Lettering tattoo ideas

3,720 photos and flash · 59% Lettering, 22% Traditional · Forearm most common

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Two carved wooden arm and hand boards showing traditional-style tattoo designs of skulls, a heart with a dagger, a goat, a cat and flowers, in black and cream.
Carved arm boards with skull, goat and cat designs
Black and white flash design of a skull in a sombrero, flanked by roses and crossed daggers beneath a diamond, with blackletter text reading Pierce the Veil.
Skull in sombrero with roses and daggers
White line drawing of a hooded grim reaper holding a scythe, with the words A WASTED LIFE IS WORSE THAN DEATH above and below, on a black background.
Grim reaper with scythe and slogan
Hand-drawn yin yang design with a coloured sun on one side and a starry moon on the other, with the words live by the sun and love by the moon.
Yin yang sun and moon design with lettering
Black and grey flash sheet of cartoon ghosts, a skull, a moon, a heart, a mountain and stars, with the lettering Sad Ghosts Forever and Stay Nice.
Sad ghosts flash sheet
Black ink line drawing of an infinity symbol with the word love in script, a feather at the lower right and a second script word on the right loop, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Infinity symbol with feather and script
Hand-drawn flash design of two pink popsicles, one with a bite mark, wrapped in a mint ribbon banner reading BITE ME.
Bitten popsicles with a Bite Me banner
Black and white tattoo design of bold italic script lettering set within a circular wreath of roses, peonies and a dahlia, with no body placement shown.
Script lettering in a circular rose and peony wreath
Black and grey flash design of a stylised phoenix in flight beside flowing calligraphic lettering on a cracked cream background.
Phoenix with flowing calligraphic script
Colour flash design of a blue TARDIS police box with white banners reading Wibbly Wobbly, Police Box and Timey Wimey Stuff, drawn in a neo-traditional style.
TARDIS with Wibbly Wobbly banners
A bold black brush-style Chinese character on a white background, shown as a standalone tattoo design with no body part visible.
Bold black Chinese character
Black fine line book stacks, quotation marks, Peter Pan silhouettes and quote lettering shown as a flash sheet, with the designs applied to a forearm in the lower right photo.
Book and quote designs on forearms
Black script lettering arranged in the shape of a cross on a white background, a lettering design with no body placement shown.
Cross-shaped script lettering design
Black and grey line drawing of a skull with crab claws beneath a sunburst, set in an ornate gem frame with the word Cancer and a short line of text below.
Cancer crab and skull design
Traditional style flash design of three cartoon characters, a vampire, a grinning skeleton and a witch, above a banner reading Three of a Kind and a red rose.
Three of a Kind witches and skeleton flash
Brush lettering design of the word Breathe in dark ink on cream paper, with a yellow marker pen lying beside it, in a lettering style.
Breathe hand lettering design
Black ink drawing of a top hat with a ribbon, above the quote "It's only a dream..." and the word ALICE, in a fine line style, shown as a tattoo design on white.
Top hat with ribbon and Alice quote
Black and white flash design of a cat in a top hat with a spade card, bow tie and cigar, flanked by roses and leaves, with the words Lie to the Liars and Steal from Thieves arced around it.
Cat in top hat with roses and slogan
Black line drawing of a heart enclosing the words Adventure is where your heart is, with a cactus, mountains, palm tree, sailboat, pine trees and a sun, as a tattoo design.
Heart with adventure lettering and landscape
Black ink drawing of a crescent moon filled with mandala patterns, with the words To the moon and back and small stars along the inner edge.
Crescent moon mandala with lettering
Traditional-style flash design of a skull with a red rose crown, orange earrings and a FRIDA banner over red roses.
Skull with flower crown and FRIDA banner
Coloured drawing on kraft paper of a house lifted by a cluster of multicoloured balloons, with a pastel banner reading Adventure is out there, in a traditional tattoo flash style.
Balloon house with Adventure banner design
Fine line script lettering reading Stay Strong with a small heart and loose flourishes, drawn in black on a white background.
Stay Strong script with heart
Pencil drawing of a tattoo design with a purple Mad Hatter top hat, the words We're all mad here, a teapot pouring into a teacup, and an open pocket watch.
We're all mad here design with teapot and watch
Black line drawing of a butterfly with curled antennae and wings, with the words Just Breathe in cursive script beneath it.
Butterfly with Just Breathe script design
Black line drawings in a traditional style, including a heart with a cabin and pine trees, drawn on a wooden hand mannequin.
Traditional heart, cabin and portrait flash on a wooden hand
Flash design of a green-tipped sonic screwdriver wrapped in three white ribbon banners reading Wibbly, Wobbly and Timey-Wimey, with a green halftone glow behind it.
Sonic screwdriver with Wibbly Wobbly banners
Pen sketch of a safety pin with a bow and two ribbons carrying lettering, drawn as a tattoo design with no body placement shown.
Safety pin and bow sketch
Black ink script lettering reading it is well, drawn as a flowing handwritten design on a plain white background, with no body part visible.
Script lettering reading it is well
Illustrated pair of hands with solid black sun face designs on the wrists, a black circle with crossbars on each palm, and the letters of DEATH across the fingers.
Sun and circle hand tattoo designs
Black and grey flash design of a dotwork-shaded rose with three arrows and the words "Love yourself so no one has to" curved around it.
Rose and arrows with "Love yourself" lettering
Pencil sketch of cursive script lettering arranged in a circle reading what goes around comes around, drawn on paper with no body placement visible.
Circular script lettering sketch
Two black ink line drawings of pine forests below mountain peaks, with campfires and tents and the words Sleep Outside beneath each.
Mountain pines and Sleep Outside lettering
Pen drawing of an infinity symbol with the words live life with no regrets written in thin fine line script, shown as a tattoo design on white paper.
Infinity symbol with 'live life with no regrets' script
White traditional-style design of clasped hands, crossed arrows and banners with lettering, printed on a black t-shirt hanging on a wall.
Clasped hands and arrows shirt design
Black and white flash design of a stag head silhouette with hand-lettered text reading We will forever be wild and free over a row of pine trees.
Stag silhouette with lettering and pine trees
Black line drawing of a geometric circular design with decorative lettering above and below, shown as a flash design with no body placement.
Circular symbol design with quotation
Traditional style flash design of a woman with curled hair, two blue roses, an eyeball and a banner reading I only have eyes for you.
Pin-up woman with roses and eyeball banner
Black script lettering reading To The Moon with a long underline swash on a plain grey background, shown as a lettering design rather than a tattoo on skin.
To The Moon script lettering design
Hand-drawn flash design of two closed eyes with radiating dotted lines, above and below the words 'AND YOU SEE YOUR GYPSY' in dark brown lettering on a pink textured background.
Hand-lettered eyes design on pink
Traditional style flash drawing of a cartoon woman with dark red hair holding a red rose, with a red rose, blue leaves and a ribbon banner reading BELLE, shown without a body placement.
Belle with rose and banner flash
Pencil drawing of a tattoo design with an open pocket watch, a lily, a beaded chain, bee and scrollwork, with script lettering on the watch lid.
Pocket watch, lily and beaded chain design
Black ink script lettering flash sheet with flourished phrases, scroll borders and a small ornament, shown on white with no body placement.
Script lettering flash sheet
Pencil drawing of a snail with shaded shell and textured body beside cursive script reading I'll be there soon, shown as a design sketch rather than on skin.
Pencil snail with I'll be there soon script
Hand-drawn design of the word Survivor in dark purple marker on cream paper, with a long swooping flourish rising through the first letter.
Survivor lettering with a long flourish
Black and white lettering flash sheet showing ten Paris metro station names in varied decorative script and block styles, with no body placement shown.
Paris metro station lettering sheet
Colourful flash design of an owl in a top hat surrounded by roses, speakers and a trumpet, with the words Make Some Noise across the top, drawn in bold black outlines.
Owl in a top hat with roses and speakers
Flash-style drawing of a cartoon woman with black bob hair and glasses, her arms raised, framed by hatched gold banners reading Smart, Strong, Sensual, Woman.
Cartoon woman with Smart Strong Sensual Woman banners