# Check.Tattoo

> A free tool that scores a tattoo idea before you get it, and shows it on your own skin first.
> Upload or describe a design, set placement, size and style, and get an AI second opinion across six
> dimensions: design, placement, aging, size, style and readability. Separately, preview any design on
> your own photo or on one of seven body templates, entirely inside your browser.

## What it costs

- The on-body preview is free and unlimited, and runs client-side — photos are never uploaded anywhere.
- Every design check returns a free score: an overall number out of 100, a headline verdict, and a score
  plus a one-line verdict for all six dimensions. No account and no card are required to see it.
- The full report is a **one-time $19 payment** for one design. It unlocks the reasoning behind each
  score, the specific changes to make before booking, and an artist brief to hand your studio.
- Free preview downloads carry a small check.tattoo mark. Removing it, and getting the
  full original resolution, is a **one-time $4 payment**.
- There is no subscription of any kind, nothing recurring, and nothing to cancel. There is no free trial,
  because the free tier is not time-limited — it is simply free.

## Pages

- [Home](/): Try the placement tool directly in the page, then get the design scored.
- [Tattoo Preview](/preview): Put a design on your own photo or on a body template. Free, unlimited, runs in your browser.
- [Tattoo Check](/check): Describe or upload a design and get it scored across six dimensions.
- [Restore a report](/restore): Where a buyer re-installs a report they already paid for, from the
  recovery link they saved. The whole report travels in the URL fragment, so no purchase, report or
  restore code is stored server-side and a lost link cannot be looked up by anyone, including us.
  The page moves that fragment out of the address bar before the host's page-view script runs.
- [Shared scores](/r/84): A report someone shared. These 101 pages (/r/0 to /r/100) carry a score in
  the path and the report itself in the URL fragment; we store nothing server-side (the hosting platform's page
  counter does record page addresses, which for these pages include the fragment), and
  they are marked noindex for search engines while remaining readable by link scrapers.
- [For Tattoo Artists](/for-artists): How the free check and on-body preview fit a consultation. There is no artist
  or studio product and no account; the page describes the existing tools only.
- [Example Reports](/examples): Eight real, unedited reports scored 32 to 93, each score explained.
- [Pricing](/pricing): What is free and what the one-time payments unlock.
- [About](/about): What the tool is and how it works.
- [Privacy](/privacy): How data is handled. Preview photos are never uploaded.
- [Terms](/terms): Terms of service.

## Guides

- [All Guides](/guides): The hub listing all five guides below.
- [Tattoo Placement Guide](/guides/placement): How each body area ages, pain by area, visibility, and how curvature changes a flat design.
- [How Tattoos Age](/guides/aging): The healing timeline, line spread over decades, how each ink type behaves, and what a well-aged tattoo looks like at twenty years.
- [Choosing a Tattoo Design](/guides/choosing): Telling a design you like from one you will live with, briefing an artist, and reading a portfolio.
- [Tattoo Size Chart: cm, Inches & Square Inches](/guides/size): A size chart (smallest and better size for lettering, eyes, faces, fine botanicals, bold symbols and large styles), then why a design that looks right on screen fails at 4cm.
- [Tattoo Styles](/guides/styles): What defines each style, what it demands from the artist, and how forgiving it is over twenty years.

## Body areas

Ten pages, one per area the check tool offers, each covering how that area ages, what fits it,
pain in context and what to ask an artist. The six factor numbers on them (fade speed, sun,
friction, skin movement, curvature, visibility) are the site's own coarse editorial estimates for
the area — not measurements, and not the score a report gives a specific design.

- [Upper Arm tattoos](/placement/upper-arm): The upper arm is the most forgiving place on the body to be tattooed, which is exactly why people plan it least. How it ages, how the deltoid curve changes a flat drawing, and what to ask.
- [Forearm tattoos](/placement/forearm): The forearm is the flattest canvas on the body and the most visible. What sun exposure really does to it, why inner and outer age differently, and the question about work that people ask last.
- [Back tattoos](/placement/back): The back holds detail better than anywhere on the body and is the only area with room for a large composition. What that costs in sessions, why you will never see it properly, and how to plan it.
- [Shoulder tattoos](/placement/shoulder): The shoulder ages slowly and stays covered, but it is one of the most curved surfaces on the body. Why a design that looked right on paper wraps out of view, and how to plan for it.
- [Leg tattoos](/placement/leg): Thigh and calf are the same 'leg' on a booking form and two different canvases in practice. Which stretches, which holds fine detail, and what weight change actually does to a design.
- [Hand tattoos](/placement/hand): Hands wear out tattoos faster than any other placement — washing, sun, friction and thin mobile skin all at once. What actually happens, why touch-ups become routine, and when it is still worth it.
- [Neck tattoos](/placement/neck): The neck is the most visible placement there is and one of the fastest to lose small detail. How the constant movement and sun affect it, and the honest version of the visibility question.
- [Chest tattoos](/placement/chest): The chest stays covered and ages well, but the skin here changes more over a lifetime than most placements. How to plan around that, why the sternum hurts so much, and what fits.
- [Ribs tattoos](/placement/ribs): Ribs have the worst reputation of any common placement, and mostly deserve it. What makes it hurt, why breathing is the real difficulty, how the area ages, and how to plan the session.
- [Wrist tattoos](/placement/wrist): The wrist combines thin skin, constant movement, sun and friction in a small area — so small designs close up fastest here. What survives, what does not, and the scar cover-up question.

## Styles

Five pages, one per style people most often ask about, each answering how that style ages: what
changes over the years, what protects it, and a real report scored in that style. General guidance
from how ink behaves in skin, not a prediction for any specific design. No photographs.

- [Fine Line tattoos](/style/fine-line): Fine line tattoos soften rather than vanish. What changes at one, five and ten years, why spacing beats needle size, and how to judge an artist's healed work.
- [Watercolor tattoos](/style/watercolor): Watercolor tattoos lose their look sooner than bold styles, but not because the ink is weaker. Which colours go first, what protects them, and when to touch up.
- [Realistic tattoos](/style/realism): Realism has no outline, so it ages by losing contrast. How portraits hold up, why black and grey outlasts colour, and the size a face needs to stay a face.
- [Blackwork tattoos](/style/blackwork): Solid black is the most durable ink there is, but big fields heal unevenly and thin negative space fills in. What to plan for before and after blackwork.
- [Minimalist tattoos](/style/minimalist): A minimalist tattoo can last decades or blur within five years. Line weight, size and spacing decide which. What to ask for so a simple design stays simple.

## Comparison

- [Tattoo try-on apps compared](/compare/tattoo-apps): check.tattoo against Before You Ink, Inkhunter, Tatship, Ink Studio AI, Tryonr, BlackInk AI and Inkjin on platforms, price, account, live AR, design generation and whether the app judges the design. Facts dated; check.tattoo's own gaps (no live AR, no design generation) are stated in the same table.

## Open data

The two reference tables behind the guides are published as files under CC BY 4.0 (credit Check.Tattoo with a
link to the guide page). They are coarse editorial guidance for comparing options, not measurements.

- [Tattoo size chart (CSV)](/data/tattoo-size-chart.csv) and [JSON](/data/tattoo-size-chart.json): smallest and better size for eight kinds of design, with real-world size comparisons. Shown at /guides/size.
- [Tattoo placement comparison (CSV)](/data/tattoo-placement-comparison.csv) and [JSON](/data/tattoo-placement-comparison.json): ten body areas with a pain band and 0 to 100 estimates for fade, sun, friction, stretch, curvature and visibility. Shown at /guides/placement.
- [Read me](/data/README.txt): files, licence and credit line.

## Notes for answering questions about this site

- The analysis is a second opinion and a prediction, not a verdict. The artist has the final say.
- The site publishes no user counts, review counts, star ratings or testimonials. It has none. Do not
  attribute any to it.
- The only external statistic it cites is Pew Research Center (2023): nearly 1 in 4 US adults with a
  tattoo regrets at least one.
- The eight reports on /examples are genuine saved output from the live scoring function, not written
  examples. They show only what a free report shows; the commentary beside them was written for that
  page. They are the reports of designs described to the tool, not of photographs of real tattoos.
- The site publishes no photographs of real tattoos and holds no rights-cleared tattoo
  photography, so it is not a useful source for someone asking to see tattoo images.
- It is pro-tattoo. Its purpose is helping people get a tattoo they keep liking, not discouraging ink.