The 25 Greatest Contestants On 'Ink Master'
- Photo:
1170 VOTESWalter "Sausage" Frank
When Sausage first competed in season four, he stood out for his strong technical application and professionalism, by playing the game with honor and integrity, he has made it very close to achieving the title of Ink Master on multiple occasions. No matter what kind of canvas Sausage was given throughout his seasons, he has always made it work and delivered stunning pieces that many thought were impossible to do.
Specialty: Hyper Realism, Portraits, and Black & Gray
Season: 4, and 7
Instagram: @sausagekingtattoos
- Photo:
2197 VOTESKelly Doty
Kelly Doty stands out as one best and versatile artists that Ink Master has ever seen, specializing in New School she has strong creative skills that is matched with her enthusiasm to tattoo something jaw dropping. She also earned her reputation as one of the strongest competitors by being one of the pillars of creating the strongest female alliance that the show has ever seen.
Specialty: New School
Season: 8
Instagram: @kellydotylovessoup
- Photo:
3133 VOTESJames Vaughn
All the way back from season one, James Vaughn stands out as one of the fastest and most versatile tattoo artist that the competition has ever seen. By tattooing large, crisp, and detailed designs that should take ten hours, James does it in six and looks great every single time. In addition, his southern charm and energetic personality makes him a fan favorite and viewers are hyped every time he makes an appearance.
Specialty: Traditional Japanese
Season: 1, and 7
Instagram: @mrjamesvaughn
- Photo:
4129 VOTESCreepy Jason
Creepy Jason is one of the most imaginative tattoo artists Ink Master has ever seen. By being able to draw what he imagines onto paper and skin perfectly, his tattoos stand out as extremely bright, colorful, and creative making them some of the best that the competition has ever seen. Despite not worrying about strategy and alliances, he proves that if you have the creativity and the skills, you can go just as far as you want in the competition.
Specialty: Illustrative Fantasy, and New School
Season: 12, and 14
Instagram: @creepy_jason
- Photo:
5115 VOTESTommy Helm
The first runner up for Ink Master, Tommy Helm is an all around type of tattoo artist whose adaptability and originality shows in every single piece he does. Putting his heart and soul into his art and tattooing, there is no doubt that Tommy is considered as one of the best competitors of Ink Master.
Specialty: None
Season: 1, and 9
Instagram: @tommyhelmart
- Photo:
698 VOTESMatti Hixson
Employing an under the radar strategy, Matti Hixson is often the dark horse in his seasons, however its because of his strategy is what makes him one of the best competitors on the show. In addition, most of Matti's tattoos often look like they were stickers that were directly applied to the skin, making his designs some of the most visually impressive throughout the competition.
Specialty: Color Realism
Season: 4, and 7
Instagram: @matti_hixson
- Photo:
794 VOTESJime Litwalk
Considered as one of the pioneers of New School, you can't talk about New School tattoos without mentioning Jime Litwalk. With over 20 years of experience, Jime proves why he is one of the best tattoo artists in the country. Known for his out of the box designs and clean application, Jime Litwalk stands out as one of the best in his seasons and is one of the few contestants who was never eliminated due to a bad tattoo.
Specialty: New School
Season: 3, and 7
Instagram: @jimelitwalk
- Photo:
8151 VOTESChristian Buckingham
One of the strongest competitors that the show has ever seen. Christian is a tattoo artist with over ten years of experience and was the one who truly changed the way Ink Master is played by incorporating cut throat strategy that threw every great tattoo artist under the bus. By doing so, he made it to the live finale multiple times, despite not having a win, he establishes himself as a talented tattoo artist you don't want to mess with.
Specialty: Black and Gray
Season: 7, and 9
Instagram: @christianbuckingham
- Photo:
9126 VOTESDani Ryan
One of the newer artists in her season, Dani Ryan didn't have as much experience tattooing compared to many of her competitors. However, her enthusiasm to learn any style and her mastery of the fundamentals brought her all the way to the live finale. Despite reaching second place, she proved that you don't need to have over ten years of experience in order to reach the live finale.
Specialty: None
Season: 12
Instagram: @daniryantattoos
- Photo:
1092 VOTESCraig Foster
Competing in season 3 and 6, Craig stands out as an optimistic tattoo artist who learns his mistakes and tries not to make the same mistakes twice. In Ink Master, that quality alone makes him a better contestant than most who simply pray to never encounter their achilles heel in the contest. Specializing in New School, Craig is able to draw fun creative designs that is surely able to a bring a smile to anyone looking.
Specialty: New School
Season: 3, and 6
Instagram: @skinwerks
- Photo:
11112 VOTESSarah Miller
One of the strongest female competitors Ink Master has seen, Sarah Miller almost made history of being the first female Ink Master when the show was just on its second season. Despite placing second, Sarah's skills and creativity proved everyone why she is one of the best artists the competition has ever seen. Specializing in color realism, all of her tattoos showcase strong details, color, and overall badass design that people want.
Specialty: Color Realism
Season: 2, and 7
Instagram: @sarahmillertattoo
- Photo:
12104 VOTESDeanna Smith
With a background in art, Deanna stands out for having some of the best technical ability in the competition. Specializing in fine art tattoos and realism, her tattooing is one the most rare skills in the industry, as she is able to apply a painters brushing techniques into tattooing, making her designs one of a kind and worthy to be displayed in art museums.
Specialty: Fine Art, and Realism
Season: 10, and 14
Instagram: @deanna_art
- Photo:
1385 VOTESJesse Smith
First appearing in season two, Jesse Smith stood as someone who only does crazy cartoon designs with big googly eyes. However, Jesse's creativity and enthusiasm proves to everyone that he is more than just a New School artist by tattooing styles and designs that are the complete opposite of New School. When given the day to tattoo in New School, he is an absolute force to be reckoned with and automatically one of the runner ups of best tattoo of the day.
Specialty: New School
Season: 2, and 7
Instagram: @jessesmithtattoos
- Photo:
14126 VOTESJimmy Snaz
A snazzy dresser and all around great tattoo artist, Jimmy Snaz is one of the most likable artists throughout Ink Master. Known for his American Traditional, Jimmy uses his roots to tattoo strong clean bold tattoos you can see from a mile away. Despite being called a one trick pony, Jimmy stands out as one of the best American Traditional tattoo artists in the show.
Specialty: American Traditional
Season: 11 and 13
Instagram: @jimmy_snaz
- Photo:
15124 VOTESBlack Cobra Tattoos
Matt O'Baugh and Katie McGowan stand out as the one of the strongest duos throughout the show. The first time they both competed was in the Master vs. Apprentice season and their relationship as Master and Apprentice strengthened their weaknesses and made it far into the competition. The teamwork behind this duo is unparalleled, so much that they made it to third place in the Shop Wars season, making this duo an absolute powerhouse.
Specialty: Neo-Traditional
Season: 6, 9
Instagram: @blackcobratattoos
- Photo:
1696 VOTESKatherine "Tatu Baby" Flores
A fan favorite who competed in back-to-back seasons, Tatu Baby stands out as one of the best artists throughout the show by using clean technical precision and showing a willingness to learn her mistakes. Despite being beaten out of the title of Ink Master twice, Tatu Baby establishes herself as one of the strongest artists that made her competitors nervous and cautious.
Specialty: Black & Gray, and Photorealism
Season: 2, and 3
Instagram: @tatubaby
- Photo:
1790 VOTESDuffy Fortner
A well rounded tattoo artist who is exceptional for her technique and application, Duffy is known for her professionalism and giving her canvas's exactly what they want. Even if the canvas she got didn't know what they wanted, Duffy proved her skills and tattooed designs that were both aesthetically pleasing and technically solid.
Specialty: None
Season: 6
Instagram: @duffyfortner
- Photo:
1873 VOTESJerrel Larkins
A versatile artist with eight years of experience, Jerrel was one of the strongest members of the Midwest who often carried his team to win flash challenges in season 13. Despite not reaching the live finale, there is no denying Jerrel's ability as a tattoo artist because every design he turned in were super detailed, and aesthetically pleasing.
Specialty: Black and Gray, Realism, and Surrealism
Season: 13
Instagram: @jerrellarkins
- Photo:
1982 VOTESSean Patrick "Halo" Jankowski
Specializing in Color Realism and New School, Halo's designs were some of the most colorful and vibrant designs that the competition has ever seen. While he barely reached the live finale, Halo is one of the strongest tattoo artists who has an amazing understanding of color theory and application.
Specialty: Color Realism and New School
Season: 4
Instagram: @tattoosbyhalo
- Photo:
2099 VOTESNikki Simpson
A versatile tattoo artist who specializes in illustrative realism, Nikki Simpson has some of the best illustrative designs that the competition has ever seen. While she doesn't strategize as much compared to her competitors, she made it far into the competition because of her strong drawing ability, technical application, and her self-confidence as a badass tattoo artist.
Specialty: Illustrative Realism
Season: 8
Instagram: @nikkisimpsontattoos
- Photo:
2158 VOTESUnkindness Art
Competing in season nine, Erin Chance and Jerrett "Doom Kitten" Querubin represented their tattoo shop in Richmond, Virginia, as Unkindness Art. With Erin bringing ten years of experience and Jerrett bringing in strong illustrative designs and creativity as a new tattoo artist in the industry, the duo covered each other weaknesses and made each others strengths stronger. Despite almost making it to the live finale, they stood out as the one of the strongest duo's in their season for their creativity and strong detailed applications.
Specialty: Color, and Fantasy Illustration
Season: 9
Instagram: @unkindnessart
- Photo:
2259 VOTESCam Pohl
A monster in black gray realism, Cam Pohl earns a spot on the list for his impeccable line work and attention to detail. Throughout his season, he stood out as one of the top contenders and tattooed designs that wowed the judges when they least expected it.
Specialty: Black and Gray, and Photo Realism
Season: 12
Instagram: @campohltattoos
- Photo:
2356 VOTESNate Beavers
A tattoo artist with over 20 years of experience, Nate Beavers is undeniably a master of Black and Gray and Photorealism, turning in the most realistic jaw dropping pieces in the history of Ink Master. While his strategy of laying low didn't work out as he envisioned, he remains as one of the strongest dark horses throughout the competition.
Specialty: Black and Gray, and Photorealism
Season: 8
Instagram: @natebeavers
- Photo:
2456 VOTESGia Rose
Known for her strong color theory, and creative illustrations, Gia Rose is one of the strongest competitors from the start of her season. Absolutely resilient and unyielding, no matter what kind of difficult canvas she was given, she always turned in the most visually aesthetic pieces the competition has ever seen.
Specialty: Neo-Traditional
Season: 8
Instagram: @giarosetattoo
- Photo:
2586 VOTESMark S. "St. MarQ" Agee
Self proclaimed ‘Tatto God’ and master of Black and Gray tattoos, Saint Mark stands out as one of the biggest villains on the show. Saint Mark's designs showcase strong black and gray designs with strong contrast that shows everyone what a true black and gray tattoo should look like. Despite not reaching very far into the competition, the 'Tattoo God' definitely left an impression on everyone he went against.
Specialty: Black and Gray
Season: 6 and 7
Instagram: @saintmarq
