Can the planner tell me whether a tattoo can be covered?

No. It deliberately does not score coverability or predict pigment behavior. Existing color, saturation, scarring, skin, healed work, laser history, and the new tattoo technique all require professional in-person judgment.

Is the constraint map an automatic tattoo trace?

No. The map keeps pixels darker than the threshold you choose. That can include tattoo marks but also shadows, hair, skin folds, clothing edges, or lighting artifacts. Review it visually and adjust the threshold rather than treating it as segmentation.

Can I use the constraint map in Procreate or another drawing app?

Yes. The tool can export the current dark-mark map as a transparent PNG so you can bring that planning layer into a drawing workflow and build your design around the visible constraints.

Is this the same as Fit to Body?

No. Cover-Up Planner is for comparing a proposed design with the visual constraints of an existing tattoo on one photo. Fit to Body is the separate StencilStudio workflow for wrap, taper, rotation, and body-line adaptation of one chosen stencil.

Are my tattoo photo and design uploaded?

No. Image reading, threshold processing, overlay positioning, and PNG export happen locally in your browser for this tool.

Free cover-up planning workspace

Tattoo Cover-Up Planner

Map the tattoo that is already there, then position your proposed design around the real visual constraints. Export a trace layer or consultation reference without pretending software can predict whether the cover-up will work.

Free to useNo accountNo AI redrawPhotos stay in your browser

Cover-up planning workspace

Treat the existing tattoo as a visual constraint, then compare a proposed design against it. This workspace shows photo-derived geometry; it does not predict healed coverage.

Add tattoo photoAdd new design

Photo-derived tonal map

Thresholding retains dark pixels from the source photo. Hair, glare boundaries, shadows and folds can be retained too, so the artist must verify the map.

Proposal footprint

The footprint uses actual alpha or an adjustable near-white exclusion. It respects transparent and white negative-space regions instead of treating the whole image box as ink.

1. Map visible source structure

Dark-mark threshold145Map opacity72%

This is a photo-derived tonal map, not an ink-density map or automatic tattoo segmentation. Adjust it until the visual structure you need is legible.

2. Define the proposal footprint

White cutoff245

Add a proposed design to build its visible footprint.

A stencil or line drawing does not encode final fills, shading or pigment behavior. The footprint is only a geometric planning aid.

3. Position the new design

Size on photo48%Rotation0.0°Design opacity76%

4. Export and hand off

The planning PNG records the current visual state. It is a reference artifact, not approval that the proposed tattoo will conceal the old one.

Continue to Fit to Body →

Compare revisions Build approval sheet

Planning boundary

The tool can show source-photo darkness, proposal geometry and spatial overlap. It cannot infer pigment density, predict skin response, healed visibility, ink interaction, laser need or tattoo outcome. Final judgment stays with the artist after seeing the tattoo and skin in person.

Map constraints, not outcomes

Treat the existing tattoo as a design constraint you can inspect.

A useful cover-up planning tool should make the old work easier to see while you test new composition. It should not invent technical certainty from a photograph.

01 Photograph the real constraint

Start from the tattoo that actually exists

Use a clear, straight reference of the current tattoo and surrounding placement area. The photo remains the visual context for every later adjustment.

02 Build a reviewable map

Keep the marks you need without calling them segmentation

Adjust the threshold until the old tattoo structure is useful. Shadows or hair can remain, so the artist still decides which marks matter.

03 Overlay the proposal

Move the new design around the old structure

Drag, scale, rotate, mirror, and fade the proposed artwork while switching photo, constraint map, and design layers on and off.

04 Take the plan back to the client

Export the visual decision, then verify it in person

Save the transparent constraint map for drawing or the combined planning PNG for consultation. Final cover-up judgment still happens on the real tattoo and skin.

Three different jobs

Cover-up planning, stencil creation, and body fit should stay separate.

The planner compares a proposed design with existing tattoo constraints. Other StencilStudio owners handle conversion of a reference into a stencil, body-curvature adaptation, and exact physical print size.

Cover-Up Planner

Where does the new composition sit relative to the old tattoo?

Map visible dark constraints and compare the proposed design on the same photo without a fake success score.

Photo to Stencil

Do you still need to prepare the proposed artwork?

Use the photo-to-stencil workflow when the new reference still needs conversion before you bring it into the cover-up plan.

Open Photo to Stencil

Fit + Print

Is the composition chosen and ready for physical preparation?

Fit to Body handles wrap and taper. Size & Print handles centimetres, inches, and true-size output after the visual plan is settled.

Fit to Body Size & Print

Explicit limits

A photograph can show overlap. It cannot certify a cover-up.

StencilStudio keeps this tool deliberately narrow so a useful planning aid does not become false technical confidence.

What the planner can preserve

Visible position and silhouette relationships inside one photograph.
A threshold-based trace of dark marks for composition work.
Relative proposed-design scale, rotation, mirror state, and placement.
A transparent reference layer and combined consultation PNG.

What it cannot know

Whether existing pigment can be covered successfully.
How saturation, color, scars, healed texture, or prior laser work will behave.
Whether a particular design or technique is appropriate for the client.
Physical size or curvature unless you move into the dedicated fit and print workflows.

Related tattoo tools

Continue only with the next real preparation job.

Move from cover-up planning into stencil conversion, placement, or exact-size print only after the composition decision is clear.

View all tattoo tools

01Version CompareCompare two revisions of the same stencil with side-by-side, overlay, A/B blink, manual alignment, difference view, and a browser-local comparison PNG.Overlay + A/B blinkDifference viewComparison PNG 02Reference GridFocus one tattoo reference, apply independent rows and columns with optional coordinates and landmark guides, then export a gridded reference and matching blank grid.Focus crop + custom gridA1 labels + guides2 browser-local PNGs

Practical guides

How To Make Tattoo Stencils From Photos

FAQ

Cover-up planning questions.

It lets you upload a photo of an existing tattoo, create a threshold-based map of the visible dark marks, place a proposed new design over the same photo, and export a planning reference. It is a layout and tracing workspace, not a cover-up success predictor.