Claim: Ink Master is a contest.

Ink Master is an American reality competition television series airing on Spike which premiered on January 17 , 2012 . The show features tattoo artists who compete in various challenges assessing their tattoo and other related artistic skills . They are judged by renowned tattoo artists and enthusiasts , with one or more contestants being eliminated each episode . The last contestant standing each season receives a $ 100,000 prize and the title of Ink Master . The show is produced by Original Media which also produced the reality show Miami Ink .   The sixth season of the show premiered on June 23 , 2015 . In May , the network renewed Ink Master for a seventh season which premiered on March 1 , 2016 . The eighth season of the tattoo reality competition Ink Master -LRB- subtitled as Ink Master : Peck vs. Nuñez -RRB- premiered on August 23 , 2016 on Spike . Season 8 had its first female winner . The show has been renewed for seasons 9 and 10 . A spin-off show , titled Ink Master : Redemption , has also been released . The series has also released a number of special standalone episodes generally themed around an upcoming event or holiday such as Halloween .