- I am a black and gray artist. If I'm going to earn
a place in the finale, I need to earn it with
a black and gray tattoo. The only concern I have going
into this tattoo is time because I am attempting a lot. I'm gonna start looking up
some reference really quick. - Okay.
- And we're gonna get an idea of what you like color wise, style wise, design wise. - The colors that I want, I want it kind of to be
like a phoenix colors, like oranges and like
burnt oranges and reds and purples and stuff like that. - I am a black and gray artist. Precision in color is not
one of my strong points. We don't want it to look
too close to a phoenix. - But I do want the colors,
the oranges and the reds and the purples.
- You want like burnt colors? - Yes, yes.
- Got it. - Ryan.
(suspenseful music) You being one of the top dogs on your team to doing this, big decline. - It was just a horrible case
of very poor time management. - All right guys, today
we're testing precision. When I looked at the face of this thing, it looks semi realistic,
it looks like a bird, tell me what's wrong with
it on a precision level. - The areas that are skin
tone, that have a black outline around 'em, those outlines
are scratchy and terrible and picked up a thousand places. No where in there does it look
like a solid black outline. (upbeat rock music) - Gonna kick those boys' butts today. - Yeah. - Originally my canvas
requested three planets and three names but I convinced my canvas that we are not doing the names. Gian, dummy.
- Little match made in heaven, Gian, sorry. - He thought he was
throwing us under the bus. Gian thought he was giving
me one of the worst canvases and I turned that (beeping) around. - Ryan's stoked she talked
that lady out of that. (beeping) Stoked. Right?
- Mm hm. - I would be. - Ryan. (dramatic music) - I really like the black that you used even though the rings get a little wobbly and I think you have a lot of good tricks. - Thank you.
- Lookin' strong here. - Thank you. - Judges, it is time to determine who had the best tattoo of the day. - Gian and Ryan were the shining moments. - I would say that Gian turned in a more technically clean tattoo. However, Ryan has better
examples of contrast. The judges have decided the best tattoo of the day goes to Ryan. - Thank you. Gia is my girl and I am seriously worried. Did you see everybody else's? - Well, I just saw Gia's,
I told her she got the one that I would've wanted, was the cat. - That's the one I wanted
too but Gia has a worse report card than I do and
so I took one for the team. - That's what we thought. - Ryan. - Your fabric, the layers
of garment with the ruffles looks really good, you
definitely show ingenuity. The drawing's great. - Thank you. - All right, guys, time to discuss who had the best tattoo of the day. - Today I think thinking out of the box in the ingenuity challenge,
Gian just sends home a really strong tattoo. It was the perfect design,
the perfect application. Had you fumbled on that or anything, then immediately I would be with Ryan. - You got gentle hands. Remember that.
- I'm very light handed. I'm a lady tattooer and
I tattoo like a lady. Now that Gia got eliminated,
there are only three of us left and if we
wanna survive this thing, we're gonna have to pull together. I wanna be alongside those two girls, man. - These females can knock off
some of these dudes, easily. - Eric and I are the only pair of artists that ended up swapping canvases and even though he's been
tattooing for over 20 years, I am not afraid of adapting
to another artist's work. - You wanna learn something, look at the other side of her head. - You're just being a pain in my ass. - I'm gonna make my side of the tattoo stand out a lot better than Ryan's by throwing in way more detail. I'm gonna nail this (beeping) tattoo and I'm gonna win tattoo of the day. - Ryan and Eric. You guys picked each other's canvases. Let's start off with Eric. - [Chris] Eric, I love
this floating figure that you have in the center then the color trickles off into this gnarly pattern. It looks great, what I love
about the way these two tattoos tie together
is the fact that, Eric, you created that beautiful
floating geometric shape and it looks like that's the light that's back lit on Ryan's tattoo. - This is the first time
that we've had both teams tattooing at the same time. - [Oliver] Anybody
standin' out in the front? - Yes, Eric and Ryan for the win. - My vote is for Ryan. - Bastards. - Winner of the best tattoo
of the day goes to Ryan. - Thank you. - [Dave] Congratulations. - Looks awesome.
- It looks great. I wanna get the feathers
done and then go in and start detailing it.
- Okay. - The better I feel about this tattoo, the worse I feel for our alliance. It's obvious I couldn't save
them during the skull pick. If they don't pull
through, I could be sending one of my girls home. - Today you had to tattoo
a detailed hourglass. Team Peck, you assigned the canvases. Let's see how you did. Ryan, you're up first. - When I heard the canvas'
request, I wasn't sure how you were gonna get it
together but you killed it. The detail in the hourglass. The detail in the feathers. Detail is the word of the day
and you definitely killed it. - This tattoo has detail
all the way throughout it. The cracks and the weathering of the skull and then also your
transition from the sand to this skull was really well done. - You have a lot of
creativity and your drawings are fun to look at, you're
definitely pushing harder artistically than a lot
of people in the room. - Time to determine who had
the best tattoo of the day. - I like Ryan's tattoo the most. It's the best tattoo that I've seen today especially from a detail standpoint. - I vote for Ryan as well, Chris. - I would actually say Nikki. - The judges have decided
that the best tattoo of the day goes to Ryan, congratulations. - Thank you. - Ryan. - Beautiful design, beautiful tattoo. I love to see this really
classic iconic imagery. - I would have definitely
done the flames in color. I feel like the shadows
with the darkness at the top of the flames, it's a little less clear than it could've been. - [Kevin] Where you lookin' to get it at? - On my upper arm, photorealistic color. - I'm also going with
photorealistic color on my back. - I cannot do color,
it's just not what I do. If this is the canvas I get,
I could really be screwed. - [Kevin] What are you thinking? - Put two people up that are really good against each other so
one of 'em goes down. - Nikki and Kelly. - [Nate] Who do you wanna go up against? - I think Ryan. Because Ryan doesn't do color and I'm definitely doing color today. - Okay.
- Let's do it. Stand your ground. - First tattoo.
- First time. - Okay, canvases, one by one, please read the artist's name on the
bottom of your skull. - Ryan. - I'm sweating because I can't do color realism on a toddler portrait. She's about to get a
black and gray tattoo. I think his little plaid shirt is adorable and I would definitely include that. If I can convince this canvas
to switch to black and gray, I can flip this entire
thing around on Kevin. I am a portrait artist. I do portraits regularly.
- That's wonderful. - Yeah.
- That's such good news, great. - But I do black and gray tattoos. - I see that you do add some color. So that's an option, maybe? - Color tattoos don't age
as well as black and gray. - Well, it looks like you can
still make the eyes bright. Which is what I want.
- Yeah. - And I wanted bright eyes. And you can do that with black and gray. - Oh absolutely. If I'm doing black and
gray on portrait day, kiss your ass goodbye, Kevin. - Oh my God, that's gorgeous. You got everything.
- Yeah. - It's perfect. - Yeah, that's pretty sick, good job. - Kevin's tattoo looks
kind of like an old man with weird striped taffy candy
laid on his head like a wig. I can confidently say my portrait is way more accurate than Kevin's. - Kevin. You tattooed the same portrait as Ryan. - [Oliver] This was the hardest
one of the portraits to do. - [Judge] I wouldn't
have chose this photo. It's not an easy one. - Color portraits is a thing
that I honestly enjoy so. - The colors that you picked are very much the color of your canvas' skin. So when this thing does
heal and washes out, you're gonna have really strong eyes, a strong bottom of a nose and
some really heavy blue lines. - Ryan. You tattooed the same portrait as Kevin. - The hair looks a little bit
animated, like a comic book. It just takes a little
bit of the life out of it. - The other thing that
gets me is the right eye has more of a V to the
top of it in your portrait than a soft, subtle roll,
those are soft little details that you missed but on accuracy day, those are the things to point out. - In terms of accuracy, there
are areas where both of them really succeeded and areas
where they both lost it. - [Judge] I think Ryan's
hair is more accurate. I think Ryan's shirt is more accurate. I think Kevin's face is
more accurate overall. - These two are definitely challenged and that's making it hard to
even come off with a winner. - Me, personally, I'd
rather wear Ryan's tattoo. - My vote's for Ryan. - Ryan. - All right, winner of
this head to head challenge is Ryan, congratulations. You okay, Ryan? What are you thinkin'? - I just feel like that was kinda brutal. Nate and Gian didn't get such
a brutal critique on theirs. I can look at Nate's
tattoo or Gian's tattoo and pick apart a bunch of little things that were really inaccurate. - There was so many
more areas of your guys' portrait to be nit picked. - What's just frustrating is-- - What's frustrating is
you've had nothing but good critiques throughout a
lot of this competition and you've had plenty of mistakes too but now that you're getting critiqued, now you know how it feels. You or Nikki, every time
y'all get a critique, oh, the world's ending. - Oh my God, Nate.
- You know I'm right. - I'm not saying that.
- Get over it. - I'm saying I think that you guys got a really awesome critique
and that you didn't deserve all of this smoke blown up your ass. - Okay.
- Like, I didn't think your tattoos were that good. - I thought they were all good tattoos but it's the tiny little
things in portraits that separate good tattoos
from great tattoos. - So who's in the bottom today? I mean, we're gonna have
to bring three people down. - [Chris] Kevin's hair and
shirt, that's one in the bottom. - [Oliver] Nowhere does
it really look like hair. - It looks like a statue. - Right, then Ryan, that is not the kid. - [Dave] That hair is made up. - [Chris] And so is the nose
and so is that right eye. - I do not have a problem
bringing Ryan to the bottom. This is an interesting day
because we are going to have three artists in the
bottom on portrait day who each did a pretty great portrait. Today, you tattooed portraits. Based on your work, one
of you will close shop. Time to hear from the jury of peers. Now I understand that you did not reach a decision, is that accurate? - It was a hard split,
there was no moving anybody. - [Chris] The right eye
is a different shape. - There's eyelashes on her left eye that aren't in the photo. - Ryan put a hell of
a dimple in the cheek. - My canvas specifically
requested those things from me. I feel like there's issues in Kevin's that were not addressed,
the lip is a weird shape, the nose is too angular
for that little boy. He completely missed the shadow. - Well, I mean my thing is--
- Above the eyebrow. - You changed your eyes.
- The hair is two different-- - You changed his cheeks--
- Excuse me. The hair is two different colors. Those are all important things. - Well, my thing is it still
looks more like the boy in the face than yours does. - All right, guys, time to
decide who's going home. - If you guys both
worked in my tattoo shop and did these, I would be
more happy with the one that Nikki did based on
knowing that it's gonna look better over time, I have to say Kevin. - I do not know what things
are going to turn into. I think Kevin's looks more like
the child than Nikki's does. So I vote for Nikki to go home. - For longevity and bones and what the tattoo's gotta be, Kevin. - The judges have decided, Kevin, you do not have what it
takes to be Ink Master. And switch stations. (rock music) - [Gian] Are you good there, Ryan? - [Ryan] Perfect, are you good? - [Gian] I'm good. - Once again, just like any
other Team Peck challenge, Gian and I are working well
together, taking the lead. - You already outlined the whole medium? - No, nah, none of this
is done, that's not done. - But Nate is just pessimistic and slow. - What's the plan? - Look what Ryan's doing and
start doing what she's doing. - Nate has to pull his (beeping) together or Gian and I are going down with him. - I'm really surprised at
how well Team Peck is doing. Ryan and I are making
sure that these designs look like one person made it. She is bad ass with black and gray, I've been doing good tattoos all season. I haven't been to the bottom yet. To make it to the finale,
it's pretty simple. (dramatic music) - Five, four, three, two, one, that's it, machine's
down, time is up, no more ink. Today you had to show consistency tattooing cyborg tattoos. Remember, you're being judged as a team. Let's see how you did, Team Peck. - Looking at the three
tattoos, they all have a consistent feel but there
are a couple of differences. The one with the trigger,
it looks like the smoothest of the three, it has a much
softer, powdery feel to it. That's the one that's the most
open and the most readable. Your other tattoos have a lot
of small tucked away pieces that are in there, the
left leg is a lot heavier, a lot blacker and a lot
deeper in your outlines as opposed to the other leg. Those outlines, they're thin,
there's a lot of wobbles. - One thing I was unsure about
is like, what is ripping out, is that supposed to be skin
or plywood ripped open? - For the skin rip? - Oh is that skin? - Yeah, what he asked us for
was almost like a striped slash sort of like a claw look. - I mean it looks like
you definitely did what he asked for and sometimes that
can be a little bit dangerous. - Thank you. - To earn a spot in
this year's live finale, you must survive a 15
hour tattoo marathon. - I'm going to have a heart attack. I can't imagine getting
through one tattoo, let alone a 15 hour marathon. - You must tattoo every
style that you critiqued as the jury of peers and did not tattoo. So, it turns out you aren't safe from those styles after all. For the first five hours, Team Peck, you'll tattoo Medusas while Team Nunez, you'll tattoo a peacock. - Crazy. - For the next five hours,
Team Peck will create watercolor tattoos while Team Nunez tattoos outer space. - Watercolor, I am not
a color tattoo artist and this is the most
colorful of color tattoos. How am I going to pull that off? - And for the final five hours, Team Peck must tattoo
a new school landmark while Team Nunez tattoos a pin up. - Oh my God, I thought I was safe and I wouldn't have to revisit peacocks and space and pin ups. - After each five hour
tattoo is completed, the judges will critique your work. The artist that wins the
best tattoo of the day will earn their spot in the
live finale immediately. If you don't have the
best tattoo that day, you must continue
tattooing in the marathon. - I need to nail this on day
one and I won't have to worry about having to do two color challenges in the following days. - Your canvases for each of
the tattoos have been randomly assigned and are completely open. (rock music) - You guys do have an advantage. If you were paying
attention to the critiques, then you guys all heard what
it was that we didn't like about those things, you know
exactly what to come out and do, draw, make something
good, tattoo well, get a spot. (dramatic music) - I am a black and gray artist. If I'm going to earn
a place in the finale, I need to earn it with
a black and gray tattoo. The only concern I have
going into this tattoo is time because I am attempting
a lot of detail here. Crisp detail and line work,
this is what I like to do. - Ryan should really be
sweatin' it with this big, crazy detailed Medusa, it
looks like a 10 hour piece. She's not gonna be able to complete that. - Five, four, three, two, one, that's it, machines
down, time is up, no more ink. The four of you are at the
beginning of a grueling 15 hour tattoo marathon
and the artist that wins the best tattoo of the day will secure the first spot in the live finale. Team Peck, you tattooed a Medusa, Ryan, let's start with you. Ryan, how you feelin' at this
point in the competition? - This is the opportunity
where you're supposed to bring the big guns out and show what you have. So I designed a 10 hour
tattoo that I shrunk down and attempted in five hours
and decided to keep it simple. - This one didn't work out for you. - Three hours, Team Peck. - Dude, that looks awesome. - I dropped the ball
yesterday, I'm trying. - The Medusa challenge
was supposed to be my day but I let the stress and
the pressure affect my work. - I think you've got this one. - I'm really trying. I grew up with a single mom
in a rinky dink trailer park. My mother taught me that
if I want something, I need to work for it,
I'm here to succeed. Guns blazin' today, guns blazin'. - Five, four, three, two, one, that's it, machines
down, time is up, no more ink. - God, it's gorgeous. Killed it. - Hell, yeah, man, I like it. - [Nate] Awesome. - Nate didn't end up doing black and gray. But his tattoo still does
not look like watercolor. All I can feel is confidence. I'm not worried about the boys. They can duke it out tomorrow. - Today, you completed your
10th hour of tattooing. You had to continue in the marathon creating watercolor tattoos, Ryan. - The fins are what make
this tattoo completely. It's a very loose tattoo
but you really anchor it in with all the black you
use and the black shading. It was a wise choice. - Thank you. - There are two spots
left in the live finale. It is time to decide who has
the best tattoo of the day and secures their spot alongside Kelly. - The battle is definitely
between Nate and Ryan. I like Ryan's balance. It's got so much heavy blue
towards the tail section and the top but just
this little hint of blue coming off the front and off
of the back of the spine, it really balances the piece nicely and I think Ryan gets it today. - The judges have decided the best tattoo of the day goes to Ryan. Congratulations, Ryan,
you have earned your spot in the live finale. - Thank you so much. - [Chris] It's a girl fight. - I'm gonna go check in
with Ryan Ashley now. (audience cheering) Hey Ryan. How's it goin'?
- Good. - How are you?
- I'm good. - All right, so Ryan, America
assigned you fine line black and gray.
- Yes. - Which is your specialty.
- Yes. - You gotta be happy about that. - I am thrilled, I mean I
have a very specific style and didn't have the opportunity
to show it while filming and you know, today's the
day and now I get to show everything that-- - So you didn't really
get to do your style, yet you made it to the finale. - Yes. - That's pretty heavy. Right on, good luck. - Thank you.
- All right. (audience cheering and clapping) Okay, Ryan, you were assigned
fine line black and gray which is your specialty,
let's check out the judges. - Ryan, I'm happy that you
got to do something to really show off and let us see what you do. You've done great tattoos all season, this is another one
that lines you right up in that category, you've
had a great outing. The question is, fine line black and gray, there's a lot of bold lines in there and I just feel like you
stepped a little bit out of what was asked but again, an amazing tattoo, just the word fine line comes to mind. - All right, Ryan, thank you, step back. (audience cheering and clapping) Congratulations to Ryan and
Gian, you guys are the top two artists, but there can
only be one Ink Master. Over the last several months, each finalist also had to tattoo a 24 hour chest piece
in the style and subject assigned by the opposing team. Ryan, you are up first. Let's see how your master canvas went. (dramatic music) - Ryan, I would love to see dueling hot rods, big,
chunky, 90's new school. - That is everything I have ever hated. (rock music) Are you ready?
- Ready. - This is your new chest
piece, cool, right? - Yeah, I'm excited. - I have a lot more to prove. Are you ready? New school is the one challenge that everyone else in the
finale did that I didn't do. You gotta breathe, okay? It's literally the opposite of my style. Vibrant, bright color,
thick, chunky lines. I don't do anything like that. You got this. This really is the tattoo that's going to make it or break it for me. 11 minutes. I've made it this far
because I've busted my ass. I deserve to be the
first female Ink Master. (audience cheering and clapping) - All right, it is the
moment of truth, Ryan. Please reveal your master canvas. - Ready? (audience cheering and clapping) - [Dave] All right,
Ryan, tell us about this. - Well, Kelly assigned me 90's new school. (audience cheering) Because it's the opposite
of what I normally do and I feel like she
assigned it to me because she basically wanted me to
prove that if I deserved the Ink Master title, I
should be able to, you know, tackle any style and handle
any challenge that was thrown at me so I think, you know, this challenge was the opposite of what I've been expected to do and I, you know, did it as true to
the challenge as I could. I trained with coil
machines for a few weeks before I attempted it. I started using steel tubes and I practiced before I even attempted it and the artwork took
me a very long time. - [Dave] Chris, your thoughts. - Well, you know, this tattoo, it really, it does exude 90's, it does
have that really 90's feel. I also, this is my 25th year
tattooing, I grew up on this. So looking at this artwork,
the outline quality, the color quality, the
color palette in play, it really sets off a strong 90's presence. What for me, really hits
it, is the use of the chrome because we were really
chrome babies in the 90's. We would make anything chrome and you captured that look
in this 90's feel tattoo. I think you did a great job. - Thank you.
(audience cheering) - [Dave] All right, Ryan,
thank you very much. (dramatic music) And now it comes down to this. Ryan, love the tattoo, Gian, knocked it out of the park, man but in terms of just being an overall dynamic piece that just
has that wow factor, I'm going with Ryan. (audience cheering) (rock music) The judges have decided, Ryan, you do have what it takes to
be Ink Master, congratulations. (audience cheering)
