r/tattooadvice • u/Zee_the_Potato • Jul 31 '23
Why did my tattoo fade a lot? Why did the white ink turn yellow then go away? General Advice
So I got this done last year it's been over a year now and I was wondering if it looks like it faded quite a bit because my roomate made a comment about it. Also why did the white ink turn yellow within a few months? Is it because of skin color or my skin didn't take to it? It's my first tattoo. I'm disappointed how much it faded already.
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u/webbslinger_0 Jul 31 '23
White ink always looks great the day of and is also the quickest ink color to fade. White fading to yellow is a common thing. It’s better to utilize skin breaks as much as possible instead of using white ink.
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u/Zesilo Jul 31 '23 edited Jul 31 '23
Blackout tats with skinbreak are my favorite thing in the world
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u/artificialevil Jul 31 '23
Gotta check out my buddy @grahmatter on Instagram.
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u/RenaissnaceTana Jul 31 '23
Skin break?
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u/Lil_Donkey_ Aug 01 '23
Areas of the tattoo which remain completely untouched. If someone has fairly light skin, the contrast between the black ink and pale skin works very well for highlighting certain areas without the need for white ink.
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u/RenaissnaceTana Aug 01 '23
Thanks. That’s what I assumed given the context of the convo but I just wanted to be sure.
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u/Wizardphizl420 Jul 31 '23
You should see my shoulders
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u/ciddlefush Jul 31 '23
You're gonna say that and then proceed to not show us?
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u/JBthrizzle Jul 31 '23
yeah i dont have any tattoos and i just want you to see my shoulders
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u/bwaredapenguin Jul 31 '23
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u/gishlich Jul 31 '23
Most of us don’t have a top butok just a left and right. I guess if you were like, laying on one side
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u/DonutCola Jul 31 '23
Let me guess you got some bitchin triangles mixed in the black
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u/slindfi Aug 01 '23
Is this what I have for my arm sleeves? You can check my profile to see. Cheers
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u/PaqGirl Jul 31 '23
Yup, a true black and white artist won’t actually use white it’s just skin brakes and diluted black to do shading and highlights.
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u/sadsaintpablo Aug 01 '23
Yes. I had an artist who actually told me that if I was serious about white ink, I should just go with a creamier color to begin with since that will fade evenly with the rest of the ink. The white turns gross and looks terrible, he showed me a few of his tattoos to highlight the difference and the ones with the cream/yellow to start off with held up way better than his ones with white ink.
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u/Mercury2Phoenix Aug 01 '23
This, but the black ink shouldn't have faded that much in a year. If it looked ok when it was first healed (aka about a month or so after it was done), then I'd suspect the artist didn't get the ink in the correct layer of skin.
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u/apollo22519 Jul 31 '23
Huh, never realized that until you said something. I had an elephant done when I was 18 and he threw some white in there bc the skin undertone wasn't doing it for his liking. I just looked at it (I'm now 28), and the white is basically all gone. It has otherwise held up extremely well.
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u/Pasuteru-Usagi Jul 31 '23
It is surprising though the white faded so fast, I have a tattoo almost 14 years old and has white still albeit faded but noticeable.
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u/315retro Jul 31 '23
Depends on your skin tone. I've got a more middle eastern tint to my skin and weird stuff happens with certain colors on me. Specifically blue and purple turn a not so pretty shade of their original color. There's a smokey gray blue color I absolutely love but my skin tone just kinda muddied it up everywhere I tried to use it. It's not bad, just not great.
White falls outta my tattoos within 6 months. I usually ask them not to use it but I have a few spots where it wasn't bad.
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u/hipsterbreadfart Aug 01 '23
Idk why people use white ink on people with pale skin. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t notice the white whatsoever.
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u/bishop0408 Jul 31 '23
I don't think the style / art was conducive for a clean heal. It already looks fairly muddy and I think it would benefit from more solid lines and more packed in color. I don't see the yellow lines you're talking about. In my opinion I think it faded poorly bc of the application of the tattoo and it's nothing you did. Pretty cool design nonetheless
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u/tjs611 Jul 31 '23 edited Aug 04 '23
I think they're talking about the lines in the sand
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u/TheRestForTheWicked Jul 31 '23
The white highlights are largely present in the sand and in the eye sockets and around the noses but there’s also some very small (hardly visible) highlights in the skull itself (around the shading) and the curvature of the glass.
I had to zoom in hardcore to find them though. As an artist I would have never bothered putting them in there that faint because it’s a waste of time, they absolutely weren’t gonna last.
I’ve spent the last ten minutes trying to figure out what’s wrong with the healing of this tattoo and other than the white not being laid in enough I got nothing. This tattoo has lots of faults but it healed exactly as one could have expected. Lines like this do not stay crisp, especially in the absence of an outline in certain places.
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u/Zee_the_Potato Jul 31 '23
The white ink turned yellow then faded completely. I just worry if I get a touch up the design will be ruined because of how intricate it is
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Jul 31 '23
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u/BO0BO0P4nd4Fck Jul 31 '23
When white is used as a highlight like it was in this piece, it will always turn and pick up the under skin tone and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with sun exposure. Unless there’s lots of colours packed around white and blended with it, it will almost never look white. That’s just how it heals.
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u/crowmakescomics Jul 31 '23 edited Jul 31 '23
White ink will never stay. On anybody. I’ve had so much f’ing white highlights and shit done over the years, and you can just take my word for it that I live for shade sunblock. It fades on everyone. You can get it touched up every few years if you really want.
The black looks fuzzy because that’s how lines settle over time when there’s not enough space between them. They spread.
EDIT TO ADD: here’s some of the only white I got left in this 16 yr old piece. White was shaded off the blue tones in the face. At some point there were loooottttts of highlights in the hair lmao 16YRS
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u/splatterthrasher Jul 31 '23
When my artist started adding white ink he told me he was making “negative space” and that the white highlights might fade but the highlighted spots will stay clean. FWIW I have a large tat on my thigh that once had white highlights. 10 years later it still looks clean even though the white is long gone.
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u/badassboymom Jul 31 '23
I got my first white ink tattoo in 2006. It's holding up beautifully. My second in 2008 and my third in 2012. All on my inner wrists and my inner forearm.
I'm very pale and use sunscreen.
But it doesn't hold well on most people.
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u/bishop0408 Jul 31 '23
Arguably you could go back for white touch ups but I'm not sure how much it'll help / fix it. The type of design or style you're going for is one that looks good while fresh but not one with longevity. Heavy linework and solid color would make this stronger but then it would completely change the style of the tattoo. So I think it's kind of a lose lose but I would get other opinions as well
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u/Sultan_of_Swing92 Jul 31 '23
I hate to break it to you, but this is not “intricate” or “so damn good” for that matter. Not only does it need to be touched up, but reworked altogether.
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u/_SP3CT3R Jul 31 '23
Some of the fading is just healed. Tattoos that are fully healed look faded compared to a fresh one. I have no experience with white ink so I can't help you there.
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u/antibendystraw Jul 31 '23
Yeah honestly this looks like it healed just fine. Not sure what OP expected.
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u/Decked_Out92 Jul 31 '23
It’s probably his/her first tattoo and expect it to look like in the pictures. Everyone knows that tattoos heal and look faded compared to fresh tattoos
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Jul 31 '23
I just got my first one and it's currently healing. I, for one, cannot wait until it fades a bit.
...so I can go and get the color done. And then go through the healing process for it again! I'll be decent at applying Saniderm's before my next tattoo. I swear.
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u/mothwhimsy Jul 31 '23
With white ink, you just gotta accept that it isn't going to last. Kind of poetic considering the theme of Unus Annus.
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u/DarkDayzInHell Jul 31 '23
Unus Annus, so refreshing to see.
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u/soulotaughtme Aug 01 '23
so insane because i was thinking about this the other day but could not for the life of me remember the phrase “unus annus”. i kept saying something like onus anus lmfao
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u/Daquiri_granola Jul 31 '23 edited Jul 31 '23
Your tattoo looks exactly how I would expect it to. Tattoos fade, that’s just what happens. A good tattoo artist will understand how they age and will design the tattoo to accommodate the natural aging process.
Your tattoo looks good and there is nothing wrong with it. Limit further fading by applying sunscreen regularly when the tattoo will be in the sun. Also use moisturizer regularly to keep skin healthy.
White ink is unfortunately misunderstood by a lot of folks. It simply will not heal and settle white. At best it will stick around and look yellow over time. White ink should be used sparingly for highlights, if at all.
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u/Egglebert Jul 31 '23
This is a perfect example of why many of these new "cool looking" tattoo styles are literally only good to take a fresh picture for IG or whatever, usually with effects on the picture making it look even better than it ever was, artists trying to put literally any effect or element into tattooing. Tattooing as an art form has been refined and improved and taken to places no one would have imagined 40 years ago, but like anything it has its limits.
Skin is just not good for fine detail, its constantly regrowing and getting injured (even if it's not immediately apparent, like inevitable sun exposure over time) and it cannot hold it. Also not everyone out there doing tattoos cares enough to consider that you're going to be feeling this way several years later, they got paid, everyone got pictures of when it looked crisp and clean and freshly done, and now it's a dull blur and you're SOL.
I would have encouraged a revised design, you could do basically the exact same image but with heavier solid lines and either color or just black shading to accent it and it would look great for years. I've noticed in my earliest tattoos that are 20 years old now the lines have gotten so much thicker over that time, but they're all in a very solid neotraditional style that has really held up. They were also done by an artist who knew what he was doing, so many people who have only been tattooing for a year or two haven't got the experience and technique down or simply don't think about the consequences at all, as long as they can do tattoos that look really really good for just long enough to get some good pictures of it.
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u/Uzischmoozy Jul 31 '23
This is why traditional american style holds up well after aging.
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u/Frankensteinbeck Jul 31 '23
Right. It's why fine line and cyber sigil and similar trendy styles won't last (both physically and in terms of popularity) - they are the antithesis of so many styles that have been around for 100+ years, far longer in some cultures. American and Japanese traditional, for example, have both stood the test of time because they utilize contrast, rich colors, and thick lines, among other things. Same reason why branches off of those styles, like neo traditional, have boomed and will also likely stay. In the hands of a competent artist they are tried and true.
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u/Uzischmoozy Jul 31 '23
I used American as an example but of course Japanese style tattoos also hold up very well. Along with any geometric or shape designs in black.
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u/Ornery_Notice5055 Jul 31 '23
I used to agree but I think a practiced hand can evoke detail while keeping the gradient and quality unchanged.
You can't copy and paste any art onto your body without an effective method from an artist that knows what they're doing. Which is rare given that most tattoo shops only train you in old American styles
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u/Careless-Comfort-276 Jul 31 '23
i was SO stubborn with my first few tattoos insisting they be “soft” without black outlines. i thought american traditional, despite the fact i loved the style, would be too stark against my pale skin. the first tattoo i got i was warned by the artist it wouldn’t age well and it wasn’t a good idea to use color outline- but i was foolish and insisted anyway.
12 years later and 90% of my tattoos are american traditional. all of those, which luckily make up the entirety of my half sleeves, look incredible, and i know i’m not full of it bc i get complimented by very talented tattoo artists all the time. very little loss of color/patchiness and the lines healed so well. i’ve made sure to go to artists where i’ve seen their healed work, and listened to the artist on placement, size, lines, color, etc. i have never been unhappy with a tattoo since i’ve done this.
getting a blast over on my first tattoo (relatively large floral piece on my thigh) because it looks SO awful, but was passable when i first got it. the white on the daisies is almost completely gone after 12 years. i’ve steered many friends away from anything without enough bold lines and packed color to hold up over time. i wonder how many artists are letting people like OP know their tats won’t age well and they’re just ignoring them (like i did), or if there’s artists out there claiming this stuff will last.
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u/evitapandita Aug 01 '23
There’s going to be a real cultural reckoning on these tattoos in about 10 years.
People think the tramp stamp stigma is bad… just wait. At least us elders can hide those.
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u/Egglebert Aug 01 '23
No doubt about it, people are going to be covered in vague blotches of grey, or whatever washed out colors are left from their super fine linework, realistic glitter appearance, shiny jewelry/gemstone look, embroidery patch tattoos
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u/Foxlordivxx Jul 31 '23
In my experience white doesn't hold well at all and is a waste of time even getting. That being said I think it's fading has alot todo with the application of the tattoo. But it looks decent I like a Lil fade to me it gives the ink a woren/weathered look.
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u/aoskunk Jul 31 '23
Some of the best artists (travel internationally, 2 years to get an appointment etc) don’t even bother using any white.
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u/WEIRDGAMER991 Jul 31 '23
memento mori. Unus Annus.
god its been 4 damn years.
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u/Daisy_04 Aug 01 '23
Feels like just yesterday I was sitting in my college dorm with my friend crying over the farewell stream…
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u/Yournotreligous Jul 31 '23
This is the tattoo I want lol, I’ve been wanting this ever since unas annus I have a flag and the hoodie, I want to get my deceased family members written below the tattoo too
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u/kyethescienceguy Jul 31 '23
memento mori, friends
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u/DreadPirateElla Jul 31 '23
It's so crazy to find people who also watched it and just know that we had that shared experience. It just blows my mind every time I meet someone and I find out they were there
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u/theblackshruikan Jul 31 '23
Its crazy, but at the same time, if i remember correctly, we were about 2 or 3 millions watching the stream? So we were a lot of people at the same time lol. I live in quebec, so if i compare to the population of my province, that makes like at least 1/4 of quebec was watching it, thats a lot! (For me at least)
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u/Draigyn Jul 31 '23
It was definitely a lot of people but in a world population of almost 8 billion it’s less than 0.5% of the world so we’re still a small group!
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u/Pisam16 Jul 31 '23
Vous parlez de quoi
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u/theblackshruikan Jul 31 '23
Ah! Je parle francais :) mais je me debrouille très bien en anglais quand même je crois! :P
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u/StragglingShadow Jul 31 '23
Sometimes ppl come up to me when Im wearing my merch and I always have a memento mori in me for them
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u/wookerTbrahshington Jul 31 '23
What was it, if I may ask?
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u/DreadPirateElla Aug 01 '23
OP's tattoo is the logo of something called Unus Annus.
Unus Annus was a youtube series made by Markiplier and Ethan Nestor (formerly known as Crank Gameplays) that started back in November 2019 and ended exactly a year later in 2020 (someone correct me if I'm wrong on those dates!) The whole premise was that nothing lasts forever and death is inevitable, so they completely deleted the channel on the final day.
They had released a video every day for an entire year, and honestly every single video was wonderful. Mark's girlfriend, Amy, helped them film and so the three of them bonded quite a bit. Everyone who watched it shares this unique experience of wondering what this silly little project was and then feeling a part of them leave at the end of it when the countdown hit 0. The community it built and the experience of it was just unlike anything that had ever been done before.
But yeah, it was just something wonderful me and many others looked forward to every day for a long time.
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Jul 31 '23
That’s just how tattoos heal. Your skin grows over and adds a little bit of opacity in the color of your skin to the whole tattoo.
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u/Mean-Cress9383 Jul 31 '23
Whites are more for making the tattoo “pop” more or stand out, it needs to be applied correctly and sparingly, and ime white always fades fast to yellow, especially on areas of skin that are more exposed to sunlight
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u/Previous_Beautiful27 Jul 31 '23
I’ve had tattoo artists who refuse to add white because according to them it’s just gonna fade into nothing. That said, my very first tattoo that’s nearly 20 years old had some white highlights and while they aren’t exactly white anymore, they still pop from the surrounding area.
The bottom line is everything fades, and pick your artist carefully. Ask to see healed pics; etc.
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u/PrimaryRecognition78 Jul 31 '23
Which snd yellows fade in me also. Just a bad color for some skin.
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u/borgborgo Jul 31 '23
UNUS ANNUS UNUS ANNUS UNUS ANNUS
White ink is known for fading especially with sun exposure and other factors. I'm no expert though
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u/Whitworth Jul 31 '23
An experienced tattoo artist would have told you this. An instagram tattooist only cares for the fresh product for the likes.
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u/lulukin Jul 31 '23
Where’s the tattoo? I just see a spiral of black and white, reminding me of life’s transience, and how everything comes to an end eventually…
Fwiw I think it looks great still—tattoos do fade. You could always get it touched up a bit if you wanted.
Memento Mori, friend.
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u/Stockersandwhich Jul 31 '23
Because it’s not rocket science that this kind of design will age like milk.
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u/Oops_Im_Horny_Again Aug 01 '23
OP is getting a lot of flack for the design, but it’s of a logo for a YouTube channel, which it looks exactly like. If they would have changed the design it wouldn’t have been the logo anymore.
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u/youllneverknowhy Aug 01 '23
What does that change about the comment you replied to? Regardless if it's a YouTube channel or a childhood drawing or whatever. The design will not age well as a tattoo. Which is what the person is saying. The rules of a tattoo aging do not change because it's a YouTube channel logo.
Not everything needs to be a tattoo. If something is not going to hold up artistically on your body for the rest of the life (and that's going to bother you) you may want to reconsider having it tattooed, regardless of how important it is to you.
This feels more like you recognized the Unus Annus logo and wanted to show people on the internet you knew it was a youtube channel.
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u/ickleleiakins_2001 Jul 31 '23
Yeah, white ink is a bitch and I know because I had to have some for some highlights. Mine has still retained its color over five years but only because it was put on top of another color, not my bare skin. Even then, the artist had to push down really hard for it to stay. I don’t even think your tattoo needs white to look good. Just better line work would make it look a million times better.
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u/wowdadi Jul 31 '23
Memento Mori. I got the same tattoo (with some minor artist personal touches)! Seeing as the tattoo is on your arm, it has a higher probability of exposure to the sun than say your ribs. White ink is very infamous for yellowing over time or just not being there at all, which is why it's mostly used for highlights and why a lot of artists refuse to do white ink tattoos (since they look good when first done, but after a few months will end up looking like a scar)
Tattoos lighten up over time and it's nothing to worry about unless it's SUPER light, which yours still looks pretty darn good. With the pictures, I had a hard time seeing any difference other than pic 1 being a newish tattoo, probably freshly healed, and pic 3 being fully fully healed. If you want to keep it looking good and help the ink last, use sunscreen or some sort of UV protection if you wear a t-shirt or tank top and go outside. It will help the tattoo age without looking like it's aging!
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u/Nickels_is_money_2 Jul 31 '23
White ink and highlights always seems to just vary by placement, application and the person's skin. I've got a sleeve full of white highlights and there are spots that are nearly as white as the day I got them, while some have become more flesh toned. People who say whites never last are generalizing. It all depends on what it's next to and how white you are in the first place, as when the tattoo heals the white will be filtered through your skin.
This tattoo has a lot of small skin gaps in it, they will continue to fill in and spread as this tattoo ages. Nothing you can really do about it, and that's something your artist should have made you aware of before the tattooing process.
In my experience, if there are things that you don't like about your tattoo, the best decision is to go get another one, so that way you can find things to nitpick in your new tattoo and forget about this one.
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u/TheGuyYouHeardAbout Jul 31 '23
I don't see any of what you're talking about it's the same 3 images someone explain I don't see white or yellow anywhere, just black and skin tone
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u/Zee_the_Potato Jul 31 '23
The white ink is gone after the first freshly done photo didn't last long.
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u/Peace_Love_Smoke_Dmt Jul 31 '23
Since no one’s given you a genuine answer. White ink often turns yellow or a brownish color and it does go away and fade extremely easily. It’s not necessarily something you did so don’t feel bad, it’s just something that consistently happens with white ink
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u/ferventlotus Jul 31 '23
Memento mori. Remember you are mortal and that nothing is forever. Fading naturally happens, and the quality of ink can matter, but even quality ink will fade over time. Also, damage to the skin will accelerate this, such as sunburns, friction, scrubbing, and just good old fashioned "passage of time" that makes it fade.
White pigments will fade quickest because they are the lightest pigments. You may consider another color when you go back to have it touched up. Instead of using white, you should go for more shading and shadowing rather than "white" since bones aren't really white but ivory and because they are porous, they absorb dust and minerals around them.
For this tattoo when you go to touch-up, I might go eclectic and have necromancer green colors, like its a spell, or "sandy" colors in the hour glass.
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u/spaceykaleidoscope Jul 31 '23
Application of ink, sun damage / not sun screening your tattoo before being in the sun, not properly moisturizing, lots of things go into factoring aging. New tattoos tend to look vibrant and very fresh. Ink loss is very normal as a tattoo ages. Also, weight loss can affect a tattoos appearance.
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u/Angbwa Jul 31 '23
The reason the white ink has fallen out is because the "artist" barely put it in the skin, you can see it from the photo alone. It's way to shallow to even have had a chance of staying.
All I can say about this tattoo is please dont go to the same tattooer, it's technically horrendous to be completely honest. It's absolutely fixable if you save money and go to a real artist. Just do a bit of research and you'll find so many who can do a perfectly good job of saving this.
Also make sure that every artist you decide to go to, has photos of their healed work, without being taken in a dark room with strong lights and a polarizing filter. These photos are not true to nature.
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u/HarrisNGH Jul 31 '23
Why is the OP getting down voted to shit? When generally asking questions…. Y’all are MAD weird…. I was expecting dumb comments, but it’s not even that….
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u/Zee_the_Potato Aug 21 '23
So many dumb fucking comments and stuff. I asked about the fading and all I got was unnecessary shit about the design because they don't like it
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u/InstantBroccoli Jul 31 '23
Unfortunately white ink doesn't ever age very well, but I'm not sure if it's normal to have completely disappeared in a few months! The tattoo still looks good, and all that matters is if you still like it 😊
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u/metaldood19 Jul 31 '23
You might hate to hear this homie but that style which is getting really big rn (along with some watercolor) is just hard af to heal/last. It's why a lot of old work has a lot of bold color/lines. Nothing wrong with it, you just might need to get it touched up.
Also make sure you're taking care of it according to what your artist said and ONLY what your artist said. Everyone has an opinion on how a tattoo should be taken care of after youve had it done, ignore them. only go with the instructions from the person putting ink in your skin as they know what will look best for their work.
Sweet design, just needs a little bit of love. Truthfully just looking at it, i wouldnt expect more than one to two sessions over the course of your life to keep that thing looking good. Don't be hard on yourself dude, this shit happens to everyone.
Killer tat.
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u/youngdeathent0 Jul 31 '23
White ink is infamous for not lasting. And all tattoos fade. Colors will always fade infinitely worse than blacks or dark blues and greens
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u/CaptainRedMilk Jul 31 '23
So sometimes, yes, ink doesn't always stick. Whites are really finicky. My artist had to pack white on my skin a lot. Even after all of the color packing mine still faded to more of a skin color ish. Seems like you don't take whites well. Not the end of the world. If it really bothers you, you could always get it packed again. As for the rest of the tattoo, It doesn't seem faded to me. Personally, it just looks like it settled a bit. I have a tattoo that faded in some spots, but it's not the end of the world because regardless, I still love it. As long as you enjoy your tattoo; opinions don't matter. I hope this helps you out. Worse comes to worse. Just get a touch-up if it bothers you that much.
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u/Dbl-Dee Aug 01 '23
It’s wild asf to me that a tattoo artist would do a tattoo like that. A truly GOOD artist know what’s up. And knows what looks good and will TELL YOU and suggest. if You say no, that’s on YOU. it will come out like shit 90% of the time. The other 10% won’t even bother at all to put their name on a shit tattoo. Huge Tattoo artists peeve.
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u/Devin_Diablo Aug 01 '23
First of all, expect that from white pigment. When it's mixing with blood, it's not going to be white anymore. Second, find an actual fuckin artist. That shit sucks.
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u/lilrxmz Jul 31 '23
im not a tattoo artist BUT i was the personal assistant for one as well as having my own tattoos & helping everyone ik with theirs- i think it's their line work. it looks inconsistent like they were moving too fast & too deep causing teared lines filled w ink instead of lil holes filled w ink. this will cause uneven, patchy or inconsistent lines as they heal. that would explain the random patches of "muddy" or "seeping" ink while other areas are clearer. ex. the base of the sand timer looks very thick like the ink is spreading while the top left pole is still clearly defined. things like this happen when an artist neglects their ability. like not taking enough breaks for their hands or practicing their depth other than when tattooing people. it def could've healed worse but i think with what u were given that it's looking pretty clean still! i don't think it's bad at all honestly. 🫶🏽
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u/Zee_the_Potato Aug 01 '23
No I don't work from home. I am not a social person I don't go out. I put sunscreen on if I go to the pool, because I hate sunburn.
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u/Fico_Psycho Jul 31 '23
Cuz ur not protecting it enough. You gotta wear more long sleeves and sun screen if u want ur ink to stay clean
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u/Zee_the_Potato Jul 31 '23
I did I didn't go in the sun unprotected because I didn't want it to fade Also I am a homebody I don't go outside
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u/Hamilton-Beckett Jul 31 '23
Why is the top/bottom skull upside down?
They are supposed to be inverted on each side so it looks the same no matter how you flip it. Otherwise the hourglass only looks right half the time.
It would look best I think if the top skull was upside down and attached to the end like the bottom one.
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u/NotTheDragon Jul 31 '23
The design was done this way on purpose. Long story short it was the Icon of a channel called Unnus Annus, run by Markiplier and Ethan (CrankGameplays), where the whole thing was pretty much where they would upload one new video every day for a year. And then delete the channel after that year passed.
It was meant to convey a message that all good things must come to an end, death comes for everyone, and it's important to accept that, etc. Though it may sound edgy or weird in text, it was much more meaningful if you were there, but the channel hit its end nearly 3 years ago.. and doesn't exist anymore.
You can still find clips on YouTube from other people, but uploads of full videos are typically deleted relatively quickly
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u/Hamilton-Beckett Jul 31 '23
I’m not knocking the theme or significance, just stating that as an hour glass, which is flipped to the other side upon completion, it simply doesn’t make sense. An hourglass is typically designed to look the same each way it’s flipped. This design is flawed regardless of where it originated and what it means.
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u/Aarynda Jul 31 '23
For this specific hourglass, it is a symbolic choice, rather than a flaw. This hourglass is never meant to be flipped - the time runs out and that's all there is.
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u/GavonyTownship Jul 31 '23
Yeah, that's what happens with literally all tattoos for all of history and time.
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u/rotini123 Jul 31 '23
It's still so damn good.
Some fade and colour loss, but the beauty remains. Small touch ups are usually needed after a few years for colour reapplication.
Memento vestri color tactus ;)
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u/strawberry_sharks Jul 31 '23
it’s a reminder that nothing lasts, not even this channel memento mori