Kat Von D gives tattoo reveal after covering 80% of her body with black ink following lawsuit
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/thekatvond
Tattoo artist Kat Von D has revealed what she now looks like after covering roughly 80% of her body in solid black ink.
The former LA Ink star, real name Katherine Von Drachenberg, first opened up about her decision last October, saying she had grown tired of the colourful artwork that once defined her look.
“I think I had been fed up with a lot of the tattoos I got over the years for a long time,” the 42-year-old told Inked Magazine.
Now, in a series of striking videos shared to her Instagram, Von D once vibrant arms are fully blacked out - a stark contrast to the intricate designs that once filled her skin.
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The shift is part of a massive change that she says reflects a new chapter in her life.
Working with blackout tattoo specialist Hoode, the ink icon began the intense process that took an agonising 17 sessions and nearly 40 hours.
"I think at that time I thought I would just black out an arm, but shortly after, I knew I would end up tattooing my whole body,” Von D explained.
She’s also undergoing laser removal on certain pieces, including a rose on her neck, and has kept her followers in the loop through every painful update.
"Some people are fine with keeping these types of landmarks in time on them - I personally grew tired of waking up to them, and seeing those constant reminders every time I looked in a mirror,” Von D told the publication.
While having previously told her followers how relieving it was for her to 'finally cover up so many of the tattoos I got back when I used to drink', adding that 'they meant nothing to me but landmarks in dark times'.
The result? A 'nice and clean' canvas that better reflects who she is today.
It comes a year on from when she won a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over copyright infringement.
The influencer was sued after a photographer alleged that one of her designs used his photograph as reference, and in doing so infringed copyright and violated his intellectual property rights.
However, after a federal court filed in favour of Von D in March 2024, as a jury unanimously ruled that she did not violate copyright law with her design after being accused by photographer Jeffrey Sedlik.
The case centred around a tattoo that she inked in 2017 using a design featuring American jazz legend Miles Davis with his fingers on his lips - the original image was photographed by Sedlik in 1989.