A tattoo artist who openly admits that he can’t draw makes a living from inking his customers with the silliest tattoos possible – and they can’t get enough of it.
Ryan, from Vancouver, Canada, first picked up the artistic trade after his brother, who was also a tattoo artist, died from brain cancer aged 39.
The 25-year-old said he learned through trial and error before he began designing self-professed ‘dumb’ tattoos as a way to keep his brother’s legacy alive.
His DIY style may be simple but people still keep coming to him to get inked.
Ryan, from Vancouver, Canada, said he learned through trial and error before he began designing self-professed ‘dumb’ tattoos as a way to keep his brother’s legacy alive. Pictured: One design depicting a crying ghost (left) and another of his creations featuring a bat with legs (right)
Ryan (right) is in the process of having the equipment that his elder brother (left) once used shipped overseas from Thailand
Ryan, who is known as Janky Doodlez on social media, said: ‘I started getting tattoos after my brother passed in 2017.
‘My half-brother Tyler was 39 and lived in Thailand for many years and picked up tattooing over there.
‘He had gone to art school and was a great painter as well. Unfortunately, he passed due to brain cancer.
‘After spending a year and a bit getting lots of tattoos I wanted to save some money and start doing a bit on myself which went horribly.
‘No fruit yet (seeds)’: Ryan’s DIY style may be simple but people still keep coming to him to get inked
Ryan, who works from a private studio in his hometown, never thought himself good enough to ever pursue inking as a career but devoted most of his evenings after work to make his dream a reality. Pictured: One of his quirky pieces reads ‘home is where the homies is’ (left) and Swiper from Dora The Explorer (right)
All of Ryan’s tattoos are in his signature ‘ignorant style’ which is anything outside the realm of traditional tattooing. Pictured: One design showing a circle of Homers from animated TV series The Simpsons
The now 25-year-old (right) first picked up the artistic trade after his brother Tyler (left), who was also a tattoo artist, died from brain cancer aged 39
‘Then in February 2019 after some on and off months of tattooing family and friends, I started a tattoo page and began tattooing anyone who would let me.’
Ryan, who works from a private studio in his hometown, never thought himself good enough to ever pursue inking as a career but devoted most of his evenings after work to make his dream a reality.
He said: ‘I was very upfront about not knowing what I was doing and that the tattoos would likely heal bad and thankfully I met enough crazy enough people who didn’t care.
‘I did free tattoos for the first two to three months until I knew somewhat what I was doing and had developed my own style more, not that it’s much of a style, just my really poor all-natural drawing ability.
‘It’s me your dog’: Ryan says he gave free tattoos for the first few months until he had developed his own style more
Ryan said: ‘I am very thankful to have the best customers in the world who don’t care too much how the tattoos turn out. I am pretty open about not being very good at tattooing’. Pictured: Pasta maker tattoo (left) and a balaclava-clad angel carrying a gun (right)
Ryan (pictured tattooing himself) said: ‘After spending a year and a bit getting lots of tattoos, I wanted to save some money and start doing a bit on myself which went horribly’
Ryan’s tattoos range from cute animals to very unusual pictures with accompanying statements. Pictured: Ryan’s unhappy ‘snail mail’ design
‘I am very thankful to have the best customers in the world who don’t care too much how the tattoos turn out – I am pretty open about not being very good at tattooing – I think I definitely sell myself on content over quality.
‘Everyone is always super nice and stoked on the tattoo, but I think it helps to be really transparent and honest so people know what they’re getting themselves into.
‘I also always post all my tattoos whether I pull them off nice or not so all my mistakes are up for everyone to see all the time.
‘I used to think that would deter people, but apparently no one really cares.
‘All tattoos look like c**p over time, mine just have a head-start.’
Ryan’s tattoos range from cute animals to very unusual pictures with accompanying statements, all in his signature ‘ignorant style’ which is anything outside the realm of traditional tattooing.
‘Dog’s can’t ski’: Ryan constantly posts his latest tattoo creations to social media and admits ‘all my mistakes are up for everyone to see all the time’
Despite Ryan’s self-deprecating views of his own work, he has already gained 23,800 followers on Instagram
Ryan said: ‘Everyone is always super nice and stoked on the tattoo, but I think it helps to be really transparent and honest so people know what they’re getting themselves into’
He said: ‘I have a bit of a range of style of stuff that I do nowadays but my favourites are always the ones that take me like 30 seconds to draw, that look so atrocious you’d think a child drew them because the theory and form are so bad and disproportionate.
‘I have running lists around me whenever ideas pop in my head, usually jokes I make to friends or puns I’ve said but generally anything that I see, hear and talk about in my daily life I stop and make notes if I think it is a good tattoo idea.
‘It is so funny that my 30-second drawing is on someone forever.
‘Those really bad tattoos that I give myself and others are the ultimate middle finger to this life and society and the whole conscious experience because It doesn’t really matter that much.
‘At the very least I hope by getting these dumb/funny tattoos it will keep me in the same mindset when I’m older to not take life too seriously and lighten up a little.’
‘All tattoos look like crap over time, mine just have a head-start’: Ryan is very open about his ability and admits himself he ‘can’t really draw’. Pictured: Ryan’s design of an angry pepper (left) and an antisocial tattoo that reads ‘don’t talk to me please’ (right)
Ryan’s business shows no sign of slowing down despite only turing ‘professional’ in February 2019. Pictured: Pyramid of emoji faces in varying moods
Ryan (pictured at work) said: ‘Tattooing is something I really enjoy doing, but above all the best description of the whole experience of someone like me finding success as a tattoo artist is that it’s really funny’
Ryan is in the process of having the equipment that his elder brother once used shipped overseas from Thailand.
He said: ‘I never consciously picked up the machine to follow in my brother’s footsteps but I don’t think I would have considered it if not for my brother having been a tattoo artist. So, subconsciously on some level, it was also a way for me to feel closer to my brother.
‘I like to think I keep his memory alive by tattooing and often think about him in my work and life.
‘I really enjoy that my art is out there.
‘Tattooing is something I really enjoy doing, but above all the best description of the whole experience of someone like me finding success as a tattoo artist is that it’s really funny.’
Despite Ryan’s self-deprecating views of his own work, he has already gained 23,800 followers on Instagram.