Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Realistic raven with smoke swirls

Realism · Black and grey · Flash

The image shows a detailed, realistic drawing of a raven seen from the side, with its head turned towards the right and its beak open slightly. Fine, layered hatching and stippled lines build up the feathers across the wing, neck and tail. Soft, dark smoke-like swirls wrap around the bird against a plain white background, creating a balanced, vertical composition.

Realism Raven Bird Smoke Feather Wing

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 raven came in through the vestry window just as Mr Pryce asked whether anyone knew cause why. Nobody spoke, so the bird did. It landed on the hymn board with a sound like a dropped glove, and the smoke from the bonfire outside seemed to follow it in, curling round the pews as if it had business there.

Keep reading

My sister Carys had sewn the rings into a pocket of her dress that morning, because the cushion had been lost on the bus. Ruth, the bride, had told me to keep my eyes on the bird and not on the groom, which was harder than it sounds, since Tomos was already crying and pretending it was hay fever. The raven tilted its head at me, one bright eye, then turned to the window as though it had been expected.

When the vicar reached for the book, the bird hopped to the end of the pew, dragged a thread of grey smoke off the sill, and dropped it into Carys's lap. It was a tiny brass ring on a loop of black cotton, the one she had lost in the spring. Nobody knew it was missing except her.

We still argue about whether the bird was a sign or simply a thief. Ruth says it was her grandmother come to see the thing done properly. I say ravens have never cared for tidiness. What I know is that when they said the words, the smoke outside went still and pale, and the thread of cotton lay across Carys's palm like a blessing somebody had finally remembered to send.