Lettering tattoo ideas

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

What will it cost? Try the tattoo cost calculator
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a heart holding a human hand and a paw, with a crescent moon, stars, a flower and the words Boys Whatever and Cats Forever, on a limb.
Heart with hand and paw, cats forever lettering
Colour tattoo of a grey TIE fighter over a purple starfield, with red and teal banners reading take a ride on the dark side, on the leg.
TIE fighter with Dark Side banners
Colour traditional tattoo on an upper arm showing a T-rex, a raptor and a sunburst beside roses, leaves and two banners with lettering.
Dinosaurs, roses and banners on an upper arm
Colour tattoo on a forearm of a grinning Vault Boy character in a blue suit holding banknotes, with a red devil beside him and banners reading DEAL WITH THE DEVIL, in a traditional style.
Vault Boy and devil on a forearm
Two raised legs in red Converse trainers show bold traditional tattoos on the calves, including a butterfly, a rose, a spider and a ship's wheel.
Traditional leg tattoos with red Converse trainers
Traditional-style flash design of a grey weeping angel with its face in its hands beneath a peach banner reading DON'T BLINK, with blue tears.
Weeping angel with Don't Blink banner
Close-up of knuckle lettering spelling TEA TIME in black letters with teal shading, with a small teal teapot on the left hand, in a traditional lettering style.
TEA TIME lettering across knuckles
Colour traditional tattoo of a snapping carnivorous plant above a FEED ME banner on the outer thigh.
Carnivorous plant with FEED ME banner on thigh
Three traditional-style stickers on a grey surface: a skull with red and blue flowers, a pointing hand with flowers, and a pill bottle, each with text on a banner.
Three traditional flash designs with banner text
Black ink dotwork drawing of a planchette with a central eye, crescent moons, a bone, leaves and YES and NO lettering beneath a burst of rays.
Planchette with eye, moons and YES NO lettering
Colour drawing of a cracked red, white and blue round shield with a white star, green leaves and two grey banners reading OUTLIVE THE TEST OF TIME, designed as a traditional style tattoo.
Cracked shield with leaves and banners
Black and grey tattoos on two forearms, showing a shaded rose and leaves on the left arm and a banner, snake and skull on the right forearm.
Rose and banner lettering on forearms
Colour Traditional-style tattoo of a cartoon woman with brown hair, glasses and a green jacket above a banner reading MISUNDERSTOOD, on an upper arm.
Cartoon character with misunderstood banner on arm
Pair of white gloves painted with traditional style tattoo designs, including a swallow, a skull, an anchor, a horseshoe and a cross.
Traditional tattoo designs painted on white gloves
Traditional-style tattoo of a red and brown chicken with a bespectacled caricature face, beside the words Finger Lickin, on skin.
Caricature chicken with Finger Lickin slogan
Traditional style tattoo of a red heart with a banner reading MOM, framed by roses and dark green leaves, on the upper arm.
Traditional heart with MOM banner
A grid of cross stitch chart designs in traditional tattoo flash style, including swallows, hearts, roses, a pin-up, a cherry pair and lettering, on a grey background.
Sheet of cross stitch tattoo-style flash designs
Traditional colour tattoo on a calf showing a cabin beneath a red sun, clouds, pink flowers and the words Home is where you are in a banner, with black and grey versions shown either side.
Cabin and red sun on a calf
Torso of a person lifting a white shirt, showing a winged figure, a spider and red LOCALS ONLY lettering in traditional-style tattoos on the stomach, with a sleeve on the upper arm.
Winged figure and spider on torso with arm sleeves
Flash design of a red and black skull with lightning-bolt eyes above the words SEMPRE OLTRE, beside a black cat with red eyes above the words LA NOTTE È LUNGA, in a traditional style.
Skull and black cat flash with Italian lettering
Traditional style colour tattoo on a forearm of a grim reaper holding a scythe, a rose and a banner reading MISOGYNY, with DEATH TO above.
Grim reaper and rose with banner on forearm
Flash-style drawing of a flaming skull wearing a vest top above a banner reading LOOKS LIKE SHIT, in red and navy line work with a small star below.
Flaming skull in a tank top with banner
Traditional style flash design of a red heart with the words WELL FUCK, a red flower and two dark teal leaves on a cream background.
Traditional heart with flower and leaves
Red pencil flash drawing of a Ball Mason jar with flowers on the lid and a banner reading MOONSHINE, in a traditional style.
Mason jar with flowers and moonshine banner
Traditional style tattoo on an upper arm showing a dark-haired woman in a blue headscarf wearing red boxing gloves, with the words PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE STRUGGLE in black lettering.
Boxer pin-up with slogan on upper arm
Traditional-style flash design of red and yellow roses and rope framing a lettered sign on a aged yellow background, with no body part shown.
Roses and rope sign flash design
Traditional style flash design of an hourglass with an eye at its centre, two red and orange roses, and banners reading Time is Slipping.
Hourglass, eye and roses flash design
Two tattooed hands crossed over a denim jacket, one showing a black and grey wolf head and the other a colour tiger head, both in traditional style on the backs of the hands.
Wolf and tiger hand tattoos
Colour tattoo of a sailing ship on rough blue waves beneath a full moon and purple clouds, with script lettering above, on the outer thigh.
Sailing ship and full moon on a thigh
Black traditional-style swallow flying on a plain light background, with the words NOT ONE WILL FALL in capitals beneath it.
Swallow in flight with lettering
Traditional colour tattoo of a purple yarn ball with a knitting needle, green leaves and a red and white banner reading KNIT UNTIL DEATH, on a limb.
Knit until death banner over yarn ball
Traditional style tattoo design of an anatomical heart pierced by a blue and gold arrow, with a red and yellow rose and a banner reading El Corazon, shown as a cross-stitch style drawing.
Anatomical heart with arrow and banner
Black and grey tattoo of a raised finger in front of lips beside ornate blackletter lettering with flourishes, on a limb.
Lips and raised finger with blackletter lettering
Black and grey traditional owl tattoo on a forearm, with talons gripping a scroll banner that reads Proverbs 3v.
Owl with Proverbs banner on a forearm
Colour tattoo of a grey and teal ribbon forming a heart, with a small red heart and script initials, on the upper chest.
Ribbon heart with script initials on chest
Traditional style flash design of the BB-8 droid with red roses, a sunburst and a banner reading They See Me Rollin.
BB-8 droid with roses and banner
Traditional style tattoo of a cartoon white cat with a pink bow and the words Bitch Please I'm Fabulous on a forearm.
Cartoon cat and lettering on a forearm
Traditional-style tattoo on an arm showing a grey hat with a black ribbon and a small red rose, with the words UGH and AS IF above and below.
Hat and rose with UGH AS IF lettering
Black and grey flash design of a Darth Vader helmet with stippled shading, two roses and leaves, and the words Who's Your Daddy arched above.
Darth Vader helmet with roses flash
Black and grey traditional-style flash design of two ghosts in a framed panel, with the lettering No Feet beneath them and a spiderweb behind.
Two ghosts in a framed box with No Feet
Traditional style tattoo of a red and yellow rose with green leaves and a black banner of lettering across the inner forearm.
Red rose and banner lettering on a forearm
Flash drawing of a black cat with a pentacle on its head, a blackletter banner reading Harm none, Do as ye wilt, and a row of moon phases above.
Black cat with banner and moon phases
Black and grey traditional-style tattoo of an eye with roses on the back of a hand, with lettering on the fingers and a further tattoo partly visible on the forearm.
Eye and rose tattoo on the hand
Black ink flash drawing of a cartoon penguin in a bow tie, framed by flowers and two banners reading It Ain't Easy and Been Wheezy, in a traditional style.
Penguin with banners flash design
Black line drawing flash design of a thread spool with crossed needles, a crown, scissors and a banner reading Make Things, in a traditional ornamental style.
Spool, needles and Make Things banner
Neo-traditional tattoo of a yellow songbird carrying a red banner with lettering, with black sprigs, on a person's upper back near the shoulder.
Yellow songbird with banner on shoulder
Black and grey traditional flash design of a sailing ship on rough sea inside a ship's wheel, with banners reading NEED YOU LIKE WATER IN MY LUNGS.
Sailing ship in a ship's wheel with banner lettering
Traditional style tattoo on a forearm of a hand holding blue forget-me-not flowers in a blue and yellow base, with the words FORGET ME NOT in black lettering beside it.
Forget-me-not hand and lettering on a forearm