I would accept your criticism of the treatment of this tattoo…but it’s also the wrong shape for that body part, far too linear and narrow for a piece of prime flesh real estate.

I think the lesson here (for anyone interested) is to get a sketch first, that indicates the entire shape of the piece and any linework, colour grads etc. In this case something fuller, perhaps approaching an oval shape, offset towards the top of your shoulder. This could inform your repair job. I would abandon the integrity of the album image to get this right, allow a good tattooist who understands composition and flowing with your body shape to re-work it. Constraining them by the album image could compromise this process.

Personal story: I’ve done some crap tattoos myself, in the early days. However, the tattoo I was least happy with once I felt I was technically proficient, was one I refused to do initially and then got talked into by the customer. It was an album cover from Mötley Crüe, featuring a dagger and serpent. Not a bad design BUT completely inappropriate for the guy’s forearm, the shape was just all wrong leaving too much negative space on either side of the blade. It looked ok on a square record sleeve. I think the message here is to take a concept rather than a totally fixed image and allow the tattooist to show you how best to apply it.

Good luck with the repair job and please post an update when complete.

Yeah of course a good tattooist will draw one up (agreed Buttwheat), but to check the design yourself it’s dead simple to comp it up in Photoshop (or simlar layers-base image editor). This’ll let you know whether the design is close to what you envisaged, and whether you want to invest time / money in its professional development.