Lettering tattoo ideas

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

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Hand-drawn line sketch of three doves in flight, each carrying one word: faith, hope and love, shown as a tattoo design on pale paper.
Three doves with faith, hope and love
Bold black traditional-style tattoo of an open mouth with fangs and the word WHY, on a knee, with a small diamond and cherries nearby.
Open mouth with WHY on the knee
Close-up of white ink lettering reading We're all mad here across an arm, in a fine lettering style.
White ink quote on a forearm
Black ink hand-lettered design on a white background reading Thanks for the pain, It made me raise my game, with small decorative dots and curls.
Thanks for the pain lettering design
Small black script lettering tattoo on an ankle, beside brown lace-up heeled sandals on a grey floor.
Small script tattoo on an ankle
Black script reading Love me for who i am across the upper back, with a small bird and a shaded butterfly near the shoulder.
Quote and butterflies near the shoulder
Traditional flash design of two swallows, a red rose and a heart with ribbon banners, drawn without any body placement shown.
Swallows, rose and heart banner flash
Black ink lettering reading Excuse us while we sing to the sky across the outer thigh, above denim shorts.
Quote tattoo on the outer thigh
Black lettering tattoo in Devanagari script across the upper chest of a person in a pink cardigan and white crop top, with a second script tattoo on the side of the waist.
Devanagari script tattoos on chest and side
Colour tattoo of a vintage-style map of the Great Lakes with a compass rose, across a person's upper back, with their head cropped out of frame.
Great Lakes map and compass across a back
Black line design of the word Love arranged inside a heart outline, with a small heart and a Song of Solomon 8:7 quotation in mixed lettering styles.
Heart-shaped lettering reading Love
Black and grey suspension bridge tattoo with small lettering on a forearm, shown in a black and white photograph.
Suspension bridge on a forearm
Black and grey fine line script lettering runs along the side of two bare feet near the ankles, one line reading Maybe in distance, but never in heart.
Script quote tattoos along two feet
Flash sheet of tattoo designs photographed on a gift box, including a blue owl, a koi fish, a realistic eye, three BELIEVE lettering designs and a feathered headdress, all shown without a body
Traditional flash sheet with owl, eye and lettering
Traditional style colour tattoo of a skull-topped cupcake with a red bow and the words Cut cake not wrists, with a small pink flower beside it, on a forearm.
Skull cupcake with lettering on forearm
Black serif capital lettering tattooed vertically down the centre of a person's lower back, shown in a Lettering style on the Back.
Vertical lettering down the spine
Black lion tattoo on the forearm, its body formed from the words Hakuna Matata in a bold tribal-style lettering design.
Lion formed from Hakuna Matata lettering
Black and grey flash design of a ribcage, heart, spine and pelvis framed by serrated leaves, with no body placement shown.
Anatomical ribcage and pelvis with leaves, Cancer
Black and grey blackwork tattoo of a wolf head beneath pine trees with the words Winter is coming curved around it, on the upper thigh.
Wolf head and pine trees on a thigh
Black and grey tattoo flash designs printed on a phone case, including a large butterfly, a compass, chevrons, a rose and a microphone.
Tattoo flash sheet printed on a phone case
Fine line black script reading We Are Wild? on a person's arm, shown beside a handwritten copy of the same phrase on paper.
We Are Wild script on an arm
Flash design of a blue-haired caterpillar in a red scarf above a peach banner reading 'ello!, drawn with bold outlines.
Caterpillar in a red scarf with banner
Black ornamental blackwork tattoo on a calf, with small lettering on the ankle above a white sock, shown beside maroon and white trainers on a speckled floor.
Dark ornamental tattoo on a calf
Two panels show black and grey script lettering on an upper arm: the word Cursed in shaded lettering above, and the word Blessed in solid black script with swirling flourishes below.
Cursed and blessed script lettering on an arm
Black handwritten script reading be brave, framed by green leaves and small orange, yellow and pink flowers, shown as a tattoo design on a white background.
Be brave script with flower wreath
Black and grey rose with leaves on the outer leg beside a script tattoo on the other leg, both photographed in bathwater.
Rose and script tattoos on legs in a bath
Black and grey script lettering runs down a man's side over the ribs, while another man's arm shows a realistic skull sleeve from upper arm to forearm.
Script on ribs and skull sleeve on arm
Two hands held together, with the word FRIENDS in black lettering tattooed across the fingers and dark nail polish on the nails, a Lettering tattoo on the hand.
FRIENDS lettering across fingers
Hand-drawn tattoo design in black ink and red pencil showing flying silhouettes, the words Never grow up and a red feather, sketched in a spiral notebook.
Never grow up silhouettes with red feather
Flash sheet of hand-drawn designs with a burger, pizza slice, crushed can, pentagram, gemstone and pink Japanese characters, with a pink lettering banner at the top.
Flash sheet with burger, pizza and crushed can
Black and grey script lettering with scrollwork tattooed along the side of the ribs, reading a line of scripture across several lines.
Scripture lettering along the ribs
Colour tattoo of a hot air balloon with three portrait medallions, a lettered basket and an anchor, in neo-traditional style with dotwork, on a person's upper back.
Hot air balloon with portraits on upper back
Small solid black ampersand tattoo in a lettering style on the upper forearm of a person wearing a grey vest top, against white bedding.
Small black ampersand on a forearm
Black fine-line tattoo of a heartbeat trace that forms a cross and ends in an outlined heart, with the words FAITH, HOPE and LOVE beneath, on the side of the ribs.
Heartbeat cross and heart with faith, hope, love
Close photo of a realistic eye tattoo with a blue iris and black and grey script above it, on the inner wrist and hand.
Realistic blue eye tattoo on the wrist
Colour tattoo on a forearm of pink roses and green leaves with black outlines, wrapped by a ribbon banner carrying lettering, in a neo-traditional style.
Roses and ribbon banner on a forearm
Purple line drawing of a leaping lion pierced by two arrows, with a banner reading BE NOT AFRAID across its body, in a traditional tattoo flash style.
Leaping lion with arrows and banner
Pencil drawing of a compass with a banner reading Before you ask which way to go, remember where you've been, shown as a tattoo design with no body placement.
Compass with quote banners
Black linework tattoo on an upper leg showing the words BAD LUCK IS BETTER THAN NO LUCK, a skull and crossed bones, with a hand touching the skin.
Skull, bones and quote tattoo on a thigh
Traditional style flash design of a grey dagger wrapped in yellow ribbon banners with lettering, a red cross detail and a red drop of blood, shown as a drawing with no body placement.
Dagger and cross with lettered banners
Traditional colour tattoo of a red and black tugboat with grey smoke clouds and a TUG LIFE banner on the arm.
Tugboat with smoke and TUG LIFE banner
Hand-drawn black ink lettering reading Ph 1:6 with a semicolon-like mark and a cross, circled on lined notebook paper, shown as a tattoo design sketch.
Hand-drawn Ph 1:6 lettering with a cross
Black tribal-style line drawing of a phoenix with spread wings and a long curling tail, above the script words Still I rise, on a white background.
Phoenix with Still I rise script
Traditional-style colour tattoo of a pin-up woman with knitting needles in curled hair and a banner reading I love yarn, on the upper arm.
Pin-up knitter with I love yarn banner
Sketchy black linework winged bird with a red heart and red and black lettering tattooed along the side of a ribcage.
Winged bird and lettering on ribs
Fine line black script lettering with a small aeroplane silhouette tattooed across the ankle and lower leg.
Script lettering and aeroplane on ankle
Black and grey lettering tattoos across the fingers and back of both hands of a man in a tweed suit and tie.
Lettering tattoos on fingers and hands
Black ink script lettering reading wibbly wobbly timey wimey on the calf, with a small word tattoo on the ankle above a black high-top trainer.
Lettering tattoo on a calf