Did The Right Artist Go Home: Ink Master Season 12 Episode 3 Recap

Last week, we said goodbye to Elva, who left the competition on her own accord. This week, the artists were thrust into their first flash challenge and this time, they were led by veterans Bubba Irwin and Sarah Miller. They led the teams in a challenge that required the artists to create 3-D sculptures using different colored wire—with legibility being the key focus.

Judge and guitarist Dave Navarro appreciated the women’s design, a larger than life electric guitar, because it was extremely accurate. It had the correct amount of strings, tuning knobs, etc. The men’s team created a 3-D astronaut with a rocket ship and solar system in the background. Oliver Peck complimented the men’s team for creating a proportionally correct human figure. And while both team’s designs had strengths and weaknesses, the judges voted 2-to-1 for the women’s team, which gave them the skull pick for the elimination challenge.

The theme of the elimination challenge was surrealism, requiring the artists to create tattoos that “captured the juxtaposition between dream and reality.”

Judged first, Cam was questioned by Peck for putting the three-eyed wolf in profile. He was told it was well illustrative, but missed the mark on creativity.

Next up, Creepy Jason was complimented by Nunez for the design but told he muted the tattoo by applying it with pastels.

Jake was told that the piece was clean and legible, with varying textures between the rose and the music player.

Fon was praised by Nunez for the smooth application of this black-and-grey tattoo, receiving no negative feedback.

Big Jaz on the other hand, was knocked for inconsistent color saturation and told that the shading he applied in the ring made the piece confusing.

“I would debate highly that this thing is even done,” said Nunez of Justin’s tattoo. He went on to say that the tattoo was surreal, but out of whack and strange.

Tito was told by Peck that the tattoo wasn’t surreal, but that he loved the illustration of the dinosaur in the design.

Nunez knocked Pon for the tattoo not being realistic, but complimented the design for being very legible.

First up from the women’s team, Peck loved the creepy design of Dani’s tattoo and while it may be early, we’re definitely seeing her emerge as a front runner this season.

Next, Navarro told Pony that her tattoo was beautiful and legible, however, it wasn’t the most surreal design of the day.

Holly’s tattoo was a favorite of the judges, with Peck saying she had some of the best outlines and richest blacks of the group.

Ashley was complimented by Navarro for the details she put in the shark and Nunez told her that she had a great understanding of surrealism.

Although Alexis was complimented for the illustration, she was knocked for the shaky outline of the tattoo. “I see nervousness in almost every line of this tattoo,” said Peck.

The judges loved Laura’s tattoo, with Nunez complimenting the light source she added coming out of the collar of the shirt.

Janelle was faulted for overshading the tattoo and Peck told her that the shading of the hair looked like frosting.

While the judges did acknowledge Ash hit surrealism in her tattoo, Nunez noted that the shading gave the appearance of the face having a broken nose.

The top two tattoos this week were Fon’s and Laura’s, with the judges eventually deciding that Fon had the best tattoo of the day—for a second week in a row. This gave the men’s team the chance to put one artist in the bottom, with the artists selecting Ash. Ash was joined by Janelle and Big Jaz in the bottom three this week. And although the men’s team voted her to the bottom, Big Jaz was eliminated and coach Bubba Irwin went on to the live finale.

What do you think of this week’s episode? Did the right artist win tattoo of the day? Did Big Jaz deserve to be sent home? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section.