WASD: The Holy Keys

For those that don’t know, the wearer explains,

It is of the “WASD” part of a keyboard, which are the keys that control movement in first person shooter games… it’s the “home” part of the keyboard. I got the tat in commemoration of ten years of fps, off and on.

The tattoo was done by James at Artatorture here in Toronto. By the way, The Lizardman has a similar set of tattoos on his fingertips — they were written about in this article on nerdy tattoos and he also wrote about it separately.

40 thoughts on “WASD: The Holy Keys

  1. I can see where both of you are coming from, the keys look poorly drawn and proportional, though if its what the person wanted, its what they want.

  2. Maybes its supposed to look like they are like growing off of him or something. Then there would be a reason they look like that.

  3. “Good idea, executed miserabely.”

    I still have to disagree, it strikes me as being well executed but in an intentionally cartoony and haphazard fashion.. it also reminds me of a keyboard Ren and Stimpy might use.

    I love cartoons.

  4. i like the concept but it seems that something done in thick black and white, with straight lines (!) and proportional keys would’ve looked very slick and cool.

  5. I personally don’t care for its execution, but it would be nice to know if it was designed to look like that or if it is just sloppy work. If there was a point to it looking crudely drawn, more power to them. Otherwise I’d prefer something crisper.

  6. One of the most poorly executed designs I’ve seen on modblog. I’m all for good geek tattoos but the keys are horribly wonky and all different sizes, not to mention the nasty shading. I feel really sorry for this person. The “artist” should have been sued.

  7. i think if they were done all crisp and clean, it would have looked awful.
    i like the wonky look.
    it works with this tattoo.

  8. > brandonj,
    Yes, you’re missing the ability to read the caption above the photo.

  9. RooRaaah, frankly, you’re mistaken. IIRC, you live in Toronto, right? Take a trip down to the studio where this was done, and make your mind up for yourself.

    Sadly, this is one of the best tattoos I’ve seen out of that place, and I’m not being a jerk. It’s rather unfortunate.

  10. Sorry, I should have said ‘better,’ not ‘best,’ but the point remains the same.

  11. To me, it’s not cartoony enough to be cartoony, but not realistic enough to be realistic. Just ends up looking like a kinda crappy tattoo. I’m with the majority in that it’s a great concept, though.

  12. Yeah it’s a nice idea, but pretty poorly done. Maybe wouldn’t be that noticable from a distance though..

    And damn, why do some guys get all hot and bothered just because it’s a girl who plays video games? I mean, I know you think it’s a good thing, but probably for all the wrong reasons 😛

  13. Roorah – If the intention was for it to look ‘cartoony’ then it has succeeded. If the intent was for it to look realistic then the tattooist needs to spend a lot more time tuning their basic art skills

  14. Giles: Totally agreed. There’s a cartoony look to the keys that I think works for this tat. This isn’t a pixel accurate Mario and Mushroom or crazy photorealistic Zelda tat, this is simply an homage to the 4 keys that make it all happen in FPS gaming. That’s all, nothing more nothing less.

  15. Yes, women play video games. Yes, we even play FPS. Oh yes, we’ll frag your butt…. 😉

  16. i agree with roorah on this.
    if it was done exactly like a keyboard i think it would look kinda lame.
    even if it was done by a shitty artist
    i like it

  17. I think Shannon might be right about the wonkiness being a product of the photograph. There’s a different photo on her page and the D key looks quite different than it does here.

  18. This is me, and my tattoo, and it looks exactly how I want it to… Organic. It’s not intended to be photorealistic. My gaming is part of who I am, grown out of my inate me-ness. And yeah, it’s not the greatest shot because I took it myself, about an hour after it was done. The shading looks just fine now, thanks.

  19. The girl went to Artatorture, need I say more? Those in Toronto know very well that establishment…At least those like me who streetcar/walked past it DAILY and cringed.

    Maybe it’s all the crackheads that roam around outside the place that brings it down…Maybe its almost always shody tattoo work that comes from out of there. Not too sure, maybe a mix of the too.

    I’ll agree that it looks rather cartoony…But we’re not talking Simpsons, Futurama,etc cartoony…We’re talking those artsy poorly drawn cartoons we often watched growing up…Anyone else remember the old Canadian cartoon about the Lumberjack rollin down the river? That kinda cartoony.

    I think it could have still been made cute and cartoony yet still have smooth line work…and not look like the artist doing it had just smoked some crack 5 minutes before doing it.

  20. i will say that that last part of my comment is MY opinion and mine alone…If Heris *points above* likes it and wanted it just like that, thats her right to…I’m just expressing the view of what my personal choice would be if I got something similar.

    If you’re happy Heris, thats all that matters.

  21. i fucking love that lumberjack song.

    you mean the logdrivers waltz?

    and the people that smoke crack in the general area have nothing to do with *that* tattoo.

    but if the wearer loves it, than so be it. but again. id be fuming.

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