How to try a tattoo on your photo before you get it

Open Add tattoo to photo, choose a photo where the arm, shoulder, neck or back is bare, pick where the tattoo goes and tap a design. It is placed along the limb, sized to it, bent round it and inked into the skin, so you can judge the size and spot before you book.

Steps

1. Open Add tattoo to photo, or the Tattoo tool in the Photo editor, and choose a photo. A t-shirt or tank top photo in daylight is ideal.
2. Wait a moment while your body is found on your device. The Place on buttons light up when it is.
3. Pick a place: left or right forearm, upper arm, shoulder or hand, the neck or the back. Left and right are your own left and right, as you would say them, not the sides of the picture.
4. Tap a design. It lands on that spot, lined up with the limb, with its top towards your body.
5. Drag it to move it. Drag its yellow corner to make it bigger or turn it.
6. Set the look: Black and grey or Colour, Age from fresh to healed, Curve round the limb and Strength.
7. Download. Tap Add another tattoo first if you want a second piece.

Your own design, or a word

• A word. Tap A word, type a name, date or phrase (up to 40 characters) and choose a lettering: Script, Brush, Flourish, Gothic or Block.
• Your design. Tap Your design and choose the artwork. A PNG with a clear background is used as it is. A drawing on white paper, or a screenshot on white, has the white taken out, so only the lines become ink. Grey in the drawing becomes lighter shading.

If a tattoo is selected when you tap a design, a word or your own design, the selected tattoo changes to it and keeps its place and width. That makes it quick to compare a few designs on the same spot.

Why it looks like a tattoo

Most photo apps paste a tattoo on top like a sticker: flat black, sharp edges, the same on skin and sleeve. Real ink is under the skin, and three things give that away.

Filters and looks from the photo filters apply after the tattoo, so a black and white look turns the ink grey with the skin, as a real tattoo would look.

Choosing size and placement

• Forearm. The most common first tattoo spot. A design about as wide as the arm reads well; very wide designs wrap out of view.
• Upper arm and shoulder. Room for a larger piece. Bigger designs here usually look better than small ones.
• Neck and hand. Very visible spots. Try the size you have in mind at a few strengths before deciding.
• Back. The flattest place, so the design hardly bends. Use a photo taken from behind, with the shoulders and hips in the picture.

When it looks wrong

• The place you want is greyed out or the tattoo lands in the middle. That part of the body was not found: it may be hidden, cut off by the frame or covered by clothing. Choose Anywhere and drag the tattoo onto the skin.
• Part of the tattoo is missing. Ink is kept off clothing and background. Move the tattoo further onto the skin, or make it a little smaller.
• A beige or tan top picked up some ink. Colours close to your skin can count as skin. Move or shrink the tattoo so it stays inside the arm.
• It looks too flat on a round arm. Raise Curve round the limb. Lower it for the back or the back of a hand.

Questions

Is this an AI tattoo generator?

No. Nothing is generated. The designs are line drawings made for this site; an on-device pose model finds your shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands; and the design is bent and blended into your photo's own pixels.

Is my photo uploaded?

No. Finding the body and drawing the tattoo both happen in your browser. Only the body-finding models are downloaded to your browser, once.

Will the tattoo look exactly like this in real life?

It shows size, placement and the general look. A tattoo artist will adapt line weight and detail to your skin, and fresh ink looks darker and sharper for the first weeks. Use the preview to decide on spot and scale, and take the picture to your artist.