Refine with marks
Circle what to change. Keep everything else.
A generated concept is rarely perfect on the first pass — and a full rewrite throws away the parts you already liked. Refine with marks lets you circle exact spots on your design, describe each fix in a few words, and regenerate only those areas while the rest of the composition stays intact. Start a concept below, then refine it until it is consultation-ready.
Four outputs per generation
Each run returns a line sketch, two finished directions, and a placement preview so users can compare instead of trusting a single image.
Clear credit boundary
Free starter credits create watermarked previews. Credit packs continue generation; Pro unlocks watermark-free downloads.
Private planning space
Prompts, reference photos, and generated tattoo ideas stay in the user's account and are not published as public galleries.
Before you bring it to an artist
- Existing tattoo photo is optional but improves cover-up direction.
- Line sketch is a reference for an artist, not a final stencil guarantee.
- Aging preview is a design comparison, not a medical prediction.
Why marks beat rewriting the whole prompt
Every AI tattoo tool can regenerate from a new prompt. The problem is that a new prompt re-rolls everything: the pose you liked, the composition that finally worked, the placement of one perfect element — all of it goes back into the lottery. Most people give up after a few full rewrites and settle for a design that is merely close.
Marks break that loop. Instead of describing the whole image again, you point at the one thing that is wrong — a hand, a moon, a line weight — and say what to change there. The circled spots get regenerated; everything outside the circles is instructed to stay exactly as it was. Refinement becomes a series of small, controlled decisions instead of a fresh gamble each time.
This matters most for cover-ups and redos, where the existing tattoo constrains what the new design must do. Being able to say "keep the layout, darken only this area" is the difference between a concept your artist can work with and another pretty picture that ignores the real problem.
How refine with marks works
Generate a first concept
Describe the design and generate four directions. Pick the closest one — it does not need to be right yet, just close enough to be worth fixing.
Open refine with marks
On your chosen image, open Refine and switch to marks mode. The original is never overwritten — every pass saves a new version.
Circle spots, describe each fix
Draw up to five circles directly on the image and add a short note per spot: thinner lines here, smaller moon, more contrast in the petals.
Regenerate only the marks
The next version changes what you circled and keeps the rest of the composition. Repeat the loop until the design is ready to bring to an artist.
When refine with marks earns its keep
Cover-up tuning
The layout works but one area will not hide the old ink. Circle that area and ask for darker, denser coverage there — without disturbing the parts that already cover well.
Detail rescue
A strong concept with one weak element: a face, a hand, a letterform. Mark just that element and regenerate it instead of risking the whole composition.
Pre-consultation polish
Before you bring a reference to an artist, clean up the obvious distractions yourself — remove a stray flourish, simplify a cluttered corner — so the conversation starts from the real questions.
Two ways to refine, side by side
Both refine modes start from an image you already generated and both create a new version rather than overwriting. They differ in how precisely you can aim the change.
| What you need | Plain-text refine | Refine with marks |
|---|---|---|
| Change the overall mood or style | Best choice — one sentence steers the whole image. | Works, with an overall instruction plus marks. |
| Fix one specific spot | Risky — the model may also change things you liked. | Best choice — the circle says exactly where. |
| Several unrelated fixes at once | Hard to phrase without confusing the result. | Up to five numbered marks, one note each. |
| Effort per pass | Type one instruction and go. | Circle, describe, submit — still under a minute. |
Keep planning your tattoo
- AI Tattoo Generator — Start a fresh concept from a text prompt
- Cover-Up Tattoo Generator — Design around existing ink you want hidden
- Photo to Tattoo — Turn a reference photo into tattoo-ready concepts
- Tattoo Stencil Generator — Preview the exact linework your artist would transfer
Refine with marks questions
Does refining cost extra credits? +
No. A refine pass costs the same as a normal generation — one flat credit cost per pass, whether you refine with plain text or with marks. The original image is always kept, so a pass that misses costs you nothing but the credits.
How many spots can I mark at once? +
Up to five marks per pass, each with its own short instruction, plus one optional overall note. If a design needs more than five fixes, submit the first batch and refine the result again — small batches aim better than one crowded pass.
Will refining change the parts I did not circle? +
The instruction sent with your marks says explicitly to edit only the marked areas and keep everything else unchanged, and the circles themselves are burned into a working copy as edit markers — never into your result. In practice, small drift can still happen on any regeneration, which is why every pass is saved as a new version you can compare against the original.
Is refine with marks free to try? +
Yes. You get 8 free credits on sign-in — no credit card required — enough for several concepts and a few refine passes. Pro removes watermarks from downloads; one-time credit packs add more preview generations.
Can I use marks on an uploaded photo or cover-up base? +
Yes. Any image that is on the result canvas can be refined — generated concepts, photo-based concepts, and cover-up bases. For cover-ups, marking exactly where the old tattoo shows through is the intended use.
What should I bring to my artist after refining? +
Download the final version (Pro removes the watermark) plus the version before it, so your artist can see what changed and why. A short note listing what each mark was meant to fix turns the conversation from "something feels off" into concrete adjustments.