Black and grey realism tattoo of an Aztec-style skull in a headdress, with a sun stone above and a stepped pyramid below, on a forearm.

Aztec skull and pyramid on a forearm

Realism · Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

A skull wearing an ornate Aztec-style headdress sits at the centre, with a carved sun stone above it and a stepped pyramid below. The shading is smooth and highly detailed, with strong contrast between deep blacks and light greys on the bone and carved stone. The design fills the forearm from wrist to elbow against a soft, dark background.

Find an artist for this

Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

The cast arrived at Harrowgate Museum in a crate stencilled with the wrong country, and nobody on the day shift wanted to unpack it. Bramley, the head guard, said the plaster was only a copy of a copy, a sun stone that had spent a century in a damp basement before a donor shipped it north. I took the late rota because I needed the money, and because I did not believe in anything that came in a crate.

Keep reading

The skull was the trouble. Not the plaster one, but the painted original in the Mesoamerican gallery, the one with the turquoise inlay in its eye sockets that had always looked wrong under the lamps. On my two o'clock round the case stood empty and the plaster disc had been turned to face the door, its spiral pointing at me like a clock hand that had made up its mind. The little model of the stepped pyramid beside it had three more steps than it had when I signed in.

I counted them twice with my torch, which is what a sensible man does, and then I locked the gallery and rang Bramley. He answered on the seventh ring, sounding like someone who had been expecting the call. 'Did you count the steps?' he asked. I said yes. 'Then it's done, son,' he said. 'Don't go back in and count them again.'

On Thursday I went back in anyway. The case held the skull, turquoise eyes glinting as they should, and the disc had been returned to the wall. The model pyramid had one step more than before, and its top stone was bright and fresh, as if it had only just been carved.

More like this

Black and grey dotwork skull tattoo with an eye in a triangle and heart-shaped rays, on the thigh.
Skull and eye tattoo on a thigh
Black and grey realism tattoo of a shaded skull with a star of arrows above it, sitting on the upper arm and shoulder of a person in a black top.
Black and grey realism skull on upper arm
Realistic black and grey skull tattoo with wispy dark shading across the inner forearm, shown in a close photograph.
Shaded skull on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a crowned skull with smoke swirls across a forearm.
Crowned skull on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a hooded skull with a laurel wreath and a skeletal hand gripping a scythe, on the upper arm.
Grim reaper skull with laurel on upper arm
Black and grey sugar skull tattoo with a cross on the forehead and roses on the upper arm.
Sugar skull with cross and roses on upper arm
Black and grey neo-traditional tattoo of an owl above a sugar skull with flower eyes and roses, on the back of a calf.
Owl and sugar skull on a calf
Black and grey realism tattoo of a skull merged with a pocket watch with Roman numerals and gears, on the upper arm.
Skull and pocket watch on upper arm
Realism tattoo of a grey skull with red blood dripping from the nose, above a snarling creature with glowing red eyes and fangs, on a forearm.
Skull and red-eyed creature on a forearm
Black and grey realistic skull tattoo wrapped in a bandana, shown on the upper arm.
Realistic skull with bandana on upper arm
Black and grey skull tattoo with ornamental patterns and trailing vines on a man's shoulder and upper arm.
Ornate skull and vines on a shoulder
Black and grey sketch-style tattoo of a skull with branches and a rose on the forearm.
Skull and rose on a forearm

From the plentytattoo archive, uploaded by a user. Is this your work? Ask for credit or removal.