Placement Tool

Virtual Tattoo Try-On

Upload a photo of the spot and a design. See the tattoo on your own skin, at real scale, before anything is permanent.

Try a tattoo on

Most tattoo regret is placement regret

Ask people what they'd change about a tattoo and it's rarely the design. It sat too high, wrapped the arm at an odd angle, or came out smaller than it looked on a phone screen. Those are placement calls, and they're the cheapest mistakes to catch: every one of them shows up in a mockup.

OpenInk's try-on takes two photos, the design and the body part, and renders the tattoo onto your skin with believable scale and perspective. Forearm, upper arm, shoulder, calf, spine, chest. If you can photograph it, you can preview on it.

Run the same piece at two sizes. Test it on the forearm, then the upper arm. Take the version that works to your consult as a photo instead of a hand gesture and a guess.

Virtual Tattoo Try-On

How it works

01

Photograph the placement

A clear photo of the body part, straight on and in even light. Skip the gym mirror shot; a plain wall works better.

02

Add the design

Upload any tattoo design, or use one you generated on OpenInk a minute ago.

03

Generate the preview

The AI maps the design onto your photo with realistic size and angle. About 8 seconds.

04

Compare and decide

Rerun it bigger, smaller, higher, rotated. Screenshots of two versions settle placement debates fast.

What a mockup settles

The size question

That 14 cm koi looks bold in a gallery and modest on an actual forearm. Seeing it at scale ends the back-and-forth.

Forearm or upper arm

Same design, two placements, two very different tattoos. Preview both and compare them side by side.

The consult opener

Artists quote and plan faster when you arrive with the design already sitting on the right body part in a photo.

The old idea, finally checked

That design you saved three years ago: put it on your skin in a mockup and find out if the wait was worth it.

Try-on questions, answered

Good enough to judge size, placement, and flow, which is what it's for. It's still a mockup: healed ink sits softer than a fresh render, and your artist will adapt the design to your body before it goes on.
Even lighting, the body part filling most of the frame, camera roughly level with the skin. Harsh shadows and steep angles throw off the perspective.
Anywhere you can photograph clearly: arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, ankles. Curved spots like full wraps are harder to judge from one photo, so shoot those from a couple of angles.
Yes. Upload any design image alongside your body photo. It doesn't need to come from OpenInk.
One preview as a guest, no account needed. A free account adds 3 generations a week; paid plans start at $9.90 a month.

Decide the style before the spot

Placement and style pull on each other. These guides cover how the big styles sit on different parts of the body.

01

Fine line tattoos

Delicate lines that favor flat, low-friction placements.

02

Black & grey realism

Depth and gradients that need muscle flow to read right.

03

Japanese tattoos

Compositions built to wrap arms, backs, and full sleeves.

04

Micro realism

Tiny, detailed pieces where placement decides longevity.

See it on skin first

Try a tattoo on