Mayalaen

Thank you for making Eddie's tattoos more realistic than 99.999% of the tattoos I see in movies/TV.



They aren't fresh and dark with super crispy edges like the stick-on fake tattoos they usually use.

The person who did his tattoos made them a little opaque and they're not perfect. Look at those lines.

And they're not done in prison tat style, but more like a home artist from the 80s who knows what they're doing.

His tattoos look like they were done with a homemade tattoo machine and homemade needles, as was done in the 80s by people who knew how to make those tools and use them well.

There are still old-school artists out there who used to make all their own needles by hand, and I've learned SO MUCH from them.

Eddie's tattoos also look like they're done with ink that was available in the 80s. Black ink (in the US) done in this style ended up looking just like this once healed, and the brighter or stronger colors that stay in the skin weren't available back then.

Seriously, some colors would just fall right out during the healing process. Premixed tattoo ink colors didn't become widely adopted until the 1970s, and the shades available were very basic until even 20 years ago.

Starbrite Brite White ink (a white that really stays well and stays bright) didn't come out until 15 years ago.

Another fun thing that I'm pretty sure was done on purpose is that these tattoos aren't in the typical spots a guy in the 80s would've placed them.

Tattoos weren't nearly as mainstream as they are now, but men who got them tended to place them on their upper outer arms and outer forearms unless they got tons of tattoos. Some would do chest tattoos, but not quite where Eddie got his.

Same with the wyvern -- it's not QUITE where guys would get a tattoo on the outer upper arm. Men tended to get them on areas with major muscle groups underneath.

This attention to detail helps to communicate wordlessly that Eddie wasn't even mainstream for alternative 80s guys. He has tattoos that are placed in a more personal way. Like they mean something to him, and if anybody else happens to see them, well that's fine, but that wasn't his main goal.

Even if some of them were gotten on an impulse without much thought, they're still all very personal to him, but I have a feeling his character would think about them a lot and maybe doodle them a bunch before getting them.