The Truth Behind Ink Master: Revealing the Fake Aspects

The Drama Behind the Scenes

Ink Master is one of the best reality TV shows, but some aspects of the show are fake. While the show was previously canceled, its popularity led to being renewed for Ink Master season 15. The show takes the art of tattooing to a new level of pressure and artistic difficulty, though some Ink Master winners deserve it more than others. While Ink Master seems like there is no way it can be fake, with the permanence of the tattoos being very real, former contestants and human canvases have come forward saying that the show is not as authentic as showrunners want fans to believe. Much of the drama is fabricated and benefits from creative editing. Here are some of the fakest things about Ink Master.

Ink Masters Promo Image

No One Finished At The Last Second Ink Master Artists Are Given Plenty Of Time After appearing on the show twice as a human canvas, Corey Matchem aired out the non-realities of the show on Reddit. One of the biggest revelations from the former canvas was that none of the artists finished at the last minute; this was created in post-production editing to make the show more dramatic. He noted that the time limit is all for dramatic effect, with most artists finishing hours before and some going over time, so no tattoo was unfinished - it was all for dramatic effect.

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Breaks Aren't A Big Deal On Ink Master Ink Master Models Are Given Breaks Even though the artists complain in their confessionals about their human canvases needing a break because they are in pain or have been sitting for too long, it isn't a problem. Matchem commented on Reddit, 'You could take breaks at free will. As long as your artist was cool with it. I took about 3 smoke breaks during, and that's about all.' This makes sense - with the time clock not being as important as audiences think since the artists can take all the time they need, a break wouldn't hurt their progress.

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The Jury Was Not Influential On Ink Master Ink Master's Jury Didn't Impact Outcome In the earlier seasons of Ink Master, the human canvases formed a jury to decide their top and bottom tattoos. However, Matchem said this was all for naught, as their choices were heavily influenced and edited by production to reflect storylines and artist rivalries. Matchem said, 'We chose an entirely different tattoo for the bottom also, which never made it, and it seems the show made it look like we picked a different one.' An unpopular opinion on Reddit about Ink Master included the revamp of the canvas jury. Still, with Matchem revealing that the jury had no real influence on the weekly winner, it is unlikely to come back.

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Unveiling the Reality

Human Canvases Are Interviewed On Ink Master The Human Canvases Aren't Randomly Assigned To be a human canvas on Ink Master, potential subjects must fill out an extensive form that details every aspect of what they want for their possible tattoo. The casting form considers all the elements that seem to be problems on the show, like how long the canvas has sat, where they want their tattoo and the style. This way, producers can play up the difficulty of the canvas or through someone in as a curveball to the artists, even if they are randomly assigned, so each challenge seems more difficult.

Ink Master season 15 episode 7 1

The Artists Are Nice On Ink Master The Drama Is Mostly For TV While gameplay made some of Ink Master winners and contestants seem mean and hard to work with, in an interview with Penn Live season three, contestant Frank McManus revealed that no one was as bad as they appeared on TV. He said, 'They were cool people, and they were talented tattoo [artists], and they were genuine and really truly cared about tattooing and being a good person.' As with any reality television show, someone has to be the villain every season. Otherwise, the show wouldn't be as entertaining.

Cam Pohl and Ash Ink Master

Production Pushes Contestants On Ink Master Cast Members Are Required To Create Drama Former contestant Heather Sinn has been critical of the show and candid about the fact that production forced the contestants to create drama so that they could sleep. In an interview with LA Weekly, she said, 'A producer came in and said, 'If you want to go to bed, start talking about each other. None of this complaining about production will air.'' This kind of treatment has been brought up in other reality shows.

Ink Master Season 15 contestants

Behind the Scenes

Producers Look For Human Canvases With Drama Storylines Make Ink Master More Interesting The casting form to be a human canvas reveals a big secret about the show's production and how some parts of the progress are preselected for the cameras and audiences watching at home. On the form, applicants are asked what they would be willing to discuss on the show and their personalities. This allows producers to have artists ask specific questions so their canvases can share emotional stories and make for good television, versus having an organic conversation, which is a large part of tattoo culture.

Ink Master Season 15 cast

Filming Ink Master Takes A Long Time Contestants Gamble On Their Careers To Appear On Ink Master In a Q&A video, former season six contestant Tyler Nolan pointed out that while the episodes seem to happen one day after another, it takes four days to film one episode. This means contestants are away from their shops for around four months, which means no income from their clients, and they are relying on winning the show to make up for the lost income and exposure that will ensure they have a waitlist of clients that will keep them set for the rest of their careers.

Ink Master Season 15 cast

The Artist's Style Is Predetermined On Ink Master Production Picks Contestants' Styles Nolan also called out the show for the fashion choices of the contestants and how they were told what to wear by production. For example, Chris Blinston's now trademark overalls were not the artist's choice. While revisiting previous seasons of the show, it is clear that each artist has to wear a specific type of uniform in every episode, which defines them to fans at home and makes them more memorable when fans discuss the show online. Even one of the most popular and recognizable artists from Ink Master, Ryan Ashley, is often seen in red, as it was her signature color on the show.

Ink Master Season 15

Judging Is Scripted On Ink Master Nolan was also quick to call out the show for the judging process and how the actual critiques were not shown but what the producers wanted the judges to say, not that some tattoos didn't require criticism, but it was played up for the viewers. This explains why some artists fight so hard for their tattoos during the judging: they aren't hearing the genuine thoughts of the panel and know their work is not being fairly judged on Ink Master.

Cam Pohl and Ash Ink Master