Black and grey realism tattoo of a butterfly with eyespots on the outer lower leg below the knee, with a hand holding a cigarette above.

Black and grey butterfly on a lower leg

Realism · Calf · Black and grey · Photo

A detailed butterfly with spread wings and fine antennae is tattooed on the outer lower leg, just below the knee. The wings use dark solid fills, fine lines and soft grey shading, with round eyespots on the wing edges. The photograph is taken outdoors against a dark pavement, with a person's knee and hand holding a cigarette in the upper frame.

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

Dear Ines,

Keep reading

The moth-man came up the valley again on Tuesday, and I finally told him what you asked me to. The eyespots are not for us. They were never for us. A bird goes for the big round eye on the wing's edge, pecks there, and the butterfly flies off with a torn corner and its real body intact. I showed him the drawer of pinned specimens from the old orchard hall, the ones with the black wings and grey dusting, and he held one up to the lamp and said it looked like it was watching him back.

Then he asked where the last living ones were, and I said what Grandmother always said: under the lee of the wall at the top of the terraces, where the nettles grow tall and nobody cuts them. I took him up at dusk. We found three, sitting on the warm stone with their wings half open, not moving, the way they do when the sun has left them. He did not touch them. He crouched with his palms flat on his knees and counted the eyes out loud, the way children count sheep.

I am sending you the sketch he made on the back of a seed packet. He drew the antennae too fine, which is wrong, and the wings too even, which is also wrong, but the eyes he got right. Keep it. When the frost comes, pin one of the nettles near the wall for me, and leave the gate open at the top of the lane.

Your sister, Hanne

More like this

Black and grey moth tattoo with ornate patterned wings on a forearm, with a crossed keys tattoo with scrollwork near the wrist.
Moth and crossed keys on a forearm
Black and grey tattoo of three butterflies, stars and swirling lines across an ankle and the top of a foot.
Butterflies and stars on an ankle and foot
Fine black line tattoo of three roses arranged in a triangle on the inner upper arm, in a botanical style.
Three roses in a triangle on an arm
Fine line black tattoo of a slender sprig with small buds on a pale inner forearm, beside a rolled plaid shirt sleeve and a red brick wall.
Small sprig tattoo on inner forearm
Black linework tattoo of a cactus and rose with leaves on the outer thigh, in a botanical style.
Cactus and rose on a thigh
Black and grey botanical tattoo of a large flower with leaves and a stem, shaded in detail, on a person's forearm.
Black and grey flower and leaves on a forearm
Black line tattoo of a hand with two fingers crossed, drawn in engraved-style hatching, on the inner upper arm.
Crossed fingers hand on an upper arm
Black fine line tattoo of an outlined hand holding a small flower sprig, placed on the side of the ribs.
Hand holding a flower sprig on the ribs
Black and grey shaded wing tattoo on an ankle, beside a black leather shoe and a black and white patterned bedsheet.
Shaded wing tattoo on an ankle
Small fine-line black tattoo of two hands reaching towards each other on the inner forearm.
Two reaching hands on a forearm
Two green and teal butterflies with black outlines tattooed on the inner wrist of a hand held palm up.
Two butterflies on a wrist
Black and grey shaded butterfly tattoo on the upper arm, with bold black wing outlines and soft grey shading across the wing panels.
Shaded butterfly tattoo on upper arm

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