InkMaster_Season4Cast.jpg
(Spike TV)
When the "Ink Master" judges noticed that a large gap existsin artistic talent and tattooing skill between the top artists and those at thebottom, they decided to kick things up a notch by eliminating two artists this week.
It's time to get rid of the slack, they said. Theywant to get the top artists going head-to-head against one another more quickly.
Flash Challenge
This week, the judges were testing contrast, the ability tobalance light and dark in their tattoos.Putting the darkest darks next to the lightest lights will help a tattooappear as if it's popping off the skin.
At the flash challenge, artists helped their canvases comeup with their "personal beach" -- something that makes them feel relaxed andcarefree. In addition to having theopportunity to assign all human canvases in the elimination challenge, thewinning contestant of the flash challenge also received a trip to Mexico,courtesy of Corona.
The canvas' personal beaches varied from a parrot to an eggbeater, so the artists had no idea what to expect. The canvases were each randomlyassigned.
Scott had a target on his back after winning the past two eliminationchallenges in a row, but that didn't phase him.
"I'm the front-runner in the competition, and I plan on ridingthat all the way to the end," he said.
Many of the artists struggled with the contrast aspect ofthe flash challenge, however, Sausage, Matti and Scott were on top.
Sausage showed his technical skill in his ability to tattoohis darkest gray next to the black and still show good contrast in his eggbeater tattoo. Scott also showed nicecontrast by putting black against color in his castle scene design. But, Matti won the challenge by demonstratinga great use of contrast and skill in his deer tattoo, the judges said.
Elimination Challenge
The judges, including guest judge Greg Christian -- an artistwho specializes in American traditional tattoos -- continued testing contrast inthe elimination challenge. Thischallenge required artists to tattoo in teams of two a neo-traditional lady orgentleman. Two contestants had to tattooone canvas at the same time and work together on making sure both designs worktogether.
"Tattooing is not a team sport," Lydia said in response tothe challenge.
But, each artist would be judged separately. The judges werelooking for contestants to show deep shadows and light highlights.Neo-traditional tattoos, one of the most popular styles of tattooing, contrastsa lot of black and a lot of bright colors, according to the judges.
With the power to assign all human canvases, Matti chose topair some of the better artists with the weaker artists. Last week, Matti assigned the canvases,making sure that he went head-to-head against the best: Scott. This week, Matti made sure that Scott was onhis team.
He paired Sausage with Melissa, Jim with Bubba, King Ruckwith Keith, Halo with Kyle, Lydia with Gentle Jay, and himself with Scott.
King Ruck and Keith immediately struggled with the challengewhen their canvas was very picky about their zombie couple designs. Originally, Keith was excited about thischallenge because neo-traditional is his specialty. But after the pair's shaky canvas passed outbecause he couldn't handle the pain, the challenge became a lot harder. Both King Ruck and Keith did not have afinished tattoo to show the judges.
King Ruck decided to tattoo a small rose on his thigh toshow his dedication to the competition and to show the judges he knew how to demonstrategood contrast in his tattoos.
"I did everything I could do to stay in this competition,"King Ruck said, although he knew he could still go home.
Keith did not attempt a second tattoo because he said hedidn't have anywhere on his body to put it.
Top Three
The judges once again chose Matti, Scott and Sausage as thetop three artists of the challenge. Scottand Matti put a lot of heavy black in their tattoos, which made them pop. Sausage produced a good drawing and a nice,clean tattoo. The judges thought he dida great job with contrast and used a good skin tone color in his tattoo, whichlooked good on his canvas. Sausage waschosen as the winner, which gave him his second elimination-challenge win.
Bottom Three
Both Sausage and the human canvas jury chose Keith as theworst artist of the day. King Ruck andBubba were also included in the bottom three.
King Ruck's unfinished piece had rough outlines and showed alot of imperfections due to the shaky canvas.But tattooing himself shows dedication.His small, simple rose tattoo showed contrast, and it was the cleanesttattoo he's done since he's been in the competition, the judges said.
Because Keith didn't tattoo himself, he didn't give thejudges much to judge. The black area ofthe design wasn't solid, and it wasn't a flattering design, according to thejudges.
Bubba had trouble figuring out what the judges wanted inboth the flash challenge and the elimination challenge, and he didn't know muchabout the traditional style of tattooing.His drawing was not well done, and the drawing is a very important aspect of a tattoo,the judges said.
The judges surprisedeveryone by eliminating two contestants: Keith and Bubba. Tattooing himself paid off for King Ruck.
Click here to vote for your favorite tattoo of the night. Your vote could have an impact on the live finale.
What did you thinkabout tonight's double elimination? Did King Ruck deserve to stay because ofhis dedication to the competition? Are you glad the judges are weeding out theweaker contestants? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
DETAILS: Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Spike TV
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
