried about Jake,
like, Jordi somehow passed him.
- Yeah.
- Race for the bottom.
It is beat up.
- He sculpted
almost all of the lines.
Line next to line next to line,
probably on top of line,
on top of line.
- Yeah, I mean,
hit it more than once,
and then as soon
as he wipes, poof.
- Trenches.
Never know what's gonna happen.
- You never know
what's gonna happen.
- Never [bleep] know.
- Jason's all by himself
on flash challenges?
- It's kind of funny,
like, I can't help it.
- At least he won't be running
around talking shit.
- He won't have any time.
- He won't have time.
- I will say
that you do good line work,
but one little thing
can be the stone you trip over.
- I hate it.
- You don't want to push me
in that corner.
- All right, it's a fight.
[exciting music]
♪ ♪
- Today, the Midwest
and the South had to face off
against each other,
and you were being tested
on consistency.
Based on your work, one of you
will be packing your machines.
Let's see how you did.
Midwest, let's start with you.
Kelly.
I'm really blown away
by the creativity here.
It's a great illustration.
I love that you can have
a insect in the background
coming down a ledge
into the foreground
and pull that off with such
great precision and detail.
- And what I really like
is that you have variance
within the body.
That gives us this flow
and this movement.
I like the highlight and the
break that you put in that.
It really gives it a nice turn
and a nice light.
This is a fun one to look at.
- Thanks guys.
- [bleep].
You did great, man.
- Next up is Jordan.
- Where have you been
all competition?
- [laughs]
- I mean, this is a much better
tattoo than I've seen so far.
As far as your shading goes,
I like the fact
that the cicada
is darker than the flowers.
You have a nice balance.
You go from dark
to light to dark.
- You always say that
you do good line work,
and we've been
waiting to see it.
This line work
does look very consistent.
Super smooth everywhere.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- Yeah, thank you.
- Jerrel.
- Well, I love the creativity
of this design
and the simplicity of it.
Looks like an insect
right off the bat,
then the subtle little
inferences you added to it,
with the little ropes and
the ball gag and the habit,
gives a very cool
little touch.
One of the tricks of the trade
is being able to use this much
black in such a small area
and still see
what everything is,
and you do that
really well here.
- Thanks, guys.
- Hell, yeah.
- [bleep]. [bleep].
- Frank.
- Man, what a dynamic image.
It definitely has
a very illustrative,
graphic design look to it.
all the little detail lines
are very consistent.
Your color saturation,
there's a little bit
of variance
just in a couple areas
where you under-shaded
with gray
and then put the blue over top,
but it created
a lot of cool textures.
Definitely one of the coolest,
most wicked insects
that we've seen today.
- Cool.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
- Jake.
- It's got a cool motion to it.
It's got a cool anatomy.
I love what you did
with the wings.
That really bright blue
highlight to skin.
But the sore thumb
in this tattoo is the crown.
Your outline gets a little
wavery on the crown,
your black shading
gets a little rough,
it looks out of place
with the rest of the tattoo.
- I understand what
you're saying,
but I didn't necessarily
want it to be a focal point.
- I like your drawing.
I like it a lot better than
yesterday's drawing, for sure.
- Yeah.
- All right, it's a fight.
- South, you're up.
Jason.
- Today, consistency, you
really show up with your color.
The whole tattoo
is very consistent
because your black
is very graphic, very strong,
Your delivery
is all consistent.
I like the style,
I like the imagery,
I like the little pop of white
that you put in there.
If you can get it in to look
like house paint,
good for you.
When you put black
in properly,
and you weigh in
a strong outline,
and you make it wall to wall,
it just looks so good on skin.
- Jordi.
- I like this image, I like
the drawing, the color palette.
It's very rich and bright,
but I wish that there was
open skin in this tattoo.
- It's very rare
that you'll hear me say,
"It's too solid,
it's too much,"
but it's really,
really packed.
It could definitely use
a couple breaks
where you just let this thing
breathe a little bit.
It would really go
a long way for me.
- Today, everybody was able
to do something creative,
everybody was able to do
something strong,
and it looked like everybody
really brought something
from the drawing board
to their tattoo today,
which is super cool.
A lot of great tattooing.
- Today is gonna be
a tough one,
because somebody's
gotta go home
on something that could
typically keep you in the game.
- Whoever goes home,
as long as it's on Midwest.
We're feelin' awful small
over here.
- They can get one smaller.
- Ah, you don't want to push me
in that corner.
- If we're judging on
consistency, Frank's tattoo.
The wings on it, some of them
are whip shaded out,
and some of them
are mag dragged.
Some of those parts up there
aren't as consistent
as they could be.
- I have to agree with
everything that Bob says.
That's probably bottom tattoo.
- I definitely would've
done more.
My guy wouldn't stop moving.
And he was gonna give up on me,
so I finished my tattoo.
And I [bleep] like it.
- I hate it.
- I agree with Frank having
some shortcomings
in application, but I don't
think I can lean towards Frank
being the worst one of the day.
Design-wise, Jordi is one of
my least favorite of the seven.
I would've loved to see
this tattoo
a little bit more dynamic.
I wish that this thing
had a little bit more
breathability to it.
- If everybody feels
mine's the worst one,
I wouldn't have a problem
with that today.
- [bleep] that, no, send
somebody on the Midwest home.
Send Jake home.
[bleep] that shit.
- You guys asked me to step up
to the plate,
and I designed
something really cool.
Let's call it like it is.
Jordi still has inconsistencies
of getting that color
where it needed to be.
- It's tricky.
Jordi overly produced,
but what is wall to wall
is solid.
Juxtapose that to Jake's,
and you see a lot
of wavering moments.
If you match those reds to
Jordi's reds, Jordi gets 'em.
- For me,
Jordi's tattoo is plain.
But technically,
across the board,
the biggest shortcoming
of the day
is the crown in Jake's tattoo.
That being said, I'm going
back and forth with this.
♪ ♪
- I need a final decision.
- I'm voting for Jake.
- Jake to go home.
- The judges have decided.
Jake, you do not have
what it takes to be Ink Master.
- I love your art,
I love your designs,
but when the competition
gets tight,
one little thing can be
the stone you trip over,
and this crown,
this took you out, man.
- You're not going out
on a bad tattoo.
- Please pack your machines
and close shop.
- See you.
♪ ♪
- See you later.
- That was close.
- Too close.
And you were gonna give up.
[bleep].
- [bleep], man, you killed it.
- Thanks, dude.
The tattoo I did today
was awesome.
I'm just upset I didn't get
to show more of that work.
You know,
it is how the game is played,
and lots of good tattoos
go home.
My son's gonna definitely
be proud of me,
because I'm proud of me.
announcer: On the next
episode of "Ink Master"...
- You just keep losing
teammates, one after another.
- Who just went home?
- Our first one.
Jason's just overcompensating
for a small team.
- Smaller teams,
the stakes are high for you.
Bigger teams
eat the smaller teams.
- We are out for blood,
and the gloves are coming off.
You deserve to be here, and
I don't wanna see you go home.
- I don't wanna see you
go home either.
- This thing is a mess.
It's just muck.
- You gotta know that you're
putting yourself in jeopardy.
♪ ♪
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Together, we took out
one of their key players.
- And it was
a visible maneuver.
- The West isn't gonna forget
that for either of us.
So I feel like it's in our
best interest collectively
to continue working together.
- You scratch our backs,
we'll scratch yours.
- I mean, I trust you guys,
and I think we do
work well together.
As a group, we can definitely
focus on the West,
'cause they're gonna
be gunning for us.
- I really hope that the West
feels humbled.
- Yeah.
- The West, they're not gonna
humble themselves.
So I think it's up to us eight
to humble them.
♪ ♪
- Welcome.
15 artists remain.
Four in the West,
five in the Midwest,
three in the South,
and three in the East.
- Way to rub it in.
- Only one of you
will earn $100,000,
a feature in "Inked" magazine,
and the title of Ink Master.
- That's what we're here for.
- Today, there will be
no flash challenge.
- Oh, no.
- We are going straight into
the next elimination tattoo.
- [groans]
- Oh, God.
- This week, you are being
tested on consistency.
- Aw, man.
- Consistency in tattooing
is making sure
that throughout
your whole tattoo,
nothing is irregular.
Nobody wants a wonky tattoo.
Consistency is key.
- There is no better test
of consistency
than collaborating
with other artists
to create a series
of tattoos.
- A series?
- Each artist on your team
must create one tattoo,
and every member of your team
must tattoo the same canvas
at the same time.
- Oh, my God.
- [bleep], what?
- All of us?
- All four at once?
- That is just insane.
We're gonna be
in each other's face.
I'm working here, and I have
somebody working next to me,
stretching, moving the skin,
it's just a crazy environment.
- I mean,
maybe that's a good thing
'cause we only have three.
- Better for us.
Three is a lot easier
than doing five.
- Someone's getting five
tattoos today.
- [groans]
- How?
- Good luck, Midwest.
- Five tattoos
at the same time?
Buckle up.
- Just as your four regions
make up the United States,
Ancient Greeks believed
that there are four elements
that make up all matter.
- Okay.
- Earth, wind, water, and fire.
♪ ♪
You can tattoo any style,
but each of your tattoos
must consistently incorporate
your team's element.
- On the bottom of each skull
is an element.
The skull you draw
will determine the element
your entire team must tattoo.
- Hopefully, we get water.
- You've been randomly assigned
a picking order.
- West, you're up first.
- No pressure, right?
- Hoo, I just hope we get
a good element.
Fire or water.
- Fire.
- Yeah.
- Fire, all right.
- East.
- Pick a good one.
- Do it, Jimmy.
- You're next.
♪ ♪
- Earth.
- South.
- Which one?
♪ ♪
- Money Mike, you got one job,
and it is not to pick wind.
Got a fifty-fifty chance.
- Bitch.
Wind.
- Damn.
- Whew.
- And finally, Midwest,
you get the last skull.
- Water.
- The Midwest is landlocked.
We don't do a lot
of water tattoos.
We don't see a lot of water
in our daily lives.
I can't even swim.
- Five people on a team,
don't have to tattoo
the same style,
but be sure that something
about your design
or the way you tattoo it
or your color palette
goes together.
- Your human canvases
have been randomly assigned,
and you will have six hours
to tattoo.
Fail to get in your element,
and not only will
your entire team be at risk,
but you just might
be packing your machines.
- [sighs]
- Good luck.
- The word they have to
remember is "consistency,"
'cause that's
what we're testing.
- I think we should do four
different fire holders.
Like a lantern, a torch--
- A candle.
- A candle.
- That's pretty good.
- Yeah, I like that.
- If everybody does
their own thing,
then that's not consistent.
- They would definitely
be uniform
if they all had
tornados in 'em.
- Or we can do three different
phases of it.
Like comic strip type.
- Yeah, like a comic strip.
Maybe, like,
there's three boxes.
- Yeah, I'm cool with
the comic strip idea.
I like it being boxed in
like that.
- We are looking
for consistency
throughout the team,
not just in the element
but also in application.
- Okay, what if we did things
that were seashell-themed?
Like, if we did a seashell,
a starfish, coral.
- I feel like
a seashell is, like,
something that we could all
nail in our own styles
so nothing falls short.
- Right.
- Because I feel like if we
were to pick the same style,
like if we're all doing color,
like, I'm gonna fall short
compared to you two.
- Yeah.
- I'm cool with that.
- Yeah.
- Right.
- If one person falls short,
they're gonna bring
the whole team down.
- When I think of Earth,
I think of things going
back to the Earth.
Like, dead things--
with flowers bloomin' out.
- Live things, juxtaposition?
I'm into that.
- Believe it or not,
I'm a pretty versatile artist,
and as far as adapting
to my team, I can do that.
Playing to one style
could be more consistent.
It looks like one team did it.
- Yeah.
- What if we each did, like,
a blackwork skeleton
With different elements
growing out of it.
- Yeah, that'd make
a cool tattoo.
- K is primarily
a blackwork artist.
So if we can all work together
with her strength,
we'll be able to pull
this challenge off.
- You're putting color
in yours, right?
- Nah.
- So, I'm gonna have to do
black and gray
is what you're saying?
- No, you should absolute--
- Yeah, you should do
full color.
- There's no reason
you shouldn't do color.
- But then three are doing
black and gray,
and only one is doing color?
That wouldn't make sense.
That would look weird.
- Do your thing, Bob.
Blast that bitch with color.
- [laughing]
- Doesn't have to be
the same style.
We all containing the element.
- It's not gonna look cohesive
with the group
if there's one that stands out.
- I'm stubborn,
and Hiram's stubborn,
so it's hard to get
the idea we both agree on.
We can't turn in
one color tattoo
and three black and gray
tattoos.
That is not consistency.
That's three and one.
That's not four.
- I mean, like--
But that's a definite
disconsistency.
- Maybe I should do it
without this box.
- You can take out the box.
- So now I'll just do it
the size of the calf just so
that part fits in there.
- Yeah.
So it'll blend out softly,
yeah.
- I like that idea better.
- Do you think you should
maybe tell Money Mike
to take the box out then?
- Well, I don't have a box
on mine,
so I think one of 'em
havin' a box would be fine.
- All right.
All of our containers
are gonna be black and gray,
and the light--
the fire is gonna be colored.
I know you don't like it, but
it's gonna be more cohesive.
And that's the name
of the challenge.
- I don't think that looks
better with that colored.
- But it will if all
four of 'em have it.
[suspenseful music]
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Artists, you have six hours
to show consistency
by tattooing the elements.
And your time starts now.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- All right,
go and hop up here.
- Get some stencils on.
- Today can be really tricky,
because first off,
God bless the canvases,
either three, four,
or five tattooers
will be tattooing them
at the same time.
- You're gonna try your
hardest to go to sleep.
- [laughs] Yeah.
- Just let it happen.
- These tattoos
have to be cohesive.
We're looking for these
tattoos to almost look like
one person did them all.
That makes this
extremely difficult
for anybody who's a weak link.
- You doing the box
around yours?
- Nah, took it out.
So I don't know if you wanna
take it out or leave it on.
- Mm...
I designed mine for the box.
- So then keep the box then.
I don't think
it makes a difference
'cause we all have
the same elements.
- Man, what the [bleep]?
Jordan and Jason scrapped
the whole square idea
and just enlarged the piece,
but for me
to change designs now
may be a setback for me.
So I'm sticking
to the original plan,
and hopefully
that don't sink me.
Should I bring this angle in?
- Let's see.
- No, 'cause if you get down,
it's straight.
- All right, we cool.
- Yeah.
- Let's do it.
- Here we go.
[tattoo machine buzzing]
[intense percussive music]
♪ ♪
- How are they treating you
so far?
What's difficult about it?
- Positioning.
Light.
I'm, like, 90 degrees to how
I would like to be tattooing.
- Oh, shit, sorry.
Let me know if I need
to get out of your way at all.
- This is going very poorly.
The inked side of the starfish
has a lot of circles.
It's very difficult
to cleanly tattoo.
I'm not gonna be able
to do these small lines
with someone right next to me.
I'm gonna finish the designs
up here and then cycle out.
- We're not little people,
and we're inside
of this 4-foot area,
but Kelly's the only one
that's in between two people.
I mean, what if Jerrel flexes?
- Hey, wait, hey--
hold on.
Let me just finish these two
lines then I'll jump up, okay?
I hate collaboration tattoos.
I can't get my own space.
- Like, Kelly,
just pull it together.
♪ ♪
- Good boy, Bob.
- No blowouts?
- No.
- Holding up my name, you know?
- Today, all eyes are on me.
They saw a weakness
in me last week.
- This is the best drawing
of the day, man,
but I lost count
of the blowouts on this thing.
Like, 40-something.
- I cannot have any blowouts.
I have to show that last week
was a fluke.
That shit doesn't happen.
- Three hours to go, teams.
Three hours to go.
♪ ♪
[tattoo machine buzzing]
I only ask,
'cause I heard you, like,
run your machine way down.
- Yeah, I've never done this
before, so--
- The way I do it is the
slowest that I can run it
without it getting snagged
in the skin.
You should be able to get,
like, a line of dots, dude.
- Me, K, and Jimmy,
as we get closer,
we're only getting stronger.
It's only up from here.
- Like that?
- Yeah.
- This is so much fun.
Why haven't I been doing this?
- [laughs]
We're consistently consistent,
queen.
♪ ♪
- Y'all seen everybody else's?
- Everybody else did
the same thing
and threw the element in it.
Ours is the only one
that actually connects.
- We're doing three different
versions of the tornado.
Money Mike's is gonna be
from a distance.
My tattoo is going to be
right before the impact.
Jason's gonna be the impact
tearing up the house.
Of all the groups,
ours has the most consistency
with the story.
- They don't like this piece,
I don't know what to tell 'em.
- In Louisiana, man,
we get hurricanes;
we don't get tornados--
never seen one,
never tattooed one.
So it's all around
a new experience for me.
Mine is simple, yet effective.
- Yeah.
- We just trying to get to it,
make sure we get this safety.
Make sure nobody in team South
gets eliminated.
♪ ♪
- Yours have a similar feel,
only, like, you know,
his is in color.
- Yeah.
And then it's, like, same with
them, but it's, like, you know.
- Yeah.
All of the other teams'
approach to this
looks way more consistent
than ours.
Their tattoos actually look
like they're in a series.
Ours, not so much.
It looks like we have five
different tattoos,
by five different people,
with five different ideas.
- Kind of fun
tattooing this close
'cause I get to see
how you guys tattoo.
- I know, right?
♪ ♪
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That is it, machines down.
Time is up.
No more ink.
- Think it's solid?
- It's [bleep] solid, dude.
- Bah!
- Ah!
- It looks killer.
- Fishin' for a win today!
- You guys feelin' good?
- Yeah.
We kept everything
the same size.
- You think those 25 circles
Kelly did are circles?
- Yeah.
- I don't know.
I definitely think the team
of five is about to become...
both: The team of four.
- It's not
the most creative move.
- These tattoos
are a bummer for me.
- Damn.
- In this competition,
you never know what's coming.
Now you gotta pay the piper.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Out of all the groups,
you guys just sucked, really.
- We had five [bleep] people
on our team.
- Yeah.
- Five.
- Yes, and between five people,
you couldn't put
one good tattoo out.
- No, no, our team
is still intact,
and you guys
are barely holdin' on.
- By default, man.
Come on, man.
- And what happened to you,
Frank?
- I did all right, man.
- Was that the best tattoo
that you could've put out?
- That was the best tattoo
I could put out
with my entire team in mind--
that's what you guys didn't do.
- We did three
dope-ass tattoos.
- No.
- You guys live up
to your name:
Mediocre Midwest.
- You guys have always been
livin' up to your name:
Suck-Ass South.
♪ ♪
- Today, you had to prove
your consistency
by creating multiple tattoos
on the same canvas as a team.
- [sighs]
- Let's see how you did.
East.
You tattooed the Earth.
You're up.
K.
- The way this thing is very
simply shaded is cool.
Very clean,
very solid outline.
The vine with the color in it,
weaving in and out,
pretty dynamic.
I really like the tattoo.
- It's pretty good overall.
- Jessa.
- It has what it takes to make
the eye move around
and see a harmony
and a balance.
Your color in this
is really rich.
You do have a nice solid
distribution of color
and black and gray
in the tattoo,
so I think it reads prettier.
- Still pretty good overall.
- Jimmy.
- I really like
the open skin--
the little highlight
that you leave in the cheek
and then you have those areas
of stippling around it.
I like the black whip
that you bring off
the back of the skull,
and it gives it weight.
- The outline is solid,
and the stipple shading
is super smooth.
- It's pretty badass.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- So, how'd they do overall?
- I like the concept
of the decaying of life
and then new life springing up.
I see the similar
color palette,
which also plays
harmonious together.
- As far as three tattoos
that go together
and show consistency,
I feel like it's a smart move.
- South, you tattooed wind.
You're up next.
Money Mike.
- What's going on, fellas?
- Just a straight
square picture--
it's not the most
creative move.
- You gave yourself
a challenge
just by giving that square.
'Cause a perfect square,
you do not have.
You have a lot
of application problems.
You can see the brushstrokes
coming through.
- If you're doing
a lot of this...
It's never gonna be as black
as when it comes out
of the bottle.
- Jordi.
- I love the way
the building looks like
it's about to be pulled away,
but if you just look
at the twister,
it's a tube with a few lines.
It could be a ventricle,
it could be anything.
Every part of the tattoo
has to be understood
as to what it is.
- Tough crowd.
- Jason.
- Very graphically designed
style that you have
with the house broken in half,
but you definitely see
what's going on,
and see the pieces of
the house getting lifted away.
Definitely looks
really smooth,
definitely a very legible
depiction of the wind here.
- Thanks.
- Overall, as a team, as far as
consistency, how do you see it?
- The application from one
to the next isn't consistent.
The only thing consistent
in this team
is that they did
three tornado tattoos.
- Everybody did
their own thing, kind of,
instead of stepping together
as a unit.
They got three
different windows.
So it doesn't tell it
strong enough.
- Midwest, you tattooed water.
You're up next.
Jake.
- Cute little crab drawing,
bold outline,
but the water on this thing
is a bummer.
You know,
water can't just wiggle
in whatever way it wants to,
and it has a flow to it.
- Water is really fluid,
so it can do pretty much
whatever it wants to.
- The thing is,
it doesn't have a will,
so it doesn't do what it wants,
it does what it's forced to do.
♪ ♪
- Frank.
- I like the shell.
The water, I don't know
if it makes a lot of sense.
I don't know what's going on.
- The water itself is so HD
and so over-the-top
that it doesn't match
the shell.
These are two
separate thoughts,
so now the shell
looks not finished.
- Jordan.
- I like your helmet.
You hit some nice details
in the cage in the front,
but the water on the bottom,
it almost looks like a bottom
jaw of a skull
with rotted-out teeth.
It looks like a million
different things to me.
It's not just
"boom, it's water."
- Jerrel.
- It's camouflage, man,
it is hard to read.
The pearl's supposed to be
white and shiny,
and it's as dark as the shell.
It's just too much craziness
going on in a small thing.
- The flow of this water
looks like a splash,
but the problem is,
water's clear.
Water's not black.
It should be light,
light, light-shaded.
- Kelly.
- Kind of crazy on the design.
It's mist, it's smoke,
because it's blue
doesn't make it water.
- You see a lot
of inconsistencies
in those circle outlines,
so the overall piece
turns inconsistent.
- How'd they do
overall as a team?
- Two went different
directions,
three went
in the same direction.
- Yeah, it's almost like,
"Everybody do your own thing,
but make sure
it's got terrible water."
- Most of these tattoos
are a bummer for me.
That's consistent.
- We made a choice.
I stuck to it.
- West, you had fire.
You're up.
- Angel.
- Hey, guys.
- How straight, square,
and how crisp
that line work is
is very, very nice.
- I like the burst you have
around the flame,
and the color in the flame
is solid.
On a day like today,
it is shining bright.
- Thank you.
- Great job, girl.
- Thank you. [chuckles]
- Bob.
- It's definitely a cool take,
it's something
we haven't seen
in the competition before,
and the contrast between
your black and gray element
and your color element
stands strong.
- Thank you.
- You killed it, man.
- Thanks.
- Hiram.
- The illustration of the
torch and the ornate details
are cool, but the black is not
the same color as the outline.
It's not saturated.
The red: not saturated.
It's great from a distance,
not so good up close.
- Raul.
- I like the dark shading that
you put into the candle holder,
but the saturation
in the flames
and the blends
are a little bit off.
- Your red: not vibrant.
No two points on these flames
is the same anywhere.
- How did the West do
in terms of consistency?
- These pieces do all seem
to go together,
but as far as, like,
application,
the consistency is
all over the place here.
- Time to determine which team
showed the most consistency
of the day.
- I do see the craftiness
in the East.
From the drawing board,
to the execution,
to the follow-through,
those three tattoos
are pretty consistent.
♪ ♪
My vote is for the East.
- Yes.
- My vote is for the East.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- That means the East is safe
from elimination.
- Good job, guys.
- We finally got a win.
- Yeah.
- Please, have a seat.
- Sweet.
♪ ♪
- Is there a second team
that showed consistency?
- Speaking to quality
and theme,
the West does some
really slick tattoos.
- On paper,
they had a consistent theme.
For me, it's the second closest
team in consistency.
- My vote is for the West.
- Voting for the West.
- Congratulations.
That means the West
is also safe from elimination.
- Good job, guys.
Good job.
- Please have a seat.
- Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Midwest and South,
based on your work,
one of you will be packing
your machines.
[sighs and groans]
- Oh, man, right now?
- God damn it.
- It's bullshit.
- [mouths words]
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Midwest and South,
based on your work,
one of you will be packing
your machines.
[sighs and groans]
- Oh, man, right now?
- It's bullshit.
- [bleep].
- I feel like they should
get another chance.
They should battle it out.
- That's not the way it works.
Somebody's going home.
- Every single tattoo
you do in here,
you never know
when this day's coming.
- [sighs]
- All right, guys.
Who had the worst tattoo
of the day?
- Jake's is the one
that sticks out like a sore
thumb just based on drawing.
- Let me just take another stab
where I can focus
on my tattoos.
Put me back in the shop.
- Well, it misses the look
of water artistically,
but then technically, if we
look at Money Mike's tattoo,
look at the line work
anywhere on Mike's.
Look at the solid black
anywhere on Mike's.
- It's not smooth, they're not
even, they're not solid.
- With another shot, I can
show you what I'm made of.
- If you look at that,
you're like, "that's wind."
Can you look at the other one
and say "that's water"?
- The other one is not water.
It's just not what
it needs to be,
and that's the problem.
You took a chance,
and, this competition,
you never know what's coming,
and here it is:
now you gotta pay the piper.
Today, for the drawing,
I am going with Jake.
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
- My vote's for Mike.
- Jake strayed really far
from the whole day really,
but I see the technical
problems in Mike's.
Yes, he's got a tornado in it,
but it's boxed in,
this weird shape,
and it's, like,
of all these elements,
that's the one that has air.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
My vote's for Money Mike.
The judges have decided.
Money Mike,
you do not have what it takes
to be Ink Master.
- [sighs]
- Today was the day
to work with your team
and get that team's safety,
and it slipped
through your fingers,
but, you know, you got a long
way to go in this business.
Wish you all the best, man.
- Please pack your machines
and close shop.
♪ ♪
- Money Mike signing out, baby.
- I'ma miss you man.
- Aw, man.
I ain't trip.
- [bleep].
We're down to two.
♪ ♪
- In this competition,
you gotta be 100%
every time
you pick up those machines.
You know, it just took me
a little longer to settle in,
and it bit me in my ass.
♪ ♪
- [bleep].
- That was rough.
- What the [bleep] happens now?
- We're not done yet.
Another artist is going home.
- Oh, [bleep].
Jesus Christ.
♪ ♪
- In a battle this fierce,
one weak link puts
your entire team at risk.
- Ooh, shit.
Midwest and South,
your teams failed
to secure safety,
but each of you will have one
last chance to save yourself
from elimination by facing off
against each other.
- Thought so.
- Oh, shit.
- West and East,
because your teams
proved your consistency
and are safe from elimination,
you will choose the style
and subject they must tattoo.
♪ ♪
- Let's give 'em a fair fight.
- Yes.
- I can only imagine
what they're coming up with.
- Gonna find out
how they feel about us.
- I like it.
Yeah.
- We all agree?
- Yeah, we all agree.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- All right, Jimmy,
what subject and style
must these artists tattoo?
- Illustrative insects.
- You can do it your style,
you can do it color,
you can do it black and gray,
you can go simple,
you can go wild.
- Okay.
- Insects are awesome.
There's so many different
things you can do.
You wanted a chance to go
and do something on your own?
This is it.
Come out swinging.
- All right.
- The face-off is set.
Your canvases
are completely open,
and tomorrow,
you will have six hours
to tattoo.
And based on your work,
one of you will also
be packing your machines.
- Oh, man.
- Head back to the loft
and get ready for the face-off.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- The game got
really serious tonight.
- No one saw that coming.
- Things are starting to move
a lot faster.
- It really sucks
that we're down to two.
- I mean, that sucks.
I didn't--I didn't know Mike
was going home, so...
♪ ♪
I just didn't think
it was Mike.
- It was almost me, and, like,
now I'm really, like, shaken up
that, you know,
I gotta [bleep] perform
like I've never performed,
because I wanna be here.
That's some scary shit
to be down there, and like,
'cause you know you have more,
but when somebody's saying
you had your chance,
and then you're like,
"Well, I [bleep]"--
'cause, like, I had a chance,
and I wanted to do it.
I wanna be the best,
I wanna show that I can do it,
I wanna have everybody be wowed
by the [bleep] art I make.
- I'd definitely say tomorrow
we all tattoo the best tattoos
we [bleep] can.
- Yeah.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- I did not sleep at all
last night.
- That's kind of
how it goes, man.
You get a night to draw,
and you're like,
"Oh, I got drawing time."
And then you're like,
"Oh, I don't have sleep time."
- Yeah.
- That's greed.
- Yup, you gotta pick
one or the other.
- I don't wanna go home.
- And we won't.
♪ ♪
- Artists,
this is your last chance
to save yourself
from elimination.
You have six hours to tattoo
an illustrative insect.
And your time starts now.
♪ ♪
- First things first,
I'm gonna get your leg marked.
- Let me get this stencil on.
- These artists' lives in this
competition are on the line.
They have to do something
dynamic
with these insect tattoos.
They can't just do something
simple, and small, and boring.
- That's a cool
[bleep] drawing.
- Thank you.
- They have to push the limits
of what they can draw
to stay in this competition.
- Yeah, it's like dead center.
Perfect.
- There's a lot of pressure
on the South.
The last thing they wanna do
is lose another player
the same week.
- All right, well,
we're gonna start, man.
- You do it.
♪ ♪
- For me, when I think
of a praying mantis,
I think of a nun.
And any time I see a nun,
I think of bondage.
[laughs]
It's just how it works.
- I was wondering
where the nun thing came from.
- "Praying" mantis.
- "Praying" mantis.
- Yeah, I mean, think about
nuns, think about the kink.
- Yeah.
Hmm.
- I've hit that point now,
where I'm like,
you know what, I'm gonna do me.
I'm gonna have fun
with what I do.
So if I were to go out,
at least it's something
that was fun.
- The kinky tattoo artist.
- That's right.
My canvas is excited
about her new bondage tattoo.
So I'll have a fun time
explaining to her boyfriend.
For sure.
- The judges are gonna have
a hard time.
- I really like Kelly's,
the only thing--
I don't feel like it needs
those extra mushrooms
at the top.
- He's really swinging
for the fences.
- Yeah, he is.
- This is my first time
in the bottom
in the competition so far.
- Oh, yeah.
- I don't wanna seem
overly confident,
but I feel good
about doing insects.
I wanna take all the chances,
I wanna take all the risks.
I have an arsenal of wizardry
ready to impress.
- Kelly, man, that shit rules.
- Tattoo up
some magic shit, man.
- There's a little bit
of magic in the air,
telling me
I'll be here for a while.
- Four hours left, guys.
Four hours left.
♪ ♪
- You gonna align
the whole thing,
or are you gonna do
more of like, uh--
- Nah, I'ma align
the whole thing,
but I'm gonna do some
variance in line weights.
It's a lot of pressure,
because if I go home,
there's no more South,
there's just Jason.
Keep the small parts so I don't
lose any detail in 'em.
Going to college,
I joined a fraternity,
and teamwork is crucial to me.
I wouldn't want to leave my
brother stranded by himself.
And I don't wanna go home.
I'm not ready to go home yet.
♪ ♪
- You gonna color it
like this one?
- Uh-huh, yeah, but I'm
punching it in there, though.
- Yeah.
- Money Mike, he's barely left
the building.
Nobody knew that this double
elimination was coming.
We can't risk losing anymore
players in this competition.
- You know they don't like
white like that.
- Mm-hmm.
I know.
- [laughing]
- He's aware.
- They don't like that color
palette either.
- They don't.
I... [bleep].
I mean, here's the thing:
If my line work is clean
and my color's in there solid,
who gives a [bleep]
if they like it or not.
- I don't--
- I don't give a shit.
- You're playing
a whole different game.
- South is the smallest team,
but we are not giving up.
- You're just a giant walking
middle finger.
- Oh, yeah.
- I definitely have a lot
to prove today.
Starting my career
in the tattoo industry,
being so young,
there's a lot of people that
didn't take me seriously.
So I always had
to constantly prove myself.
It's the same thing here.
Yeah, I'm not
[bleep] around today.
Proving people wrong is fun.
The last couple critiques
I've gotten have not been good.
I have a fire lit under me.
I gotta nail this tattoo.
There he goes again.
Oh, my gosh,
he's moving everywhere.
♪ ♪
- Sorry.
- All good.
♪ ♪
- Yeah, go for it.
- Sure?
All right.
- My canvas
has not stopped moving
since I started tattooing.
- When you're home,
you have all the time you need
to make sure
they're comfortable,
but when there is a clock
and all this pressure on you,
and you have a chance
of going home?
Everything that
that canvas does
just adds to the pressure.
- Frank might not finish,
and yeah.
He's already taken,
like, three breaks.
Is he taking another one?
- No way.
- [whistles]
I have to finish this tattoo.
Not gonna freak out yet.
- This is your final hour.
One hour remains.
- I don't like Jake's.
The crown is a gray mute cool.
You have to have dimension,
and second,
it has to be [bleep] vibrant.
- How long you been tattooing?
- This upcoming August,
it'll be 14 years.
- Wow.
- There have been times where
I've gone grocery shopping
at, like, the dollar store
because I wasn't
making hardly any money.
Anything that's worth doing
is really hard.
And it's really important
to me that I portray that
to my son,
because he's just starting out,
his whole life ahead of him.
You want something bad enough,
you just work hard,
you persevere,
things get really shitty
but you come out
the other side much happier.
This is our hell.
It's, like, we have to
appease three people,
and it drives us insane.
I barely made it through
the first elimination.
So the stakes
are much higher now.
I need to put everything that I
have, every trick that I know,
into this tattoo.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Five, four, three, two, one.
That's it.
Machines down.
Time is up and no more ink.
- We're done now, man.
- Yeah, it's awesome, man.
It's on point.
- You know, it's like,
I'm glad you got through it.
That was
the most important part.
- That looks sick.
- Everything the judges
don't like about tattoos:
I put it in there.
- Except perfect application.
- Exactly.
- I was worried about Jake,
like, Jordi somehow passed him.
- Yeah.
- Race for the bottom.
It is beat up.
- He sculpted
almost all of the lines.
Line next to line next to line,
probably on top of line,
on top of line.
- Yeah, I mean,
hit it more than once,
and then as soon
as he wipes, poof.
- Trenches.
Never know what's gonna happen.
- You never know
what's gonna happen.
- Never [bleep] know.
- Jason's all by himself
on flash challenges?
- It's kind of funny,
like, I can't help it.
- At least he won't be running
around talking shit.
- He won't have any time.
- He won't have time.
- I will say
that you do good line work,
but one little thing
can be the stone you trip over.
- I hate it.
- You don't want to push me
in that corner.
- All right, it's a fight.
[exciting music]
♪ ♪
- Today, the Midwest
and the South had to face off
against each other,
and you were being tested
on consistency.
Based on your work, one of you
will be packing your machines.
Let's see how you did.
Midwest, let's start with you.
Kelly.
I'm really blown away
by the creativity here.
It's a great illustration.
I love that you can have
a insect in the background
coming down a ledge
into the foreground
and pull that off with such
great precision and detail.
- And what I really like
is that you have variance
within the body.
That gives us this flow
and this movement.
I like the highlight and the
break that you put in that.
It really gives it a nice turn
and a nice light.
This is a fun one to look at.
- Thanks guys.
- [bleep].
You did great, man.
- Next up is Jordan.
- Where have you been
all competition?
- [laughs]
- I mean, this is a much better
tattoo than I've seen so far.
As far as your shading goes,
I like the fact
that the cicada
is darker than the flowers.
You have a nice balance.
You go from dark
to light to dark.
- You always say that
you do good line work,
and we've been
waiting to see it.
This line work
does look very consistent.
Super smooth everywhere.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- Yeah, thank you.
- Jerrel.
- Well, I love the creativity
of this design
and the simplicity of it.
Looks like an insect
right off the bat,
then the subtle little
inferences you added to it,
with the little ropes and
the ball gag and the habit,
gives a very cool
little touch.
One of the tricks of the trade
is being able to use this much
black in such a small area
and still see
what everything is,
and you do that
really well here.
- Thanks, guys.
- Hell, yeah.
- [bleep]. [bleep].
- Frank.
- Man, what a dynamic image.
It definitely has
a very illustrative,
graphic design look to it.
all the little detail lines
are very consistent.
Your color saturation,
there's a little bit
of variance
just in a couple areas
where you under-shaded
with gray
and then put the blue over top,
but it created
a lot of cool textures.
Definitely one of the coolest,
most wicked insects
that we've seen today.
- Cool.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
- Jake.
- It's got a cool motion to it.
It's got a cool anatomy.
I love what you did
with the wings.
That really bright blue
highlight to skin.
But the sore thumb
in this tattoo is the crown.
Your outline gets a little
wavery on the crown,
your black shading
gets a little rough,
it looks out of place
with the rest of the tattoo.
- I understand what
you're saying,
but I didn't necessarily
want it to be a focal point.
- I like your drawing.
I like it a lot better than
yesterday's drawing, for sure.
- Yeah.
- All right, it's a fight.
- South, you're up.
Jason.
- Today, consistency, you
really show up with your color.
The whole tattoo
is very consistent
because your black
is very graphic, very strong,
Your delivery
is all consistent.
I like the style,
I like the imagery,
I like the little pop of white
that you put in there.
If you can get it in to look
like house paint,
good for you.
When you put black
in properly,
and you weigh in
a strong outline,
and you make it wall to wall,
it just looks so good on skin.
- Jordi.
- I like this image, I like
the drawing, the color palette.
It's very rich and bright,
but I wish that there was
open skin in this tattoo.
- It's very rare
that you'll hear me say,
"It's too solid,
it's too much,"
but it's really,
really packed.
It could definitely use
a couple breaks
where you just let this thing
breathe a little bit.
It would really go
a long way for me.
- Today, everybody was able
to do something creative,
everybody was able to do
something strong,
and it looked like everybody
really brought something
from the drawing board
to their tattoo today,
which is super cool.
A lot of great tattooing.
- Today is gonna be
a tough one,
because somebody's
gotta go home
on something that could
typically keep you in the game.
- Whoever goes home,
as long as it's on Midwest.
We're feelin' awful small
over here.
- They can get one smaller.
- Ah, you don't want to push me
in that corner.
- If we're judging on
consistency, Frank's tattoo.
The wings on it, some of them
are whip shaded out,
and some of them
are mag dragged.
Some of those parts up there
aren't as consistent
as they could be.
- I have to agree with
everything that Bob says.
That's probably bottom tattoo.
- I definitely would've
done more.
My guy wouldn't stop moving.
And he was gonna give up on me,
so I finished my tattoo.
And I [bleep] like it.
- I hate it.
- I agree with Frank having
some shortcomings
in application, but I don't
think I can lean towards Frank
being the worst one of the day.
Design-wise, Jordi is one of
my least favorite of the seven.
I would've loved to see
this tattoo
a little bit more dynamic.
I wish that this thing
had a little bit more
breathability to it.
- If everybody feels
mine's the worst one,
I wouldn't have a problem
with that today.
- [bleep] that, no, send
somebody on the Midwest home.
Send Jake home.
[bleep] that shit.
- You guys asked me to step up
to the plate,
and I designed
something really cool.
Let's call it like it is.
Jordi still has inconsistencies
of getting that color
where it needed to be.
- It's tricky.
Jordi overly produced,
but what is wall to wall
is solid.
Juxtapose that to Jake's,
and you see a lot
of wavering moments.
If you match those reds to
Jordi's reds, Jordi gets 'em.
- For me,
Jordi's tattoo is plain.
But technically,
across the board,
the biggest shortcoming
of the day
is the crown in Jake's tattoo.
That being said, I'm going
back and forth with this.
♪ ♪
- I need a final decision.
- I'm voting for Jake.
- Jake to go home.
- The judges have decided.
Jake, you do not have
what it takes to be Ink Master.
- I love your art,
I love your designs,
but when the competition
gets tight,
one little thing can be
the stone you trip over,
and this crown,
this took you out, man.
- You're not going out
on a bad tattoo.
- Please pack your machines
and close shop.
- See you.
♪ ♪
- See you later.
- That was close.
- Too close.
And you were gonna give up.
[bleep].
- [bleep], man, you killed it.
- Thanks, dude.
The tattoo I did today
was awesome.
I'm just upset I didn't get
to show more of that work.
You know,
it is how the game is played,
and lots of good tattoos
go home.
My son's gonna definitely
be proud of me,
because I'm proud of me.
announcer: On the next
episode of "Ink Master"...
- You just keep losing
teammates, one after another.
- Who just went home?
- Our first one.
Jason's just overcompensating
for a small team.
- Smaller teams,
the stakes are high for you.
Bigger teams
eat the smaller teams.
- We are out for blood,
and the gloves are coming off.
You deserve to be here, and
I don't wanna see you go home.
- I don't wanna see you
go home either.
- This thing is a mess.
It's just muck.
- You gotta know that you're
putting yourself in jeopardy.